A Filler Arc Brought Back One Of Dragon Ball’s Original Heroes
Dragon Ball is one of the greatest and longest-running anime franchises of all time, so it’s not entirely surprising that it would forget to include some of the original members of the series. What started as a fun, adventurous, martial arts-focused series about a boy with a tail turned into a universe-spanning, Energy Wave blasting anime and manga series that hardly looks like its roots. Dragon Ball has five major iterations: The original Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball DAIMA, Dragon Ball Super, and Dragon Ball GT.
While the canon timeline isn’t exactly clearly laid out, most of the main cast of characters finds their way into each iteration one way or another. Out of all the major characters from the original Dragon Ball, however, there is one character that is almost entirely left out. This character played a prominent role in the original series, and recently, they just saw their less than triumphant return in a filler arc in Dragon Ball Super.
The Original Dragon Ball Featured A Ton Of Characters Who Aren’t Seen Again
Dragon Ball Is One Of The Longest-Running Anime Franchises Around, So It’s Not Surprising That Some Characters Are Forgotten
The original Dragon Ball series feels like an entirely different franchise from the Dragon Ball currently in production. The original series focused on martial arts, had barely any Energy Wave attacks, and featured a litany of characters who are no longer in the series whatsoever.
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Some of the strongest villains in Dragon Ball in the original series couldn’t hold a candle to even the weakest characters in Dragon Ball Super. Goku started out fighting his hardest at the World’s Martial Arts Tournament against Demons and fellow martial artists. Now, he’s training with literal Gods, mastering their techniques during fights that are for the fate of the entire universe.
While most of the main characters of the original Dragon Ball are still around, only a few still play major roles. The only two characters with major roles are Goku and Bulma. While Krillin, Master Roshi, and Chi-Chi are still featured prominently, they’re not in the series nearly as much as they used to be.
Launch Played A Huge Role In The Original Dragon Ball
Her Return To Dragon Ball Was In A Small Filler Arc
Launch is a hilarious character that fits in perfectly with the original Dragon Ball’s tone. While later iterations of Dragon Ball prioritized action over humor (except for Dragon Ball DAIMA, of course), the original Dragon Ball series felt like it put humor above everything.
There aren’t too many characters who embody the series’ focus on humor more than Launch. The split personality character was as sweet as she was deadly, and it all depended on her hair color.
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When Launch sneezed, she changed personalities. Her purple/blue hair and big eyes represented her good side. This side of Launch was thoughtful, kind, and altogether good. When she sneezes, she turns into Bad Launch. Bad Launch has blonde hair, angry green eyes, and a machine gun. It’s a funny juxtaposition from her good side that created a lot of great moments in the original series.
For whatever reason, Launch was rarely included after the original Dragon Ball series. It was a disappointing change that felt like creator Akira Toriyama might have forgotten about one of the fans’ favorite characters.
Launch finally returned in a Dragon Ball filler titled The Return of Son Goku and Friends!, but even then, she’s just hanging out in the background. Hopefully, in the future, Launch gets the proper reintroduction to the series that she deserves.
- Created by
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Akira Toriyama
- First Film
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Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
- Latest TV Show
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Super Dragon Ball Heroes
Summary
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
