#dragonball questions

[howlingday]

Dragon Ball Question:

Frieza refers to Saiyans as monkeys. The obvious reason is that Saiyans have monkey tails, and the giant Oozaru look like baboons, which are monkeys. I get that.

But how does Frieza know what a monkey is, if it is an animal that only lives on Earth and assuming Frieza has never been to Earth before encountering the Saiyans?

[thegembeaststemple]

Recoome Kaboom 👀

[bliss-wily]

of all characters why zarbon? he was weak and pointless.

EDIT: Please draw your attention to this post as it’s relevant to this one, only if you wish to as the two posts go hand in hand, but it’s important. https://www.tumblr.com/bliss-wily/743634450086264832/an-apology-it-has-come-to-my-attention-that-a

I’ll agree to disagree. Zarbon was formidable. Vegeta underestimated him, he transformed, he beat Vegeta up but didn’t kill him. Frieza was disappointed in him, but in the short amount of screen time he had in all of his appearances we learn a lot:

He was highly intelligent.

His avoidance of transforming most of the time reveals that the man had been holding back for decades if not centuries. The Raging Blast games imply it was ‘eons’.

Zarbon is a Prince, and despite being regarded as a narcissist unlike Vegeta he isn’t flaunting that title like some shiny badge.

Outside of…Dead Zone? I think? Zarbon is the first to showcase a transformation that isn’t a giant form.

And unlike the Saiyans he takes on a different appearance.

There was depth to his character, his on screen kill count is low, he was shown to be pragmatic and rather humane.

But…he was scared. Frieza threatened to kill him. That threw him off his game.

I think had Zarbon took a moment to process and clear his head he would have beaten Vegeta again. However, I still don’t think he would have killed him…I think he would have turned on Frieza.

Sure he said Frieza-sama in the Japanese version but…

If you had been saying that for decades it’s kinda hard to break the habit. I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

He’s not stupid, I think he was serious about betraying Frieza because think about it..

He served a man who had different values from him out of fear.

Zarb was pragmatic, he just wanted to take care of the source of the problem and leave everything else alone - Frieza didn’t agree.

Unlike the others the boy had a genuine look of sadness and shock when Frieza was quite happy to go through with Planet Vegeta’s destruction.

He is my favourite because there is so many layers to him. He wasn’t in the series long but he’s just so interesting. His race is unique, his personality feels unique. His fighting style was unique too. If anyone had to be revived I hope it’s either Raditz or Zarbon as those two could have been redeemed and they could have joined the Z-Fighters.

He is morally grey, but, Vegeta was down right cruel and could be redeemed. Zarbon had shown evidence of redeeming qualities in all forms of media (wanting peace, worried about Frieza gaining more power, he was self aware, with Dodoria showed remorse and shock when Planet Vegeta was blown up) and he certainly didn’t turn around and kill his closest friend/father figure. (Let’s face it, Nappa basically raised Vegeta and probably Raditz too).

Zarbon isn’t perfect, but that’s what I like to see. He had shortcomings, he was fearful but not a coward, he had phobias, but he also tried to do his job without all the collateral damage and he genuinely cares. He was shocked hearing of Dodoria dying, he gets pissy when alternate timeline Frieza starts insulting him and his ‘star subordinate’, he shows that he’s capable of jealousy and he can be thankful and apologetic.

I understand he’s branded as a narcissist because he thinks he’s beautiful but so many of his traits contradict NPD. He is empathetic, he doesn’t put himself or his own gain above others, he can take accountability for his failures. It seems more so that the other in verse characters place those traits onto him - such as when they expect that Zarbon is only using the future warrior as a slave or to do his dirty work - but he doesn’t.

“You need only watch.” - doesn’t necessarily want help from his student.

“Excellent, I’d much rather spend time with you.” - actually enjoys spending time with his student.

“This session was deeply moving for me. It would not have been possible had we not met.” - can be interpreted in several ways. However; it sounds like a bond is developing.

“I welcome any and all who know how to conduct themselves.” - this is said to a Saiyan, implies that his detest is by person, not an entire race.

“You handled yourself pretty well out there too. My compliments.” - he is always handing out praise to his student. But not just them, there are soldiers on the ship who sound so happy that Zarbon compliments them unlike Frieza and Dodoria.

“Magnificent! You’ve done well to come this far! You’ve done your instructor proud!” - again, actually being happy for his student.

“I am dazzled by your radiance!” - this is just showing more and more depth to this man. I get Zarbon is entitled but he’s a Prince, they’re all a bit entitled.

Some more quotes seeing as I have a ton of screenshots~

“You are my prized trainee!”

“Starting now I will polish you into the most beautiful gem the universe has ever seen!”

“Yes! Yes! You’re just as beautiful as I imagined you’d be!”

“You have my apologies. I should not be so passionate in front of my trainee.”

“Your fighting style is truly elegant. So elegant, in fact, that I’ve fallen in love with it, just watching you train.”

“You are a true diamond in the rough…”

“But several will try to woo you, given your considerable strength, and I wouldn’t want you to choose the wrong master.”

Below, Zarbon being nice and a bit of tsundere/flirt. This game seemed like a dating sim at times.

Then him when it’s life or death with his closest ally by his side.

Also I notice in this fight he will throw himself in front of the future warrior several times. He always gets knocked out every time I do this fight as he won’t let the player get hurt - every other mentor I’ve done this with tends to make it to the end on all versions of the game but Zarbon really puts his neck out there for the player. Whether it’s a glitch in the AI or not; I don’t know. But, it plays into his characterisation.

Anyway I went on a ramble, but why Zarbon? So many reasons. The more lore they add; the more I like him. He’s a complex character in my opinion.

EDIT: Please draw your attention to this post as it’s relevant to this one, only if you wish to as the two posts go hand in hand, but it’s important. https://www.tumblr.com/bliss-wily/743634450086264832/an-apology-it-has-come-to-my-attention-that-a

[forgetitbeam]

random oc doodles!!

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Goku forgets he can use instant transmission and abandons his family for...

Goku: Thank you for understanding (after a crappy 10-sec goodbye with no explanation)

Gohan: But we don’t understand. You’re leaving for good? (Poor Gohan. Family life is too boring for Goku. Should have learnt that by now)

Goku: Well...sort of.

Gohan: Sort of?!

I love Goku & Gohan moments. But I literally have to stick to pre-Buu saga Goku & Gohan content. After the Cell games, Goku’s fatherhood quality took a massive nose dive...

For anyone who wants to defend Goku post Cell-saga, remember this: Goten only had 10 years with Goku. Ten years. He never had Goku as a young kid. And he never had Goku as a young man. 

[90scartoons]

this blog is so fucking tight!!! s/o to you!!!

[kiirajinfan-db]

Tien can close his third eye. In most cases it just won't be animated

[iamverynormalaboutocs]

Not my best work but I developed that one gal more. She hits people with a pink chain that may or may not be searing hot at all times why dont you touch it and find out

[leftpostwerewolf]

Do goku black have a wife

No. Goku Black Is actually Zamasu who had stolen Goku's body and had also murdered Goten & Chi-chi.

[docgold13]

As much as I have issues with "sequel series" in recent years. One of the redeeming qualities about Dragonball Super is that they do right by Vegeta's arc. Again he never became a hero until the end of Z (he was more a pain in the ass), & while he still maintains his anti-social attitude towards some of the main cast He has actually made the effort to be a Better Husband & Dad to Bulma & Trunks (& later Bula) even degrading himself to goofy antics to keep them safe. He's even form some kind of mentorship to the Universe 6 Saiyan: Cabba.

good deal. Dragonball is a lot of fun, but as far as discerning the overarching plot, I find it kind of impenetrable. I'd catch an episode on the Cartoon Network where some dudes are fighting and yelling; and then catch another episode like a week later and the exact same fight was still happening!

If I recall correctly, Piccolo may have started off as something of a villain too. But I imagine most everyone thinks of Piccolo as a good guy first and foremost.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 17 Review

Originally posted on Seotenber 25th, 2015

Zarbon’s not gay, and that’s pretty clever.

“A Lovely Bunch of Dragonballs” is an episode of Dragonball Z: Abridged that represents the greatest strengths of Team Four Star’s comedy. It is blindingly fast paced, with clever jokes coming one after the other each second, never giving the audience a break, and juggling three separate stories simultaneously without the episode ever feeling crowded, which not only is impressive on its own merit, but also shows the extent to which Team Four Star has refined their craft since the first season.

“Lovely Bunch” begins with a kind of cold open, which when I first saw it, legitimately caught me by surprise. Vegeta actually collecting all the Dragonballs and successfully wishing for immortality was absurd, and the reveal that it was all just a fever dream is a clever and funny twist that serves as a kind of irony, since it’s obvious to anyone watching that Vegeta’s quest for the Dragonballs couldn’t be anything but futile. And this dream is kept short, lasting for only thirty seconds before Zarbon comes to retrieve Vegeta and deliver him to the healing pods.

After Vegeta wakes up and begins the breakout, we go to Vegeta and Zarbon for a conversation that provides one of the funniest and most subversive twists of the show: that Zarbon is straight and has a girlfriend. The genius of this comes from Zarbon’s development to this point, as he has been portrayed as fitting perfectly into the stereotype of the “predatory gay,” as well as being incapable of speaking in anything but gay double entendre.

Yet here he stands, not only as a straight man with a girlfriend, but as a pretty decent boyfriend who cares enough to make early arrangements for their anniversary. He is the exact opposite of everything we and the characters have believed him to be, based solely on stereotypes surrounding his voice and manner of speech, and we are forced to reckon with Freeza that, to skip ahead to the second episode of DBZA Kai, “stereotypes are bullshit.” This is, I think, the sixth or seventh time I’ve watched this episode, and even now, I am still impressed with the depth and subtlety of Team Four Star’s subversion here.

And “Lovely Bunch” is only a third of the way over, continuing on from this brilliant moment to another brilliant sequence in which Vegeta gleefully sings as he steals the Dragonballs from Vegeta. Then we cut to Goku’s training, in which he geeks out at the possibility of fighting someone as destructive and powerful as Freeza, refusing to heed King Kai’s warning not to fight him.

The rest of the episode is spent of the three-way confrontation between Vegeta, Krillin, and Zarbon, and this sequence weaves together a thrice repeated joke about idiots flying around screaming, a jumpcut from one line to a related line elsewhere and then back to a related line where they started, and a reversal with Zarbon in which he accuses Vegeta of being too gay. It’s a lot of very ambitious comedy, and it all works wonderfully, coming together to form the best episode of Dragonball Z: Abridged I’ve reviewed yet.

Rating: 5/5

If you liked this review, please consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

And finally, the trend of the opening disclaimer being read by one of the characters begins. It’s one of the things I low-key look forward to every episode.

Ghost Nappa: “You are now thinking about what Zarbon did to you while you were unconscious.”

Freeza: “Appule couldn’t handle a shot of raspberry Schnapps, much less Vegeta!”

Zarbon: “Lord Freeza, Vegeta’s really giving us a pounding!” Freeza: “I’m coming, Zarbon. Grab my balls!”

King Kai: “Goku, I swear to God, I will ride your ass on this one!” George Takei: “Ohhh myyy.” King Kai: “Damnit Takei!”

Vegeta: “All I have to do is stay under the radar and not fly around like a jackass screaming-“ Krillin: “I’ve got a Dragonball!” Vegeta: “Well, I was gonna say come and get me Freeza, but that works too!”

Bulma: “Oh my God, he’s so hot. I just want to grab him and-“ Goku: “Sixty-nine. Seventy. Seventy-“ Vegeta: “One time you’ve defeated me.”

Vegeta: “I’m about to blow my load all over your insides. No homo.”

To the anon who asked, yes, when I first saw Dragonball Z: Abridged, I had never seen a full episode of the original show, and to this day, the most I have seen is up to around the 30th episode of DBZ Kai.

[putterpen]

How do you believe that chiaotzu would use all of his techniques you gave him . Like could go learn tons of martial arts and techniques at the same time with his duplication like in naruto?

duplication is possible. I mean piccolo seems to train by himself that way sometimes. Granted I don't recall if that's canon or not.

[changeling-rin]

It took me so long to get to your first Ask that you went and answered yourself without me

Lessee here, you've got... (quickly counts), nine Fusions there? I'll try and guess the ones that I feel at least a little bit confident about, but some of them definitely escape me

I think that Aero might be Wind+Gen? Pyro might be Lore+Shadow, and Delphi could involve Realm somehow. That's honestly all I feel sure about, a lot of these names could go several different ways

They're cool names though!

[bliss-wily]

Just a screenshot dump, Raditz and Zarbon.

[kragehund-est]

i like working in a career field where everyone's a weirdo nerd. someone will have a vegeta action figure at their desk, i talk to them and they're like "actually, i don't like dragonball. but i need vegeta there because he's part of my workflow."

indeed i may ask questions, but it's not out of doubt for the method. it's that im curious if integrating vegeta could make my own workflow more efficient.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Everything Wrong with the "I'll fight too" Goku Moment

Recently, I rewatched this DBZ moment and I noticed two things about it that left a sour taste in my mouth.

Massive disrespect to Chi Chi (and Goten)

Why did Goku announce his return to the Briefs family? Why were they the ones to hear Goku for the first time in years? I know Goku does not know about Goten but surely his widow deserves this moment more than Bulma and Vegeta? And then to make matters worse, Chi Chi is the last one to find out and Gohan informed his mom half-heartedly. Like...Chi Chi deserves so much better from her husband.

The friendship bonds are weak

Bulma, Krillin and Goku were like siblings. I understand they have families and people drift apart. I am certainly not close to most of my parents' friends. But Trunks does not even know who Krillin is?? Seriously! Krillin, who is one of Bulma's best friends? He's never even heard the name?? Krillin has never visited? But I guess only the Saiyan families keep in touch while the human friends are chopped liver. These people hardly feel like friends in GT anyway. Only the Briefs and Son families matter.