YMMV / Dragon Ball – Episode of Bardock

• Adaptation Displacement: The animation was based on a short manga, but the manga isn't as well-known.
• Fanon Discontinuity: The Dragon Ball community would rather forget this story exists, as they feel it cheapens Bardock as a character. A popular fanon idea is that this story is merely a Stealth Prequel to Dragon Ball Xenoverse, and Bardock was sent back to the past by the game's Big Bad, Towa. It helps that the author has stated the tale is merely a What If? story she wrote.
• The Scrappy: While a lot of it is due to association with the special, Chilled is generally disliked for basically being a more generic rehash of his descendant Freeza.
• Sequelitis: Considered a very poor follow-up to an animated special that didn't even need one, and the act of Bardock turning Super Saiyan is considered just fanservice that cheapens what made Bardock such an appealing character in the first place. Outside of the narrative, neither the visuals nor the music are as memorable as what was showcased in The Father of Goku.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: One of the biggest reasons people hate the story is that Bardock is written to be more likeable and overall a nicer person. While Bardock had friends and, to an extent, cared for his son Kakarot, Bardock was still a ruthless warrior. Here, Bardock seems more like a grumpy, less Adorkable Goku. Most of the traits that made Bardock a Villain Protagonist are gone, and instead he is more or less an Anti-Hero. Part of Bardock's appeal was that he was a villain in a franchise of mostly good guys, and instead the special treats him like he was always an Anti-Hero.