The Dragon Ball Super: Broly anime comic adaptation is now out overseas. Aside from some eye-catching (and colorful!) artwork recreating the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie experience on the page, the anime comic has the added appeal of a bonus Q&A with Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama!
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Out of the all of the interesting insights that Toriyama shared for this Q&A, the one that seems to be resonating the most with fans is no doubt the conversation about Saiyan parenting technique, and how it relates to Goku and Vegeta in this Dragon Ball Super era.
Here’s the quote from Toriyama, regarding why Saiyans may struggle to be good fathers:
“Innately, Saiyans place emphasis on increasing the number of strong people in their race, so bonds between parent and child aren’t all that strong. King Vegeta and Paragus aim to use their sons to fulfill their own pride and ambitions, respectively, while Bardock, unusually for a Saiyan and more similarly to Earthlings, seems to have just a bit of fondness for his son. Come to think ot it, Goku doesn’t seem to think about his children all that much.”
The moderator of the Q&A then describes how this topic slide into side-conversation, in which Toriyama addresses why Vegeta has, surprisingly, become a doting and caring father. In Toriyama’s assessment, It is the presence of Bulma in Vegeta’s life that has made all the difference.
That’s a fair point to make – especially when comparing Vegeta’s parenting to Goku’s. Chi-Chi is a duitful wife and mother for sure, but she’s also a hardcore dragon lady. Forcing Goku to be affectionate is definitely not on Chi-Chi’s agenda – nor is looking glam or sexy to keep things spicy with her man. Bulma is the exact opposite: Dragon Ball Super: Broly reveals that she’s gone so far as to use the Dragon Balls to de-age herself every so often, so that she can still look fit and fine as she ages. Dragon Ball Super has certainly snuck in the hints that she and Vegeta still have a spicy love life, and the Saiyan prince’s appreciation of his wife and kids fueled him to his greatest power-up yet in the Tournament of Power.
The responsibility for a Saiyan’s family ties doesn’t just rest on the kind of wife he has, though. Bardock made his own choice to love his son Kakarot enough to send him away (and therein saved the universe). Perhaps Goku just needs to pay closer attention to how the other Saiyan dads around him are doing things…
Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media. Dragon Ball Super: Broly is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
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