Dragon Ball: Then vs Now

WatchMojo

From humble beginnings to multiversal battles, Dragon Ball has undergone a massive transformation. Join us as we explore the most significant changes in the franchise's evolution, examining how the anime has shifted in tone, power scaling, and storytelling over the decades.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're looking at Dragon Ball's evolution… no, not that

00:13one.

00:14We're focusing on the anime here, counting down the top ten ways the canon story has

00:18developed since the original series.

00:2510.

00:29Experimenting with Animation Dragon Ball Z favours a grittier tone and

00:33more angular character designs than Dragon Ball, but both series are consistent in their

00:38own animation styles.

00:45Dragon Ball Super, on the other hand, was actively experimenting with each new release.

00:50Dragon Ball Super Broly was a completely new look for the franchise, with CGI segments

00:56breaking up a fresh art style.

00:58Likewise, Super Hero changed the game by using only 3D animation.

01:03The anime stuck with the crisp and colourful new tone, debuted in Battle of Gods, but the

01:08movies continue to make full use of modern graphics.

01:14Daima on the other hand has gone with a unique mix of old and new, and could potentially

01:19be the franchise's standard going forward.

01:249.

01:26There is always a higher deity Fans who came on board the franchise with

01:30Super won't even know his name, but there was a time when Kami was all-powerful in the

01:36world of Dragon Ball.

01:40King Kai emerged early in the sequel, and Kami's role as Guardian of Earth paled in

01:45comparison.

01:47Supreme Kai later appeared, and put both their ranks to shame, but even he is dwarfed by

01:52the Grand Priest and Angels of Super.

01:56They then introduced Zeno, the ruler of everything, and it was hard to imagine there being a higher

02:01rank than a literal Omni-King, but Daima introduced Rhymus, the creator of the multiverse outside

02:09of the Demon Realm.

02:10The universe continues to expand, and Dragon Ball continues to surprise.

02:218.

02:25Death no longer matters Krillin's death in the original series was

02:29a genuinely shocking moment.

02:31Not only was it the first time we lost a major character, but there was no guarantee of bringing

02:36him back.

02:44Finding the Dragon Balls was no easy task back then, and even if they were found, Shenron

02:49drove a hard bargain.

02:51In the current story, the Dragon Balls are always on hand, and Shenron has had plenty

02:56of upgrades.

02:57Even by the end of Z, the destruction of an entire planet was a minor inconvenience.

03:05Emotional sacrifices like Vegeta's and Piccolo's lost their weight when the characters quickly

03:10returned, and to finish where we started, Krillin's death became a running joke.

03:187.

03:20The Dragon Balls play a different role The original series is named Dragon Ball for

03:24a reason.

03:25The wish-granting orbs were central to the story, as our heroes risked it all just to

03:31get their hands on them, or stop their enemies getting there first.

03:34Both sides had to be careful what they asked for, though.

03:41Shenron granted just one wish back then, with a year's wait before he could be summoned

03:46again.

03:47Nowadays, no such limits exist, and Bulma keeps them close at all times.

03:51The Dragon Balls are an afterthought, rather than something to move the plot forward.

03:59This is evident in recent uses, which include Bulma's wish to counter aging, and the balls

04:05themselves being reduced to a game show prize.

04:08Daima, however, has tried to increase their importance with the Demon Realm Dragon Balls,

04:14where our heroes have to defeat the powerful Tamagami in order to obtain them.

04:196.

04:21Goku is not the same hero It's only natural that Goku has changed

04:25over the years.

04:27But how much of that change is down to character development rather than writing inconsistencies

04:31is up for debate.

04:33Goku spent his childhood surrounding himself with friends and loved ones.

04:37He gave everything else up to spend five years raising Gohan.

04:45This Goku carries all the way through to Namek, where Krillin's death sends him over the

04:50edge.

04:51At some point, Goku's love of fighting outweighed his sense of duty.

04:55He not only abandons his friends and planet, he considers everything other than training

05:00a waste of time, and puts his own family's lives on the line to challenge himself.

05:10Even Vegeta is considered a better father these days.

05:185.

05:21Mistakes keep growing Dragon Ball never ventured off Earth, and

05:25King Piccolo's plan for world domination was its biggest threat.

05:37That all changed when the Saiyans emerged at the start of Z, and Vegeta was shown to

05:42blow up planets with ease.

05:44Frieza and Kid Buu continued the trend, reducing entire worlds to dust all across the universe.

05:57Where did Dragon Ball Super have left a go but the multiverse?

06:01The latest anime in the timeline saw the universe's battle to avoid total erasure a far cry from

06:07the literal down-to-earth tone of Dragon Ball.

06:10But it will be interesting to see how much room the mistakes have left to grow.

06:204.

06:24Super Saiyan is less special Goku's Super Saiyan transformation is so

06:28iconic because we'd never seen anything like it before in Dragon Ball.

06:33Or any anime, for that matter.

06:41Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 is a direct continuation, a perfection of the ascended form demonstrated

06:48by Trunks and Goku.

06:50Then things got out of hand.

06:52Super Saiyan 3 gets a spectacular debut, but doesn't have the same build-up or emotional

06:57weight.

07:01In Super, we've seen Saiyan hair turn red, blue, pink and grey, and the original golden-haired

07:07form drops further down the pecking order with each colour.

07:12Super Saiyan, once an unachievable goal, has become the bare minimum for anyone who wants

07:17to keep up.

07:233.

07:27The tone has shifted one way, then back again.

07:30In any long-running anime series, it's normal for the stakes to grow, and the animation

07:35to undergo changes.

07:36Dragon Ball goes a step further, however, and shifts between entire genres.

07:47The original series is first and foremost an adventure comedy, with a few great action

07:52sequences to break it up.

07:54Z runs with that action, with a harsher animation style to reflect the high stakes and buff

07:59physiques.

08:07Dragon Ball Super wants the best of both worlds, with flashy and high-energy action to complement

08:12its colourful animation, but a much lighter tone than its predecessor.

08:17It's hard to imagine Z-Goku having such a good time at a tournament to decide the fate

08:22of the multiverse.

08:23Diamond definitely returned to more of its adventurous roots, but it still maintains

08:28some excellent fight sequences that are reminiscent of later series.

08:372.

08:41Dragon Ball characters have faded into obscurity.

08:45At its heart, Dragon Ball was a very human story.

08:48Before we knew his origins, Goku himself was seen as nothing more than an overpowered kid.

08:57Goku was trained, supported and seriously challenged by his human companions.

09:05Master Roshi was the power benchmark, Tien Shenhan and Yancha actually beat him in fights,

09:11and Bulma was there every step of the way.

09:14That all changed when the Saiyans arrived with their scouters, and power levels became

09:19the name of the game.

09:26The humans were quickly left behind, and the series may have lost some of its relatability,

09:31but we got to witness the rise of Vegeta, Gohan and others in return.

09:561.

10:00Power scaling is off the charts.

10:03Fights in Dragon Ball were usually decided on skill over strength.

10:07Dragon Ball Z puts numbers to power levels, which were supposed to help keep track of

10:11the strongest characters, but only really succeeded in creating a worldwide meme.

10:24In Dragon Ball Super, we see the dangers of applying logic to power levels.

10:29The likes of Krillin, Master Roshi and Android 17 take impossible wins with little in the

10:35way of training or transformations since the Z days.

10:39Tien loses out to once weaker characters despite doing nothing but training, Frieza bypasses

10:44the entire Z power scale in just four months, and Trunks jumps from Super Saiyan 2 to God

10:51Slayer in a single rage boost.

10:53So much for keeping track.

10:58Which of these changes were for the best, and which have you powering up in rage?

11:02Let us know in the comments below.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended