Dragonball: Regarding Master Roshi

[McAvoy]

Just want to continue the Dragonball posts. Mainly because Master Roshi is a problematic character.

We know what it is. His thing for the ladies. Big time problematic.

Because of the posts recently here on the forum on Dragonball, I have decided to re-watch the series, start to finish with Super being the official end and GT being a side quest of sorts.

Anyway, I was thinking about early Dragonball. It's easy to eliminate the scenes involving Goku being naked, Bulma peeing, Bulma being partially naked in some scenes. Etc.

We can discuss Goku having to pat people in their fun zone to figure out if they are a boy or girl later.

My focus is Master Roshi. He works as a Master of Martial Arts when he is serious or even as a joke. So here is the question, of you were to redo Master Roshi, would you keep his antics? Subdue it, like no touching but still a dirty old man? Or just eliminate the whole thing?

Personally I would subdue it. He is a dirty old man who is lonely. No touching. No blatant moves on the women. Like his two hand squeeze he likes to do when it comes to a woman's bust.

What do you think?

[Winter]

Gonna sound odd but I would keep them. Roshi is not a great person. He's a pervert, a jackass and just all around not fun to be around. Which is the point, he is NOT someone you would ever assume to be the World's strongest. Yet he's still, at his core, a good person who cares for his friends and students and does what is right.

That's really Dragon Ball in a nutshell. Comedic, sometimes really uncomfortable but also a lot of fun when you get to know it.

Also, while Roshi is a pervert he's always given his comeuppance soon afterwords. The series goes out of it's way to basically say "This is not someone you should look up to as a role model" as all the other main characters are frequently put off by him and find him to be really annoying. The one exception is Goku and even he has his limits.

[McAvoy]

Gonna sound odd but I would keep them. Roshi is not a great person. He's a pervert, a jackass and just all around not fun to be around. Which is the point, he is NOT someone you would ever assume to be the World's strongest. Yet he's still, at his core, a good person who cares for his friends and students and does what is right.

That's really Dragon Ball in a nutshell. Comedic, sometimes really uncomfortable but also a lot of fun when you get to know it.

Also, while Roshi is a pervert he's always given his comeuppance soon afterwords. The series goes out of it's way to basically say "This is not someone you should look up to as a role model" as all the other main characters are frequently put off by him and find him to be really annoying. The one exception is Goku and even he has his limits.

Fair enough. Just thinking about it. Objectivization of women and all that.

Curious about the World's Strongest. It is possible he might have been at one point. Power creep starts even after the 21st World Tournament where Goku faces off against General Tao Pai Pai. Goku was thoroughly thrashed in their first fight. I suppose you could say Master Roshi as Jackie Chan didn't go full out. Maybe he didn't even go full out against Tien during the 22nd World Tournament either. Bowing out of the fight as more of a teaching lesson than anything.

Just a thought.

[clearspira]

Anime objectifies women by the standards of Western eyes. This has to be accepted if you are to enjoy anime. The perv, the creep, the schoolgirl with bouncing assets, creative creative work. This is what you are getting even in 2025.

This is a complicated discussion because I do not think that the West has the correct balance either. In the West you would be forgiven for thinking that the human race is assexual with how it presents the most natural of all acts. And don't get me started on menstruation. Half the human race goes through that from the moment they become teenagers and yet for some reason it has been deemed as disgusting.

[McAvoy]

Anime objectifies women by the standards of Western eyes. This has to be accepted if you are to enjoy anime. The perv, the creep, the schoolgirl with bouncing assets, creative creative work. This is what you are getting even in 2025.

This is a complicated discussion because I do not think that the West has the correct balance either. In the West you would be forgiven for thinking that the human race is assexual with how it presents the most natural of all acts. And don't get me started on menstruation. Half the human race goes through that from the moment they become teenagers and yet for some reason it has been deemed as disgusting.

To me it's just straight up objectifying women. Yes, I do it through Western eyes and yes it is still a thing, a big thing now.

Dragonball is pretty light when it comes to this. Bulma and even Launch may have been part of this but not so much compared to other Manga or anime. You could argue Marron from the anime filter arc of Garlic Jr did more of that. Sure Dragonball has grown men with muscles coming out of everywhere. Tien with his big ass shoulders in Z (Team Four Star made a joke about it). But it's never a lingering thing.

Super never pulled that either. I mean maybe you could count the time Goku accidently instant transmissioned himself into Vegeta and Bulma's bedroom when he had that onset ki thingy where his powers was all weird. Bulma was in the shower but that was it. Maybe you could pull out that Master Roshi had to master his lust before the Tournament of Power as an example of Super trying to pull away from this as well. Or just him mastering his one weakness.

I am just thinking of you redo OG Dragonball you could certainly do without the nudity, the times Bulma, who was 16 BTW, getting into revealing circumstances. Tame Master Roshi down.

[Thebestoftherest]

Just want to continue the Dragonball posts. Mainly because Master Roshi is a problematic character.

We know what it is. His thing for the ladies. Big time problematic.

Because of the posts recently here on the forum on Dragonball, I have decided to re-watch the series, start to finish with Super being the official end and GT being a side quest of sorts.

Anyway, I was thinking about early Dragonball. It's easy to eliminate the scenes involving Goku being naked, Bulma peeing, Bulma being partially naked in some scenes. Etc.

We can discuss Goku having to pat people in their fun zone to figure out if they are a boy or girl later.

My focus is Master Roshi. He works as a Master of Martial Arts when he is serious or even as a joke. So here is the question, of you were to redo Master Roshi, would you keep his antics? Subdue it, like no touching but still a dirty old man? Or just eliminate the whole thing?

Personally I would subdue it. He is a dirty old man who is lonely. No touching. No blatant moves on the women. Like his two hand squeeze he likes to do when it comes to a woman's bust.

What do you think?

Roshi: Hello lady.
Bulma: I'm a minor.
Roshi: I'm out.