Would you find early DB Roshi's gag as funny?

[ahill1]

Or do you think it grew up to the point it's just cringe and in bad taste nowadays?

Won't deny it, I found them funny when I firstly watched it as a kid and as a teenager... But it's just cringe and in bad taste to me now when I see them. Roshi wanting to see Bulma's pants, who was 16 years old at the time, and then wanting to touch her body all over... Is just in bad taste to me looking in retrospect. As well as him touching women's ass constantly. Granted that he'd generally get punched for it, but even when getting punched, the scene would still carry a humorous tune and wouldn't be made a big deal of, with Roshi being the wise mentor.

Ofc, the story was written in Japan in the 90s, so the perception from the time, culture from another place (whose age of consent is also way lower) would all play a role in how accepted gags like those would be. But looking in retrospect, they seem just bad.

There's also the scene in which two red ribbon soldiers wanted to "play" with Bulma, she refused and then they chased her, likely wanting to abuse or rape her. When Goku attacked them and destroyed their planes, Bulma was like "wow, you didn't need to get that far", which is also funny to consider when they were trying to, likely, rape her.

 

[SSJ2]

Of course it looks bad when you consider the current era. I'm probably of the same opinion as you though. When I was a kid I didn't really care as it didn't have a huge impact on the story. It is pretty cringe when you revisit it as an adult.

 

[Hector]

I liked it.

 

[Cirno777]

I personally found it funny. Sexual harassment isn't funny in and of itself, but I'd say it's because of what Kamesennin is "parody-ing". You know, those wise old masters of martial arts who should be enlightened and free from vice, but Kamesennin is completely consumed by it after living in solitude for hundreds of years.

Didn't Toriyama write another manga about a female superhero that gets constantly sexual assaulted?

 

[Yoshi]

Bulma was at least 16. By the time you’re in your mid teens you’re biologically an adult even though you’re mentally still a child.

 

[Dagon]

People from the 90s found media from the 70s repugnant, people from the 70s found media from the 50s repugnant, and so on. It's natural.

 

[DBZAOTA482]

It was funny in the original manga because he wasn't so over-the-top like he is now. The most he did was read his dirty magazines or try to cop a feel.

 

[dbz4me]

Indifferent. I don't find them that funny, but I'm not offended over their existence or anything.

 

[GreatSaiyaman123]

Even then, I they were meant to be funny because they were awkward situations. I was never into awkward comedy so I never liked these scenes, but I didn’t think they were repulsive. In hindsight they are, though.

 

[Future Warrior]

Looking back, most of Toriyama's humor is quite cringy for someone who is a gag writer first and foremost. But it may be a product of the times as well as a cultural difference.

Oda's comedy is lightyears ahead, especially Pre-TS.

 

[GreatSaiyaman123]

Who’s Oda? Some third rater Toei staff writer next to Toriyama, for sure.

 

[Spiral-Force]

Roshi fan.

Fairly humorous character.

Also vastly tame compared to Family Guy's stuff which is still extremely popular in modern times.

 

[ahill1]

I think I've watched a couple episodes of Family Guy. There's one the father suggests starting to sell drugs to his daughter lol. Didn't like it in comparison to The Simpsons tho, the latter which had a very intelligent humor imo. Family Guy just seemed pushing and stretching to me.

 

[Spiral-Force]

Short form content/clips are so embedded in today's media, and Family Guy is super clip-able in that sense. The Simpsons narrative is more closely knit and gradual in its presentation.

Circling back to the main talk, I think Roshi's character gave DB more to work with as opposed to if he was just a carbon-copy of Grandpa Gohan or Mutaito -- wholesome characters, but not as much potential for gags.

 

[ahill1]

Short form content/clips are so embedded in today's media, and Family Guy is super clip-able in that sense. The Simpsons narrative is more closely knit and gradual in its presentation.

Circling back to the main talk, I think Roshi's character gave DB more to work with as opposed to if he was just a carbon-copy of Grandpa Gohan or Mutaito -- wholesome characters, but not as much potential for gags.

I agree when seeing DB as a whole from way back then, but me personally, seeing the gags scene again, can't just find them funny in anyway, even accounting for the different period they were executed. I think this type of gag is pretty much stale nowadays among a lot of ppl... since imo it tends to trivialize a little things such as mistouching women, objectifying them or sexual harassment.

 

[VampireWicked]

I don't place my burdens beliefs ideals problems political thoughts on him or any other fictional content.
It's not entertainment it's not interesting it becomes a tedious tiring nauseating chore that pulls me out of escapism & throws me back into the real world where I can easily trip over BS.

I found him hilarious then & I find him hilarious now, & would find him extremely hilarious now.
So I'm not going to try & pretend I don't or be embarrassed I did & still do. It's not worth the effort just to do something just please or impress a crowd in some attempt at fitting in following the latest trend.
If I did that I would see myself as a spinless coward who has no mind of my own with integrity up for sell to the lowest bidder.
I saw him as a fictional character made for entertainment purposes, not a representation of me my neighbor or the person down the street.
Not every thing has to be a battle, not everything has to be a fight that much be won, not everything has to be about you.

 

[Spiral-Force]

I agree when seeing DB as a whole from way back then, but me personally, seeing the gags scene again, can't just find them funny in anyway, even accounting for the different period they were executed. I think this type of gag is pretty much stale nowadays among a lot of ppl... since imo it tends to trivialize a little things such as mistouching women, objectifying them or sexual harassment.

The job of entertainment media is to... entertain. For instance, someone could be stoked to see a bloody fight between two warriors in a film, while never thinking to replicate what they saw IRL.

Popular adult cartoons don't shy away from perverted stuff, so it seems that aspect of comedy still holds up these days amongst loads of people. With things like this, the way something is delivered takes precedence over the subject matter.

If someone isn't enjoying themselves, that's up to them. Though characterising grievance through a moral lens often comes across as selective outrage.

 

[Kyo]

The different time period or whatever doesn't mean anything, sekuhara jokes are not exclusive to any time period (or culture for that matter).

I thought the Roshi jokes were fine; a bit repetitive after a certain point, though there's a lot worse out there in that regard (see above)

 

[Boo Brand Milk]

It was cringe in the nineties. That's the point of Roshi.

 

[ahill1]

The job of entertainment media is to... entertain. For instance, someone could be stoked to see a bloody fight between two warriors in a film, while never thinking to replicate what they saw IRL.

Popular adult cartoons don't shy away from perverted stuff, so it seems that aspect of comedy still holds up these days amongst loads of people. With things like this, the way something is delivered takes precedence over the subject matter.

If someone isn't enjoying themselves, that's up to them. Though characterising grievance through a moral lens often comes across as selective outrage.

Well, I'd say there's a big difference between portraying bloody fights and sexual harassment... Since the first is already trivialized to a matter ppl just say "I'll kill that son of a bitch" in a overly funny way... Most ppl wouldn't or at least shouldn't laugh at someone jokingly saying "damn, I'll rape that bitch"... Since sexual harassment fits in another field compared to killing or spanking in a fight, which is already trivial enough, even more so in cinemas, that ppl use it continuously. Ppl would laugh at every bloody scene in the Pulp Fiction movie, for instance... when the rape scene was portrayed, although in a comedic sense, the reaction of awakwardness and hesitation to react would be bigger, at least in the 3x I went to the movies watch the it. Why they're held in different regards is an interesting question, but my bet would be that killing and beating up to a pulp is something that could be more easily done in an act of anger or for fair reasons... While abusing someone sexually isn't seen as a form of punishment, as it speaks to someone's inner desires and pervertions, plus it more specifically targets a specific group.

I'm not necessarily saying how ppl should take it or that they shouldn't enjoy it, ppl will take it as they will. I'm saying that me, personally, don't find them funny and find them more cringe nowadays compared to before, looking at things differently than my kid and teen self would. It's not a generalized behavior or a pattern ppl should follow, they may take the scene as they were intended for, for all I care.

@Kyo it's not because there're more recent animes featuring scenes like this that the period factoring in Roshi's gags isn't a thing. I'm using age to say they'd likely be more easily accepted and laughed back then than if made it nowadays, in which there would be a higher backlash. I'd say that the Meliodas scene is more ok tho, since despite being old as fuck, he has the appearence of a kid... While Roshi has the appearence of an old man and Bulma was 16 from back then, which is likely to be less easily digested by some ppl. For example, here in Brazil at least, when we were kids I'd hardly see ppl complaining about Roshi forcing himself on 18 and putting his head on her boobs and all... and I'd bet that would be the overall reaction in the internet. Here there were quite a few videos complaining about the way Roshi was portrayed in that filler episode of Super, which he was acting all perv on that girl who liked Tenshinhan iirc, saying those things shouldn't fly anymore, such as some youtubers and DB pages... The fact there're jokes like this yet doesn't mean they'll be received the same way as back then.


Edit: damn, just looking at that clip from the 2nd anime from sekuhara already annoys the fuck outta me lol. Didn't understand a thing they said there, but damn, I give reason to ppl who say animes are meh when looking just at that scene, and its annoying voicing, facial expressions and overblowing reactions... annoying as fuck, it's even hard to watch until the end lol. Glad the only anime that has scenes looking as annoying as that one I enjoy (somewhat) is OP... Want myself the hell away of animes like those lol.