Dragon Ball Thread

When I first saw King Piccolo destroy Shenron it was pretty surprising to see. Granted I like most people did watch DBZ before DB so it’s not like he wouldn’t return, but that didn’t change how surprising it was to see and lord knows it would have been more if I grew up with DB first. Plus it’s not like I really knew how they would bring Shenron back so at least there was that to look forward to.
 
Also who else believes it wasn’t the magic water that gave Goku his strength but rather the Zenkai ability? After getting nearly killed by the Demon King, he went seeking Korin for help and eating the Senzu bean which fixes wounds ended up making him stronger.

@Dr_Osaka
 
A bit of both most likely. The water would power Goku up on it’s own while triggering another zenkai boost.

@Dustcan  
Though I have to wonder just how much of a boost, cause when the scouters came into question the highest power Goku had at the time was 400. And yeah the scouters shouldn’t be the most reliable tool for revealing powers since people are capable of hiding their inner strength but hard to kinda justify seeing how Goku was giving it his all against Raditz the first time.

@Dr_Osaka  
King Piccolo likely had an advantage against Shenron, being connected to Kami like he was.

So we know that Namekians are capable of growing back their limbs if they are cut off but apparently the giant hole Goku made in King Piccolo’s chest can’t be repaired at all. Also was there any real reason he just self destructed like that or was that part of Goku’s finishing blow?

Tiffany Volmer (English voice of Bulma from 1999-2009) has COVID-19.
 
Everyone’s been sending out hopes for her recovery.

@Background Pony #FEE3
 
Crap…

@Dr_Osaka
 
They have limited regen. A fatal blow will still kill them and Piccolo himself stated he can regrow any limb as long as his head remains intact and provided he has the stamina, due remember Nail couldn’t regrow his arm after his battle with Frieza.
 
Exhibit A, Piccolo being blasted by Nappa. The sheer force completely eroded any healing capacity from the alien bug
 
Exhibit B,  

@QuasarNova  
Yeah I suppose those are fair points, guess I think too much about it since Cell who has Namekian DNA can regenerate far worse, but then again he is technically an android so it doesn’t count.
 
Also I recall Nail still having both his arms after the Frieza fight  

@Dr_Osaka
 
Nope, he never got that back  

 
…
 
Or the animators were having a giraffe  

 
I don’t longer know anything

OMG, remember the DBZA episode with the Nail vs Freeza fight? And the mountain of arms lying on the floor?

@Mad Black
 
“I think we’re up to 24.”

@Dirty Bit
 
YOINK!

You know, I personally kinda prefer the DBS Bardock to his “red bandana” counterpart.
 
DBS Bardock seems calmer, smarter and woke. At least for a Saiyan.  
Helps that 1/3 of the screentime he shares with his wife and he definitely dont seem like a wifebeater.
 
One might argue that he’s probably one of the smarty-pants of the Saiyan community.  
Heck, I wouldnt be surprised if he’s an investigative journalist or a detective.
 
which makes Goku having 2000 Fight IQ but 70 IQ anywhere else, seem ironic.

DBZ Bardock was dismissive of Goku at birth. Only after seeing him whack Frieza was like “das my boy!”
 
DBS Bardock on the other hand, deliberately sent Goku someplace comfy so he could have a better chance at survival, because he cared. He didnt need to see a vision of Goku kicking ass.
 
Kinda wish we have more of him.
 
Wouldnt it be a hilarious twist if young Bardock was at one point, studying to be a scientist but later found a better career as hired muscle?

There is certainly a lot to talk about with the 23rd World Tournament.
 
Growing up with DBZ it was interesting to see how Tien ended up getting that scar on his chest, though they never did explain how Yamcha got all his scars. I assumed he had them all along but looking back at all the older sagas he’s actually had a clean face so I am curious now.
 
Krillin’s fight with Piccolo I really enjoyed cause even if he is outclassed it was great to see Krillin still hold his own for so long especially since with Tambourine he was killed quite easily, but now it’s Piccolo’s son so his further improved training ended making him tougher as a result.
 
As always feel sorry for poor Yamcha, can’t seem to catch a break ever even though he’s always had to go up against really strong opponents all his hard work just goes to waste and end’s up gettin humiliated.
 
It’s cool seeing Tao return as a Cyborg, but they never really do explain how he was able to survive a grenade to the face at least long enough that he could get robotic enhancements.
 
Interesting that Oolong is the only one who seemed to remember who Chi-Chi was while everyone else was still confused (Minus Krillin and Launch of course they never met her as a kid)

@Dr_Osaka  

 
I still believe that Gero fixed him up somehow. It kinda would make sense, which would make Tao basically C-9 or C-10. (I think there was a video game were Commander Red returned as C-12, and he looked kinda like Tao.)
 
But what I don’t get until today is why does Cyborg Tao and Mecha Freeza’s mechanical parts look so similar? also you would think that the Freeza armies cybernetics would be much smoother than such a patchwork. I mean Dr. Gero is able to make Androids which look like actual humans, like Android 16.

Okay so rapping up the 23rd World Tournament and Dragon Ball in general:
 
I’m rather amazed that both Goku and Piccolo managed to battle the whole time within the limits of the ring while also not getting out of bounds the whole time.
 
I guess we know now why Piccolo doesn’t go giant more often, opponents can take him down from the inside. (too bad Goku didn’t try that against Vegeta)
 
It’s a good thing Goku did know about the Dragon Balls disappearing when Piccolo or Kami died otherwise things would have been pretty awkward for them especially when fighting the Demon King.
 
I do find it amusing that Goku turned down the role of becoming the new God of Earth considering he would eventually become a Super Saiyan God later on in the series. (Yes I get it’s not the same thing, but you get the idea)
 
So after finishing up the original Dragon Ball series my final thoughts on the series is that I think it is all around good. Some of the humor and jokes I don’t really care for and the fact that Goku ends up doing so much of the actual work can get a bit repetitive, but the original series is still a fun adventure with creative characters, interesting locations, lot of cool looking baddies and has good focus on actual martial arts fighting meaning that it isn’t always just about who has the stronger power level it is more about problem solving and outsmarting your opponent; and even though Goku never seems to get all that fazed I do like his progress in continuing to get better and stronger through the course of the series and always overcoming obstacles no matter how tough.

@Dr_Osaka
 
Yamcha kinda got shafted in the series in general, in that he won the fight against the Saibaman (yes, I know, not Dragon Ball)… and he got cheap-shotted by a self-destruct. Really, there’s quite a few characters Dragon Ball shafted.
 
It’s also interesting to note that Piccolo Jr. was actually a three-year old when he first fought Goku, despite having the body of an adult at the time, so that might’ve contributed to his demeanor changes in the timeskip.

@AC97  
In fairness, I feel Yamcha might have made the right career choice. For better or worse, fans still care about him.

@Philweasel
 
Now I think of the latest Dragon Ball ShortZ

So it’s interesting to think that the whole time in the original series, the power levels of the characters were actually pretty low despite how strong and fast they were, I suppose the ki attacks they did certainly did make up for it since the concentrated energy resulted in a stronger attack for sure. Also how unfortunate it is for Goku that despite his many years of hard training his highest power was around 400 whole Gohan who hadn’t trained a day in his life managed to achieve a power over 1,000; it’s almost as insulting as Goten being able to turn Super Saiyan at a much younger age then when Goku and Gohan did AND not have to require any actual effort.
 
 
@AC97  
Huh you know I never really thought about it before but yeah Piccolo Jr. actually would only be 3 years old, I guess he just went through a massive growth spurt which is funny since Dende seemed to age normally but I guess Demon Junior is different from regular Namekians

@Dr_Osaka  
I kinda like that Goku’s not actually that strong or talented, relatively speaking. It’s made very clear he works hard and smart for his power level, and is both passionate and open minded. It’s joked that he stole pretty much every technique he has, but honestly that’s nothing to be ashamed of. All fighters learn from the best and adapt those skills to suit themselves.
 
I feel it says something that the super talented fighters don’t really take their training nearly as seriously, and tend to fall behind eventually. Gohan, Freeza, 17 and 18, Kale… all of them could fairly easily be stronger than Goku I feel, but a combination of weak will, apathy, impatience and laziness kinda leaves them far below their potential.

@Philweasel
 
Yeah, I think you could give Yamcha credit in that he’s still stronger than almost every other human on the planet, and he has a pretty stable career, is well off in life, all-in-all.
 
@Dr_Osaka
 
Yep, I’d assume that Piccolo is definitely an unusual case, considering that like King Piccolo, his life is linked to Kami’s (in addition to him inheriting memories), so I doubt he aged to maturity normally by Namekian standards, exactly. He did more than double in age between his saga, and when Raditz arrived, since it was five years later. (that means he was about eight when the Saiyan Saga started, lol)
 
(I don’t think there’s a consensus on if he’s truly the King’s reincarnation, or his offspring, is there? lol)

@Philweasel  
Yeah the point of the series is that there is pretty much someone who is always stronger so you always have to continue to always grow and get stronger to overcome tough obstacles. Goku is a special case since he’s only focused on training and getting stronger, people make a lot of jokes about how dumb Goku is but really it’s more that he just only focuses on martial arts to the point where everything else he tends to just ignore. Plus Saiyans are built tougher then humans are so he can endure more as a result.
 
I’ll give Frieza a little credit in Resurrection F for at least training a little before going to fight Goku again, but he does kinda just resort to transforming again to become stronger, 17 and 18 I let pass because in the main timeline they aren’t really evil or at least not like in Trunks’ time and they go on to settle down and live a normal life; unless money is involved.  
(Also can Androids get stronger? Unless it’s like 19 and 20 with their absorbing powers I don’t know if they can add more to their ki)