Dragon Ball was supposed to be at the peak of its franchise career. The anime will soon be 37 years old, the manga 39, and both have lost nothing of their popularity over the decades – on the contrary. A few weeks ago, RTL 2 brought back the anime afternoon and Son Goku is not only known to nostalgic 90s kids.
But instead of realizing its potential to the full, Dragon Ball tells always the same stories in an endless loop. For me, Dragon Ball used to be a warm blanket that I could snuggle into at any time. But for some time she has been too worn out to keep warm. Anime desperately needs to reinvent itself – and to do that, the face of the series has to say goodbye. Sorry Goku, you’ve had enough.
Goku and Vegeta should be retired
It’s these two characters that stand for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z more than anything else: Goku and Vegeta. The good-natured naive and the cold-blooded realist who are so different. But they keep learning from each other and end up fighting for a common cause. They are perennial brawlers who, deep down, respect each other like no one else.
As well as this cycle has worked so far, it has been running in circles like a revolving door since the Namek Arc. The two Saiyans no longer trigger emotions in me. They are trapped in a hamster wheel from which they cannot escape for one simple reason: They’re too popular to rebrand.
Goku and Vegeta don’t change anymore apart from new hair colors. Yes, the two carry the series, but are as thin as butter paper themselves. Too often, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama has rubbed the story off on its main protagonist. Every plot, every twist is obvious from the start. The current Granolah arc in Dragon Ball Super is the perfect example.
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Dragon Ball Character Granolah
In the fight against Granolah, it seems at first that Gokuh is actually at a disadvantage and Vegeta would win. At the end, however, the well-established piece is performed.
Toriyama has also built in a safeguard for the future: The Saiyans age much more slowly than humans. They should urgently retire and make room. This also requires a narrative that deviates from the current megalomania.
Dragon Ball has gotten too big for me to care
In addition to Goku and Vegeta, the story has also been completely toothless since the end of Dragon Ball Z and the beginning of Dragon Ball Super at the latest. Hardly any event plays a permanent role, when jumping between planets, universes and time planes. In a pinch, the Dragon Balls make up for it all.
The mess started with Future Trunks. In Dragon Ball Z, all time travel was still somewhat under control. Starting with Dragon Ball Super, the confusing plot became infinitely many time levels expanded and complicated. A dozen different universes with their own characters and stories is just too much.
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Dragon Ball character Pan
These exaggerations don’t stop at the superpowers either. Freeza was the first to flatten an entire planet. Since then, almost all important characters have been able to do this. In addition, a little girl named Pan can circumnavigate the earth in no time.
How can further development be possible? No, hairstyles and hair colors don’t apply this time!
A Dragon Ball reboot can even work without a hard reboot
The solution is at hand. In order to give Dragon Ball more emotions – and thus meaning – again, you have to the possibilities are reduced. That means: Away with multiple universes, away with multiple timelines, away with characters who can destroy half the universe with a snap of their fingers. This also works without a hard reboot.
The story could moved to another part of the universe become, in which the world is still in order. Far away from all the divine entities. All it needs is a neat storyline and a handful of interesting characters with development potential. Goku and Co. could continue to exist in their corner of the universe and have one or the other cameo appearance.
It is important that we get to know the new world through the main characters. They must not be superhuman, even if they have to stand out from the crowd. Son Goku was just a little boy in his early days. He just had a little more strength than most of the others.
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Son Goku in the early days of Dragon Ball
One last request: Dragon Ball can finally do one in the reboot strong female protagonist introduce. The franchise has criminally ignored this to this day.
A restart with a smaller focus has already been tried several times with Son-Gohan at the university, Future Trunks or Granolah. But every time the anime failed because the situation escalated too quickly. Dragon Ball needs to get back to the comforting story it used to be. I want my blanket back!
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