Your Ideal Dragonball- The Race Question

[JP]

All of you are banned for turning this into IMDB.

How so..?

 

[Adam]

It's pretty evident now.

 

[CrashNburn]

well...not so much specifically Disney, but American cartoon characters back in the day all had large eyes. Looney Toons, Disney, etc....all the characters had large eyes, so Japan took that and incorporated that into their style.

right!...they copiedt:

 

[DorkyFresh]

Japanese used to have that kind of reputation. my friend used to say they take already existing ideas and make them better...hehe.

it's ironic that America cartoons are now trying to copy Japanese cartoons.

 

[CrashNburn]

i know...it's a vicious cycle

 

[mr. peasant]

Japanese used to have that kind of reputation. my friend used to say they take already existing ideas and make them better...hehe.

it's ironic that America cartoons are now trying to copy Japanese cartoons.

Problem is, the American 'anime' copies aren't improving like what the Japanese did.

 

[Star]

Japanese used to have that kind of reputation. my friend used to say they take already existing ideas and make them better...hehe.

it's ironic that America cartoons are now trying to copy Japanese cartoons.

I was thinking about that awhile ago actually. American cartoons are becoming FAR more similar to Anime then they ever have been before

 

[Humpty Dumpty]

Problem is, the American 'anime' copies aren't improving like what the Japanese did.

Anime also-rans aren’t really representative of the best of what American animation has to offer. I think the Pixar style in recent years has certainly become much more closely associated with the notion of what is quintessentially American when it comes to animation.

 

[mr. peasant]

Anime also-rans aren’t really representative of the best of what American animation has to offer. I think the Pixar style in recent years has certainly become much more closely associated with the notion of what is quintessentially American when it comes to animation.

I agree. What constitutes as 'better' animated productions tend to lean more towards computer-generated 3D animation (at least for the big screen), which is a shame since I miss the more traditionally animated offerings Disney used to produce during its renaissance.

 

[CrashNburn]

I was thinking about that awhile ago actually. American cartoons are becoming FAR more similar to Anime then they ever have been before

hey Star, noticed your new avatar...nice! my girl actually rides horses. she had a horse that looked like your avatar. she had to get another one though. he's awesome!

i agree about the old disney stuff although Pixar is very cool. japanese anime has been better.

 

[Hectorminator]

Goku and the rest of the Saiyans should be white, or at least Mexican/Latino. (I grew up watching DBZ on Mexican TV, so that's how I see Goku.) The Saiyans are supposed to be aliens, so they should at least look like Superman. Or at least tan, until they turn Super Saiyan (which is kind of racist, but that's another issue.)

Krillin should be chinese or white.

Roshi should be chinese.

Chi-chi should be latino or white.

Piccolo should so be black, it's not even funny.

Mr. Popo should be a less-racist black dude.

Tien should be asian.

Bulma should be white. And her son, Trunks, should be a tanned white kid.

But basically, everybody could basically be white or asian, except for I think Bulma and Piccolo.

But I always found it confusing that this Asian-produced show (the first anime I ever watched) featured characters with HUGE EYES and different-colored hair. That totally led me to believe that either 1) everyone was supposed to be white or 2) Asians don't like their smaller eyes and all black hair.

 

[KonkeyDong]

from what I understand Goku is an alien...do aliens look asian?

 

[Fantastic-Boy]

This isn't the most important thing. On my point, the concerning must be with director, plot, and actors (from any continent) with TALENT.

 

[arman200]

I always assumed they were white based on the color of their skin, which is much lighter than something like Tenchi Muyo. The race really doesn't matter unless it's Mr. PoPo, who, if represented like in the cartoon, would be viewed as a Black Stereotype.

 

[Avangarde]

i want aborigonees dammit

Oh good grief.

 

[Humpty Dumpty]

I always assumed they were white based on the color of their skin, which is much lighter than something like Tenchi Muyo. The race really doesn't matter unless it's Mr. PoPo, who, if represented like in the cartoon, would be viewed as a Black Stereotype.

Though there is a degree of resemblance between Mr. Popo and blackface, this similarity is merely coincidental as his appearance is actually intended to emulate a style of caricature seen in the art of the Middle East. In light of how Mr. Popo is supposed to be a djinn, the type of spirit from Middle-Eastern mythology that inspired the concept of the “genie,” the decision Toriyama made to employ this style of caricature for Mr. Popo makes perfect sense.

 

[arman200]

Though there is a degree of resemblance between Mr. Popo and blackface, this similarity is merely coincidental as his appearance is actually intended to emulate a style of caricature seen in the art of the Middle East. In light of how Mr. Popo is supposed to be a djinn, the type of spirit from Middle-Eastern mythology that inspired the concept of the “genie,” the decision Toriyama made to employ this style of caricature for Mr. Popo makes perfect sense.

I realize the intent, but people would still be outraged if they kept the original look, because they would think it was a black stereotype. People do that all the time, they look for things that aren't there.

 

[JoseMP]

Stupid thread. Please someone lock this thread. We dont want this to turn into IMDB.

If someone wants to discuss race, just go to the IMDB forums, 80% of the threads there are about race, and stupid children insulting each other with stupid insults.

 

[tekken]

it still confuses me as to how people could think goku is white. he's totally chinese..he's based on the monkey king, has black hair, dark eyes, wears orange gi, eats noodles, and has the name goku for crying out loud. lol. and besides...seeing that dragon ball is an asian thing, why would toriyama make the main character white/mexican? that makes no sense to me...at all. lol. and in japan, 99.9% of population are of japanese people; they're pretty racist. they would NOT make a white guy the main character no matter how white he looks.

thats like if the japanese claim that superman is actually asian even though he's definitely an american icon.

that's my argument for "goku is asian, not white." it doesnt bother me that chatwin is playing goku, but it does bother me that people think goku is actually white in the series when he's definitely not.

 

[Kaizer104]

Honestly, the choices they've made now are practically perfect to me. I only wish there was a bit more effort put into accuracy, but it doesn't bother me at all. I always pictured Goku as white, mixed or asian, myself, so I don't see the problem. Just need to make sure he's got his crazy hair.

 

[nanjirou]

it still confuses me as to how people could think goku is white. he's totally chinese..he's based on the monkey king, has black hair, dark eyes, wears orange gi, eats noodles, and has the name goku for crying out loud. lol. and besides...seeing that dragon ball is an asian thing, why would toriyama make the main character white/mexican? that makes no sense to me...at all. lol. and in japan, 99.9% of population are of japanese people; they're pretty racist. they would NOT make a white guy the main character no matter how white he looks.

thats like if the japanese claim that superman is actually asian even though he's definitely an american icon.

that's my argument for "goku is asian, not white." it doesnt bother me that chatwin is playing goku, but it does bother me that people think goku is actually white in the series when he's definitely not.

are you serious??

goku is saiyajin, or saiyan. not asian, not caucasian, we are not talking about race. so saying he is asian or caucasian is pretty stupid.
we are talking about the way he looks, his appearance. and he doesnt look asian, not to me anyway. when have you seen an asian with as big eyes as goku.
and yeah, i did see caucasian persons with DARK EYES, BLACK HAIR, and more than anything with big eyes, so to me, he resembles way more a caucasian person than an asian one.

If his idea was to make him look asian, then i think he failed at that.

what does his name, the fact that he is based on the monkey king and that he wears an orange gi have to do with the way he actually looks?? Those would suggest akira toriyama intended to make him asian, if thats even the case. but it doesnt mean he looks like asian
he is an alien raised in an asian culture, hence the name, orange gi, etc
again, that doesnt make him look asian

if you want to believe he looks asian then thats ok, but its not crazy to think he looks caucasian either

 

[thedarkpawn]

i want black people because they can jump real high and run real fast, just like the characters of dragonball.

 

[CrashNburn]

geez!

 

[mr. peasant]

it still confuses me as to how people could think goku is white. he's totally chinese..he's based on the monkey king

Even if he's based on Sun Wukong (the Monkey King to most Westerners), that doesn't make him Chinese at all. In the original epic, he was described as being born into a monkey by a mystical stone. So unless you're calling us Chinese folk monkeys, he's in no way Chinese.

Personally, I find this whole 'Goku being Caucasian is unacceptable' issue is somewhat ridiculous. Amongst all the Asians I know, none of them have a severe problem with the race issue. The most they'd do is laugh and say "that's typically Hollywood". We understand it's part of the industry and for the most part, don't think it's particularly wrong for a non-Asian to play Goku. If you ask me, the majority of those most vocal against Goku being Caucasian are actually 'Asianophiles' of non-Asian (frequently Caucasian) ethnicities.

 

[nanjirou]

Personally, I find this whole 'Goku being Caucasian is unacceptable' issue is somewhat ridiculous. Amongst all the Asians I know, none of them have a severe problem with the race issue. The most they'd do is laugh and say "that's typically Hollywood". We understand it's part of the industry and for the most part, don't think it's particularly wrong for a non-Asian to play Goku. If you ask me, the majority of those most vocal against Goku being Caucasian are actually 'Asianophiles' of non-Asian (frequently Caucasian) ethnicities.

this is nice to read, it means the movie might do way better in asia than what some people in here think