Dragon Ball is amazing and those of us who are fans will never stop loving him. But he has a stain in his history, that of Master Roshi acting as a sexual abuser and harasser with the young girls in the series, such as Bulma.
However, just as the series portrays Master Roshi as a bully, there are moments when Bulma herself fights back and sends a message of “Enough!” to the sadistic attitudes of the old man.
Hobby Consoles reviews in a note, a surprising dialogue from the eighties, the first stage of the series, in which the character of Bulma puts an impressive stop to Master Roshi’s sexist comments.
Hearing these words from the director of the Capsule Corporation make us see how far ahead Dragon Ball was—in this case—with an interaction that could easily be from 2023.
During the Red Patrol arc, in which Goku dismantles this entire army of evildoers, Bulma comes up with the idea of infiltrating a drone into the organization. She makes it and everyone is surprised by the scientist’s intelligence.
She herself, with a bit of modesty, says that what she has achieved is nothing extraordinary, since she is an expert in the manufacture of electronic equipment.
Master Roshi, looking down at his chest, says, “It’s true, you are a woman, and women don’t have to do anything extraordinary.”
Contrary to the usual blow to get rid of him, Bulma gives him an impressive lesson: “Don’t go overboard with me! Respect for women, and so that you learn, starting today you are going to do the cleaning. Now it is OK! We’re tired of being the maids!
To everyone’s surprise, Lunch, in his gentle version, responds: “Well, I don’t mind doing things around the house. And Bulma reacts once again like this: “None of that! We have to show those sexists what we are worth!”
It was the eighties, and Bulma’s response was not common in television series at that time. Unfortunately, this positive step was not accompanied by a change in Master Roshi’s attitude, whom they continued to portray as an old abuser and harasser.