Within the manga and anime fan community, many agree that the universe of Dragon Ball Z is one of those where the death is the most present, but also one of those where death has the least meaning. Indeed, because of this disconcerting ease with which it is possible to bring characters back to life, we have seen some characters go back and forth between the world of the living and that of the dead, like Krillin or Chaozu, both dead three times. However, there are certain characters who seem to have managed to avoid this obligatory passage into the afterlife.
an unbeatable character?
The saga dragonball appears to be one of the essential works for all shonen lovers. The creator of this incredible saga, Akira Toriyamahas thus inspired the entire generation of contemporary mangakas, laying certain foundations of the genre that can be found almost everywhere today (thanks to the martial arts tournament).
The creator of the universe dragonball also succeeded in trivialize the relationship that the characters have with death, even if the concept of “death” remains to be nuanced. Indeed, thanks to the crystal balls, key elements of the universe of Toriyama having even given the name to the series, it is possible to resuscitate (more or less) any deceased, thus allowing the protagonists to sacrifice themselves in scenes as tragic as they are emblematicand to shake hands a few episodes later as if nothing had happened.
However, if almost all of the characters in Dragon Ball Z has already visited the afterlife at least once in the series, there are a few exceptions who, by chance, managed to escape this disastrous fate. Many will then think of Mr. Satan. Appearing to be one of the weakest characters in the series, the latter has nevertheless always managed to get out in extremis situations all more perilous than the others. It is one of the few to have survived the destruction of the planet and thus avoid the tragic fate known by almost all the inhabitants of the Earth following the attack of Majin Buu, alongside Dendé, Vegeta and Goku (characters to whom Mr. Satan very often owes his survival). Still, he will play a decisive role in Goku’s victory over the evil Majin Buu.
And he’s not the only supporting character to pull it off on the show.. We also think of Kaïoshin, who will later merge with Kibito in order to test the famous Potaras, thus becoming Kibitoshin. But there is also Baba the seer, who will manage to hide in the realm of the dead and will also survive the destruction of the planet. It can also be assumed that the great king Enma, judge of the souls of the Otherworld, never knew death (personally) in Dragon Ball Z.
death in dbz
However, if the concept of “death” now appears almost incidentalthis can be explained in several ways. First of all, it is a question of replacing each scene in the context of the time. If today, the dead no longer have as much impact in the series, it is because we all know the story very well. But before Namekian Crystal Balls, there was real drama around the inability to bring characters back to life if they had already died once.
In Dragon Ball Z, the concept of death itself does not inherently cause drama and tension, but asserts itself through the question of when the characters can be resurrected. Thus, death remains a source of drama, because it often intervenes in decisive fights. And even if we know that it will not be permanent, it still remains impactful on a personal level, but also script-wise, in the sense that the character is then excluded from the fight, making the latter even more desperate.
Where crystal balls really detract from the drama is that they remove any possibility of death having a lasting impact., the death of a character not meaning much in the long run. We can then think that Toriyama did not wish to use death as a lasting source of motivation for the development of his characters.
And this seems to be confirmed with the death of Android 16 during the Cell saga, one of the rare permanent deaths on the side of the “good guys” in Dragon Ball Z. Going into the Buu saga, one would have thought that the android’s words and death would continue to mark Gohan, motivating him to keep his strength and never let such a thing happen again. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, and Android 16’s death will simply have allowed Gohan to transform into Super Saiyan 2..
So we can say that death always manages to keep its dramatic aspect in Dragon Ball Zbut that because of the crystal balls, she has little lasting impact on a character or those around her.
And if you want to find out this radical decision of the Toei concerning the next film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero following the recent hack, see our previous article on the subject, right here.
