Created by Akira Toriyama as a succession to Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z continues the story of Goku, an alien from planet Vegeta who has sworn to be a defender of Earth. He makes many of friends along his journeys, all who help in win the final battle in the long run. Dragon Ball Z is widely known as one of the most popular anime in the world. It has some crazy animation, awesome cast of villains, and extremely powerful characters! It is so easy to look over the representation of masculinity because of the love it receives from the community. Nevertheless, there’s a reason DBZ is on this website.
In Dragon Ball Z, it is clearly obvious men are the fighters while women stick on the sidelines. The only strong female character is an android created by an old white man. There is more separation than just that…
When we look at the male characters, we see determination, strength, and a complete disregard for women. Goku pays little attention to his wife Chi-Chi, as he goes on adventures to save the world from destruction. Vegeta ignores his family completely to focus on his training to defeat Goku. Other characters Master Roshi and Uulong also ogle women all the time. It is common in anime to see what is considered “fan-service” (sexual objectification of men or women.) and DBZ is no stranger.
Other characters like Piccolo, Tien, and Chiaotzu ignore women entirely. They get in the way of training and they are deemed as “annoying”. Then there are characters that do respect women like Yamcha and Krillin, who are suspiciously ranked as the weakest fighters of the show.
While the literal meaning of the show was to teach us about protecting what is important to us, it only gives that message to men through its connotational meaning. Its’ symbolic representation of men gives young girls little to be inspired by…
Speaking of the women, there are only four important female characters in DBZ. One is a stay-at-home mom who freaks out about every little thing her son does. The second is a crazy soccer-mom who’s husband’s pride rubs off on her a lot. The third is an android who while good at fighting, is clearly there for her good looks. It’s also important to mention she is an android and not a real female. The fourth is a high-school sweetheart of Gohan, a main character who protects her numerous times. If that gives you an indication of gender representation in anime, you have a lot more to see!
Signs and Semiotics in Anime 