Er... I guess this turned into more of a discussion about Dragon Ball the series in and of itself. It saddens me to learn that Toriyama was unhappy with continuing the story by the android saga, especially since like many I felt the android/cell saga was the best part of Z.
I agree with Nate River about how annoying it seemed to be spoon fed the fact that Gohan was so strong and had so much latent power when he could never summon it himself when it counted.
As far as Gohan becoming b-class in the Buu saga, it's tied to fans wanting Goku back. It's up for debate as to who's strongest SSJ3 Goku or Mystic Gohan, but I think most conclude that it's M Gohan. So it's not like he's swept under the rug... he's just... secretly got more unlocked potential again that again he can't willing call forth on his own.
Couples and thoughts (<^ is otaku for sure):
1) KrillenX18
Mostly as a "good for him" thing. I was always curious as to other than his noble act, what made her choose him, and while there were a few (very few) blips on the radar as to her showing a soft side to him, I wonder what they were like when it was just them. Did she continue to command him around like a servant? Tsunadere to a "regular guy". I guess it's why I prefer it over the other couples with Tsunaderes.
2) VidelXGohan
I thought it was cute how she eventually was okay with showing her softer side because of him and how she brought him out of his shell.
3) VegetaXBulma
I thought this pairing was very interesting. They're both very blunt personalities, but it's interesting that Vegeta would allow himself to be talked to by someone the way that Bulma talks to him. I'm sure in fact that she probably won most of their arguments. It's on some level a rivalry, they both hate losing, and probably appreciate that about each other, and because of that they understand each other on a level that another person would not have. So while Bulma's sudden drop of Yamcha was sudden, I think this was a far more interesting relationship.
4) YamchaXBulma
Kind of a standard sub-romance. I never thought it was anything special, and in a shounen that seemed to be aimed at really young kids, that's to be expected. There were never really any interesting developments just the constant loop of arguments for comedic affect, so again, I have no issues with it being replaced by VxB.
5) GokuXChiChi
This one drives me nuts. I understand where she's coming from. Goku is naive and still very child-like in a lot of his views so she essentially has to be both parents. Especially since Goku didn't have a brother, or much of a family for a while growing up because of his circumstances, he may have initially treated Gohan more as a little brother. But she is so un-yielding in her views on how to raise Gohan, even when it mattered for the entire world that he participate in the cell games, that I just blatantly disliked her character in Z. I thought her and Goku were a hilarious duo in Dragon Ball. I understand she's probably mostly there for comedic affect but I hate how unrelenting and commanding she is all the time.
On the subject of Goku X Bulma, which is a crack pairing, since nothing ever happened other than a misleading scene in the anime (not sure if it happened in the manga) where while alone on Namek she sees Goku in the cloud and imagines he's become handsome. I guess she was "the girl" in Dragon ball so everyone expected them to get together, but she was more of an older sister type. I could understand if it had happened, although shounen-type mangas of the past seemed less oriented on relationships versus the ones today. But to me it just wouldn't have made sense. Is anyone here a fan of this crack pairing?
Edited by chouzu_tao, 21 February 2012 - 07:22 AM.
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