Summary
Dragon Ballfirst started out as a story allusion to the Journey To The West myth, although it does show its myriad of characters from the early days of the manga. One of these characters was the Ox King, father to Chi-Chi, and quite potentially one of the richest people on earth next to the Briefs family. After all, this man could support Chi-Chi and Goku’s family once they shacked up together, leaving them well-off and usually without cause for trouble. However, the Ox King recently hasn’t been able to support his daughter’s family, leaving some to believe he may have become poor duringDragon Ball.
But is that really the case? More importantly, whatever happened to the Ox King that made him the way he is now as a side character, and why is he unable to support the family that Chi-Chi has built?
Understanding The Ox King
What Exactly Makes Him Rich?
TheOx King as a character is a simple one, even back during his introduction. He was ahuge king of his own mountain, specifically the Fire Mountain, who had a huge amount of treasure that was his own. The Ox King as a characteris hearty, big, and intimidating,but quite harmless and more fun-loving than anything. After all, if one is rich with his own treasure as well as has a castle of his own, then what need is there to go out to conquer anything?
The interesting thing is that his roles become less and less major as the story moves on, but noticeably, he is important for how Chi-Chi and Goku’s family can afford the food they need to feed two hearty Saiyans with big appetites. After all, the Ox King has treasure in the Fire Mountain that allows him to feed and support the family for decades. However, it is only until recently that he finally started to losethe ability to supportthe Son family. Why is that though, if this man is possibly the second-richest man in the world next to the Briefs family? Did he lose his treasure, or did he just finally bottom out the last of his treasure and effectively became a poor king with no riches? Not quite. In fact, the answer to how he isn’t able to support the Son family is a simple one.
The Ox King’s Future
And Why It Isn’t Hopeless
While it is true the Ox King can’t support the Son family, the answer as to how he lost his riches is simply something that not even he could have prevented. The Fire Mountain had a huge fire that ended up burying all of his treasure in the process, leading to the fact that the Ox King had to tell Chi-Chi the truth about what happened. While this happened,Goku needed to work harderthan ever and find a job as a farmer or something; that way their family could be supported in the future all the same. While this did happen, with Goku getting a bigger role in the family and the story ofDragon Ballin general; the Ox King doesn’t get any bigger role in the following story arcs, as other than a side-character to be reminded by cameos that he exists.
However, side characters like him aren’t necessarily unliked or even irrelevant in the long run. The Ox King was relevant in the background as the father of Chi-Chi, and especially as a huge connection to why Goku even managed to marry Chi-Chi in their adult years. Side characters are useful in their regard, because they provide tools for the main character to succeed and thrive in their story while taking action on their own. That’s the role that the Ox King has played for a huge portion of the story. That is what has happened, and its unlikely thatwe will get any more materialregarding the Ox King. However, that doesn’t mean that there is no reason for the Ox King to be here, considering that every side character has had their own use in the way of making the world feel alive. At the end of the day,Dragon Ballhas made good use of the Ox King, and the story is all the better for it.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the earth with his group of friends. A recent title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action style game where 7 players have to survive being hunted by the Raider.
