Compared to other anime series with lots of fan service, Dragon Ball is a comparatively tame and conservative piece of shonen anime. However, one character in early Dragon Ball remains a most prominent source of criticism: Master Roshi. The Turtle Hermit is a beloved and popular character as one of the main members of Dragon Ball’s iconic cast, but he’s also one of anime’s most infamously problematic perverts. Roshi singlehandedly popularized the trope of lecherous old men in shonen anime, and arguably did it better than any character after him.
That said, there’s a valid reason this trope has gone out of favor in modern anime, which is exactly why Roshi has been featured far less prominently in modern Dragon Ball media than he once was. While there’s a lot more nuance to the story than that, the reality is that much of what Roshi did in early Dragon Ball is just too problematic for the modern anime landscape. It’s made it increasingly difficult to reconcile him as an active member of the main cast as they all grow up and mature along with the franchise itself.
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Roshi’s Most Problematic Moments Are Tough to Talk About Today
Many of Roshi’s Most Infamous Gags Only Get Worse With Age
The anime and manga landscape is not the same as it was back when Master Roshi was first introduced in the mid ’80s. Anime is an international phenomenon that’s long since breached the borders of Japan, and broken down boundaries between people. Dragon Ball itself played a major role in the popularization of anime around the world, and among different groups of people. Gone are the days when Dragon Ball can just claim to be a mere shonen manga series written for young men and teen boys.
While Dragon Ball should never lose the essence of what made it so popular to begin with, it’s impossible to ignore the broad spectrum of age groups, nationalities, genders & people who love Dragon Ball today. The Dragon Ball Super manga is still published in a shonen magazine today, but its readership has definitely expanded beyond its initial shonen demographic. In appealing to a broader range of people than ever, it’s impossible to expect a character like Master Roshi to still work in that paradigm. Even among other shonen series, the tropes of older series like early Dragon Ball just don’t fly anymore.
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The modern anime and manga landscape is overall indicative of a world that’s far more self-aware than it was at the time of Dragon Ball’s initial publication, and it’s a world that’s also much more aware of the varied experiences of others. It’s not as simple as shonen anime just being “watered down”, though, as the genre has never been more mature. Just one look at the new shonen “Dark Trio” confirms that modern shonen anime and manga are far from shying away from dark, edgy, and potentially controversial material.
Still, what’s merely controversial today could’ve been downright unacceptable in the ’80s, and vice versa. While more thought-provoking storylines and cynical themes are far less controversial now than they were back when the Big Three reigned supreme, relegating female characters to shallow fan-service is less acceptable in shonen now than it ever was. Master Roshi’s objectification of women is just one of those ever-evolving, unwritten taboos that modern manga writers know to avoid at all costs.
It’s already bad enough that Bulma was uncomfortably young at the time of early Dragon Ball, but the manner in which Master Roshi treats both her and Launch as mere objects of desire without respecting them as individuals is not only unacceptable in manga, it’s shunned in society as a whole. In fact, the way Roshi treated women at that time was really never acceptable, which is why it was used as a gag rather than treated seriously. The difference between the days of OG Dragon Ball and the modern era of Dragon Ball, though, is that – whereas readers could giggle at Roshi’s antics back then – those same ways of treating women aren’t even funny anymore.
Master Roshi Was Problematic Even For The ’80s & ’90s
A Key Character Trait For Roshi Was His Disgusting Attitude Toward Women
While more acceptable in a period of the ’80s and early ’90s when the pitfalls of misogyny weren’t as near to the forefront of popular consciousness, Master Roshi’s lecherous hijinks were never really acceptable to begin with. It’s important to note that even during Roshi’s own time period, Toriyama drew Roshi as a gag based on the very fact that how Roshi acted wasn’t okay. Roshi was constantly getting yelled at and beaten up by Bulma, Launch, and Android 18, so it’s not as though his actions were admissible and modern consciousness has just wisened up.
Instead, it’s more that even the idea of Roshi’s predatory nature isn’t as funny to people in the modern era as it was back then. The one redeeming aspect of Roshi at this point is merely that he’s such a legacy character; fans understand and expect him to act the way he does. This somewhat gives him a pass, as he’s like a senile old man whose creepy actions – while still unacceptable – can’t really be helped at this point. Like a creepy senile old man, however, no one really wants to be around Roshi anymore, which is why he rarely shows up in the series; at least not in the same capacity.
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Importantly, Roshi hasn’t been completely sidelined in Dragon Ball Super. He still shows up at various points in the story, and there are even moments where he rears his creepy bald head. However, even his creepiest moments in Dragon Ball Super pale in comparison to what Roshi did in OG Dragon Ball. Most importantly, all of Roshi’s best moments in Dragon Ball Super have utterly nothing to do with his treatment of women whatsoever. Instead, Master Roshi has always shined in Dragon Ball Super when he was given the role that was originally intended for him as Goku’s sensei and a martial arts master.
There’s More to Roshi Than Just His Problematic Side
The Turtle Hermit’s True Value is Ironically The Very Thing That Led To His Lecherous Ways
The most memorable aspect of Roshi’s personality is definitely his sexual deviancy, but that’s just the surface. Beneath this is a wise and strong combat genius who gave his life to honing his body and mind to perfect his craft. In fact, Roshi was so single-mindedly focused on his art, he lost touch with the little things in life. This is what actually caused Roshi to become the creepy old man everyone knows him as today. It was, ironically, Roshi’s pursuit of untouchable strength that led to his greatest weakness: women. Spending an entire life ignoring women in his pursuit of strength left Roshi feeling that he had missed out on an important part of his life.
In this sense, Roshi’s perverted antics are really quite tragic at their core. Roshi was not always a deplorable pervert. At one point in his younger days, his heart was so pure that he was even able to ride the Flying Nimbus. Roshi’s lecherousness was never the thing that made him important in Dragon Ball. Instead, it was his strength and knowledge as a martial artist. Aside from the fact that Roahi’s personality is problematic, Roshi’s decreased prominence in the story has a lot to do with the fact that Goku had simply outgrown him as a mentor. Roshi isn’t the only character this has happened to. Many of Goku’s former teachers, from Kami to King Kai, have all but vanished from the narrative after their purpose was survived.
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It makes sense in that context that Roshi’s increased role in the manga’s version of the Tournament of Power as a teacher to Goku was a role he hadn’t had in many years. This was almost like a final lesson from Roshi to Goku. Roshi showed he still had more to teach Goku, even as his student went on to train with literal Gods and Angels. If nothing else, the Tournament of Power proves that when Dragon Ball remembers the most important aspect of Roshi, it can always find a place for him. Roshi also played a prominent role in Dragon Ball Super during the Galactic Prisoner Saga. Roshi had a few fun fight scenes against Moro’s minions, which just so happened to be beautiful young women.
This battle played on Roshi’s most identifiable personality trait while still giving him an active role in the battle. In fact, there was a moment where Roshi actually showed a slight hint of personal growth. Recognizing that he was unable to fight his female opponents due to his well-known weakness, Roshi fought his enemies blindfolded, relying on his other senses to guide him without being distracted by their looks. In a way, this was a major achievement, as he actively sought not to judge women based on their appearance and instead on their fighting talents. It also made him look more impressive as a fighter, showcasing his ability to fight powerful warriors with his eyes closed. As much as Roshi took a step forward in blindfolding himself to fight group of women on equal footing, it was really more of a half-step.
It’s not like Roshi had dramatically changed in any way. Even if he had, though, Roshi still had to go through all this just to fight a group of minor minions, highlighting another major reason he has been sidelined throughout the years. Simply put, Dragon Ball’s powerscaling left Roshi behind, and he hasn’t really ever recovered from that. This is likely why he hasn’t been given much of a role in modern Dragon Ball, even more than the fact that he is a despicable lecher. In the days of Jackie Chun, Roshi was the pinnacle of strength, making his quirks and shortcomings a bit easier to overlook. With him now unable to keep up with the main cast, modern Dragon Ball has to go out of its way to come up with any rational excuse to include the Turtle Hermit, and his problematic personality doesn’t make it easy.
Roshi Doesn’t Have To Be Completely Left Behind
Dragon Ball DAIMA Showed the Potential Positives and Pitfalls of Roshi in Modern Dragon Ball
Roshi just hasn’t been able to find a way to fit into modern Dragon Ball like he used to. That doesn’t mean there’s no hope for the Turtle Hermit to find redemption, though. There are a couple of ways the modern series could make him work if it really wanted to. The most on-brand thing the series could do for Roshi would be to give him a sort of “villain redemption” arc of his own. Many of Dragon Ball’s greatest heroes started out in the series as villains, but their experiences with Goku humbled them and eventually steered them onto the path of righteousness.
The same could be true for Roshi, though instead of redeeming himself from committing acts of murderous evil like Piccolo or Vegeta had to, Roshi would instead learn how to respect the opposite sex. This actually already happened with Krillin, who was once just as lecherous as Roshi was in OG Dragon Ball before he slowly evolved into the beloved husband to Android 18 he is today. If Roshi were to redeem himself with women, it would at least help make his inclusion in the series more sensible. In fact, the series could go completely in the other direction with his characteristic gags, making his new gentlemanly nature so over-the-top that it hinges on being overbearing.
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The next best way for Roshi to fit into modern Dragon Ball is for him to get a major and clearly defined power-up that brings him up to par with the main cast. This wouldn’t be easy to do by any means, especially as Dragon Ball Super’s leading five heroes continue to step up the ladder to get ever-closer to the Gods and Angels of the Universe with each new transformation. At this point, Roshi would somehow need to emerge with power that rivals a God of Destruction. For someone like Roshi, though, that might be more realistic than him just being nice to women for a change. Then again, if Roshi could avoid Jiren’s punches, there’s no reason he can’t also avoid making the same problematic mistakes he made in the past.
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Akira Toriyama
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Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
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Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
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Dragon Ball
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Dragon Ball DAIMA
Summary
Dragon Ball is the labor of writer/illustrator Akira Toriyama, beginning with Dragon Ball back in 1984. The series originally started as a serialized manga back in Weekly Shonen Jump for nearly a decade until it expanded into the anime franchises it is most known for today. Dragon Ball was later adapted into two animes, with one being Dragon Ball Z, the most universally known series in the entire Dragon Ball canon. The franchise has continued to expand lore via films, video games, and additional sequel TV series, such as the more recent Dragon Ball Super and Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Dragon Ball centers mostly around Son Goku, a being known as a Saiyan, and his friends as they face off against intergalactic threats and seek out the titular dragon balls. When all seven of these balls are collected, they can be used to summon a legendary dragon that can grant the wishes of whoever so gathers them. The Dragon Ball franchise continues to be one of the most well-known and beloved animes of all time, with over forty different countries airing it, and has had a tremendous impact on Western culture as a whole.
