Comparing DRAGON BALL to JOJO's BIZARRE ADVENTURE

I was planning on writing up the latest JOJO’s episode today
but - - ¡qué lastima! - - it’s
apparently been delayed until the end of the day. Go figure with Japanese
television, right? Well, what better way to combat a terrible wait for a new show
than to revisit an old favorite, sitting comfortably there on the shelf…?

Actually, I suppose this juxtaposition makes for some
worthwhile comparison points. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the
Stardust Crusaders’ team dynamic, and Goku’s band offers an interesting counter
example here. Last time, I said I was looking forward to the new line-up, since
our hero was essentially trading one team [Bulma/Yamcha/Oolong]
for another [Roshi/Krillin/Launch]
that actually has a markedly different dynamic.

== TEASER ==

The key here is that all four players are good foils for each
other. The Stardust Crusaders have that for the most part, but I still think
Kakyoin doesn’t serve much purpose. He isn’t even a straight man for
these other big personalities to bounce off. More importantly, if you put him in a given situation, there’s
no guessing how his response will differ from Jotaro, Joseph, Polnareff or
Avdol.

Contrast that with
these guys, and how Goku and Krillin essentially serve as Goofus and Gallant
during Roshi’s drills - - and you’ll start seeing there’s a bit of method to
Toriyama’s madness. This could’ve just as easily been a training arc where Goku
goes through the rote paces of learning another skill, but the pointed inclusion of
Krillin as a foil makes all these familiar scenes funny. While I opted to
combine these episodes for a double write-up because there isn’t a ton of plot
between them, I was still highly entertained, and that’s chiefly due to that added character intrigue.

There’s even further intrigue for each drill, too, because Roshi will
act differently (either as the sage or the letch), depending on whether Launch
is around, and then Launch will act quite differently depending on whether she’s
sneezed or not, and so on. Thus,, unlike with Kakyoin, there’s a clear and unique identity to
how each team member will react to a situation (finding a hidden rock, delivering milk, etc), and then how they’ll
interact will clearly change depending on who’s with whom. And again, that's the definition of a team dynamic, and DRAGON BALL handles it quite shrewdly.

Watch “Milk
Delivery" and “Find That Stone!” decide for yourself, then read my comments
on the previous episode.