my history with the Dragon Ball Series

I actually have a very turbulent love/hate relationship with Dragon Ball.

I first watched Dragon Ball on TV via Cartoon Network in around 2007-ish. I was a pre-teen and each school day they would air Dragon Ball, Naruto and later down the track, Dragon Ball Z. My first dip into Shounen and anime outside of Pokemon and Zach Belle!

That time in my life was actually extremely stressful and traumatising. Particularly because of things going on in school. So getting to continue through these stories was just about the only thing I had to look forward to during the week.

A lot of "western" fans of DB actually got into it through DBZ first, or exclusively through DBZ. Which is a shame because going through the original series was not only a lot of fun, but adds so much more flavor to Z!

I didn't even know Goku was an alien for almost the entirety of the series (before CN started airing DBZ episodes early enough. I still had a bedtime lol).

In fact I had an entire headcanon backstory for him that was, funnily enough, not too far from what ended up happening. Except instead of an alien tyrunt blowing up his planet, his village was burned down. By sheer coincidence I also decided he was also not related to Grandpa Gohan by blood.

Unfortunately that is where the hate side of love/hate comes in. For some context, children's media for girls, or media that had girls in it at all, was still pretty abysmal by 2008. It's really easy to forget now but if you didn't give a shit about like, fashion or dating drama, there were no cartoons for you if you were a young girl over six years old, the shows for boys were almost hostile towards girls, and the more neutral media was also extremely sexist. Even when it was trying not to be!

This was something I already felt REALLY strongly about. So add the insane level of sexism in Dragon Ball into the mix? and then introduce me to literal on-screen sexual harassment/assault! Yeah no it bothered me to the point it was hard to watch a lot of the time. Even though I loved it otherwise.

it only got harder when I realised how many fans of the series somehow don't see the sexism in the writing. It's actually still really frustrating to me.

There's also the quality issues, which were far more rampent in Z. I'd actually say Dragon Ball was pretty consistently good from beginning to end (disclaimer: I haven't watched the full thing since 2008). But it's not controvertial to say that Z has some egregious padding (nightmare on a TV schedule, god) and the overall noticeable lack of passion the writing had in later sagas.

Z did have one crucial going for it though. It was really fucking cool! At least from the perspective of someone with little exposure to anime! The heightened stakes also consistently had me on the edge of my seat! Like, that dude just BLEW UP A PLANET?! BADASS?!

I loved it even more coming off the coat-tails of the origonal series. I'd grown to love these characters! I watched them grow up! Now my favourite of them all was practically a god!

Goku had become a comfort for me. I thought about him a lot. But oh boy did I have a big storm coming!

One thing about me at this point is that my other favourite characters were Sasuke Uchiha and Prince Zuko. Judging by that pattern, you can see where this went.

The moment he hit the screen I was fucking obsessed with Vegeta. I wasn't even naive about him being shit either. If anything I thought it was fun as hell!

My fate was sealed. Now here we are!

Love is Like a Ballad: Vegeta's Theme
(愛はバラードのように～ベジータのテーマ～)

Below is a cut song from the movie Fusion Reborn. Technically non-canonical but the first time in the series' timeline where Goku and Vegeta fuse.

The translation here is almost definitely inaccurate but it gets the main idea across. That being that it's easiest interpretation is that it's sung about Goku from Vegeta's perspective.

I've seen Vegebul (Vegeta x Bulma) fans claim it, but it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me from that angle. Especially since Vegeta never once interacts (or mentions? I believe?) Bulma in this movie. Goku on the other hand? They openly bond in this movie and it's the emotional core of the whole film.

Their reunion, Vegeta opening up to Goku and shedding some tears, Goku's gentle and caring demeaner as he reassures him. Then tells him he doesn't want them to spend their limited time together arguing. The surprisingly intimate framing while they're in that one spike pit. Honestly some of the most romantic shots in the entire series and here.

Also they fucking fuse. Not inherently gay but like, it's certainly something.

Performed by Shin Oya

You risked your life by defending
Such a small planet
Every time I saw you
I thought you were an idiot.

why? I know it's impossible
why? While hurting
Will you stand up to evil today too?

In the wind, in the rain
Your voice resounds deep in my heart
like a ballad
For love, for dreams
I'll even give up my pride too
Not to lose something more important during the fight.

Even if I break through the steel wall
Even if I destroy a huge mountain
It's not real strength
You're the only one who knows

why? The skills I trained
why? A hot battle too
They leave only emptiness.

On the eternal nights and rainy mornings
The smile you give me is warm
like a ballad
For love, for dreams
And with the friendship that blossomed, I just
I'll give everything to you

where I found the lyrics

This song is incredibly difficult to find anything on. At least if you only speak english like me (this dbz wiki only had the page available in polish). I had to run both the original and polish translation through google translate to get something that makes sense. So it's likely full of issues.

Memories: An Evening Without Him
(メモリーズ-奴のいない夜-)

I'm unsure what the intended context for this song was. I couldn't find much information on it myself. But it's giving heavy 'Vegeta coping with the 7 year timeskip' vibes.

Performed by Hironobu Kageyama

A shooting star casts light on the delightful night sky
Where is that guy now? What is he doing?
I'm keeping my wish deep in my heart

As the morning comes, I'm watching over the world
I use my strength and start to run
When the night comes, so does that day of battles
I'm meeting the fate
The stars tell me stories as I close my eyes
And have memories of these nights without him

The voiceless and lonely heart
Is remembering
I've always thought that guy was obnoxious
That smile now makes me nostalgic

When the morning comes, I'll stare at the horizon
I'm now clenching my fists and screaming out
When the night comes, I'm dreaming of these times spent with a friend
As the moon tell me stories, until the morning comes
I'll have memories of these nights without him

where I got this translation