The Ultimate Flaw in Dragon Ball's Goku Unfolded Far Before Z
Goku's long-standing dilemma surpasses fans' awareness, stemming from his relentless pursuit of saving the day since the inception of Dragon Ball Meanwhile, Krillin's perpetual misfortune adds an intriguing twist to the narrative
Dragon Ball Z is commonly associated by fans with the recurring theme of Goku effortlessly defeating formidable enemies that his friends struggle with over multiple episodes. However, this issue of shortening story arcs has been present in the expansive shonen franchise since its inception.
Goku, a truly iconic anime character, boasts incredible strength and an innate ability to triumph over obstacles, which inevitably has the potential to diminish the length of story arcs significantly. The arcs only endure as long as they do due to Goku consistently being occupied in some manner while the villains wreak havoc.
Goku Has Been Saving the Day From the Beginning
In chapter 77 of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama introduced a familiar trope. While searching for the Dragon Balls and evading the Red Ribbon Army's General Blue, Goku becomes separated from Krillin and Bulma. Opting to battle a robot pirate, Goku finds himself in a predicament when Blue traps him with an octopus after tricking him. Meanwhile, Blue seizes the opportunity to defeat Krillin. Goku arrives in the nick of time to save the day.
The similarities between this event and other battles in Dragon Ball Z are notable. Just like in DBZ, Goku's friends are defeated by a stronger opponent while Goku deals with his own problems. Goku proves to be more than a match for Blue, while Krillin is left incapacitated on the ground, barely able to utter Goku's name. This parallel is reminiscent of scenes frequently seen in DBZ battles. The only difference is that Goku is yet to possess or be aware of the Senzu Beans, preventing him from showcasing the same actions as seen in DBZ, where he heals his wounded friends in front of infuriated opponents.
Krillin Couldn't Catch a Break In Dragon Ball
Despite not being as popular as DBZ, Dragon Ball offered many things that its more successful spin-off series lacked and suffered from as a result. Characters like Krillin and Yamcha, who were once portrayed as capable warriors and helped Goku defeat villains, experienced a decline in their abilities. While Krillin was never as powerful as Goku, even at the beginning of Dragon Ball, he still played a significant role in major events and battles. However, this changed for the worse as he became a character who was constantly beaten around, both in DBZ and Dragon Ball Super. Interestingly, a scene in Dragon Ball chapter 77 proves that Toriyama was more than just setting the stage for Krillin's embarrassing decline in Dragon Ball. Krillin was already going through similar experiences, but they became more frequent in DBZ.
