I always tell people that I don’t care if a piece of media is directed outside of my demographic. If it’s quality, it’s quality and no, “for little kids” does not mean it’s going to be of poorer quality. But, that doesn’t mean you should ignore your demographics. Thinking about the reasons to pay attention to demographics and just overall discussion on our thoughts of the episode in general led my sister @redasuki and me to realize a reason we disliked the end of Dragon Ball Super’s Trunks arc that goes beyond how we feel about the writing quality.



What is the moral of your story? What message are you trying to leave your audience with?



There is no use denying it. Dragon Ball and all its related series’ is a Shonen directed for kids. Yes, I’m aware that plenty of adults enjoy it and I’m aware that very mature themes and lessons come out in it. Nearly all Anime is like this. I wouldn’t be surprised if more adults watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic than little girls but regardless, it is still designed for little girls and their parents.

Do you really think children should be hearing that the extinction of an entire world is no big deal and just something to laugh off because that’s just how life is so we should accept it?

Should we really be okay with children being taught that sometimes life is hopeless and there’s no way around it?

Reda - “But instead we’re at the point of erasing existences and that’s a little bit… how do you even counteract that? Answer is: you don’t. You erase the timeline and find a new one. It’s okay, kids. Your struggle is pointless. Nothing you do can win against the machine. Might as well give up now and hope you have some cheap way to survive because death comes for all and it’s a bleak world out there.”

Why do we not let kids watch Game of Thrones? It’s not because of the sex and gore, though that’s part of it. It’s also in large part because it gives off this impression that everything sucks including living. That in the end the only release from the horrors of the world is to either become that horror or just die. Do you know what sort of damage that sort of lesson could cause a person? Could cause a child? I won’t go into it because that is some potentially triggering material and I would rather not risk upsetting anyone but I hope you understand my point.

Reda - “The more I sit and think of this latest Arc and it’s Resolution, the more annoyed I am - not b/c of how it failed to do what it was trying to do but that what it was trying to do is actually not a message I’m comfortable having in the middle of a series that has always been about struggle wins out & teamwork is essential to push yourself to new heights & hope for a brighter day because good can come even if your world is torn

King Piccolo Arc is still one of the darkest to me because it felt hopeless.

But then Goku wins and it’s amazing.”

What was the point of the speeches about how mortals can come together? What was the point of the message behind Trunks accidentally performing a Spirit Bomb with the power of the Earth’s hope and all that represents if it was all in vain?

All of it. It was all pointless. Some will argue “characters die in vain in Dragon Ball multiple times, though!” Sure. Roshi died in vain. Chiaotsu died in vain. Vegeta died in vain. But you know how those arcs ended? Roshi coming back. Chiaotsu coming back. Vegeta coming back with huge evidence to support his character development I might add. The hope of the return. The fact that this latest arc is ending with just “everything you’ve ever loved is gone. Accept it.” doesn’t feel like Dragon Ball. It doesn’t feel appropriate for kids! Forget my dislike of the “everything sucks and that’s realism” stories that plaque our adult content these days, this sort of message needs to stay in Rick and Morty where the answer is “Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody’s gonna die. Come watch TV.” It has no business being in Dragon Ball. Where, as Reda so eloquently put and I’m going to repeat, the answer “has always been about struggle wins out & teamwork is essential to push yourself to new heights & hope for a brighter day because good can come even if your world is torn”.

One more time, louder for the people in the back, Dragon Ball “has always been about struggle wins out & teamwork is essential to push yourself to new heights & hope for a brighter day because good can come even if your world is torn”.

Why do I love Dragon Ball? Because I despise the idea that “Hoping that life is good is a childish idealistic dream” and Dragon Ball gave and showed what having the philosophy of hope is like in the real world. It’s about never giving in to the darkness. It’s about never giving in to the apathetic attitude that people who enjoy Game of Thrones claim is the truth of the world. No. The world DOESN’T only suck. Bad things happen and sometimes it feels hopeless but the only hopelessness lies in believing good will never win and thus allowing evil to exist.

When you give up. That’s the true failure. Not the world’s failure to rid itself of evil, no, that’s life. The failure lies in giving up on the good that we do have.

Accept that evil exists and we will never truly be rid of it but be prepared and willing to fight it where you can so maybe we can keep the balance of good winning out in the end alive.

That’s the lesson Dragon Ball left me with.

That’s the lesson I love Dragon Ball for.

Not that everything is rosey and bad will never happen like so many people claim the story is, no. But that we can always and should always fight for that end even in the face of the reality of a darker world.

Kids should not watch Game of Thrones.

Kids should not be exposed to a story that teaches that your struggle was worthless. In the end, those kids, Yajirobe, that resistance, they all died. They gave their all. They did what they could. They played their part. They cared so much and believed in Trunks so much that he was able to defeat the enemy by the sheer force of their hope. But he didn’t defeat him. Everything was destroyed and everyone accepted it that way.

So, kids watching, I guess that’s what adults say life is. Why should you even struggle?

You’re paralyzed from the waist down? Don’t bother trying to become a racer. You’ll struggle and still lose.

You’ve been diagnosed with cancer? Why go through the hell of chemo? Just let it take you. The struggle proved worthless for so many people, why should you try? You’ll struggle and still lose.

You have a learning disability? Don’t bother getting around it. Don’t bother studying three times as hard as the other kids. You’ll struggle and still lose.

You see why this ending bothers me? Why the fact that this is a lesson we are giving to children bothers me?

“But Trunks and Mai are happy!”



Let me tell you something about Dragon Ball.

After the Saiyan saga, everyone was prepared to accept the end. Those who had died were dead and there was no hope. They grieved. Bulma broke down in tears and everyone was there to comfort her. There was a sense of depression but there was also the idea that they weren’t alone. They were suffering, yes, and the suffering was real, but they were prepared to work through it. Not just say “I guess that’s how the cookie crumbles.”

Even when the additional hopeful chance of there maybe being another set of Dragon Balls was brought up, they still held back their expectations. They were ready for the mission to fail. They knew it was a possibility that it would all be for nothing and they were ready for that but they still carried on and they still fought and they still carried hope.

And it was that fighting, it was the STRUGGLE that made the HOPE they held on to WORTH it.