History DeconstructedCharacterArchetype / DragonBall

* Vegeta deconstructs TheRival and TheProudElite. Because he was born into the Saiyan nobility and raised to believe he was always the best, he loses it when Goku surpasses him, especially since Goku is a lower-class soldier and, in his view, should be a nobody. It causes him to develop a severe InferioritySuperiorityComplex, leading him to constantly try to prove himself by fighting strong opponents, which leads to Androids 16, 17, and 18 being awakened and Cell reaching his Perfect form. It comes to a head in the Buu Saga where his obsession with surpassing Goku becomes so great that he [[DealWithTheDevil deliberately lets himself fall under Babidi's dark magic]] and ends up causing the resurrection of Majin Buu, leading to the deaths of nearly everyone on Earth and the destruction of several other planets before Buu's rampage is stopped. To make matters worse, he comes back to life for a single day to try and stop Buu, and when he runs into Goku, he reveals he learned Goku lied about his true power, making him nearly refuse to help him fight Buu out of wounded pride. It's only by accepting that Goku is simply better than him that Vegeta starts treating their rivalry from a healthy perspective: by acknowledging the true pecking order, Vegeta is nowhere near as torn up about how Goku is always ahead of him, while still maintaining the drive to beat him someday.

* Vegeta deconstructs TheRival and TheProudElite. Because he was born into the Saiyan nobility and raised to believe he was always the best, he loses it when Goku surpasses him, especially since Goku is a lower-class soldier and, in his view, should be a nobody. It causes him to develop a severe InferioritySuperiorityComplex, leading him to constantly try to prove himself by fighting strong opponents, which leads to Androids 16, 17, and 18 being awakened and Cell reaching his Perfect form. It comes to a head in the Buu Saga where his obsession with surpassing Goku becomes so great that he [[DealWithTheDevil deliberately lets himself fall under Babidi's dark magic]] and ends up causing the resurrection of Majin Buu, leading to the deaths of nearly everyone on Earth and the destruction of several other planets before Buu's rampage is stopped. To make matters worse, he comes back to life for a single day to try and stop Buu, and when he runs into Goku, he reveals he learned Goku lied about his true power, making him nearly refuse to help him fight Buu out of wounded pride. It's only by accepting that Goku is simply better than him that Vegeta starts treating their rivalry from a healthy perspective: by acknowledging the true pecking order, Vegeta is nowhere near as torn up about how Goku is always ahead of him, but without losing the drive to beat him someday.
* Gotenks deconstructs KidHero, TheChosenOne, IdiotHero, and SmugSuper. He was created specifically to defeat Majin Buu, and Piccolo outright declares him the warrior destined to do so... but sadly, Gotenks takes the worst aspects of Trunks and Goten: Trunks' lack of respect and huge ego, and Goten's desire to have fun time and goofy sense of humor. The result is an immature, egotistical fool who's far more concerned with showboating and looking cool and is virtually incapable of taking things seriously even when lives are at stake, which just keeps making the situation worse. In this order, he gets himself and Piccolo trapped in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, enables Buu to escape and eat all of his loved ones, and gets himself absorbed by Buu, allowing Buu to beat Gohan senseless. Come ''Super'', the rest of the Z-Fighters [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten have yet to forget this]] and unanimously agree that Gotenks can't be trusted or relied upon for anything, especially not something as high-stakes as the [[DeadlyGame Tournament of Power]]. In the end, Gotenks shows that his particular personality makes him very much ''not'' cut out for saving the day, and that trying to forcibly create an all-powerful savior will not always be successful. Not everyone has the same drive as Goku did at their age, and trying to force the weight of the world on two children isn't a sure bet (not that they had a better alternative, mind).

** He deconstructs SmugSuper, ArrogantKungFuGuy, and WorldsStrongestMan. In particular, he's the universe's most powerful being without inherently trying: even the forms he uses to reign in his power still put him leagues above Captain Ginyu in second place, and he has never had to truly exert himself in a fight. As a result, when [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]] Goku comes along and he's forced to go all out for the first time in his life, this bites him in the ass: Frieza [[PowerIncontinence can't control his full power]], has no endurance for a prolonged fight with someone his equal, and when simply crushing his enemies with his raw power proves ineffective, he has no response aside from simply [[RageQuit blowing up the entire planet]] since he can survive in a vacuum. As revealed in ''Super'', this is primarily because he was ''[[ChildProdigy born]]'' as powerful as he is, meaning [[HardWorkHardlyWorks he literally didn't have train a day in his life]], firmly convinced that he will always outmatch everyone. This contrasts Goku's AlwaysSomeoneBetter attitude that he learned from Roshi, which means he never ''quit'' training.

* From the ''Super'' manga, Zamasu shows why choosing a successor based on AsskickingEqualsAuthority isn't always a good idea. As Whis puts it, Gowasu should have chosen his successor based on their compassion and not just based on their fighting strength. In the case of the anime, Zamasu demonstrates why having a pure heart and a strong sense of justice are ''[[PureIsNotGood not]]'' good things to have if you're so set in your belief that you can't even [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity consider the possibility of being wrong]].

* Over the course of the Universe Survival Saga, Zeno deconstructs the AsskickingEqualsAuthority archetype. In all the time he's shown, Zeno has shown zero actual leadership qualities, doing nothing but relaxing, playing games, and giving orders when he wants something, leaving all delegating and kingly duties and, well, ''thinking'' to his [[AmbiguouslyEvil decidedly shady]] Grand Minister: at no point has he demonstrated what landed him the position as King of Everything other than being able to annihilate anyone who disagrees. The result is that for all his overwhelming power Zeno comes off less a deity or a king and more an innocent, sheltered little kid having fun squishing ants and not really understanding the weight of his own actions.

** As Goku grows older and gains strength, he gradually deconstructs the KindheartedSimpleton attributes that made him so charming in his youth. While he's certainly the most qualified to defeat any given villain from a martial arts perspective, he can have a rather flippant attitude towards his friends and family and frequently annoys, angers or upsets them as he makes decisions and actions that benefit only himself and his goals, such as intentionally letting Dr. Gero develop the Androids so that he can get a good fight, resulting in thousands of innocent lives being lost. This detachment bites him hard by the Cell Games because he doesn't understand the way Gohan's inner power actually works: it takes Piccolo, who knows his son on a far more personal level, to explain how wrong he is, and Goku is eventually forced to sacrifice his own life to save the day. This attitude starts to become a real problem in ''Super'', as detailed below.

* From the ''Super'' manga, Zamasu shows why choosing a successor based on AsskickingGrantsAuthority isn't always a good idea. As Whis puts it, Gowasu should have chosen his successor based on their compassion and not just based on their fighting strength. In the case of the anime, Zamasu demonstrates why having a pure heart and a strong sense of justice are ''[[PureIsNotGood not]]'' good things to have if you're so set in your belief that you can't even [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity consider the possibility of being wrong]].

* Over the course of the Universe Survival Saga, Zeno deconstructs the AsskickingGrantsAuthority archetype. In all the time he's shown, Zeno has shown zero actual leadership qualities, doing nothing but relaxing, playing games, and giving orders when he wants something, leaving all delegating and kingly duties and, well, ''thinking'' to his [[AmbiguouslyEvil decidedly shady]] Grand Minister: at no point has he demonstrated what landed him the position as King of Everything other than being able to annihilate anyone who disagrees. The result is that for all his overwhelming power Zeno comes off less a deity or a king and more an innocent, sheltered little kid having fun squishing ants and not really understanding the weight of his own actions.

* From the ''Super'' manga, Zamasu shows why choosing a successor based on AsskickingEqualsAuthority isn't always a good idea. As Whis puts it, Gowasu should have chosen his successor based on their compassion and not just based on their fighting strength. In the case of the anime, Zamasu demonstrates why having a pure heart and a strong sense of justice are ''[[PureIsNotGood not]]'' good things to have if you're so set in your belief that you can't even [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity consider the possibility of being wrong]].

* Over the course of the Universe Survival Saga, Zeno deconstructs the AsskickingEqualsAuthority archetype. In all the time he's shown, Zeno has shown zero actual leadership qualities, doing nothing but relaxing, playing games, and giving orders when he wants something, leaving all delegating and kingly duties and, well, ''thinking'' to his [[AmbiguouslyEvil decidedly shady]] Grand Minister: at no point has he demonstrated what landed him the position as King of Everything other than being able to annihilate anyone who disagrees. The result is that for all his overwhelming power Zeno comes off less a deity or a king and more an innocent, sheltered little kid having fun squishing ants and not really understanding the weight of his own actions.

** The Future Trunks Saga of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' deconstructs the idea of Goku bringing out the best in people, him being InexplicablyAwesome, and DeityOfHumanOrigin. After meeting and fighting Goku, instead of Zamasu [[DefeatEqualsFriendship becoming friends with him]], it sparks Zamasu's StartOfDarkness and he begins to see Goku as a SatanicArchetype since he gained power that surpasses the gods. Goku Black, being an evil Goku at a glance, uses Goku's ability to grow and power to become a dangerous foe, especially once it is revealed that [[spoiler:Goku Black is Zamasu from another timeline in Goku's body, using all of Goku's abilities and extreme growth against the characters turning him into an almost InvincibleVillain]]. Goku's power becoming that of a God also causes Zamasu to grow concerned that a mortal could rise to the power of a God, and he grows to see Goku as a [[spoiler: mistake that needs to be fixed, leading to his creation of the Zero Mortal Plan]].

** As Goku grows older and gains strength, he gradually deconstructs the KindheartedSimpleton attributes that made him so charming in his youth. While he's certainly the most qualified to defeat any given villain from a martial arts perspective, he can have a rather flippant attitude towards his friends and family and frequently annoys, angers or upsets them as he makes decisions and actions that benefit only himself and his goals, such as intentionally letting Dr. Gero develop the Androids so that he can get a good fight, resulting in thousands of innocent lives being lost. This detachment bites him hard by the Cell Games because he doesn't understand the way Gohan's inner power actually works: it takes Piccolo, who knows his son on a far more personal level, to explain how wrong he is, and Goku is eventually forced to sacrifice his own to save the day. This attitude starts to become a real problem in ''Super'', as detailed below.

** He deconstructs SmugSuper, ArrogantKungFuGuy, and WorldsStrongestMan. In particular, he's the universe's most powerful being without inherently trying: even the forms he uses to reign in his power still put him leagues above Captain Ginyu in second place, and he has never had to truly exert himself in a fight. As a result, when [[SuperForm Super Saiyan]] Goku comes along and he's forced to go all out for the first time in his life, this bites him in the ass: Frieza [[PowerIncontinence can't control his full power]], has no endurance for a prolonged fight with someone his equal, and when simply crushing his enemies with his raw power proves ineffective, he has no response aside from simply [[RageQuit blowing up the entire planet]] since he can survive in a vacuum. As revealed in ''Super'', this is primarily because he was ''[[ChildProdigy born]]'' as powerful as he is, meaning [[HardWorkHardlyWorks he literally didn't have train a day in his life]], firmly convinced that he will always outmatch everyone. This contrasts Goku's AlwaysSomeoneBetter attitude that he learned from Roshi, which means he never ''quit'' training.

** From the Android Saga onwards of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Goku becomes one for TheAce and the HopeBringer. Because he is so good and so powerful, his friends and family [[CrutchCharacter tend to depend on him too much to solve the current problem]], and they don't put their trust readily in anyone else but him. They become noticeably deflated and pessimistic when he isn't around, and Gohan firmly believes that he can never surpass his father, despite Goku showing him otherwise. Goku's death in Trunks' [[BadFuture timeline]] is one of the many reasons why things got so bad and Bulma invents the Time Machine mostly to save him, firmly believing that he can do something to stop the androids. Vegeta eventually [[OvershadowedByAwesome gets so sick of being shown-up by Goku]] that he sells his soul to Babidi for power and unleashes Majin Buu upon the world. Goku himself has realized that his loved ones are far too dependent on him; he knows that one day, he will be dead for good, and if his loved ones don't stop relying on him so much, then no one will be able to counter the next big threat to Earth. As a result, Goku tries to have the next generation step up and do so, but because of how sudden the threat of Buu is, he's forced to come back to life to save the day when they all fail, and even then, Goku alone isn't able to do so until he gets help.

** During the Universe Survival Saga, Goku ends up deconstructing his nature as a ChallengeSeeker and BloodKnight. His eagerness for a good fight so utterly blinds him to the consequences of Zeno's tournament (losers get their universe erased) that fighters from other universes assume he must be evil and uncaring. Goku himself doesn't help this assumption since he ''is'' more focused on all the strong people he'll get to fight than the ramifications of the tournament and what will happen to everyone he defeats. However, this is {{downplayed|Trope}} when it's revealed that Zeno [[spoiler:was going to nuke Universe 7 along with seven other universes ''anyway'' since they all had mortal ratings below 7 (this was before he met Goku)]], so Goku indirectly gave at least one universe the chance to save themselves. Most of the Gods still hate him for his uncaring nature and [[GreenEyedMonster relationship with Zeno]].

** He deconstructs SmugSuper, ArrogantKungFuGuy, and WorldsStrongestMan. In particular, he's the universe's most powerful being without inherently trying: even the forms he uses to reign in his power still put him leagues above Captain Ginyu in second place, and he has never had to truly exert himself in a fight. As a result, when [[SuperForm Super Saiyan]] Goku comes along and he's forced to go all out for the first time in his life, this bites him in the ass: Frieza [[PowerIncontinence can't control his full power]], has no endurance for a prolonged fight with someone his equal, and when simply crushing his enemies with his raw power proves ineffective, he has no response aside from simply [[RageQuit blowing up the entire planet]] since he can survive in a vacuum. As revealed in ''Super'', this is primarily because he was ''[[ChildProdigy born]]'' as powerful as he is, meaning [[HardWorkHardlyWorks he literally didn't have train a day in his life]], firmly convinced that he will always outclass everyone. This contrasts Goku's AlwaysSomeoneBetter attitude that he learned from Roshi, which means he never ''stopped'' training.

** As Goku grows older and gains strength, he gradually deconstructs the KindheartedSimpleton attributes that made him so charming in his youth. While he's certainly the most qualified to defeat any given villain from a martial arts perspective, he can have a rather flippant attitude towards his friends and family and frequently annoys, angers or upsets them as he makes decisions and actions that benefit only himself and his goals, such as intentionally letting Dr. Gero to develop the Androids so that he can get a good fight, resulting in thousands of innocent lives being lost. This detachment bites him hard by the Cell Games because he doesn't understand the way Gohan's inner power actually works: it takes Piccolo, who knows his son on a far more personal level, to explain how wrong he is, and Goku is eventually forced to sacrifice his own to save the day. This attitude starts to become a real problem in ''Super'', as detailed below.

* Vegeta deconstructs TheRival and TheProudElite. Because he was born into the Saiyan nobility and raised to believe he was always the best, he loses it when Goku surpasses him, especially since Goku is a lower-class soldier and, in his view, should be a nobody. It causes him to develop a severe InferioritySuperiorityComplex, leading him to constantly try to prove himself by fighting strong opponents, which leads to Androids 16, 17, and 18 being awakened and Cell reaching his Perfect form. It comes to a head in the Buu Saga where his obsession with surpassing Goku becomes so great that he [[DealWithTheDevil deliberately lets himself fall under Babidi's dark magic]] and ends up causing the resurrection of Majin Buu, leading to the deaths of nearly everyone on Earth and the destruction of several other planets before Buu's rampage is stopped. To make matters worse, he comes back to life for a single day to try and stop Buu, and when he runs into Goku, he reveals he learned Goku lied about how true power, making him nearly refuse to help him fight Buu out of wounded pride. It's only by accepting that Goku is simply better than him that Vegeta finally begins to recover and find some level of peace and happiness.
* Gotenks deconstructs TheChosenOne, IdiotHero, and SmugSuper. He was created specifically to defeat Majin Buu, and Piccolo outright declares him the warrior destined to do so... but sadly, Gotenks is an immature, egotistical fool who's far more concerned with showboating and looking cool and is virtually incapable of taking things seriously even when lives are at stake, which just keeps making the situation worse; in this order, he gets himself and Piccolo trapped in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, enables Buu to escape and eat all of his loved ones, and gets himself absorbed by Buu, allowing Buu to beat Gohan senseless. Come ''Super'', the rest of the Z-Fighters [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten have yet to forget this]] and unanimously agree that Gotenks can't be trusted or relied upon for anything, especially not something as high-stakes as the [[DeadlyGame Tournament of Power]]. In the end, Gotenks shows that his particular personality makes him very much ''not'' cut out for saving the day, and that trying to forcibly create an all-powerful savior will not always be successful.

** He deconstructs SmugSuper, ArrogantKungFuGuy, and WorldsStrongestMan. He was ''[[ChildProdigy born]]'' as powerful as he is, allowing him to [[HardWorkHardlyWorks become the most powerful being in the universe without even trying]]. As a result, he never bothered to hone his power through training, firmly convinced that he outclasses everyone else and always will. When [[SuperForm Super Saiyan]] Goku comes along and he's forced to go all out for the first time in his life, this bites him in the ass; since he never bothered to train, Frieza [[PowerIncontinence can't control his full power]], has no endurance for a prolonged fight with someone his equal, and when simply crushing his enemies with his raw power proves ineffective, he has no response aside from simply [[RageQuit blowing up the entire planet]] since he can survive in a vacuum.
** He is also a deconstruction for {{Determinator}}. While his will to live and continue fighting is certainly impressive, his defeats are always brought about because he doesn't KnowWhenToFoldEm.

* Gotenks deconstructs TheChosenOne, IdiotHero, and SmugSuper. He was created specifically to defeat Majin Buu, and Piccolo outright declares him the warrior destined to do so... but sadly, Gotenks is an immature, egotistical fool who's far more concerned with showboating and looking cool and is virtually incapable of taking things seriously even when lives are at stake, which just keeps making the situation worse; in this order, he gets himself and Piccolo trapped in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, enables Buu to escape and eat all of his loved ones, and gets himself absorbed by Buu, allowing Buu to beat Gohan senseless. Come ''Super'', the rest of the Z-Fighters [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten have yet to forget this]] and unanimously agree that Gotenks can't be trusted or relied upon for anything, especially not something as high-stakes as the [[DeadlyGame Tournament of Power]]. In the end, Gotenks shows that his particular personality makes him very much ''not'' cut out for saving the day, and that trying to forcibly create an all-powerful savior will not always be successful.

!!''Franchise/DragonBall''

** During the Universe Survival Saga, Goku ends up deconstructing his nature as a ChallengeSeeker and BloodKnight. His eagerness for a good fight so utterly blinds him to the consequences of Zeno's tournament (losers get their universe erased) that fighters from other universes assume he must be evil and uncaring. Goku himself doesn't help this assumption since he ''is'' more focused on all the strong people he'll get to fight than the ramifications of the tournament and what will happen to everyone he defeats. However, this is {{Downplayed}} when it's revealed that Zeno [[spoiler:was going to nuke Universe 7 along with seven other universes ''anyway'' since they all had mortal ratings below 7 (this was before he met Goku)]], so Goku indirectly gave at least one universe the chance to save themselves. Most of the Gods still hate him for his uncaring nature and [[GreenEyedMonster relationship with Zeno]].

!!''Franchise/DragonBall''

* Babidi deconstructs the BadBoss by way YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness. Babidi loves to kill off his minions after they either complete their tasks, or slip up and fail in some form, such as killing Spopovich and Yamu when they ''exceeded'' his expectations, and allowed Buu to eat his loyal [[TheDragon Dragon]] Dabura, despite his warnings that Buu would turn on him and begs him to reseal him. When Goku plants the idea in Buu's head that he shouldn't listen to Babidi's orders, Babidi realizes he has no allies or people to help him when Buu turns on him, [[LaserGuidedKarma leading to Buu killing him]].

** During the Universe Survival Saga, Goku ends up deconstructing his nature as a ChallengeSeeker and BloodKnight. His eagerness for a good fight so utterly blinds him to the consequences of Zeno's tournament (losers get their universe erased) that fighters from other universes assume he must be evil and uncaring. Goku himself doesn't help this assumption since he ''is'' more focused on all the strong people he'll get to fight than the ramifications of the tournament and what will happen to everyone he defeats. However, this is {{Downplayed}} when it's revealed that Zeno [[spoiler:was going to nuke Universe 7 along with seven other universes ''anyway'' since they all had mortal ratings below 7 (this was before he met Goku)]], so Goku indirectly gave at least one universe the chance to save themselves. Most of Gods still hate him for his uncaring nature and [[GreenEyedMonster relationship with Zeno]].

* Babidi shows why being a BadBoss who is prone to YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness is a detriment in the long run. He ruthlessly kills Spopovich and Yamu when they ''exceeded'' his expectations and allowed Buu to eat his loyal [[TheDragon Dragon]] Dabura, despite his warnings that Buu would turn on him and begs him to reseal him. When Buu did turn against him, [[LaserGuidedKarma he had no one left to protect him]].

!!''Franchise/DragonBall'':