Alternative Character Interpretation in Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball
- Son Goku is a true hero who always tries to do what's best even if it occasionally spills over into true stupidity... or he's a selfish, childish Jerkass who only cares about fighting, eating, and everything else in that order. (Everything else includes his wife and two children.) He could also be a noble but childish (and maybe brain-damaged — Raditz did mention the possibility) man who cares deeply about his friends, the World and the Universe, and who is in fact stupid. The entire reason he's not evil and killing everyone is that he fell off a cliff and smashed his head on a rock. It is also possible that Goku may not be as stupid as one assumes when looking at him. At least, not for a guy who suffered head trauma and a very sheltered life. Keep in mind that Grandpa Gohan died before he could teach him everything, so he had to learn a lot of stuff by himself...and Bulma had to teach him. In particular, basic social skills and hygiene. Once he's confronted with something new, he learns it quickly. Even the social skills and hygiene he took quite well, being a loveable friendly guy, more than even his friends; and he could have even better social skills if he chose to live in the city. His fast learning and creativity is mostly seen in his fighting. The best example is his learning the Kamehameha wave, a move that took fifty years to develop, by mere observation. Also, he finds effective enhancements to the move, such as bending it, putting at least five times greater power to it, firing it with his feet, etc. Even combat skills he has brilliance in. Even confronted with Tien growing extra arms, he moved his so fast that it looked like he sprouted eight and fought him that way. All in all, Goku was smarter than Bulma in only one respect...basic survival skills in the wilderness.
- Roshi's Turtle Hermit Training regimen. Was this a serious attempt by Roshi to make Goku and Krillin the best martial artists possible ... or did Roshi just choose a method for "teaching" them that required almost no effort on Roshi's part, while letting Roshi make some cash by hiring out their students to deliver milk, till fields, and do construction work? On the one hand, this training did make Goku and Krillin many times stronger. On the other hand, Roshi seems completely surprised when, after several months of training, they're able to pull off the boulder-moving challenge Roshi set for them.
Dragon Ball Z
- Similar to Vegeta, a lot of fans question how evil Raditz is supposed to be. Despite being introduced as a Smug Snake with no sympathetic attributes, people wonder how much of that jerkish attitude comes from his nature or his upbringings (specifically, growing up as an orphan alongside Vegeta), and wonder what his relationship with his parents (introduced in Dragon Ball Minus and Dragon Ball Super: Broly) was like.
- Vegeta has a lot of this, with two major debates among fans:
- First, just how malevolent is he? Was it entirely Frieza's fault that he became an antagonist, or could he have been a villain all on his own?
- Second, how deep did Vegeta's Heel–Face Turn go? Some fans say that he actually did become a good person, but others disagree, saying that while he has at least stopped murdering innocents, he's still a selfish Jerkass with little regard for others. However, this is not exactly proving anything, since Vegeta has joined the Z Fighters in saving the world.
- Why did Vegeta spare Gohan during the Namek Saga when they were alone together? Was it because if he did, Goku wouldn't show him mercy the next time they fought? Or was it to pay Goku back for convincing Krillin to spare him, and he figured doing the same for Gohan would mean he wouldn't have to put his grudge against Goku aside?
- Cell gets this sometimes, mostly because it's not entirely clear how much of his malice is his own, and how much of it is due to Dr. Gero's programming. On one hand, he flat out ignores his programming to kill Goku and host the Cell Games instead. On the other, he later decides to wipe out all life in the universe because he believes that this is the ultimate purpose Dr. Gero built him for.
- Goku gets some with questions raised as to whether or not he really is dumb or if his childish nature just stems from growing up without anyone who would qualify as a proper parental figure. In reality, it's a case of Culture Clash. For Eastern cultures, Goku spoils Gohan too much, and Gohan's spoiled nature is even alluded in the series.
- Chi-Chi training Goten. After Goku died, did she feel she owed him a legacy? Did she feel like Gohan had already fulfilled her dream for an intellectual in the family? Was she trying to basically raise a Goku clone? Or were Goku and Gohan non-factors when she realized Goten wasn't academically inclined, so she focused on his real talents? Did she sincerely feel as though Goten needed to learn how to fight to protect himself from the kind of world that they live in? Or is it stereotypical Asian parenting which focuses on overworking the first-born and being less strict with the others?
- Videl's tomboyishness. After marrying Gohan, she has retired from everything like she never ever cared about fighting before. Could it be because she only fought to attract the attention of her father who regularly neglected her to sleep with other women since he became world famous? Could it be because she couldn't experience normal life? She lived in a 50+ rooms estate, forbidden from doing normal things like dating, yet could do things like fighting crime. It does seem like her desire to be better stems from her desire to prove to her father what she is made of. Her mantra during the battle with Spopovitch was "I'm Mr. Satan's daughter." After Gohan told her the truth on who defeated Cell, there wasn't a single sign of disappointment in her face, but a huge smile of relief. She doesn't have to prove herself anymore to anyone. On the other hand, an episode of Super has her say, contrary to Chi-Chi's attitude toward her children, that she'd be fine with Pan growing up to be a martial artist and looks back upon her own fighting career with fondness. So perhaps she took on fighting to prove herself to her father, but grew to like it aside from that motivation, and only retired because she conceived a child that needed to be raised. Alternatively, given how she learned about serious threats that were beyond her ability to fight, she may have realized she simply Can't Catch Up, and decided to focus on bettering herself outside of fighting.
- Frieza get this to a lesser extent due to the series expanding the lore or outright making retcons. In his titular saga, his wish for immortality just seemed like a way for his empire to remain eternal. However, due to the introduction of Majin Buu and Beerus, which King Cold told him to never face, it possibly gives another reason for that wish: to find a way to prove his superiority against them.
- Vegeta's Super Saiyan transformation. What was the real reason for it? Was it really a result of Vegeta's pride being so supreme that having it wounded was the ultimate pain he could suffer? You could argue that for someone as prideful as Vegeta, who has built his entire persona on strength alone, the idea of realizing he will never be the best would provide an existential crisis. Vegeta himself seems to argue this is what happened, though his exact explanation varies depending on the version you're watching.note Or was Vegeta lying to himself and the power was accessed in order to save his life? Keep in mind Goku's stance on the Super Saiyan power is that it must come in response to a need, not a desire. Perhaps for that one moment Vegeta's life mattered more to him than anything else and he realized that his desire for power was self destructive and was going to kill him, and it was when he let go of his desire however briefly that the power answered the need to save Vegeta's life. A third alternative could be that he gained it due to the emotional need of satisfying his ego. As said before, Vegeta is an extremely proud Saiyan, to the point that he may even consider not surpassing Goku a Fate Worse than Death, so his Super Saiyan form may have come out as a way to satisfy his ego and keep his mind intact from any sort of emotional pain.
Dragon Ball Super (anime and manga)
- Zamasu/Goku Black. He sincerely believes he is doing the right thing, or knows exactly how brutal and evil he is but doesn't care? There may be a very good argument in his second interpretation. Ignoring his twisted logic, he really enjoys tormenting Future Trunks and killing mortals slowly with a sadistic glee. Not to mention the fact that he unnecessarily murdered Chi-Chi and Goten. When you think about it, he is just as loathsome, if not worse than Frieza.
- Zeno and the Grand Priest: Evil Gods or entities with an incomprehensible morality doing their jobs? Or both? Some internet users from both Reddit and 4chan have also proposed the theory than Zeno is an Audience Surrogate that represents the audience, with him being dissatisfied bringing the universe to being destroyed as a way to represent the audience cancelling the show outright. With this theory, the Grand Priest would represent both Toei Animation and the Shonen Jump higher ups. Episode 131 reveals that they are more of Well-Intentioned Extremist along with Blue-and-Orange Morality, as they want to see if a winner would wish for universal revival, and would destroy multiverse if he wished selfishly.
- On a more humorous note, Mojito, the universe 9 assistant, has been imagined by some fans to be an incompetent and lazy stoner due to his quiet smiley attitude and appearance and the fact he comes from the absolute worst universe in mortal level, implying he avoids doing his job for the sake of flying high. The fact he looks like Shaggy doesn't help.
- Frieza in the Universe Survival Saga, to an extent. While he is undeniably a nasty villain, his respectful-but evidently ill-intended attitude towards Goku gets called into question. Is any semblance of respect he has for Goku complete malarkey meant to make the latter drop his guard? Or are Frieza's more affable moments with Goku genuine? The fact that he doesn't bother hiding his hate or contempt for Goku (literally punching him in the gut within seconds of being back amongst the living) and (in Japanese) refers to Goku with a respectful pronoun even when thinking to himself suggest the latter, but then again, this being Frieza it might as well be the former. Not helped by the fact he and Goku can actually communicate mentally while crossing fists.
- After the end of the Universe Survival Saga, a lot of fans are wondering what Frieza's new intentions will be in the future following his Character Development...
- Whis and Vados' being non-chalant about the possibility of their superiors being erased might be because they've had enough of Beerus and Champa's laziness and general underwhelming attitudes.
- Belmod, the God of Destruction of the eleventh universe, gets this to an extent. Universe 11 is described as being the best universe when it comes to Mortal life quality out of the 8 universes participating during the Tournament of Power, and Belmod and Khai are shown to be decent gods who value justice and support the Pride Troopers. However, at the same time, Belmod is shown to be arrogant and prone to playing dirty, like enjoying tribute of a harem in a planet he was going to destroy, and wants Jiren to destroy Son Goku during the Tournament of Power. It has led some fans to speculate the reason Universe 11 didn't reach a good Mortal Life Quality is due to Belmod being malicious despite his intentions.
- Brianne de Chateau, or Ribrianne, has been speculated by some people to have a Inferiority Superiority Complex, and her quest for spreading love throught the universes and become a goddess of love herself is a way to compensante for her lack of actual love in her life. During the Tournament, most of the love she gets from her team appear to be pure fanboyism, and she finds Android 18's love for Krillin confusing, implying her shallow understading of love. After losing, she even declares there are possibly more types of love she doesn't know of, implying this interpretation has some merit.
- Beerus's line ("Say something") after Champa is erased is rather ambiguous as to who he is referring to. Did he address it to Champa and wish that he said something other than pulling an akanbe taunt? Did he break the fourth wall to address the narrator to speak already to hide his pain? Or is he referring it to himself, wishing that he could say something like a farewell to his brother? Either way, Beerus is clearly saddened by Champa's erasure, even if he tries to hide it.
- Jiren insults Toppo after he loses in his fight against Vegeta. Is he just being a jerk, or was he upset that Toppo sacrificed his ideals for power and still lost?
- Is Goku too dumb to realize that Monaka is a weakling and Beerus was lying about him too motivate Goku and Vegeta to push themselves harder, or is he aware and just trolling Beerus? At times it feels like the former is really the case, but there are moments where it looks like he is just messing with Beerus for his own amusement, especially in the episode where he gets to fight "Monaka", for example, despite Beerus' Monaka costume being damaged, and Beerus' body parts sticking out of them, he continues to ignore them, and once Yamcha accidentally spills the beans, ruining the act, Goku immediately jumps and says he thinks Monaka can split himself in two, making it look like he just said it to calm Beerus down.
