Summary
- Gohan and Broly's paths to power have caused a significant power scaling issue in Dragon Ball.
- The series needs to avoid easy power-ups and ensure all characters train to reach higher levels.
- Quick transformations undermine characters who have earned their strength through hard work and training.
Ever since the start of the Dragon Ball franchise, power scaling has been a massive part of it. Of course, this was always going to be the case, judging by the incredible strength of many of the characters, which was often enough to destroy entire islands and even the moon. As the story went to Z, power scaling was dialed up to 11 when characters who were strong enough to destroy entire planets became the norm.
Still, though, the method of becoming stronger remained consistent for the most part, since training and building up one's strength was always the main method of doing so. However, many feel that in the current state of Dragon Ball, the power scaling has simply lost much of its meaning due to the existence of characters like Gohan and Broly, so let's see why this is and how this problem can be solved.
Dragon Ball: Why A Second Tournament Of Power Would Be The Easiest Battle For The Z- Fighters
The Tournament of Power was the greatest test for the heroes, but here's why a second one would be far too easy for them!
Gohan And Broly Have Birthed A Huge Power Scaling Problem
The Issue With Their Strength
|
Gohan's First Appearance |
Dragon Ball Z, Episode 1, "The New Threat" |
|---|---|
|
Broly's First Canon Appearance |
Dragon Ball Super: Broly |
Dragon Ball is a franchise that is defined by the belief that hard work is one of the most admirable and important traits one can have. Since the start of the series, Goku has always been portrayed as an underdog who rose to the level of champions simply because he trained and believed in himself to do whatever he needed to. No matter who he went up against, he always gave it his all.
This belief carried on in Z and was especially important in its beginning stages, particularly the Saiyan Saga. Here, Goku was repeatedly stated to be inferior to Vegeta due to being a low-born member of their race, but ultimately, he proved to be the victor of their battle due to the hard work he had put in to become Earth's strongest warrior. Later on, after Vegeta also became a Z-Fighter, both of them would be defined by their determination to bring out the best in themselves through sheer resilience and perseverance.
This is inherently why so many fans have a massive problem with Gohan and Broly's path to power. From the beginning, Gohan was always built up as the Saiyan with the most potential in the entire story who was able to close massive gaps in power with a fraction of the effort, playing solely off of emotion. Eventually, when the canon version of Broly was introduced in Dragon Ball Super, the same thing went for him as well.
Although both are beloved and are among the series' most important characters, their method of reaching greater stages of strength just feels like a cheap ploy, especially in Super. This is because Goku and Vegeta have always given it their all to get to the level they are at, both mentally and physically. So, when Gohan and Broly can do the same by just getting angrier than before, it just makes for poor storytelling since it just serves as a convenient way to bring them all up to the same level. And, the excuse of 'they've always had the most potential' doesn't work here because the reason is still contrived.
Power comes in response to a need, not a desire. You have to create that need.
It also brings down Goku and Vegeta's arcs, since they have often had to go through incredible growth to get where they are. This is especially felt in Super, with Gohan and Broly now unlocking forms that are on the same tier of strength as Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta. This is a horrible choice on the part of the writers because both of these forms are used by Goku and Vegeta to house the inherent techniques of the Angels and Gods of Destruction respectively, who are the most powerful beings in the multiverse.
Having Gohan Beast and Full Power Super Saiyan Broly achieve the same level of strength as these forms is incredibly poor writing. The techniques used by the multiverse's strongest beings should be the greatest power of them all, so it makes no sense that Gohan and Broly can match up to them by simply getting angrier than before. If that's something that can just be unlocked by potential and no training, then there's no point for Goku and Vegeta to have ever trained at all.
Dragon Ball: Beerus Has Proven To Be The Strongest Destroyer In The Series, But These Mortals Could Beat Him
Beerus is the strongest destroyer of them all, but let's take a look at the mortals who stand the best chance at beating him in a fight!
How This Problem Can Be Fixed For The Series
Why It Needs To Be Fixed
- The series needs to avoid quick and easy power-ups.
- All characters should train and be held to the same standards because of it.
The most notable and easiest way for the series to rectify this issue is by making sure that there are no easy plot conveniences. This means that, in order to get stronger, all characters would need to train their bodies and minds to house even greater power and to remove this gimmick of 'potential' from the series in general. By having certain characters reach the greatest levels of power without the need to train for them, it essentially wastes and mocks those characters who do.
Just because unreal potential has always been a part of Gohan's character since the beginning doesn't mean that it was a good choice for the series as a whole. Sure, Gohan's transformation into the franchise's first Super Saiyan 2 was incredible and iconic, but there was also a ton of build-up to that, especially with all the time he spent training with Goku in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, so his eventual transformation always felt earned. Contrast this with Gohan Beast, which came out of nowhere and was just somehow as strong as Ultra Instinct Goku, which still makes no sense to this day.
Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
One Piece: How Joyboy, Roger, And Shanks All Paved The Way For Luffy To Become Nika
A closer look at how Joyboy, Roger, and Shanks were all instrumental in shaping Luffy's destiny in becoming the Nika of his time!
Dragon Ball Super
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2015 - 2018
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Akira Toriyama
