#like he has their best interests in mind but especially in the case of yamcha it just starts to devalue them as fighters

[tenshindon]

i just feel like the tien episode of super could have been a great opportunity to not only include yamcha in the series as a fighter again while also tackling his feelings of inadequacy since yamcha’s been known to visit tien and he could very easily already be there when goku visits and they could join the team together, but i feel like it could’ve been a good way to also explore tien’s distinct trauma in having to watch both chiaotzu and yamcha die and be put in severe danger time and time again while he was helpless to do anything, resulting in him insisting they stay away from fights all together yk. like ‘yamcha not feeling up to par enough to join the team’ and ‘tien being so scared for yamcha’s mortality’ just perfectly dovetail into each other (not to mention their fears also enable each other; by yamcha being too afraid to fight anymore tien doesn’t have to fret so much about him doing anything dangerous) and have the potential to be resolved in an arc together

[actuallysaiyan]

Yamcha SFW Alphabet, please? Thanks :)

I tag @beneathstarryskies because she is a huge Yamcha fan!!

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Yamcha is incredibly affectionate. He shows his affection through gifts and physical touch. He will always look out for you too and make sure you are doing your best. He is very supportive as a friend and lover, so really he’s just so nice all around.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Yamcha is a fun loving friend. He loves to hang out with you and just do fun things. He likes to do stuff like go-karting, mini golf, going to play some arcade games, hikes in the mountains or even just watching a movie. He would be the type to introduce himself to you first and it wouldn’t take long for you two to hit things off.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

He loves to cuddle! Nothing better than to hold you close and wrap himself around you to keep you warm and comforted. One of his favorite things to do with you is to watch a movie with you and cuddle up on the couch. If it’s cold outside, you can expect some yummy hot cocoa and some cookies to go with those sweet cuddles. Yamcha loves holding you to his chest and stroking your hair or massaging you.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Yamcha would love to settle down with you if he gets the chance to. He’s not the most keen on cooking and cleaning, but he would do it for you. If you wanted to settle down with him and make him feel loved and happy, he would learn to be domestic. What he’d truly enjoy is for you to be his bimbo wife.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

It would be bitter, sad and terrible. Yamcha would hate it. He hates the idea of hurting you. It would take everything deep inside of him to not be cold about it. If he has to break up with you because of something you did, it’s very bitter and mean. But if you break up because of something he did, he’s going to be so devastated.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

All Yamcha wants is a wife. He wants someone to make him feel loved and supported all the time. Someone he can build a life together and support and just be happy with. Nothing would make him more happy than if you were to settle down as soon as you felt ready for it.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

He’s very gentle. He loves making sure he doesn’t use his strength on you, seeing as he is very strong and he doesn’t always know his own strength. In terms of emotionally, he is generally gentle and sweet but sometimes he may crack jokes that only he finds funny and that might hurt your feelings. If that’s the case, all you need to do is tell him and he will apologize.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

He loves to hug! They are tight, warm and just feel so safe and secure. He will hug you any chance he gets. It just feels so nice to him. Holding you in his arms is one of the best feelings in the whole world. He will do anything to have his hands on you.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

It will slip out of him so early, he’s quite a bit embarrassed about it. Yamcha falls for people a little too quickly, and because he has always had this phobia of talking to girls, it just makes everything worse. He will stumble on his words and tell you he loves you early in the relationship, but he truly means it.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He gets pretty jealous. If anyone thinks they can get their hands on you, you better believe that Yamcha is going to turn possessive. It can get pretty dark when he’s jealous, so you may need to reassure him. It’s not his fault, he has some insecurities.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Yamcha loves to give all kinds of kisses. It depends on his mood and what part of your body he’s kissing. He loves kissing you whenever and wherever. His favorite places to kiss you are your lips, your tits and your inner thighs. On himself, anywhere goes.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He’s not bad with children. He’s funny and fun, and he treats them with kindness. He would be such a good father if you wanted to have children with Yamcha. He would be so doting and teach them so much. He’s patient and understanding, so you know he would be so sweet with your children.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Mornings with Yamcha are relaxing. He likes to sleep in when he can and when he finally does roll out of bed, the first thing he does is start up a pot of coffee. Breakfast is usually take-out of sorts unless you feel like cooking. And it’s just pretty relaxing all in all.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights with Yamcha can also be very relaxing. A nice dinner with a glass of wine, some soft music and maybe some intimacy. Nothing has to be fancy, but Yamcha will treat you to dinner at a restaurant from time to time. Lots of cuddling if you’re at home.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

It wouldn’t take too long for him to start opening up to you. He would probably leave some details out until you know each other fairly well. He doesn’t want to make you worry too much or scare you off. He’s patient with you and if you are patient with him, he will share some secrets with you.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

It depends on the situation with Yamcha. For the most part, he can keep his cool. He can be cocky sometimes if someone tests his patience, but he’s not meaning to be too cruel. He wants to be level headed.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He remembers a lot about you. It means so much to him to be able to remember your favorite colors, foods, movies and music. There’s no way he’ll ever forget your birthday or your anniversary. He may be a knucklehead from time to time, but he’s got a very good memory...especially if it involves you.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

The first time you said “I love you”. That’s his favorite memory. You were blushing and being so soft. He felt how genuine you were being just by your soft kisses. The way you held him close, holding onto him as if he might float away any second. It’s just the greatest memory for Yamcha.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

He can be very protective, but he does love to give you space and time to do your own hobbies and interests. If you need to be protected, he will fight and defeat anyone causing you grief. He doesn’t mind if you try to protect him, but he’d feel so guilty if you got hurt trying to protect him.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Yamcha enjoys having a balance for this in the relationship. If you want to plan some stuff, he is not at all against it. Sometimes he’s got things planned and they can be so special too. He doesn’t want to spend too much time on everyday things, but he does love to spoil you.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He doesn’t always get his dirty clothes in the laundry hamper. He can be a little bit of a slob sometimes, but he does make a concerted effort to clean up after himself when you move in with him. He doesn’t want you to baby him too much.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Yamcha always wants to look his best, especially if he’s going on a date with you. He will not expect it from you, but if you want to look nice for him, he’s going to be pretty happy about it.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

He’d be insanely lost without you. You help him stay sane. You help bring structure and responsibility to his life. You make him feel wanted and loved, and that’s all he ever really wanted.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Yamcha wants to teach you how to protect yourself! He would even show you how to do some of his signature fighting moves if you’d want to learn. He loves the idea of you being around him so much and he just gets to show you how to fight.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Yamcha doesn’t like cheaters or liars. He just wants people to be upfront and kind to him. He will show that same kindness if it’s being extended to him. He doesn’t want people to use him because he is a great guy.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

He snores lightly, but he is a big cuddler. You will never feel cold or lonely with Yamcha in your bed. He holds you close every single night.

[multiverse-in-archive]

((Hello, I know I said I was going to talk about Vegeta and the cycle of abuse he went through growing up, but first, I want to talk about something that’s been bugging me recently that’s related. And it’s got to do with the fandom perception of him.

Admittedly, part of it is from me still feeling heated from not only the Yamcha bashing that set me off, but also the thing that brought about the Bulma and Chichi post [A certain someone knows what I’m talking about], but over all, it’s something that’s annoyed me for a long ass while. Especially because this shit has bled into the Super manga;

Stop idealizing Vegeta!

Stop bashing the other characters to boost him up!

Stop condeming them for their flaws [or what you perceive to be their flaws] and ignoring his!

It’s not only a diservice to the other characters of the series, but a diservice to his character as well.

“Oh he’s just a victim of circumstance! He’s a result of his trauma!”

Yeah, you know who else is?

Practically everyone else in the series, and he was a reason for the trauma of the majority of the main cast. Hell, Krillin had an episode where he was confronting his trauma in Super.

Yet he and most of the other characters don’t act like dicks.

And while all of their trauma is different and everyone handles trauma differently, there are healthy and unhealthy ways to do it.

And his way of dealing with it, especially back in Z, not only hurt innocents, but hurt those closest to him.

He is a victim of Frieza’s abuse yes, but it’s also implied that he abused his subordinates. One of who raised him, and the other who genuinely felt close to him.

And if you think I’m making it up, why do you think they’re afraid of him? They wouldn’t have a need to be unless he’s made it clear he’s willing to hurt or kill them.

And in their last moments, when they needed him most, he turned his back on them.

With Raditz, he didn’t even cut in via the scouter to tell him that Raditz ain’t gettin’ bailed out. Vegeta just let him continue to believe and say it and essentially quietly abandoned him. Raditz would have no way of knowing that he wasn���t going to be saved until at least a year later.

And then with Nappa, not only did he kill him, but he got his hopes up by leading him to believe he’d be helped, and then dashed that hope to pieces by throwing him into the air. And his parting words to him before blowing him up was just mocking him. Reminder that Nappa essentially raised this boy. Even before Frieza.

And funny thing, even after being free from Frieza, he’d go on to abuse Future Trunks.

I could go on about this subject, about his relationship with his abuser[s?] and his victims, but saving the details for Vegeta’s cycle of abuse analysis post.

Oh and don’t even get me started on the Majin Vegeta shit! If I were in Shin’s shoes at that point, I would have slapped Vegeta silly for this.

And iff anything, I think this is genuine proof how much Bulma loves this man. Anyone else would have dropped his ass like a stone for that stunt.

Point is, he was hurt, but he’d also hurt people himself. Don’t ignore that.

“Vegeta is a better husband and father than Goku! He raised Goku’s kids! And Vegeta saved Bulma from Yamcha!”

lol the fuck!?

We gonna ignore how Vegeta admitted to never even holding Trunks as a baby? And keep in mind, this was post Cell Saga when he learned to apprciate his family. He literally watched his son grow up for all those seven years and not once held him. Not to mention, again, he was abusive to Future Trunks up util the Cell Games.

Meanwhile Goku has no problem showing affection to his kids and grandkid. And have we ever seen him lay a hand on any of them to hurt them? He trained with Gohan sometimes when he was younger, yes,, but his training was tame compared to training with Piccolo. Who left toddler Gohan to more or less fend for himself for a while and then would later beat up on said toddler.

Gohan was four, five by the time the Saiyans came along, you fuckers-

And yeah, Goku was missing throughout the series, with him being dead for Goten’s early life, but those circumstance were either out of his control, or he felt was best for Earth in the case of post Cell Saga. Now, he did sometimes go off to Beerus’s Planet to train, but between then, he did his obligations. And plus, Vegeta wormed his way into going there to train first. It was not on Goku’s mind until he overheard Bulma talk about it.

Also would like to point out that Chichi made Goku promise to ge a job right before the Cell Games, and when he came back, he did! As a radish farmer!

Meanwhile, Vegeta has no job, and Bulma’s only condition is to spend time with her and their family. Which she usually has to twist his arm into doing. Remember her birthday in Battle of Gods?

And let’s not forget after his fling with Bulma, the first thing he did when he found out Bulma was pregnant was fucking dip. And you know who stepped in to help Bulma with the baby?

Yamcha.

And not only did he willingly step up to help raise present Trunks, but he was essentially Future Trunks’s support when Vegeta wouldn’t provide.

Yeah, he was notably huffy, but from his behavior in the arc, it’s safe to say it’s at Vegeta rather than Bulma or Trunks. And understandably so.

Now, in fairness to Vegeta, he’s an introverted, emotionally constipated man that has not been in very many healthy relationships, while everyone else is very much warm and affectionate, and to expect him to express love the same way is unfair.

And deep down, he is a loving husband and father, who immediately steps in to protect him, and occassionally does find ways to show his care for them.

But let’s be honest, in real life, he’d be a difficult husband and father to live with.

And this is just the short list of issues I have with what the fandom seems to think about him. But I’ll stop there, because it’s getting long as is.

I think the main point in all of this though, is that ignoring his flaws mistakes and woobifying him honestly hurts his character.

Toyotaro.

Not only does it downplay his growth, but it also ironically takes away what makes him a complex and interesting character in the first place.

It makes him feel 2D and less like a person. A person that isn’t bad [anymore], but isn’t wholly good either.

Do better, Vegeta fans. Do better.))

[miximax-hell]

Happy Goku Day, everyone!!

I checked and, miraculously, I still have followers on this blog. In fact, I’ve gained some since the last time I posted, for some reason! I’m not going to question it, though. Just... bless. But, hey, long time no see! As usual!

This time, I’m going back to my roots. The first drawings I posted on this blog were meant to show my love towards original Raimon, and it’s never a bad time to remind you all that I still adore these kids. Especially now that my friend @dust-monsters-under-my-bed​ has reminded me of them. Go check her art, btw! She’s not very active on Tumblr, but you can find her art on Twitter right here: https://twitter.com/rachelmonart

Anyway, she’s watching Inazuma Eleven for the first time and she’s made me think again about how much love these kids deserve, BECAUSE THEY SURE GOT NONE FROM HINO. DAMN YOU, HINO. So, today, let’s talk about the one and only IE character whose feet are classified as mass destruction weapons, who decided to borrow power from someone who will make you all question me, my logic and my tastes: Yamhan (or, as he is known in the west, Tiencha), THE FUSION OF YAMCHA AND TENSHINHAN FROM DRAGON BALL.

Introducing ShoYamHan! More on him under the cut.

So, first of all, how have you all been? I suppose many of you, like myself, are being told to stay at home to fight this situation. I salute all of you who do your best to stay safe and not help spread anything. It’s a very necessary fight, even if it can be boring at times. Many of us have friends or relatives fighting on the frontline, though (unless you yourself are the doctor or nurse friend!), and we hopefully know that staying at home is a small price to pay.

As for me, I got a job in December and lost it last month, so... yeah. It’s not been great. Still, something I’ve been working hard on for a while should be released soon and that’s so exciting! MY NAME WILL FINALLY BE ON SOMETHING’S CREDITS AND I CAN’T WAIT FOR IT TO BE UP.

But, anyway, back to business!

Rachel suggested I talk about the reasons behind this particular miximax, and considering it makes for a perfect parallel with my first posts, where I talked about the reasons behind Max’s and Kageno’s miximaxes, I’m all up for it! But, this time, I will have to do something new: explain WHO THE HECK YAMHAN IS. So let’s start with a picture of this handsome devil.

As most of you hopefully know, this project is about miximaxing Inazuma characters with video game characters. No anime, movies or anything else. Only and exclusively video games. Dragon Ball has probably spawned all those things, but it started as a manga, so you’d be right to think it most definitely does not qualify for this project. And, indeed, Dragon Ball doesn't. What DOES qualify, however, are Dragon Ball characters exclusive, or first introduced, in a video game. And that’s exactly the case we’re dealing with here!

Growing up, I loved Dragon Ball games. Even before I watched the show properly, in fact! I would go to my friend’s house, who was a fan of the show, and we'd play the Dragon Ball Budokai games nonstop with absolutely zero regrets. Those were some great times. And once I came to know the source material, the game that blew my mind the most was Dragon Ball Budokai 2. Was it the best one? Not necessarily. Is it my favourite? Not by a long shot. Still, it was the most creative! Most games follow the story of DBZ, which, obviously, is always the same. But Budokai 2 wasn’t afraid to do new things. Its story mode resembled a tabletop game and it was more than happy to deviate from the source material in some really fun ways; most notably, with exclusive fusions.

Budokai 2 introduced us all to Yamhan, the fusion of Yamcha and Tenshinhan, two long forgotten characters in the series, as they (and especially poor Yamcha) didn’t do anything especially relevant past... well, past the original Dragon Ball. As a champion of the unloved, that blew my mind. There were other fun things in Budokai 2, but what fascinated me and stayed in my thoughts for years to come was Yamhan. It was just such a cool concept. Two underdogs who had fallen into obscurity fusing to create a much greater warrior!

Of course, Yamhan isn’t the only videogame exclusive characters in Dragon Ball. He isn’t the first, nor the last. Yamhan isn’t the strongest, nor the weakest. But I haven’t played FighterZ nor Fusions (yet), nor pretty much any game that wasn’t on PS2 or GBA. And even if I had, I doubt Android 21 or any of the HUNDREDS of combinations available in Fusions would captivate me and my imagination as much as Yamhan did back in the day. Yamhan was a fusion, which is something that has always fascinated me to begin with. I MEAN, THIS ENTIRE BLOG IS ABOUT FUSING CHARACTERS, SO I THINK IT’S PRETTY OBVIOUS LMAO But he wasn’t just one among hundreds. He was this very specific, never-seen-before, cool as heck and usable fusion. Like, wow. That was wild for me. Sign me up, man.

But, you know, I try not to let that sway me too much. Of course, I wouldn’t likely pick a character I hate for a miximax, but, still, my preferences aren’t everything. And choosing Yamhan begs a question that I have already alluded to: if Yamhan isn’t the strongest game-exclusive DB character out there, then, why him? Well, the answer to that is related to the biggest problem posed by the sheer concept of miximaxing with a Dragon Ball character:

Power escalation.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Goku is, pretty much, the strongest character that has ever played the lead in any manga, and one of the strongest fictional characters ever, period. By the end of the Dragon Ball Super anime, he has EXCEEDED THE POWER OF MANY LITERAL GODS AND IS (or has been) A CANDIDATE TO BECOME ONE. You may prefer One Piece, or Naruto, or anything else, but few things reach the astronomical, reality-bending scope of Dragon Ball. Not to say DB is the best series--I’m just saying that it’s so out of control at this point (and I love it). But, of course, the stronger Goku is, the stronger the villains need to be, and Goku ends up becoming EVEN stronger than said villains. Rinse and repeat dozens of times until you can make an entire universe disappear by raising your hand.

Now, imagine applying that out-of-this-world power escalation to a context where the power balance isn’t so outrageous. For example, Inazuma Eleven.

Goku wriggling in his sleep is more powerful than Zeus, and an accidental sneeze would smash all of Ixal Fleet to smithereens. Do you see what this would do to the balance? It would ruin it completely, as anyone who miximaxed with Goku would be immediately a one-person army able to defeat ANY opponent--and if the opponent were to be EVEN GREATER than Goku, well, the rest simply wouldn’t stand a chance. Ever. Remember: the point of this project isn’t to create perfect and unbeatable players, and I’m not trying to prioritize anyone or make them noticeably stronger than anyone else just because I happen to like X more than Y. That completely ruins the tension and the fun (and my attempts to create justice in this unfair universe). The point is to come up with a balanced team full of players with strong points, but with flaws, too, that complement each other when they play together against stronger enemies.

So, if we go with Dragon Ball, and I love Dragon Ball WAY too much to not include it in this project in some way, we have to be careful and avoid overdoing it. Balance is key. And now that you know why I didn’t just choose the fusion between Beerus and Whis or something crazy like that, I’ll move on to explain what makes Yamhan a very interesting option. I SWEAR THERE ARE SOME ACTUAL REASONS.

First of all, the very concept. You know, Yamcha and Tenshinhan fused to created Yamhan, and now, Shourin is fusing with a fusion. That’s just... hecking cool. I won’t lie--my preferences towards Yamhan didn’t tip the scales towards making this happen, but my preferences towards FUSIONCEPTION totally did. XD But there’s more, thankfully.

From the very beginning, I knew I wanted a fighting game character to miximax with Shourin because it fits his theme best. I’m not big on fighting games, though, so it was quite tough. Especially because just any fighting game wouldn’t do it. Shourin is a martial artist. As I mentioned at the very beginning of this post, his feet are his weapons. His entire body is a weapon, really. If I were to suddenly miximax him with some character who wields a sword or an axe, for example, it would be a complete disservice to Shourin. Original Raimon members don’t have much going on for themselves, and I’m going to cut or ignore the ONE thing that makes one of them special? Not in a zillion years. Shourin needs to fight with his body. That, of course, cuts many characters already: pretty much the entire roster of Soul Calibur, many members of Mortal Kombat, many from games like Skullgirls (which I still want to try to represent here in the future, because @lumaga worked on it and it makes me happy just because of that), etc. For a very long time, I considered someone like Ryu, from Street Fighter, but then it hit me: I have never played Street Fighter and I don’t want to include him just because I know what a Hadouken is. It’d be... cheap. And fake. Thankfully, as I also mentioned earlier, I played LOTS of Budokai back in the day and I am an actual fan, so I don’t have to pretend to know what the heck I’m talking about. XD And, thankfully, most of the characters in DB games fight with their bare fists and legs, so they perfectly fit my needs. Yamhan is, of course, no exception.

Now comes my favourite reason to choose Yamhan and not, well, literally any other DB game-exclusive character. And that reason is style.

Remember that power escalation thing I mentioned earlier? Well, it’s epic, but it comes with a big disadvantage: power ends up becoming much more important than skill. Early Dragon Ball was very focused on fighting styles. There was an ongoing feud between the Turtle School and the Crane School, who taught different martial arts to fight in different ways, and there was a big plot involving which one was superior. It wasn’t just about who was strongest, but about who fought better. With time, that disappeared, though. Even though battles became flashier, aerial and more spectacular, they were much more indistinct. Sure, there were gimmicks like “heh, I have a tail and I will sometimes hit you with it,” or “I will try to hit your face with the palm of my hand instead of my fist for some unspecified reason,” but that isn’t... much. You just see very fast people avoiding equally as fast punches to the face. And Goku, the main character, only shows some style when he adopts a fighting pose BEFORE fighting. Once the punches start flying, it’s all a race to see who can hit the other the hardest in the gut to make them spit blood. Cool nonetheless, but still.

Ironically, though, it’s two of the least relevant characters who never really lost those styles that made them unique when they were first introduced to the series. And those are, of course, Yamcha and Tenshinhan.

Yamcha joins the Turtle School and learns techniques as classic as the Kamehameha, but he had his own style way before that, based on attacking and tearing enemies apart like a wolf would. This is best represented by his signature move, the Rougafuufuuken or Wolf Fang Fist. He never drops this style, but instead builds up on it through his training to make it even fiercer.

Tenshinhan has different things going for himself. First of all, he is a hybrid between a human being and a civilization known as the Three-Eyed People, which grants him powers such as growing extra arms from his back or dividing in 4. Not just moving so fast that it looks like there’s four of him, but ACTUALLY dividing into 4 separate bodies. In terms of skills, he was a Crane School student, but when he realised the wrong of his master’s doings, he decided to start training and developing on his own. Basically, a path that mirrors Yamcha’s, but both lead to unique fighting styles unlike anyone else’s in this universe. And, most importantly, none of them depend on appendixes that are always there, like the aforementioned tail, so they totally work for us here!

Shourin is a proper martial artist. He wouldn’t want to make himself crazy strong as much as he would like to refine his technique and learn new moves and tricks. Martial arts are about discipline, self-control, skill and protection. He would take a cool-ass combo based on a wolf’s moves over earth-shattering strength any day of the week, hence why the fact that these two have so many techniques to offer is so appealing.

Finally, and probably least, is the design idea that immediately came to my mind when I thought of a miximax between Shourin and Yamhan. Historically, I have had to work with characters like Fudou, who are usually mostly bald and they miximax with someone with hair, thus making for some very... difficult things to figure out. But the idea of miximaxing Shourin, who is mostly bald, with Yamhan, who is ALSO mostly bald, was just golden and too good to ignore. And the fact that Yamhan has three eyes GIVES ME AN EXCUSE TO ADD A THIRD CROSS-SHAPED EYE ON SHOURIN’S FOREHEAD. IF A MIXIMAX BETWEEN BALD PEOPLE WAS GOLDEN, THIS IS OUTRIGHT PLATINUM.

Shourin would've probably looked a lot less like a joke if he had had hair covering his entire head or if I had at least given him proper eyes... but that would no longer be the Shourin I love. Not to mention that it’s very likely that Shourin willingly shaves his head to begin with (even if the ponytail ain’t doing him any favours--but that’s just Inazuma logic, so let’s not look too much into it), just like Tenshinhan or Krillin do, so he would probably be happier to keep that, uh, advantage. Relative advantage, but still.

As a side note, though, we can’t forget the balance. When Yamcha and Tenshinhan fuse, they undoubtedly become the strongest human being in the DB universe, overcoming the one who is usually strongest: Krillin. A fusion is always greater than its parts individually, and Yamcha and Tenshinhan aren’t so far away from Krillin to begin with, so that’s not even a question. Regardless, they still don’t have that overwhelming and surreal strength from other characters, so we still don’t get into absolutely OP territory. Yamhan is strong enough to provide Shourin with a power that can make a real difference without completely putting him above everyone else.

Sadly, Yamhan doesn’t really have a backstory, as he’s a game-exclusive character that, honestly, was probably only there for a laugh. That means there is no deep connection between them. We can, however, make obvious connections between Shourin, an aspiring martial artist whose dream, as stated in IE2, was to study at Manyuuji (Kogure’s school) for their focus on martial arts, and is now trying to become stronger to protect what he loves, and two skilled warriors who have been training nonstop under different masters and on their own for basically their entire lives to keep becoming stronger and more skilled in order to defend what’s precious to them and, simply, to be the best version of themselves they can be. Upon seeing such dedicated warriors and artists, Shourin would undoubtedly want to learn from them and, if necessary, borrow their strength too.

Or he might just fanboy and ask for their autographs, honestly. I sure as heck want Yamcha’s. And his baseball card.

[tigerlover16-uk]

What do you think of the argument from Super's detractors going around lately that Dragon Ball should have gone the route of Yu Yu Hakusho, and not have had any continuation series or other new stories made of it after Z (or at least GT) ended?

I can understand why they would think that. But I would hate it if that were the case

I get why people would think that, the Dragon Ball manga is a classic and a great work of fiction. I can understand people wanting to keep it “Sacred” or whatever. Some series really do need to end at a certain point, and some franchises can go on forever, and it can be a problem when a company tries to take a series from the former category and make it into the latter, only to drive it into the ground. I’ve seen that happen with shows I’ve loved, so I get the concern people have.

I also don’t care in this particular case.

It’s not a case like Naruto, where the story devolved into garbage long before it could reach a satisfying conclusion. Dragon Ball has what is essentially a complete story from the start of the manga to Goku going off to train Uub at the end.

No matter what the franchise does afterwards, we’ll always have this great, classic story. I believe the only real way for it to be tarnished is for fans to let Dragon Ball be ruined FOR them. It’s the same reason I’m not so worked up over how SpongeBob’s quality went down after the first movie, because the first 3 seasons and the movie will always be great no matter what and fans are free to ignore what came after if they don’t enjoy it.

And the fact is… I WANT more content. I want more Dragon Ball shows. I want to see a series set after EoZ starring Uub and Pan. I want spin-offs. I want more movies and specials, side manga, video games, I want lots and lots of new stories!

I want to see more stories featuring all of Dragon Balls great characters. I want to see Android 17′s family, and some interaction between them and Krillin’s family. I want to see Tien being a martial arts instructor at his dojo. Toriyama said he’d like to do a gag manga starring Mr Satan and Majin Buu, and I’d like to see that. I want to see Marron fleshed out into a more interesting character, maybe have her become an accomplished fighter.

I want to see the new characters introduced in Super better fleshed out and given more stories to feature in. Give me a Pride Troopers anime. Give Jaco an ongoing series following on from his own short manga. Give us an OVA about the Kamikaze Fireballs or Katopesla or the Trio De Dangers. Give us a story where Vegeta and Goku get to visit plant Sadala in universe 6 already. Give Kale a backstory and flesh out her character better, fix some of the issues her writing had in the current saga. Give us a movie about Hit.

I want Dragon Ball to go on forever. I want to explore every character, every corner of the multiverse, every last bit of interesting story potential there is to offer. I want more lore, more development for a lot of characters, more slice of life stories and cute shippy moments like we’ve been getting in Super. I want more epic fights that make me throw my fist up into the air and go “WHOO!”

I want… I just want more.

Call me selfish. Call me greedy and inconsiderate or that I don’t have the series best interests in mind. (I do, for the record, I want this content to be GOOD and I am capable of being critical of stuff). But I don’t care.

I love Dragon Ball. It means more to me than any other series. The kind of joy and fulfillment it filled me with as a kid was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced from any other series I’ve watched or read since. And it’s always felt like a part of my soul has been missing in the time since i finished watching all three of the old anime as a kid, and it only came back when Battle of Gods and then Super itself became a thing.

I know Super is flawed, that it’s screwed some things up. but it’s also been the biggest source of comfort in my life for the last two years I’ve been keeping up with it.

Because i never really thought Dragon Ball would come back. Sure, before Battle of Gods we did get the occasional new content. The Yo! Son Goku and his Friends Return special for example (Which i always found underwhelming anyway), and some less than stellar ovas like Episode of Bardock and Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans. Dragon Ball SD was fun, I could never find most of the video games that came out last decade, especially since i didn’t have the means to buy things online until about Christmas 2013. And Kai was a thing, but that was just Dragon Ball Z minus the filler and with a much better dub. And for some stupid reason the Dragon Ball Heroes content still hasn’t made it’s way Westward.

But none of this stuff really satisfied me. I was still desperate for more. When i heard Battle of Gods was a thing it felt like a Godsend, even if it was frustrating to wait for the dvd to come out. But even then I didn’t expect we’d get an actual new series, with Resurrection F on the horizon I thought the occasional movie and special would be the best it was going to get. I can’t even tell you how happy I was when Super was announced.

So, I can’t relate to people who want Dragon ball to have just ended completely with Z. Because as much as I love the series and revisiting it, I’ve never been satisfied with the relative drought of content since i finished watching it. I don’t want Dragon ball to end, to go away, or be relegated to the occasional side media. I want to be drowned in new Dragon Ball content every year of my life.

I love other shows, games, movies, comics and manga, etc. There’s a lot of franchises that fill me with joy and make my troublesome mess of a life feel bearable and worthwhile. But none of them compare to Dragon Ball. My life would be a lot worse off if Super wasn’t a thing, if Dragon ball had just largely been left alone after Z or GT ended. heck, the main reason i hated GT so much is BECAUSE it tried to be a definitive end for the series while not telling any really worthwhile stories to me. And I don’t ever want to go back to waiting years at a time for scraps of content.

And luckily it doesn’t look like I’ll have to. We’ve been getting a lot more video games that I’ve really loved, like the Xenoverse Series, Fusions and FighterZ. We have a new movie to look forward to this year, and even with Super supposedly ending, that recent interview that Herms translated all but confirms that there WILL be a new Dragon Ball series coming up relatively soon, and that Toriyama has more plans for where he wants to take the story.

And the Dragon Ball Room is a thing now, showing that Toei is committed to producing as much new fun Dragon Ball content as possible into the foreseeable future, they’ve already given us Dragon Ball Fusions and that Reborn as Yamcha manga, both of which were enjoyable.

So, I’m very happy with how things are looking. Yeah, there are problems, but that’s to be expected. EVERY major franchise is going to have bad content from time to time, that’s to be expected. but it’s not the end of the world as long as we do continue to get good stuff, and honestly I’m actually pretty hopeful that Toei is going to take this brief hiatus with Super and learn from the mistakes they‘ve made to give the next Dragon Ball series a longer, better planned out production schedule so that the next series turns out as good as it can.

And if some people don’t like the recent content? They still have Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Those series and the manga are never going anywhere, they’re still as great as they’ve ever been. Sorry if those people can’t enjoy the recent stuff, i feel for them, but that some people inevitably won’t be satisfied is not going to stop me from being optimistic and looking forward to future content, because I’ve waited half my life for Dragon Ball to officially be back and I am going to make the most of it.

Argue all you want that I’m self-centred or that I’m wrong, but I don’t care. This is how I feel, I want Toei to make as much new Dragon Ball content as possible. So far I’m mostly happy with how things are going, and I don’t want things to slow down anytime soon. 

[recentanimenews]

30 Years After Its Debut, Dragon Ball Z Is Still Great

  You can't really talk about anime without mentioning Dragon Ball Z. 

  I mean, you CAN talk about it. No one is forced to praise their lord and master Vegeta between discussions about Satoshi Kon and That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime. But it's kind of like making a list of fruit and then willingly ignoring apples. You run them down from bananas to oranges to those weird bumpy ones in the Whole Foods that I'm honestly a little scared of, and the whole time, everyone is thinking "What about apples?" Even if you don't like apples and instead like the comforting embrace of the pear, leaving apples out of the conversation is a definite oversight. 

  What I'm trying to say is that Dragon Ball Z might not be everyone's cup of anime tea, but it's had such an impact on the industry that you can't really ignore it. Luckily, I really like Dragon Ball Z for the most part, and I'm really happy that today (April 26th) is its 30th anniversary because it gives me the chance to talk about its strengths, its weaknesses, and most important, its legacy.

    Dragon Ball Z is the follow-up to Dragon Ball, just in case you've stumbled onto Crunchyroll from some anime-less dimension far away. But while it's a sequel series, it's not exactly a smooth successor. Dragon Ball did feature intense fights and feuds and training and lasers and shouting, but at heart, it's an adventure story that is permeated every once in a while by a tournament or climactic combat. And while the frequency of these last two things would increase as Dragon Ball went on, Dragon Ball Z took it a step further by making it nearly the sole source of conflict. Dragon Ball is about how a journey often ends with a clash of ideals and fists. Dragon Ball Z is about how a clash of ideals and fists often continues into...more clashes of ideals and fists.

  To those that haven't seen the show, I'm sure that this sounds like an overly simplistic (and even clumsy) way to tell a story, something that would get tired by the third episode. I mean, how could it not? Conventional wisdom says that there needs to be quiet moments and suspense and plot intricacy in order for these big combat moments to mean anything. People that don't like Dragon Ball Z will often point to this as a flaw (along with the overblown "EVERYONE SPENDS TEN EPISODES CHARGING UP HA HA HAVE I DONE COMEDY YET?"), but what they don't realize is Dragon Ball Z turns combat and the lead-up to combat into the story.

    It's established pretty early in the series that Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta get stronger with every fight, as it's something that they're literally born to do. They exist to brawl, which means that they're perfect for the Dragon Ball Z universe where if you find yourself in the same room as someone else, you're legally obligated to challenge them to a death match. Their lives (and the lives of the people and aliens and Yamchas in their social circle) revolve around combat, which means that winning and losing and fighting takes on an emotional weight that goes beyond just establishing who has the higher power level. 

  In the same way that another show might tell a story about a person growing through a break-up or a lost job or a hard decision, Dragon Ball Z tells that story through training and beautiful, beautiful fisticuffs. And that's not an illegitimate way to tell a story, especially when Dragon Ball Z makes it work so well. The character that Vegeta is at the start of Dragon Ball Z isn't the character that he is at the end. The same goes for Piccolo and Gohan and Krillin and even Goku to a lesser extent (It's hard for anything to change Goku, my pure, punch-ey Shonen boy.) 

    And in the 30 years since Dragon Ball Z, while many manga/anime have used certain aspects of DBZ in their own narratives to varying success, none have quite adapted this approach to telling a story. Again, the "laws of storytelling" inform us that there NEEDS to be something else, some extended break to, if not freshen up the plot, then to make us appreciate the laser wrestling more. But because the emotional arcs and the fighting are so well weaved together in Dragon Ball Z, you never have to worry about overhauling the whole thing in order to keep a viewer's attention. 

  Now, obviously, there are quieter moments in the show. Sometimes characters go whole scenes without kicking the crap out of eachother. I know. Ridiculous, right? But what I'm trying to say is that, in DBZ, fighting is often the journey AND the destination. 

  I'm often surprised that I feel so strongly about Dragon Ball Z, especially since most of my friends discovered it in middle school and (outside of The Legacy of Goku II for the Game Boy Advance) I never dived into it until I was in my late twenties. Before I read/watched Dragon Ball, I had already become versed in Yu Yu Hakusho and One Piece and My Hero Academia and Naruto and all of the anime that Dragon Ball Z could rightfully consider its children. But the one-two punch of reading the manga from the very beginning and deeply, spiritually, erotically enjoying Dragon Ball FighterZ established me as a hardcore DBZ fan. Sure, there are certain sagas that get a bit clunky (does the whole Buu arc have to last THAT long?), but fifteen years after all of my friends devoured it on Toonami, I finally figured out what they were so excited about. 

    But now, I guess I should get to what you've all been waiting for—my Dragon Ball Z hot takes:

  BEST CHARACTER: To quote everyone in the first storyline of the whole thing, the best character in DBZ is "VEGETA!!!!"

  BEST ARC: Android/Cell saga. Inject it directly into my veins. 

  BEST VILLAIN: Vegeta becomes a protagonist, so I can't quite choose him. I do dig nasty ol' Dr. Gero, but I guess I have to go with Cell. I love all of his designs and his personality as a single-minded, powerful, narcissistic bug man.

  BEST FIGHT: Gohan vs Perfect Cell. Yeah, I know that this is probably everyone else's pick, but that's for a good reason. Mainly because it's rad.

    I feel like the hardest part about watching Dragon Ball Z in 2019 is fitting it into a schedule that is full of so much good, modern anime. But it's worth it. If you have any interest in seeing where many of your favorite shonen tropes came from and watching a bunch of sweet fights between characters that you actually care about, I implore you to find the time to check out Dragon Ball Z.

What are your favorites moments in Dragon Ball Z? How did you get into watching the show? Let us know all about it in the comments!

    -----------------

Daniel Dockery is a writer for Crunchyroll. He has a soft spot in his heart for Yamcha. Check out his Twitter. 

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com