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Trend amongst Dragon Ball's central females
Topic Started: Jan 20 2013, 06:04 AM (1,749 Views)
Godzuko
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Have you ever noticed that all women who central and aecondary characters throughout the Dragon Ball series have a sort of trend of going on? They have tendency to act tough, smug, bossy, passionate, grumpy, and or cold a lot of the time but at tims when they think about or around those who are important to them they suddenly act kind of sweet or suddenly unreasonably angry from time to time?
Well I think they all belong a character type that is commonly found throughout anime and manga and even a lot of media outside of them. These characters are called tsunderes.

For those of you who don't know what tsunderes are they are male or female (most often female) characters that usually act tough, ice queen-ish, smug, passionate, bossy, grumpy, sarcastic, and stoic towards nearly everyone around them but don't put any particular amount of attention towards anyone but when they are associated with, talk with, interact with a certain number of characters that are either important to them, that they like, whom they are interested in some way; they start acting either nice and squishy all of a sudden or when they confront or confronted said characters start acting, well, odd usually in an unusually volatile way. Lets take out the list shall we?

Chi-Chi: Even though Chi-Chi usually acts quite forceful towards everyone (and sometimes even smug though usually towards Bulma). But at times towards only Goku, Gohan, Goten, and her father the Ox-King she shows the very sweet hearted and kind woman she really is. Even we she was very young and she was first introduced she acted a bit like a tsundere, she suddenly turning from confident to all shy and blushing when around Goku.

Bulma: She is quite bossy towards her friends and tends to act like a spoiled brat and can act like a tomboy as well (though she softens up big time after getting with Vegeta). She be all this but then suddenly becomes flirty towards those she is attracted to (though she is not the most solid tsundere really being that she can be quite nice to those she considers friends though anyone outside who are outside of her ring of friends might be a different story) She is lso kind of the other type of tsundere who acts nice to pretty much everyone except to those who are important to her: namely how she is nice to everyone but whenever talks to Vegeta they end up clashing. She also kind of talks like tsundere, particularly to Vegeta like when she says something this: "If you quite acting like a jerk Vegeta, I just might give you one as well" And other satesment similar to it.

Videl: She is quite the teenaged tomboy. And it is interesting to not that she is a naturally strong and bold woman in personality and the fact that she is an actual martial artist. When making first contact with Gohan she for some reason begins to focus in on him. She suddenly becomes suspicous of Gohan and the secret he is hiding for what seems to be no reason at all. She acts abrasive towards him and later blackmails him in order to have him teach her how to fly. Believe it or not this a pretty typical behavior where the tsundere likes to push around and be abrasive towards their love interests, whether that tsundere actually acknowledges his or her feelings or not towards said love interest. Of course when Videl realizes her feelings for Gohan she starts to act all girlie and sweet with thoughts of Gohan. Also take note that when she was training with Gohan despite acting bossy and abrasive towards him, when Gohan tells her that she would look better with short hair she at first acts like she doesn't care but when she comes back she has short hair, definetly a sure sign of her being a tsundere. (Also it turns out Akira Toriyama likes girls with short hair)

Launch: You could say that Launch's sweet purple-haired personality is her sweet side and her volatile blond-haired personality is her tough side. Though her tough personality does like act quite nicer in regards to Tenshinhan. (In DBZ when a waterfall threatened to her away blond Launch acted all big eyed and awed when Tien pulled her up nice and close and protected her from the incoming water.)

Android #18: Almost always acts stoic, cool, and icy and talks rarely and when she does talk, it is in a sarcastic manner. Yet towards Krillin and Marron and a bit towards Androids 17 and 16 as well as to some of the other characters when they treat her kindly this cold demeanor is broken. Hell, even in the Android and Cell sagas this deameanor was broken at times, particularly by Krillin. In her debut, after beating up Vegeta and Trunks and all the Z-fighters were beaten down she gives Krillin a kiss for reasons unknown. Likely it was to mock or scare him though this isn't the only time she acts all sweet (And her voice towards him was a little too sweet to be simply be just mocking or scary). There is that little scene when the androids lift off from Kame Island so that 17 and Piccolo could fight, 18 looks down to the island towards Krillin and smiles and laughs (Though she might of looked at the other humans too though the camera was focused in on Krillin). Some would say this is all mocking behavior but at the end of the Cell saga right before Trunks killed her and and her brother's future counterparts, future 18 is angry because 17 killed a boy she thought was cute. This means that 17 probably caught 18 flirting with said boy (who was probably as terrified as Krillin was when the past 18 kissed him if not more so) probably in a similar manner to how she was all flirty with Krillin with that one little kiss. Then there was that moment 18 saved that squirrel from the shockwaves from Cell and Vegeta's fight showing a soft side to her. And of course there is 18's reaction to Krillin's wish. If that wasn't a tsundere moment I don't know what is. 18 yells at Krillin for mistaking her twin brother as her lover which was unnecessary if she really didn't care about what Krillin (I mean if he thought her brother was her boyfriend she knows she wouldn't have to worry about him bothering her). She then says this: "You can forget it! I didn't ask for your help! But it was very nice of you. Thank You for considering us." Then gives him one long look at him while telling him that she wasn't angry at him. That is definetly a tsundere action, yelling at some one who did something nice for them saying that they were not moved by the gesture and that it meant and did nothing, when it really did (18 really did seem touched and confused with herself and Krillin when listening to his reasons for his wish given the expression on her face) and then just contradicts what he or she said by thanking them and or by saying something nice. Later on in the Buu saga doesn't change much on the outside with her usual facade but whenever Marron goes to her mother for affection, 18 is not afraid to give it by holding her hand or cradling her, and when Marron cheers her on 18 smiles at her. She also smiles several times like when watching over her family or when Chi-Chi thanks 18 for saving the rest of the group from a plane crash. She also blushes too. When Goku is talking to Krillin this happens: Krillin- (No way bro I'm married now. This is the sweet life. Right babe?" 18-" Goon. *blushes*" Tsunderes tend to blush whenever they are charmed. And of course who can forget when 18 gets all worried when Krillin tells her his plan to charge Super Buu and then yells his name when he actually does charge. Awww a sweet part tsunderes they always seem to care for the ones they love. Then once brought back to life 18 hides in the shadows while her daughter runs to Krillin waving at Krillin with a sizable yet genuine smile on her face (Also probably the biggest smile to grace her features.) Then of course later on at the very end the two are still married and 18 has cut her hair obviously to make herself older since Krillin is too (And probably also to subtly voice that she plans to stay with Krillin to the end despite the fact that he's aging since android hair doesn't grow back.)

And with that I rest my claim. Sorry i made this post so long, I justed wanted to make clear my point. So what do you guys think?
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Liarzax
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Mortal Combat Contestant

Coo.l...dem girls be nuts.

Edit:
I actually liked your whole post.
They also have slim figures with big boobs, but you know *shrugs*.
Edited by Liarzax, Jan 20 2013, 06:41 AM.
I'm not Disputing whats Cannon, I'm Disputing whats Stupid.
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Saiyan Femme
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There's definitely a trend, AT sucks at writing female characters and he can be sexist in his writing

but I think 18 and Videl are pretty enjoyable to watch
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* Crashbreaka
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Captain Oblivious

I loved 18 and Videl. Chichi and Bulma weren't so bad in some cases either.

I wish AT was better at writing female characters...I would have killed to see a female Super Saiyan.
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Professor Gohan
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I agree with, crash.

They were all interesting to watch, but I just wish we could of seen more of them at their home life. No fighting interfering for what we see how they are when they have their family around and whatnot.
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Sam
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It takes a mere second for treasure to turn to trash.

Yes, Toriyama was absolutely horrible with female characters. In fact, he was not good at all with character depth or development in general. Vegeta and Piccolo and possibly Tenshinhan earlier on being the only exceptions, but, even Piccolo and definitely Tenshinhan became stale characters again at some point for long periods of time. Good thing the awesome fights and forms are what keep us interested, not the character development :p
WoW Legion Ending - Thank you Darker for making this into one, big incredible gif! <3
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DBZAOTA482
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Unlike some, the portrayal of women never struck me as sexist (minus the FUNi Z Dub's sadistic treatment of themi). I think people have to remember Dragon Ball was made in the 80's-90's, and women don't really get to play much of a role in these types of anime/manga at the time (it was when 'macho manliness' was the definite trend). Just look at Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star, women play almost no role. Besides, they're not treated any worse than anyone who wasn't a Saiyan, Piccolo, or mayyybe Kuririn....in fact Yamcha is treated way worse than any of the female characters (yes even worse than Lunch).

Shonen anime/manga like Naruto (which has some of the most blatantly sexist underplays I've ever seen in anime/manga), on the other hand, have no excuse.
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Godzuko
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DBZAOTA482
Jan 20 2013, 12:33 PM
Unlike some, the portrayal of women never struck me as sexist (minus the FUNi Z Dub's sadistic treatment of themi). I think people have to remember Dragon Ball was made in the 80's-90's, and women don't really get to play much of a role in these types of anime/manga at the time (it was when 'macho manliness' was the definite trend). Just look at Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star, women play almost no role. Besides, they're not treated any worse than anyone who wasn't a Saiyan, Piccolo, or mayyybe Kuririn....in fact Yamcha is treated way worse than any of the female characters (yes even worse than Lunch).

Shonen anime/manga like Naruto (which has some of the most blatantly sexist underplays I've ever seen in anime/manga), on the other hand, have no excuse.

I agree with DBZAOTA. It didn't seem sexist really. If anything it shows Toriyama's preference for tough girls.
Plus the tsundere personality type that is used for the central women characters is an easy to use quickly switch from comedy to action to sweetness and back comedy again. And given how Toriyama made this series as he went along, he used this personality type since allows for interesting characters without having to develop them very deeply. You'll find it very common in other animes.
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Kblo247
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They were women, who cared greatly and frustrated they couldn't control their own or their loved ones fates. Seems sensible to me. 18 is distant but she can take care of herself, much like Bidel grew up taking care of herself and taking out crime. Chi Chi knew what it was like to be pushed around at at the mercy of others, and Bulma knew what it was like to be helpless, yet they weren't simply able to stomp others or defend themselves over and over and come out on top
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Copy_Ninja
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Novacane for the pain

This is an issue in Shonen manga generally not just Dragonball. Female characters tend not to get as much recognition and have a rather defined role. At the end of the day, the target audience is young boys, and a lot of the time the writing reflects that. They have the guys up front being all awesome and the women sink to the back more, it happens.
Posted ImageWe'll never be those kids again
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Godzuko
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Copy_Ninja
Jan 20 2013, 01:30 PM
This is an issue in Shonen manga generally not just Dragonball. Female characters tend not to get as much recognition and have a rather defined role. At the end of the day, the target audience is young boys, and a lot of the time the writing reflects that. They have the guys up front being all awesome and the women sink to the back more, it happens.
Yeah you are right about that dude, I agree. *sigh*

In all honesty though, Dragon Ball is obviously far from the worst when it comes to treating its female characters. I've seen so many animes that use women just objectify them and it gets aggravating (even for straight male such as myself.)

Sometimes it seems that Dragon Ball's fandom is even worse than how the manga/anime is with the portrayal of its female characters. I mean look at what so many fans like to do with poor #18 in so much fanart and even some fanfiction... They seem to love to make her all lusty out of nowhere when the ironically 18 is more conservative in the way she dresses than any of the other female characters (besides maybe Chi-Chi) and it seems fans just like to make her all lusty out of nowhere. *sigh*
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Saiyan Femme
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Goku "offering" Bulma to the old Kaio Shin definitely enters sexism in my book. And there are some other similar instances in the series that had me rolling my eyes like that one, but I cant be bothered to list them right now.

But like I've said before, whatever, DBZ is what it is and it can't change, and I have many other shows (anime and otherwise) to get my feminism on. I enjoy DBZ for many other reasons, with qualities that other shows don't provide for me.
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DBZAOTA482
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Saiyan Femme
Jan 20 2013, 06:35 PM
Goku "offering" Bulma to the old Kaio Shin definitely enters sexism in my book. And there are some other similar instances in the series that had me rolling my eyes like that one, but I cant be bothered to list them right now.
But isn't a nice guy like Yamcha being pussy-whipped by Bulma equally on sexist terms, if not more?

A man should not exploit a woman's "weaknesses", like lack of physical strength, as should a woman not a man's "weaknesses", like cowering over bellowing and persistent nagging. Likewise, watching/reading Chi-Chi bitching at Goku is just as funny as watching/reading him smacking her through a wall.
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Saiyan Femme
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you can definitely say that Bulma and Chichi treated Yamcha and Goku as ***** in more than a few occasions, but both guys had the choice to stay or leave, and they made their choices. In the example that I gave where was the choice for Bulma? And objectifying and over-sexualizing women is ALWAYS annoyingly sexist.
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DBZAOTA482
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Saiyan Femme
Jan 20 2013, 07:54 PM
you can definitely say that Bulma and Chichi treated Yamcha and Goku as ***** in more than a few occasions, but both guys had the choice to stay or leave, and they made their choices. In the example that I gave where was the choice for Bulma? And objectifying and over-sexualizing women is ALWAYS annoyingly sexist.
Well, It kinda bounces it off when Vegeta protests against Goku showing Elder Kai x-rated photos of Bulma thus showing objectifying and over-sexualization of women is no condemned (that and Muten Roshi always gets pounded for it). Did I forget to mention that it's Goku making the offer?

Yamcha, on the other hand, just takes Bulma's treatment of him like a tool (she even feeds Trunks' mind with nonsense about him being a playboy), and gets dumped in the end. No one ever sticks up for him. We don't even get his POV.

P.S. Chi-Chi's treatment of Goku is in no way comparable to Bulma's treatment of Yamcha.
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