THE CRUCIBLE AGAINST DEMORALIZATION

By Zach Berry

Dragon Ball’s Impact on My Life

There was a time when Dragon Ball was the world to me. Specifically, Dragon Ball Z as it was the first time I experienced a “cartoon” of that magnitude. I say cartoons because that is what my parents called them growing up. I don’t think our parents understood the magnitude and weight of every episode we tuned in for every week, and in a way, I’m appreciative of how deceptive it was to them. The lessons Dragon Ball taught me as a child have become indispensable. Learning to fight through the pain, act on instinct, make educated guesses, and come up with a strategy. Many people watching Dragon Ball assume that Goku was always this strong and faced no adversity on his climb to the top of the mountain, but that could be further from the truth.

The Stakes Were High In The Original

Before there was Dragon Ball Z there was Dragon Ball, and he lost many fights. Many people forget that Goku wasn’t always a Super Saiyan and had to train with his grandfather and Master Roshi. Becoming a Super Saiyan wasn’t even a possibility at the time. All you knew was that he was a little stronger than the average kid and had the habit of turning into a giant ape if he stared at the moon for too long. He’s lost to countless opponents from Tien to Roshi, to Piccolo and Raditz. The climb wasn’t easy, and it showed that he was willing to reach his goals or die trying. There was always opposition at every corner. Even when Goku became a Super Saiyan there was still opposition in the form of the Androids, Cell, and Majin Buu. Later in GT the Saiyans had to deal with ghosts of the past in BABY and the cost of overusing the dragon balls themselves. From Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball GT, it showed that there was a cost to everything. There are no free rides, and everything must be paid for.

The Issue With Modern Dragon Ball

Fast forward to 2026, and after a badly animated and horribly written series in Dragon Ball Super, we’re now hyping a remake to update the animation for the introduction of Beerus and Dragon Ball‘s Galactic Patrol. I never expected Dragon Ball to end because it’s important for the Japanese economy, but let’s be real. Are you really excited about this? I’m not excited to see Frieza transform from gold to black. Who truly cares about Goku and Vegeta having blue or red hair? Not only is it aesthetically displeasing, but it makes little to no sense. It seems like the only way for them to show they’ve reached a new level is to dye their hair. This is what happens when a series becomes a caricature of itself. Manga, for years, was the king of making real stories with a beginning, middle, and end. Apart from shows like JJK and maybe Dan Da Dan they’re having a difficult time cultivating interest in their new series and knowing when to end those that are past their prime. This is what I would expect from the West, but not the East. There’s nothing wrong with money because it can be used as a tool, but the love of money and the greed that is causing you to beat a dead horse like Dragon Ball is bordering on masochism. It’s as if these companies are seeing what we will buy. “Do we need to have good animation?” The answer was “no.” “Do we need to have a good story?” And again, the answer was “no”, so what do we need? If we don’t need good artwork or a great story, what is making them tune in? Why do they continue to watch? They watch because they’re hungry! Spike from Cowboy Bebop once said, “Hunger is the best spice.” If you starve a man and throw him any amount of food, then of course he’ll eat it. I’m at a point in my life where I’ve had my fill. I truly don’t know what the new generation sees in this, but the destruction of once beloved characters and more so, the destruction of their shape and form to make them look like teenagers again has amounted to the current Dragon Ball becoming essentially baby food. What kills me, though, is that babies are not watching this. 35–40-year-old men are tuning in as if they haven’t seen something better than this. I have completely abandoned YouTubers who review Dragon Ball because they’re compromised at this point, having sold out to sell baby food to line their pockets with views and sponsorship money. Instead of taking candy from a baby, they’re now selling baby food to grown men.

This Isn’t My Dragon Ball

Which leads me to say, this is NOT MY DRAGON BALL! Dragon Ball died with GT and for the last 10 or so years, they’ve been parading around its dead husk. Dragonball has become taxidermy! In Revenge of the Sith, Padme told Anakin, “You’re going down a path I can’t follow,” and I truly and utterly feel her pain. This once beloved show is going down a path I can no longer follow. The only thing I can do is remember the good times. There will be new shows and maybe even a new series to take the stage, but this is just one ride I can’t get on again. Not out of fear, but out of sadness, and truthfully out of respect for what came before.