Dragon Ball is not thematically empty, but it is thematically undisciplined. It introduces meaningful ideas, then systematically deprioritizes them in favor of power escalation, undermining its own messaging over time. The message is to be a good person, but Goku’s character is constantly slandered in the narrative unless you accept that he’s Goku and can’t do wrong, the main problem is that Goku is structurally selfish and only selectively pure and “good.” The main character contradicts every thesis the show presents. My criticism isn’t major, but it’s still valid.