Let’s see, from the outset you have to start by saying that the things that can be thrown in the face of ‘dragonball‘ We can also throw them in the face of a great infinity of manganimes.
Either because they are products of the time or because of the society in which we live, It is tremendously difficult to find a series where we do not have unnecessary sexualization or vase female characters.but in ‘Dragon Ball’ a rather hateful trend has been repeating itself that ends up pushing its female characters out of any relevant plot.
You are born, you grow up, you hit yourself a few times and you become a housewife
The debate is not old, but it has been reignited these days by the manga of ‘Dragon Ball Super‘. The most recent story arc has forgotten about cosmic combat for a while and has taken us back to Earth, more specifically to the high school life of Goten and Trunks.
We had previously had some glimpses into the life of Future Trunks and we knew that Mai He is his partner, and in the most recent arc of the manga we have already been able to see how their relationship began. So although the scenes of the two are quite cute, many fans are worried that Mai will end up like many other female characters very interesting from ‘Dragon Ball’: as a housewife.
Gotta love how Toriyama saw a female character he hadn’t relegated to a housewife in the background yet and decided he had to course correct that. pic.twitter.com/8Agp1r1S9e
—Truggler (@HamavalThorfinn) February 21, 2023
Be careful, it also touches here the necessary disclaimer that nothing happens to be a housewife in the Year 2023 of Our Lord. The problem and the debate in networks is coming because it almost seems that it is the only future that the female characters of ‘Dragon Ball’ can expect.becoming almost accessories to the plot.
‘Dragon Ball’ has a good handful of very interesting and well-constructed female characters, and that also enter stomping. But once they become the romantic interest of one of the leads, their fate is already sealed.
chi-chi She was a great fighter who, after marrying Goku, became a housewife and the mother of Gohan and Goten, and also came to be characterized as an overbearing mother who is always giving the turra.
TO Videl and C-18 The same thing happened to them a bit, and bulma She was never one to get into fights but she left her days as an adventurer completely behind. In the case of Lunch (Does anyone remember her?), she didn’t end up married to anyone but she completely disappeared from the series.
yes it’s true that in ‘Dragon Ball Super’ we were introduced to Kale and Cauliflatwo very powerful Saiyan warriors… but for now they have stayed there and they have not ended up contributing much more and we may not see them again in the future.
the lost chances
Because the issue is not that female characters cannot be mothers, caregivers and housewives. Nor that the only option a female character has to be good and attractive is for her to be a great warrior, because she is neither one nor the other. The issue is that the women of ‘Dragon Ball’ end up being practically forgotten, with far less screen time and importance than the male characters.
Bulma is one of the most important characters in the entire series. (literally the story starts because she is looking for the Dragon Balls!), but now it seems that she is only a wife and mother and that she is there to give Vegeta a boost when he needs it. Bulma is not a warrior, but it would have been very easy and grateful for her to stress herself out. his role running Capsule Corp and managing the company’s research and inventions.
The same goes for Videl, who logically falls far behind in terms of the power scale of the protagonists and is not going to contribute much in cosmic battles… but why not leave her as a Great Saiyaman on the street, or find her some kind of occupation, hobbies, or something beyond… being there for her husband and daughter?
From C-18 we can say that even though she married Krillin, from time to time they remember her and she even came to show off in the Tournament of Power. And although on paper he is still a relatively powerful character, when push comes to shove he ended up having a lot less relevance than his twin, C-17.
The list and options could go on, and in the end we could say that indeed all these female characters are free to choose what to do with their lives. And if what they want is to stay behind the curtain as housewives, then it is a valid option. But of course, in the end they They don’t make this decision like a real woman can, because they are fictional characters who are being molded according to some very damaging stereotypes and characterizations that we should have left behind by now.
I hate when people try and defend the housewife-ification of the Dragon Ball ladies by acting like they’re real women making choices of their own free will and not, y’know, fictional characters whose actions are controlled by a male writer.
— aimée dangerously ✰ (@sapphyreblayze) October 25, 2022
As it happens with all our favorite series and movies, it is very difficult to sharpen it and not find something. Now, the important thing is to know how to accept that nothing is perfect, and no matter how round ‘Dragon Ball’ be like manganime and with the huge cultural impact it has had, nor is he free from sin.
What we can now hope for is that things are changing, albeit slowly, and that Mai, Caulifla, and Kale have a brighter future with more opportunities than their predecessors.