Sun Tzu and Anime: Dragon Ball Z Character Analysis
Sun Tzu and Anime: Dragon Ball Z Character Analysis
It's almost summer, so let's prep for fun in the sun with more of Sun Tzu's immortal guidance rating anime's greatest legends.
As a quick refresher, here's how the rating system works. Sun Tzu cited Five Essential Factors to be Mastered for Victory: Morality, Weather, Terrain, Good Leadership, and Preparation. All under consideration can receive 0-10 points in each category. However, he also cited Five Fatal Failings of Leadership: Recklessness, Cowardice, A Hasty Temper (Anger for simplicity), Delicacy of Honor (DOH), and Caring Too Much About the Troops (Over-caring). All under consideration can lose 0-10 points in each category. At the end, the scores are tallied, and the results reveal how effective a character is in Sun Tzu's eyes, with the best aiming for 40 or better.
This time, we're looking at one of the greatest casts ever: the primary combatants (those who participate in the most battles) from Dragon Ball Z. As always, to keep things fair, we'll analyze them in the order they were formally introduced, plus stick strictly to the regular series and leave out any OVAs.
Character Analysis: Goku
Dragon Ball Z: Goku
Victory Factors
| Factor | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Morality | 10 | He's a wonderful person: a loving husband/father, loyal friend/ally, and pure-hearted, so much so he famously tried to spare the life of Frieza. |
| Weather | 10 | Thanks to his strength, training, and Super forms, this isn't an issue. |
| Terrain | 8 | He's extremely capable, especially after learning Instant Transmission, yet still gets caught off-guard on occasion, like when Vegeta leveled part of the stadium during the Buu saga. |
| Good Leadership | 5 | He's a great teacher and has some good diplomatic skills, namely when handling Vegeta. Unfortunately, he often goes rogue when trying to protect others, like when he wished everyone but himself and Frieza to safety on Earth. |
| Preparation | 6 | He's a dedicated trainer and very familiar with various techniques (ex. Fusion) and locales (ex. the Hyperbolic Time Chamber). However, he usually wings everything else. |
| Total | 39 |
Fatal Failings
| Failing | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Recklessness | -9 | Major red flag. He constantly underestimates others, and has a bad habit of not finishing foes so someone else can step in, like when he didn't destroy Majin Buu so Goten and Trunks could learn Fusion. |
| Cowardice | -4 | He's a tad indecisive, yet not enough to worry. |
| Anger | -4 | Anger fuels his Super forms, but he's able to restrain it enough so as not to be a problem. |
| Delicacy of Honor | -3 | He's a tad cocky, yet not enough to worry here either. |
| Over-caring | -7 | Slight red flag. He's extremely close to his friends and family, not to mention very protective of others, a factor that got him killed by Raditz and Cell. |
| Total | -27 |
Final Assessment
Score: 12 (Great potential, yet deeply flawed)
Character Analysis: Gohan
Dragon Ball Z: Gohan
Victory Factors
| Factor | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Morality | 9 | He's a wonderful person, caring and generous, although he gets a tad selfish toward the end, especially when he becomes the Great Saiya Man. |
| Weather | 10 | Thanks to his speed, strength, and Super forms, this isn't an issue. |
| Terrain | 8 | He was very awkward at first, yet soon matured into a disciplined fighter, namely against Cell. |
| Good Leadership | 5 | He's got great potential, most famously while teaching Goten and Videl to fly, but mostly tends to vary between follower and lone wolf. |
| Preparation | 5 | He's very smart and dedicated, yet really slacked off post-Cell, and his naivete made school very awkward. |
| Total | 37 |
Fatal Failings
| Failing | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Recklessness | -9 | Major red flag. He perpetually underestimates others, and is very careless under pressure, something that badly cost him against Frieza and Buu. |
| Cowardice | -4 | He's shy and indecisive at first, but experience tempered some of that, hence the lower rating. |
| Anger | -4 | Anger fuels his Super abilities too, yet his good nature tempers most of it, hence another lower rating. |
| Delicacy of Honor | -4 | He's a tad cocky, plus has a few vain moments with Videl, but not enough to really worry. |
| Over-caring | -7 | Slight red flag. He's really protective of his family and friends, plus also deeply loves Videl, hence his ultimatum to Spopovich during the World Martial Arts Tournament. |
| Total | -28 |
Final Assessment
Score: 9 (Nightmare scenario)
Character Analysis: Piccolo
Dragon Ball Z: Piccolo
Victory Factors
| Factor | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Morality | 7 | He had a rough start, but bonding with Gohan transformed him into a caring friend and loyal ally. |
| Weather | 10 | Thanks to his strength, speed, and regenerative abilities, this isn't an issue. |
| Terrain | 8 | He's very capable, most infamously in his quest to defeat Frieza, yet still gets caught off-guard sometimes, like when he got turned to stone by Dabura. |
| Good Leadership | 5 | He's a good strategist, particularly when facing Cell and later Buu, but is ultimately more lone wolf than leader. |
| Preparation | 8 | He's a dedicated trainer and well-versed in Earth affairs thanks to his bond with Kami, yet still wings things here and there. |
| Total | 38 |
Fatal Failings
| Failing | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Recklessness | -8 | Serious red flag. He constantly underestimates foes, and tends to impulsively overreact when he's angry or annoyed, something that really hurt Gohan during his training. |
| Cowardice | -4 | He gets unnerved sometimes, especially in the series' latter half, but not enough to really worry. |
| Anger | -8 | Serious red flag. He's a hothead, plus easily triggered when his friends are hurt, a flaw that got him killed by both Nappa and Frieza. |
| Delicacy of Honor | -3 | He's a tad cocky, yet not enough to worry here either. |
| Over-caring | -8 | Serious red flag. He deeply respects Goku and company, dotes on Gohan, and loves his people, even more so after facing Frieza. |
| Total | -31 |
Final Assessment
Score: 7 (Nightmare scenario)
Character Analysis: Krillin
Dragon Ball Z: Krillin
Victory Factors
| Factor | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Morality | 9 | He's a great person, loyal friend, and loving husband/father, although he gets a tad selfish with Android 18 toward the end. |
| Weather | 10 | Thanks to his strength, speed, and training, this isn't an issue. |
| Terrain | 5 | He's observant, but often gets caught off-guard, such as when Frieza blasted him while he was observing the latter's fight with Goku. |
| Good Leadership | 4 | He's a great dad and can restrain Android 18's killer instincts, yet ultimately tends to vary between follower and lone wolf. |
| Preparation | 4 | He's good at training, but usually wings everything else. |
| Total | 32 |
Fatal Failings
| Failing | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Recklessness | -10 | Epic red flag. He perpetually underestimates others, and is extremely careless, like when he tried to stop Vegeta with Destructo Disc, only to be shocked when the latter dodged it. |
| Cowardice | -7 | Slight red flag. He's very indecisive, as well as highly insecure, something that remains pretty constant throughout the series. |
| Anger | -5 | He's a hothead, but falling for Android 18 tempered some of that, hence the lower rating. |
| Delicacy of Honor | -4 | He's pretty cocky at times, although not enough to truly worry. |
| Over-caring | -7 | Slight red flag. He deeply cares for all his friends, plus loved Android 18 so much he refused to kill her to stop Cell. |
| Total | -33 |
Final Assessment
Score: -1 (Nightmare scenario)
Character Analysis: Vegeta
Dragon Ball Z: Vegeta
Victory Factors
| Factor | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Morality | 6 | He's very caustic, but falling for Bulma soon transformed him into a capable ally; also, his final admission that Goku was the better fighter was amazingly heartfelt. |
| Weather | 10 | Due to his strength, speed, and Super forms, this isn't an issue. |
| Terrain | 6 | He's very capable, yet frequently gets caught off-guard, like when Yajirobe disabled him in the initial arc by slicing off his tail. |
| Good Leadership | 5 | He's a gifted strategist, but tends to go rogue on the slightest whims, especially when it comes to proving himself. |
| Preparation | 7 | His drive to train is breathtaking, as is his foresight, although he still wings many things. |
| Total | 34 |
Fatal Failings
| Failing | Score | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Recklessness | -10 | Epic red flag. He perpetually underestimates others, and is very impulsive when he's angry or annoyed, like when he killed Nappa after Goku defeated him. Moreover, he's extremely careless, most infamously when he let Babadi awaken his inner rage so he could fight Goku without holding back. |
| Cowardice | -10 | Epic red flag. He's got a vicious mean streak, plus is surprisingly insecure over Goku's superior strength, something that gets far worse after getting killed/revived on Namek. |
| Anger | -10 | Epic red flag. He's got one of anime's worst tempers, and it's on a hair trigger, something everyone he meets ends up learning the hard way. |
| Delicacy of Honor | -10 | Epic red flag. He's extremely cocky, and his pride has long been his greatest weakness, something Cell famously played so he could absorb Android 18. |
| Over-caring | -10 | Epic red flag. His obsession with defeating Goku is his primary motive throughout the series, plus his love for Bulma and Trunks drove him to sacrifice himself to try and destroy Majin Buu. |
| Total | -50 |
Final Assessment
Score: -16 (Nightmare scenario)
Reviewing the Results
Such a legendary cast, yet also riddled with problems. Doubt, anger, pride…they've got it all in abundance, all of which were huge factors in why the series' legendary bouts took so long. Still, that all harkens back to what's been said all along: follow Sun Tzu, and you'll win; ignore him, and you'll lose.
Dragon Ball Z Characters: Victory Factors Analysis
| Character | Morality | Weather | Terrain | Leadership | Preparation | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goku | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 39 |
| Gohan | 9 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 37 |
| Piccolo | 7 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 38 |
| Krillin | 9 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 32 |
| Vegeta | 6 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 34 |
Dragon Ball Z Characters: Fatal Failings Analysis
| Character | Recklessness | Cowardice | Anger | DOH | Over-caring | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goku | -9 | -4 | -4 | -3 | -7 | -27 |
| Gohan | -9 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -7 | -28 |
| Piccolo | -8 | -4 | -8 | -3 | -8 | -31 |
| Krillin | -10 | -7 | -5 | -4 | -7 | -33 |
| Vegeta | -10 | -10 | -10 | -10 | -10 | -50 |
Dragon Ball Z Characters: Final Scores
| Character | Final Score | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Goku | 12 | Great potential, yet deeply flawed |
| Gohan | 9 | Nightmare scenario |
| Piccolo | 7 | Nightmare scenario |
| Krillin | -1 | Nightmare scenario |
| Vegeta | -16 | Nightmare scenario |
Andrew's originally from Massachusetts, and has studied military history/tactics/strategy for almost 30 years. He has a BA in History (English minor) from UMASS Lowell and JD from Mass. School of Law. He can be found on Twitter (@AndrewNickers19) daily, analyzing characters via Sun Tzu.
Fun Fact: Andrew's a huge fan of anime music. He particularly recommends Crescent Love (Brighter than the Dawning Blue), Dream Riser (Girls Und Panzer), and the fight theme to Zoids: New Century.
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Dragon Ball Z
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