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ModernDragon Ballhas been nothing if not contentious. As great as it’s been to seeDragon Ballreturn, the new stories have all seen some level of criticism for their writing or visuals. While much of the criticism is overblown and stemming from nostalgia, it’s unfortunately hard to argue with some of those critiques.
ModernDragon Ballhasn’t been the smoothest continuation, and that’s especially true of how the older characters have been handled. Fans have already spent over a decade discussing the controversial ways characters like Goku and Gohan have been handled in modernDragon Ball, but there’s a character who’s probably suffered more than anyone else, and that’s nothing if not disappointing.
How Dragon Ball Super Ruined Tien’s Reputation
What Dragon Ball Super Did To Tien
Of all ofDragon Ball’soriginal Z-Fighters, the one who’s probably been ruined the most by modern mediais Tien. For starters, when Akira Toriyama’s modern art style started prioritizing slim builds, that was reflected in the anime, and Tien probably looks the worst for it, likely because of how much of a departure it is from his old build.
What’s worse is how little Tien has been utilized. Tien has had very few notable appearances in modernDragon Ball, even being absent fromDragon Ball Daima, and while he said at the end of the Android Saga that the others would probably never see him again, that idea was quickly discarded in the Buu Saga, so there’s no excuse.
Tien’s only notable appearance inDragon Ball Superwas in the Universe Survival Saga, but not only was his involvement treated as an afterthought, but in the actual tournament, he did nothing important before being eliminated and performed even worse than Master Roshi, someone Tien should have surpassed decades ago, both in-universe and out.
TheDragon Ball Supermangawas no better for Tien, as while he did fight in the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, Tien had to be saved by Chiaotzu, of all characters, while Krillin, Master Roshi, and even Yamcha got good solo showings. Everything about Tien in modernDragon Ballhas been disappointing, and it’s all but impossible to deny.
Dragon Ball Has Never Treated Tien Like He Was An Important Character
Did Dragon Ball Ever Care About Tien?
What makes Tien’s treatment in modernDragon Balleven worse is how the character has never really lived up to his potential. While Tien was, on paper, introduced as an intimidating villain, it’s undermined by how no one believed he was really a bad person, and he only beat Goku in the World Martial Arts Tournament on a technicality.
Things only got worse from there; Tien was beaten senselessly by King Piccolo’s minion, Drum, someone Goku killed in one hit, was easily overpowered by Goku in their rematch, and sacrificed himself for a Tri-Beam that did no damage against Nappa, after which he was gradually pushed further and further into the background.
Even worse is how, despite the intensity of Tien’s training, he is inexplicably weaker than Krillin, who has been stated on numerous occasions to beDragon Ball’s strongest human; as great as Krillin is,Dragon Ballfans often see Krillin as a joke, so Tien being weaker than Krillin for seemingly no reason has always been a sign of disrespect.
Why Dragon Ball Fans Want Tien To Be More Important Than He Is
What Makes Tien So Cool To Dragon Ball Fans?
Tien has arguably never mattered inDragon Ball, and fans have always hated that. With his cool design and unique techniques, Tien has always been one of the most interesting humans within the Z-Fighters, and fans have often taken to him more thanDragon Ball’s Krillin, who looks more boring by comparison, and Yamcha, who’s almost always been a joke.
If there’s any reason why fans are so attached to Tien, though, it’s because of his stalling Cell with the Tri-Beam. That scene perfectly established Tien as a cool character, and it’s easily one of the most iconic moments in all ofDragon Ball, so it makes sense that it would give people a false impression of Tien’s importance.
Dragon Ball Still Has A Major Problem It Needs To Overcome
One Of Dragon Ball’s Biggest Problems Explained
The main reason why Tien’s treatment is a problem stems from a much larger issue withDragon Ball. For decades, the human characters inDragon Ballhave often been ignored in favor of the Saiyans and other inhuman characters, soTien’s lack of importance inDragon Ballis just a larger part of how the human characters are often ignored.
Tien’s lack of importance in Dragon Ballis just a larger part of how the human characters are often ignored.
Dragon Ballhas taken steps to fix those problems, as both the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga andDragon Ball Super: Super Herogave the human characters more to do than they’ve gotten in decades. Unfortunately, Tien didn’t have a part to play in either story, so it’s hard to say if these changes will affect him in any meaningful way.
Dragon Ballmight be slowly overcoming the problem with its human characters, but unfortunately, all evidence points to Tien not being part of the equation. That could easily change as time goes on, but as of now, Tien’s treatment inDragon Ballwill only continue to disappoint, and that’s sad to think about.
