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AdricDePsycho Rock on, Gold Dust Woman from Never Going Back Again Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Rock on, Gold Dust Woman
#28226: Jul 7th 2017 at 11:39:20 PM

I'd imagine Tao's popularity has to do with him being one of Goku's harder to beat opponents in the early days of Dragon Ball. Well, that and probably because of that time he murdered a dude with his tongue. That's not an easy to forget image.

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Zelenal The Cat Knows Where It's At from Purrgatory Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
The Cat Knows Where It's At
#28227: Jul 8th 2017 at 1:19:55 AM

[up][up] Well, it was the first time outside of the Budoukai final where Goku actually lost a fight and almost died. Unlike with Roshi previously, Goku couldn't even really fight back against Tao. That'd never happen before and was, for the most part, completely serious. I see it as a herald for the further shift during 22nd Budoukai and then for the change in tone to cement itself during the Piccolo Daimaou Saga.

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Saiga Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: Getting away with murder
#28228: Jul 8th 2017 at 1:51:51 AM

I think the series' shift in tone is more gradual, and constant, with very few real turning points.

Zelenal The Cat Knows Where It's At from Purrgatory Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
The Cat Knows Where It's At
#28229: Jul 8th 2017 at 2:21:27 AM

It was, I just think the shift started with Taopaipai since that was the first fight that had no real comedy in it.

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Zeromaeus Since: May, 2010
#28230: Jul 8th 2017 at 3:34:43 AM

He's also the guy that just flat no-sold the kamehameha.

Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#28231: Jul 8th 2017 at 3:35:36 AM

There were 3 toneshifts in Dragonball IMO. Tao Pai Pai's murder of Bora, Krillin's death and then Raditz.

PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#28232: Jul 8th 2017 at 3:37:21 AM

Raditz was less of a tone shift and more of a story shift.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#28233: Jul 8th 2017 at 5:44:56 AM

Goku doesn't give a damn about the dragonballs unless he needs them to undo a Big Bad or if he feels sentimental about The 4 star.

There exists like 2 people who can reliably track the balls down, anyway.

Quite. We're spoiled by Bulma's Dragon Radar, but it's important to remember that collecting the Dragon Balls is supposed to be next to impossible. They're seven random-ass rocks scattered across the entire planet with no rhyme or reason to where they end up.

Other people might try here or there, but they aren't likely to ever actually end up on Goku's doorstep because it's like looking for a needle on Planet Haystack. You gotta have a radar or it's an exercise in futility. Even then, Bulma's handheld radar beats the pants off the large, embedded console radar that the Red Ribbon Army had.

On Raditz

Raditz was a title shift. For the anime. That's literally the only thing that changed when he arrived. He just feels like a turning point because a lot of people's first exposure to Dragon Ball was with him.

edited 8th Jul '17 5:45:55 AM by TobiasDrake

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HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#28234: Jul 8th 2017 at 6:47:21 AM

I actually do want to see what happens when someone else who has a way to track the dragon balls but isn't evil shows up with a wish of their own.

The poor saps can't compete against the Z Warriors, who scoop up the balls in mere minutes for their own purposes (and not always unselfish ones) time and time again. In the story, it was pretty much always villains who wanted the balls at the same time as Goku and company, so it'd be an interesting conundrum. I kinda wish that just once, Toriyama had considered that...though he'd have likely solved the problem in moments. Most everything in dragon ball never lasts too long past the arc it's introduced in. It's always been Goku (and friends) against some massive puppy kicking assholes every time.

I also agree that while Tao was ultimately a minor character, he was a big deal for shifting the tone. He's kinda like Raditz in a way, only he actually came back, even if only to show how he's now irrelevant.

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TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#28235: Jul 8th 2017 at 6:51:26 AM

I mean, there have been several years that passed with nobody using the Dragon Balls. The cooldown timer's only one year, and most arcs have a period of 3-7 years between them. It'd be entirely possible for other people to gather the Balls and use them in those intervals, if they could.

It'd only be an issue if there was a pressing need for a competing wish.

edited 8th Jul '17 6:52:01 AM by TobiasDrake

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Saiga Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: Getting away with murder
#28236: Jul 8th 2017 at 6:59:16 AM

In which case Goku would probably just offer to grab the Namekians' balls, and they're absolutely happy for him to do that.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#28237: Jul 8th 2017 at 7:07:05 AM

I want to know how the Namekians gather the Balls. Their planet is larger, their population smaller, and we've never been given any indication of a radar in their possession.

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TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#28239: Jul 8th 2017 at 7:14:42 AM

Dammit, Dende, why couldn't we have gotten that feature when you were upgrading God's Balls?

  • Bulma: Okay, that's the first set of revivals down. In a few months, we should be able to—
  • Dragon Balls: (turn into stones and rocket straight up into the sky)
  • Bulma: Um...what just happened?
  • Moori: Oh, my. We probably should have expected this from the scattering effect.
  • Bulma: What? Where did they go?
  • Moori: Back to Namek.

...I wonder if you can make a wish on Shenron to have him go fetch Porunga's Balls?

edited 8th Jul '17 7:18:59 AM by TobiasDrake

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HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#28240: Jul 8th 2017 at 7:38:43 AM

Dammit, Dende, why couldn't we have gotten that feature when you were upgrading God's Balls?

HAH![lol]

...I wonder if you can make a wish on Shenron to have him go fetch Porunga's Balls?

...ok, now I'm convinced your doing it on purpose.

One Strip! One Strip!
Enlong Court Dragon from The Underground Facility Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: is commanded to— WANK!
Court Dragon
#28241: Jul 8th 2017 at 8:15:28 AM

Do we know they don't scatter? They kind of glossed over the proper summonings done at the end of the Namek arc. The bit where they all slammed down when Porunga died wasn't exactly a normal occurence.

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randomness4 Ghost '11 from The Land of Inconvenience Since: Sep, 2011
Ghost '11
#28242: Jul 8th 2017 at 8:23:45 AM

They don't know how to navigate Earth.

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Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#28243: Jul 8th 2017 at 8:33:32 AM

The namekian balls not scattering makes sense when you remember each community has one (along with Guru). Seems like they are meant to be earned from each village, used, then returned. In a pilgrimage sort of way.

edited 8th Jul '17 8:33:55 AM by Ghilz

HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#28244: Jul 8th 2017 at 8:35:40 AM

I kinda got the same impression. the Namekian balls don't scatter. They just drop down to be picked up by the dudes from each village and taken back.

One Strip! One Strip!
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#28245: Jul 8th 2017 at 8:46:04 AM

Which must be awkward given that they turn to stone. Each elder has to just try and keep track of which Ball is supposed to be theirs so they can grab the right featureless rock afterwards.

I mean, it's also possible that there's no rhyme or reason to who gets what Ball and it's totally arbitrary, but Guru conspicuously having the One-Star Ball indicates there's some manner of hierarchy to them.

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HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#28246: Jul 8th 2017 at 8:51:02 AM

Guru might be able to tell. Because he's Guru.

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TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#28247: Jul 8th 2017 at 8:58:46 AM

"NAAAAAAAAAIL. That old man is about to grab my Ball. Spinkick him in the face."

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Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#28248: Jul 8th 2017 at 9:01:02 AM

god damn it Toriyama,you had to name them dragon balls didn't you

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Arha Since: Jan, 2010
#28249: Jul 8th 2017 at 9:05:02 AM

Maybe they just go inside a large building before making a wish so the balls crash into the wall and fall down.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#28250: Jul 8th 2017 at 9:55:52 AM

If you summon the Dragon from inside a building, he is going to tear the building apart as he rises. Those things are huge.

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