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Dragon Ball Z Abridged

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Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#29001: Dec 27th 2017 at 6:04:56 PM

Push ups, Sit Ups, and Plenty of Juice.

HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#29002: Dec 27th 2017 at 6:12:50 PM

It's not really explained. In Super, he just trained with Beerus and started developing God Ki.

I mean, they could have said that the God ritual imparts a bit of God ki to all the participants and Vegeta just worked his way up from there via training, but that'd make sense and we can't have that.

One Strip! One Strip!
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.
#29003: Dec 27th 2017 at 11:12:14 PM

You know, I never saw Piccolo as Gohan's father. He seems more like the cool uncle, which seems to be Super's take as well, what with Pan calling him "Uncle Piccolo" and all.

God_of_Awesome Since: Jan, 2001
#29004: Dec 28th 2017 at 4:44:52 AM

idea

Goku purposely goads Gohan with all his bad dad-ness by reminding Gohan of all the times he's screwed up when it turns out nothing else is going to tip him over the edge into SS 2. Everyone else acts shocked by Goku's seeming self-awareness.

Goku: Alright, now let's hope he kills Cell with that.
Piccolo: And not you?
Goku: I dunno. After that, I'd almost feel like I deserved it.
Piccolo: What the f*** is up with you today?

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#29005: Dec 28th 2017 at 8:11:58 AM

...that awkward moment with those obvious things that anyone should have realized but you don't until later when it just clicks.

This line:

  • Gohan: Oh, it's like a monkey's paw. You have to be careful with the hubris in your wishes.

always stuck out as weird to me. Gohan says it after finding out that their wish to Porunga put Piccolo "on Namek". This late in the series, it feels weird to only now be clarifying the rules regarding making wishes to the dragon. I mean, the Abridged only started at Raditz, but it's a piece of dialogue that didn't feel like it flowed right in context with the rest of Dragon Ball before it.

Except it flows fine, because while the dragon has been summoned a few times before, this is the first time Gohan, specifically has ever made wishes to a magical dragon. The only other time in his lifetime that the Dragon Balls were used was to resurrect Goku, and Gohan wasn't there for that; he was learning how to dodge.

Up until this moment, the dragon summoning was something Gohan's heard about and knew were a thing, but had never actually seen with his own eyes. He's learning the rules right here and now on Namek for the first time.

edited 28th Dec '17 8:12:44 AM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
wanderlustwarrior Role Model from Where Gods Belong Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
Role Model
#29006: Dec 28th 2017 at 9:02:59 AM

Also it's a different dragon.

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#29007: Dec 28th 2017 at 9:05:45 AM

And that moment is still weird because the dragons don't usually work like the Monkey's Paw; they can understand intent and nuance and act accordingly.

Sigilbreaker26 Serial Procrastinator Since: Nov, 2017
Serial Procrastinator
#29008: Dec 28th 2017 at 9:09:04 AM

Porunga woke up on the wrong side of the bed apparently.

Either that or his master has influenced him a bit...

"And when the last law was down and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, the laws all being flat?"
HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#29009: Dec 28th 2017 at 9:11:40 AM

[up][up]Indeed. Then again, maybe Porunga is less of an intent and more of a letter of the law type.

We might also have to consider that Dende is summoning him for the first time, so maybe he made a mistake in the way he worded said wish.

Shenlong is also pretty familiar with the gang by now, so he's good at recognizing the nature of their wishes. In contrast, Porunga might have been stretching his legs for the first time, and was being summoned by a group that was only 1/3 Namekian, so he just opted to do exactly what they said and be done with it.

But we all know the real reason: because that's how Toriyama wanted it.

edited 28th Dec '17 9:11:54 AM by HandsomeRob

One Strip! One Strip!
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#29010: Dec 28th 2017 at 9:49:43 AM

The Abridged dragons don't always correct for intent. In fact, Abridged Shenron has been known to play Jerkass Genie in the movies. Ultimate Christmas tree, anyone?

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WillKeaton from Alberta, Canada Since: Jun, 2010
#29011: Dec 28th 2017 at 9:55:13 AM

Canon Shenron is usually pretty good at giving the wisher what they want, and not being a Jerkass Genie. Remember when he brought Freeza back? He told them ahead of time that he'd be coming back in chunks, instead of just doing it and being "Haha, good luck trying to have a bunch of meat chunks help you take over the galaxy." The only time I can think of where canon Shenron didn't give the wisher what they wanted is when he turned Pilaf and co into babies. I'd assume they wished to be younger, and he did that, but I don't think they wanted to be that young. Heck, he didn't turn King Piccolo into a baby (egg?) when he wished for youth.

edited 28th Dec '17 9:55:20 AM by WillKeaton

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#29012: Dec 28th 2017 at 10:35:35 AM

[up][up] In fact, Abridged Shenron absolutely is a Jerkass Genie. "Melt the ice" "Okay fine. Fuck you, I did it by causing global warming."

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WillKeaton from Alberta, Canada Since: Jun, 2010
#29013: Dec 28th 2017 at 10:38:06 AM

I think that only movie Shenron qualifies as a Jerkass Genie. I don't think he ever purposefully screwed someone over with a wish in the series proper.

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#29014: Dec 28th 2017 at 10:43:12 AM

So it's Talking Movie Bubbles and Jerkass Movie Shenron? I can dig it.

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Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#29015: Dec 28th 2017 at 10:46:41 AM

Heck, he didn't turn King Piccolo into a baby (egg?) when he wished for youth.

At least in the Dub, Shenron had no choice, as King Piccolo's wish was to "Restore [his] youth and power, give back what time stole from [him]"

Turning King Piccolo into a baby wouldn't have done that (Restoring his power). Furthermore, King Piccolo NEVER WAS a baby or an egg. He was formed as a fully formed adult when the Nameless Namekian split his good and evil side. Which he did as an adult. Even if Shenron wanted to be a Literal Genie (Which considering his connection to Kami, he could have), the furthest he can rewind King Piccolo is as a young adult.

edited 28th Dec '17 10:47:56 AM by Ghilz

wanderlustwarrior Role Model from Where Gods Belong Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
Role Model
#29016: Dec 28th 2017 at 10:58:15 AM

Movie Shenron didn't intentionally cause global warming, he just stuck to the laws of thermodynamics implied by a scientist's stupid wish, knowing what the result would be.

Thebrawlbro Since: Aug, 2013
#29017: Dec 28th 2017 at 11:27:29 AM

There was also the time he led Turles to Earth because he was pissed off at Krillin for using him to wish for a perfect Christmas Tree

HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#29018: Dec 28th 2017 at 11:55:34 AM

To be fair, that was because Krillin asked for that Tree instead of restoring the forest that had been burned down like Shenron thought he would.

I mean, Abridged Shenron isn't exactly a fan of the Z Warriors (and like most characters in the series, Krillin seems to anger him the most, even though he's not a dick at all), since they are constantly summoning him every chance they get.

One Strip! One Strip!
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#29019: Dec 28th 2017 at 12:09:57 PM

To be fair, discounting the movies, Goku and his friends only summon Shenron six times in Goku's forty-some-odd years of life through manga's end.

  • Resurrect Bora.
  • Resurrect Piccolo's victims.
  • Resurrect Goku.
  • Resurrect Cell's victims and also remove the Android bombs.
  • Resurrect Majin Vegeta's victims.
  • Erase the world's memory of Majin Buu.

There are other times he's summoned like Pilaf's thwarted attempt at world domination, Piccolo's wish for youth, or Popo summoning him to resurrect Frieza's victims on Kaio-sama's behalf, but those are the only instances where Goku and his friends specifically did it.

On average, Goku and the others summon him once every 6-7 years, usually to bring someone back to life. Like the Genki-Dama "defeating every villain", the movies just make it seem more frequent than it actually is.

EDIT: That said, while gags about them over-summoning him tend to fall flat for me, I love it whenever he pops out and is just like, "Alright, who died?"

edited 28th Dec '17 12:12:44 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
wanderlustwarrior Role Model from Where Gods Belong Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
Role Model
#29020: Dec 28th 2017 at 12:28:21 PM

Of course, if the only times he's summoned are the only times we know of that he's being summoned, then basically he's just going about life for years on end until the same assholes keep bugging him for the same stuff just because they can, not because they need to, and because they see themselves as super-important.

Like... what if you're a retired doctor but the same high and mighty actor/musician calls you every couple of months to do the same cosmetic rhinoplasty, and doesn't pay you or advertise your heart surgeon skills to anyone?

Hmm... Maybe Shenron just doesn't like granting wishes.

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#29021: Dec 28th 2017 at 12:35:33 PM

Given they actually got Pilaf's wish that would definitely be counted as them.

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wanderlustwarrior Role Model from Where Gods Belong Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
Role Model
#29022: Dec 28th 2017 at 1:12:46 PM

[up]On one of the rare occasions someone actually wants to use the retired doctor's abilities in a more challenging way (albeit, "invent a supervirus"), that same actor/musician decides "Fuck that, trim one of my nose hairs!"

Not "world peace", or "feed the starving", or something like that. No.
Panties.

No wonder he hates them.

Sigilbreaker26 Serial Procrastinator Since: Nov, 2017
Serial Procrastinator
#29023: Dec 28th 2017 at 1:30:18 PM

Well, that was Oolong, who wasn't present for any of the other moments.

"And when the last law was down and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, the laws all being flat?"
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#29024: Dec 28th 2017 at 2:40:43 PM

[up]x5 Aren't the gags about him being summoned repeatedly by Goku and co. usually in the movies?

And regardless, even if they don't summon him themselves, they're almost always involved in some fashion.

edited 28th Dec '17 2:41:36 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#29025: Dec 28th 2017 at 4:11:52 PM

I feel bad for Shenron.

To be constantly summoned by the same idiots over & over again for the same exact wish.

Poor guy.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."

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