Review: Michael (2026).

   

    Michael Jackson was the most famous entertainer of all time, and even today, his music still resonates with the public despite all the disturbing allegations about his personal life. It's no surprise that he'd eventually get a biopic, and it's finally come out. We all know how movies like this tend to go; they butter up the person they're about and make them out to be a hero or whatever, and audiences may or may not eat it up. This film is directed by Antonie Fuqua; while Training Day has a strong following, he's never been an objectively good filmmaker. His movies are just entertaining. Sure, he's not the worst there is, but no movie with his name attached is great. He's kinda like a black Michael Bay.

    That said, this film is below even Fuqua's standard. It's basically just a heavily sanitized dramatization of MJ's life up to the 1980s. No, the issue isn't that it omits the child molestation scandals that tarnished his reputation in the 1990s and the 2000s; it's understandable that those things wouldn't be featured considering this film mainly ends in 1984 (with the prologue and epilogue set during a concert in 1988). But the main reason this film fails is that it doesn't address any of MJ's controversies whatsoever. Instead, it pretends that MJ's life from his upbringing to his heyday was mostly smooth sailing, devoting no attention to the controversies that surrounded him even during his prime in the 1980s.

    Granted, a film backed by MJ's estate won't be unbiased in any universe; a film like this was obviously going to glaze MJ and treat him like a saint. But it should've focused more on MJ's traumatic upbringing and actually show what made him become the manchild who believed he was Peter Pan. I was surprised by how the film didn't actually focus on MJ feeling that he missed out on his childhood; sure, he's depicted as being very childlike as an adult, and the film implies that it's because of his arrested development, but you're never actually shown how his development got so arrested in the first place. 

    There's just one scene of his father calling him "Big Nose" and whipping him with a belt, and that's it. Although he's shown to be fascinated by the story of Peter Pan as a kid, he never really complains about having to constantly perform, and he's never shown to lament on his youth as an adult. In this movie, he's a manchild just because he is. Sure, I know not everything can be shown in a 2 hour film; personally, I wouldn't have devoted any time to showing MJ's childhood beyond a few flashbacks. Just one flashback to his father whipping him and his brothers during rehearsals, one flashback to his father calling him ugly, and one flashback to the kid MJ enviously watching other children play outside of Steeltown or Motown's recording studio would've been enough.

    The latter would've been an especially good scene (MJ could have had the flashback while he's watching other children play outside as an adult to show that his development is arrested), especially considering one of the most honest things MJ said about his childhood was, "I remember going to the record studio and there was a park across the street and I'd see all the children playing and I would cry because it would make me sad that I would have to work instead". But there's no such scene even resembling that in the movie. It's a huge missed opportunity.

    MJ's sexuality isn't a point of focus, either. It's not even brought up. The film clearly intends for you to walk away thinking MJ was some holy asexual manchild, but even back in the 1970s, there were rumors that he was gay. As he became more famous as a superstar, those rumors only persisted more. Nobody seriously believed Tatum O'Neal or Brooke Shields were his girlfriends, and his unusual friendship with child star Emmanuel Lewis only raised more questions. But Tatum, Brooke, and Emmanuel aren't depicted anywhere in this movie, despite Brooke and Emmanuel famously accompanying MJ to the 1984 Grammy Awards.

   Not even MJ's changing appearance gets much focus; the film explains that he has vitiligo and shows him getting his first nosejob (as well as him nervously looking away when his father discovers, which is probably the strongest scene in the movie because it's the closest it gets to acknowledging Michael had a damaged psyche), but that's it. Even before all the skin bleaching rumors that started around the time Bad was released in 1987, people were talking about MJ's plastic surgeries, so much that he threw a press conference in 1984 to quell the rumors (notably, he didn't even bother attending the press conference, instead making his manager Frank DiLeo deliver his message, which didn't help any matters for him). 

    Why not show how MJ reacted to the media's gossip about him? Instead, the film just paints him as an amazing entertainer who pretty much everyone loves; MJ's image and reputation is never made out to be problematic in the movie. Even in the black community, MJ's image was polarizing during his prime; his nosejobs were perceived as him trying to erase his natural African features. In 1984, Louis Farakkhan stated that his "female-acting, sissified acting expression" made him a bad role model for black youth (Farakkhan came to respect MJ later, relating to how he was persecuted by the media. He called MJ a "wise, young man, a "brother", and "a heart that beat for the love of humanity". It would've done wonders for the film to have shown black activists criticizing MJ at first, but gradually warming up to him over time. Or it could've shown some black activists criticizing MJ, and others embracing him).

    That same year, Don King accused MJ for not embracing his black roots enough, stating, "What Michael's got to realize is that he's a nigger ... He's one of the megastars of the world, but he's still going to be a nigger megastar. He must accept that. Not only must he understand that, he's got to accept it and demonstrate that he wants to be a nigger. Why? To show that a nigger can do it". MJ was reportedly so offended by King's comments that he nearly sued him, but was talked out of it by John Branca. By leaving stuff like this out of the movie, we're robbed of what could have been some really good scenes. The Victory tour's infamous ticket controversy isn't discussed, either.

    It's not like MJ's downfall only started with the first child molestation scandal in 1993. MJ was already headed for his fall from grace long before then. This film should've at least alluded to and hinted towards the troubles MJ would face in the future, especially considering that they're planning to cover his lawsuits in a sequel. But the only one of his struggles that gets foreshadowed is his addiction to painkillers when his hair catches on fire, and that's obviously just to make him out to be a future martyr. 

    Couldn't they have at least shown how MJ's relationship with his fellow Jehovah's Witnesses became more strained as he became more famous? The iconic 1983 "Thriller" video almost wasn't released because his fellow Jehovah's Witnesses considered it to be blasphemous, which resulted in MJ memorably adding a disclaimer to it. Eventually, the Jehovah's Witnesses excommunicated MJ in 1987 (according to Jermaine Jackson, the final straw for the Jehovah's Witnesses was the "Smooth Criminal" video). MJ's struggle to appease his fellow Jehovah's Witnesses could've made for some compelling scenes, but his religious beliefs are never brought up.

    The acting isn't anything to write home about, either. Sure, MJ's nephew Jaafar does an alright job portraying him; his dancing is kind of stiff, but he nails the look and mannerisms well enough. Colman Domingo's portrayal of MJ's father Joseph isn't that bad, either, but I could've done without those stupid-looking prosthetics. I like whoever they got as Bill Bray, but everyone else in the film is totally unremarkable. Nia Long's portrayal of MJ's mother Katherine is as cliche as they come. Larenz Tate portrays Berry Gordy and Laura Harrier portrays Suzanne de Passe, but they may as well not even be in the film for as little screentime as they get. Same with Mike Meyers, who portrays Walt Yetnikoff.

    Quincy Jones doesn't get much screentime, either. MJ's brothers are little more than background props. A few of his siblings, namely Janet, Rebbie, and Randy, are nowhere in the film. This was apparently because they requested not to be featured, so whatever, but not even Diana Ross is anywhere in the movie (she was originally going to be featured, played by Kat Graham, but her scenes were cut). So many notable figures in MJ's life get little to no screentime, but for some reason, John Branca is given a rather big role; he's played by Miles Teller of all people, which makes it very clear Branca was stroking his own ego (you can bet getting Teller to be in the film was a costly decision). I'd rather the film have depicted Frank DiLeo.

    There are quite a few historical inaccuracies, too. "Never Can Say Goodbye" is performed before the Jackson 5 even signed to Motown, for one. MJ is given credit for coming up with Thriller's title when it was actually Rod Temperton, who only gets one mention in the film. Now how are you gonna do Rod like that? In the film, MJ and Branca sue Pepsi for his hair catching on fire, but in real life, he never sued Pepsi at all. And even though Bubbles didn't come into MJ's life until after Thriller, for some reason, this film depicts MJ as having bought him in the early 1980s. Bubbles's CGI recreation stuck out like a sore thumb; I almost felt like I was watching Planet of the Apes. 

    Overall, it's a pretty bad movie. Essentially, a worse version of 1992's The Jacksons: An American Dream television miniseries. If the filmmakers wanted to go the "Michael was a saint" direction, then they should've made him out to be a misunderstood man who was crucified by the media for wanting to recapture his "lost" childhood and not conform to the toxic masculine society of America in the 1980s. They could've shown how MJ persevered despite all the animosity he received from the media.

    Unfortunately, in their refusal to even risk depicting MJ in a light that could be construed as negative, they turned the film into a dishonest, pretentious mess. It's blatantly obvious that this film was only made to repair MJ's image after the fallout from the Leaving Neverland documentary in 2019 (and also to overshadow the Cascio family's subsequent lawsuit accusing MJ of abuse). Since the film has become the highest grossing biopic of all time, it's probably safe to say that it's fulfilled its purpose. However, that just reeks of deception. 

    MJ's estate is simply trying to distract the public from questioning the more troubling aspects of MJ's life. This film simply exists to protect the Michael Jackson brand; its purpose is solely to make money, and nothing more. If you want to turn your brain off and go with the flow like a sheep, then don't let the critics stop you; bring your family and/or friends along for the ride, too. But don't pretend that there's any substance to this film.

Best scene: Michael being approached by his father after his first nosejob.

Review: The Romantic (2026).

    

A decade after 2016's 80s electrofunk/90s R&B tribute 24K Magic, Bruno Mars has finally released another solo album. The Romantic sounds quite similar to An Evening With Silk Sonic, his 2021 collaborative release with Anderson .Paak, but it incorporates elements of Latin music into its old school soul sound. Mars's music has always been noticeably influenced by older artists like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, etc but he's made sounding retro his entire shtick since 2014's "Uptown Funk". Although he's always done a good job at making homages to classics, it's true that his music has never been the least bit groundbreaking or pioneering. Either you'll like the wannabe retro songs or you won't.

   As for me, I like them, and I have to say this album is fairly enjoyable. One thing that cannot be denied about Mars is his talent; he can sing, he can dance, he can play instruments, and he seems to be more involved with songwriting and production than most other pop stars are (he still has co-writers and co-producers, though). His vocals shine throughout the album, and while the lyrics are nothing special, it's all quality pop. The best tracks on the album are all upbeat dance songs, namely "Cha Cha Cha", "On My Soul", "God Was Showing Off", and the lead single "I Just Might". "Something Serious" isn't as good, but it's alright. The slower songs—ballads "Risk It All", "Why You Wanna Fight", "Nothing Left", and "Dance With Me"—are also serviceable, even if most of them sound like outtakes from the Silk Sonic album or watered down rehashes of 2024's "Die in Your Arms" (Mars's smash hit duet with Lady Gaga). 

    As with all of Mars's albums, the runtime is short (about half an hour), so listening to all the songs from start to finish repeatedly is easy. It's always a good thing when an artist subscribes to that "less is more" philosophy. Overall, it's a decent, solid pop album that sufficiently showcases Mars's skill as a singer and recording artist, even if 24K Magic and the Silk Sonic album were better. Mars has certainly come a long way from when he made cringy tunes like "Grenade" and "It Will Rain", even if he still makes music for simps. He's probably the best male pop singer right now, and while he may be due to become a legacy artist not too long from now (he's in his 40s), The Romantic will surely go down as one of 2026's most memorable albums.

Best track: "Cha Cha Cha".

Review: Everything I Thought It Was (2024).

  

 

Justin Timberlake was the biggest male pop star of the 2000s, but ever since his 2013 two-part comeback The 20/20 Experience, he's gradually lost respect and relevancy. 2018's Man of the Woods was considered a disappointment, and with the failure of 2024's Everything I Thought I Was, it's clear that Timberlake has become a legacy artist. Despite the small success of lead single "Selfish", none of the other songs made any impact and the album was Timberlake's first since his 2002 solo debut Justified not to hit No.1 in America. It's also his first album not to be certified platinum by the RIAA.

     Even calling this an "album" may feel a little off, because it feels more like a compilation of random songs that don't mesh well when put together, but I guess that's how a lot of albums are during the current streaming era. Still, clocking in at over 76 minutes, this album definitely would have benefited from trimming. It normally takes Timberlake longer to release an album than most artists do, so maybe the number of songs here is slightly justified, but none of them impress. Some, namely the opener "Memphis" and the closer "Conditions", induce cringe with their bandwagon trap beats and corny lyrics; he even tries to rap on "Memphis", and it falls flat. At 40-something-years-old, he comes across like an awkward dad trying to be down for teens and 20-something-year-olds. "Uh, they say, 'life's a bitch/And then you die'/So please, if you're pennin' my eulogy, just say I tried/And that's word to Phineas, Jess and Si/And if I don't wake up in Heaven, then it was one hell of a ride". Whack.

    Timberlake does better when he's treading familiar ground on the disco-pop songs "Fuckin' Up the Disco", "No Angels", and "My Favorite Drug", but these songs lack the authenticity and charm of Timberlake's earlier hits like "Rock Your Body" and "Senorita", sounding more like something you'd expect from Dua Lipa or the Weeknd. It's not that any of the songs on this album are bad per se, but most of them are below Timberlake's standard. "Selfish" and "Imagination" sound like they'd have been better for Taylor Swift or Nick Jonas. "Drown" is like a poor man's "Cry Me a River". "Liar" is just filler, as is "Flame". "Sanctified" is just another one of Timberlake's failed attempts at rock. "Play" goes nowhere, and the ballad "Alone" is just boring. Most of these tracks were produced by people Timberlake has never worked with before, and none of them suit him very well. Sure, he reunited with Danja and Rob Knox on a few of these songs, but they've never been among his better collaborators (and Danja is nothing without Timbaland, anyway). Was Pharrell busy?

    The very best songs here are the ones that were worked on by Timberlake's longtime collaborator Timbaland, even though they all sound like outtakes for his previous albums. "What Lovers Do" sounds like a classic Timbo joint highlighted by its distinct syncopated beat, "Technicolor" and "Love & War" are passable slow jams, and "Infinity Sex" brings to mind Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds heyday, right down to its moronic title. Still, the only truly memorable track on this album is "Paradise" (also produced by Timbo), which has Timberlake reuniting with his fellow 'N Sync members for an enjoyably cheesy ballad akin to their 1998 hit "God Must Have Spent (A Little More Time on You)". As nice as the song is, though, Timberlake bringing his old boys back is a clear indicator that he's well past his prime. If Timberlake ever releases another solo album, he should cut back on the number of producers and stick to working with Timbaland (or maybe not, since Timbo seems to have embraced AI. Bring back Pharrell, then, I guess). But people would be more interested in a new 'N Sync album at this point.

        Best song: "Paradise" featuring 'N Sync. 

Moving away from anime/manga talk.

        I first started making articles about Dragon Ball all the way back in 2017 on Wordpress. Since 2022, when I moved to Blogger, I've regularly been working on Dragon Ball articles. Now, I feel it's time to move on. I don't want to still be doing this in my 30s. Maybe I'll just post music reviews from now on. The stuff I write won't be as negative. I think we can all agree that life is more enjoyable when you're not always bashing the things you dislike. It's ultimately not worth it to spend so much time dissecting stuff you dislike, or arguing with others about it. I mean, don't get me wrong, the stuff I dislike is garbage and the people who unironically like it have no taste, but there's more to life. One of my shortcomings as a person is probably that I care too much about getting the last word in, or being the one who wins a discussion. While it's good to express your opinions and debate about the things you're passionate about, you should focus more on improving your career and the quality of your life.

    There's no real reward in "winning" arguments on the Internet. I've spent enough time arguing with dumbasses. Better to just focus on improving my own life and making money than waste any more time arguing with miserable fucks online. Or arguing with anyone in general. Simply being "right" or "logical" won't get you far in life, or in society. Sure, society's full of crap, but we all live in one at the end of the day, as cliche as that sounds. You may as well just focus on becoming as successful as possible. The only thing I have to say now is get rich or die trying.

 

Why Bulma is useless in a nutshell.

   

    Doing things before a story begins doesn't make you important during the story.

    Doing things at the start of the story doesn't make you important for the rest of the story.

    Doing things at the end of the story doesn't make you important for the entire story.    

    Doing a few things during the story doesn't make you important for the entire story, especially when the things you do are brief and only amount to lazy plot devices at most.

    Doing something off-screen doesn't make you important in a story, because if it's off-screen, it's not an actual point of focus in the story.

    You're not getting any real focus or spotlight when the supposedly important things you do are brief or off-screen. 

    Being used for lazy plot devices doesn't make you important.  

    Constantly being used for perverted fan-service or misogynist gags doesn't make you important. 

    Being the parent, child, or relative of someone important doesn't make you important. 

    Oh, and having sex with mass murderers and getting knocked up by them doesn't make you important. 

    The plot in Dragon Ball is utter bullshit and only the fighting matters (if anything), because that's all people care about seeing.

    Nobody actually gave a shit about Dragon Ball in the beginning, and the series only became successful when it became more about fighting.

    Bulma doesn't fight, so she's worthless.

    Only fighters matter in a fighting series. 

    If you wanted a series with truly important female characters, you'd just watch or read ones with female protagonists. 

    Bulma doesn't even come anywhere close to being one of the most significant female characters in fiction.

    Oh, and do know that Toriyama Akira was a degenerate pervert who drew a comic where a superheroine turns to prostitution after repeatedly getting raped. Not a surprise when he'd constantly draw Bulma getting sexually harassed and assaulted when she was supposed to be a minor. He also drew a scene in Dr. Slump where a man molests his daughter in her sleep. Did I mention that he said he'd like to spy on his daughter bathing as a grown man? 

    Just made this in case you don't feel like reading the in-depth article. For the in-depth article, read here (or here). Or if you would like to read my arguments in more detail but don't feel like reading the full in-depth article, check out these summaries I made with the assistance of AI.

    "I'd like to be the sort of geezer who pretends to be senile so they can peep on their daughter in the bath." - Toriyama Akira, creator of Lady Red

 

The inspiration for Super Saiyan.

     

The most well-known aspect of the massively successful Dragon Ball franchise is the iconic Super Saiyan transformation. Debuting in the three hundred and seventeenth chapter of the manga published on March 19, 1991 in Weekly Shounen Jump, the first Super Saiyan transformation had Son Gokuu's hair spiking upward and changing color. Also changing the color of his eyes and giving him a prominent fiery aura, the transformation made Gokuu significantly stronger as he could finally defeat the evil Freeza, who had just killed his close friend Kurilin in front of him. Gokuu's rage from seeing his friend slaughtered triggered the transformation, and it's one of the most iconic anime/manga moments of all time. There would be many other Super Saiyan transformations in Dragon Ball and the concept would often be homaged or parodied in many other works. But the question is, what truly inspired series creator Toriyama Akira to come up with such a flashy transformation?

    Toriyama's usual explanation for its iconic design was that he wanted to save ink. His assistant would often complain about having to always ink Gokuu's usual black hair, so Toriyama wanted to make his job easier. Appearing as white in uncolored pages of the manga, Toriyama said he eventually made it blonde because he wanted it to look glamorous (here's a translation). In addition, the hair flowing and spiking upward was an exaggeration of piloerection. As for why he decided to have Gokuu transform at all, he said it was the most effective way of showing that Gokuu had gotten stronger, and also because he was inspired by a TV show with a hero who would transform when he'd fight; Toriyama would watch this show with his son. Gokuu's piercing gaze when he first becomes a Super Saiyan was also inspired by Bruce Lee. These were the answers Toriyama himself had given, but was there more to it than he let on? 

    To get the answer, we'll have to rewind time a bit. In 1964, during the "Greatest Robot on Earth" story arc of the iconic Astro Boy manga (known as Tetsuwan Atom in Japan, literally "Iron-armed Atom" or "Mighty Atom"), titular protagonist Astro Boy (or Atom) undergoes a transformation when he's upgraded to have 1 million horsepower. His synthetic "hair" (or whatever it is that looks like his hair) begins glowing and he becomes significantly stronger, becoming able to challenge his enemy Pluto. From what I can tell, this transformation would never be used again after this story arc, not even in any of Astro Boy's many adaptions. Tezuka Osamu's Astro Boy is widely considered to be the most influential anime/manga franchise of all time. Toriyama himself admitted to being a fan of it as a child, so could Astro Boy have been at least one of the inspirations for Super Saiyan?

    Maybe, but even if Astro Boy pioneered the trope, that doesn't mean it was the one to popularize it; I could be wrong, but there doesn't seem to be many manga from the 1960s with characters changing their hair to get stronger. Furthermore, Astro Boy's 1 million horsepower transformation is immediately discarded; it's used only once and never again (and it wasn't even triggered by rage to begin with). I'm not sure Toriyama was consciously thinking of Astro Boy when he first designed Super Saiyan in late 1990 or early 1991, especially considering it was already a fairly popular trope by then. In that case, what series popularized the trope? 

    From what I can tell, it might have been Cutie Honey (often spelled as "Cutey Honey"). Created by Nagai Goh and first serialized in 1973 by Weekly Shounen Champion, this manga stars the android Kisaragi Honey, who uses a device from inside of her body to transform into her alter-ego, Cutie Honey. Turning into Cutie Honey makes her go from a blonde to a redhead, and as Cutie Honey, she has many other transformations, many of which have different hair colors. It's hard to find transformation pages from Cutie Honey that are safe for work; this is no surprise seeing as it's an ecchi manga. It seems like she gets naked whenever she transforms. I'm not trying to get this blog flagged. I'll take a risk and post a gif from the 1973 anime that gets the point across. 

    These are some of her transformations in the anime. The show apparently did well in ratings, but was cancelled due to the salacious content. Now who could have seen that coming? Shounen is stupid as hell. Anyway, it makes sense that a series starring women would popularize hair transformations, because hair care is traditionally seen as a feminine interest. But since Cutie Honey starred women, it probably influenced Shoujo series more than Shounen, which normally star boys or men; for example, Sailor Moon is a Shoujo and it's said to be very much influenced by Cutie Honey. 

    And Cutie Honey itself is obviously influenced by Shoujo (it was even originally going to be one); I wouldn't be surprised if other Shoujo works had hair transformations before Cutie Honey existed. The Dragon Ball character Lunch transforms whenever she sneezes; her hair color changes between blue/black and blonde (or red/orange/ginger/brown in some colored illustrations), and this may have been an influence from Shoujo, if not a female-led Shounen like Cutie Honey. As far as Shoujo and female-led Shounen go, Cutie Honey was influential, but since Dragon Ball doesn't star women, this raises the question of whether there was a male-led Shounen predating Dragon Ball with hair transformations. Astro Boy was one as mentioned before, but were there any others? Turns out there were, and one of them was even made by Nagai Goh, the same person who made Cutie Honey.

    Serialized from 1976 to 1978 by Weekly Shounen Magazine, Shutendouji (the kanji 手天童子 translates to "Heaven-Handed Child" or "Child Handed from Heaven". It's a pun on 酒吞童子, which is also pronounced as "Shutendouji", but means "Alcohol-Drinking Child". "Shutendouji" in that kanji refers to a legendary figure in Japanese folklore) was an action manga that combined traditional Japanese folklore with science fiction. The protagonist was Shutendoh Jiroh aka Shutendouji, a 15-year-old high school student who turns out to be a demon (or "oni", colloquially translated as an ogre. It later turns out that he's a humanoid made up entirely of photonic energy, or the energy of light. Oh, and it later turns out that his mother created him from a painting or something. Yeah, the story's all over the place). 

    When Jiroh's demonic powers first awaken, his hair flows up and he grows horns on his head. Later on, his anger from seeing his comrades die triggers a transformation that makes him significantly stronger and causes his hair to change color (or at least, it looks like that way on B&W pages). Jiroh gains an aura that makes him glow brightly, and he even gets a sword that he uses to fight. Nobody can look at those pages and not think of Super Saiyans, and this series predated Super Saiyans by 15 years (and Dragon Ball itself by 8 years). And in colored illustrations, we even see that he has golden/blonde hair. He pretty much looks just like a Super Saiyan in that 1988 colored illustration, doesn't he?

    (But I don't think Jiroh's hair color actually changed in the manga. In the 1970s, he seemed to almost always be colored with red hair. He was given yellow/blonde/golden hair when the manga was first rereleased in 1985, but on these colored pages, he seemed to have blonde hair even when he's not in the glowing transformation. We can see on the original B&W version of these pages that his hair was shaded like it is when he's in his normal state, so if he's given blonde hair on the colored version of these pages, that would suggest his regular hair color is blonde. Note this colored illustration of him with blonde hair in his normal state, too. In any case, his hair color started turning from brown to blonde as far back as at least the second OVA in 1990, which you'll see three paragraphs down). 

    Admittedly, though, while a number of Nagai's other works like Devilman, Mazinger Z, and Violence Jack are well-known among anime/manga fans, Shutendouji is considered to be one of his more obscure works. Toriyama said he mostly (but not entirely) stopped reading manga around the time he was in the fourth grade or middle school (but he was the president of his high school's manga club, so make of that what you will). It wasn't until after he already became a professional mangaka in 1978 that he started reading them more often again, in order to get a better understanding of what Shounen readers liked. I think the fact Toriyama's first few works were basically all flops implies he wasn't reading much of any manga in the years leading up to him becoming a professional mangaka in 1978. 

    You'd think he would've already had a decent understanding of what readers wanted if he regularly read manga back then, so he clearly started reading them more often again only after going pro. Furthermore, Toriyama's first few works were gag manga, so I think it's safe to say he didn't read much of any action manga in the years leading up to him going pro. It seems after going pro in 1978, he'd mainly just read the popular manga that were serialized in Weekly Jump; he read action-oriented manga like Ring ni Kakero, but Shutendouji probably didn't catch his eye back then as it was in another magazine (and had already ended by the time Toriyama became a professional). However, fast-forward to 1989. Not only is this the year that Dragon Ball Z began airing in Japan, but it's also when Shutendouji was adapted into a series of OVAs that were released until 1991. 

    Here's a scene from the second OVA, released on July 1, 1990. There's no way you can see this without thinking of DBZ ... and it came out almost a year before Super Saiyans debuted in 1991. The chapter in which Gokuu turns Super Saiyan came out on March 19, 1991. Technically, this wasn't the first appearance of a Super Saiyan; it was just 10 days earlier on March 9, 1991 that Gokuu turned into a Super Saiyan in the fourth DBZ movie Super Saiyan, Son Gokuu (better known as Lord Slug in America). The Super Saiyan form that appeared in the movie still spiked the hair up and had a golden aura, but it kept the hair black. Because it doesn't look quite the same as the Super Saiyan that appears in the story proper, it was retroactively labeled "Pseudo Super Saiyan". Some people dismiss it as a non-canon transformation that Toei made up, but Toriyama was involved in the development of the movie. 

    Toriyama designed Slug and his henchmen, and most importantly, he was the one who suggested having Gokuu's hair spike up as a Super Saiyan in the movie. It can probably be said that the movie's version of Super Saiyan was the prototype design before Toriyama decided to make it blonde in the manga. The second Shutendouji OVA came out on July 1, 1990, a week before the third DBZ movie Super Decisive Battle for Earth (better known as Tree of Might in America) came out in theaters on July 7, 1990. The fourth DBZ film entered development around the time the third one was released in theaters in July 1990, which also happened to be around the time the second Shutendouji OVA was released. 

    Less than a year later, in March 1991, Gokuu turns into a Super Saiyan both in the manga and a movie, basically looking just like Shutendouji (minus the horns) in the former. It's pretty reasonable to theorize that Toriyama (or maybe someone at Shuiesha or Toei) got the idea to give Gokuu golden, upflowing hair in his Super Saiyan form from seeing the second Shutendouji OVA. Another thing, Future Trunks debuted and turned into a Super Saiyan in the manga on July 2, 1991, not long after the form debuted in March of that year. He uses a sword like Shutendouji did. Now where could Toriyama have gotten the idea for a teenage swordsman who transforms by getting golden hair that spikes/flows upward? It plausibly could've been Shutendouji.

    While Shutendouji may not be one of Nagai's most popular works, it still had OVAs coming out from December 1989 to December 1991, and as well as a videogame in October 1990. Clearly, it had a fair amount of popularity from the late 80s to early 90s, so it's very likely Toriyama or somebody he was working with saw it. The similarities are too strong to ignore, and the timing is too convenient. Also of note is the anime Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel, which aired from 1983 to 1984. Episode 45 "The Psychic Boy of Sorrow" featured a psychic boy named Makoto whose hair spikes up and turns yellow when he gets angry (his skin would turn red, too). This anime came out after Shutendouji's manga, but before Dragon Ball and long before Super Saiyans. With not one, but two series that predated Dragon Ball in having yellow hair transformations, it's plausible to theorize that there could be even more.  

    Note that it's not even just the appearance of the characters when they transform; it's also the fact rage serves as the trigger to their transformations. Also, remember that piloerection has been a trope in anime/manga for the longest time; it's meant to convey intense emotions such as anger and shock. Sometimes, when a character with black or darker hair undergoes piloerection while in stress or shock, their hair also turns white (and note that Shutendouji's glowing transformation and Super Saiyan are white in the standard black and white pages of their respective manga). It's normally done for the sake of gags, but it makes sense that this would lead to someone playing it straight and using it for a genuine power-up/transformation. Toriyama was evidently not the first to do it. 

    With all of this said, however, you can argue that Super Saiyan's design wasn't specifically inspired by any of these other series. Hair color transformations, even rage-triggered ones that also make the hair spike or flow up, had already been done pretty often by the 1990s, so it's possible Toriyama wasn't inspired by anything specific when he designed Super Saiyan; it was already a known trope in anime/manga. Sure, the fact Super Saiyan turns Gokuu's hair golden and gives him a golden aura makes it seem likelier that Shutendouji was the inspiration, but keep in mind that Toriyama rarely colored Super Saiyan's aura (this 1994 illustration of Gohan seems to be the only documented time he gave it a golden aura); Toei gave it a golden aura first. Maybe it's possible Toei was inspired by Shutendouji when they gave Super Saiyan a golden aura in the Lord Slug film, but Shutendouji wasn't the first or only series with golden auras by any means, so that's a stretch.

    The hair itself turning golden is a bigger similarity, and factoring that part in makes it likelier the other commonalities (rage trigger, hair spiking up, and golden aura) were also inspired by Shutendouji. But remember that Toriyama had the character Lunch transform into a blonde when she debuted back in 1985. It's possible that when Toriyama decided to make Gokuu's hair change color as a Super Saiyan, blonde came up in his mind because he had already done it with Lunch. Or maybe Toriyama decided to give it golden hair after he saw that Toei was gonna give the Super Saiyan form in the Lord Slug film a golden aura. Furthermore, Shutendouji wasn't the only series with an emotionally triggered yellow hair transformation; Creamy Mami did it back in 1984 as I mentioned before, and if there are even more examples out there, then it's likelier that Toriyama wasn't inspired by any specific series when he made Super Saiyans. 

    I don't think Shutendouji and Creamy Mami should be ruled out, because the visual similarities are strong (and the timing is another strong factor in favor of Shutendouji. I'd also wager that Toriyama had seen that one Creamy Mami episode, seeing as it was a popular anime that surely had plenty of reruns after it ended in 1984), but they don't quite amount to a smoking gun. Since Toriyama has passed away, Kondoh Yuu (Toriyama's editor during the Freeza arc) and Matsuyama Takashi (Toriyama's assistant for all of Dragon Ball) may be the only people who can set the record straight. Or maybe someone at Toei might know something, whatever. Anyway, there you have it. I gotta say, though ... Nagai's works are fucking disgusting. Goddamn, I thought Toriyama was bad, but this guy is even worse. Not necessarily in terms of writing, but there's so much fucked up, nasty shit in his works. "Look, here's another woman getting violently raped or murdered!" Dude was literally drawing women getting fucked by dogs. o_0

    Bonus: Komatsuzaki Ran, protagonist of the manga series Crimson Fang (serialized from 1975 to 1986) by Shibata Masahiro, has her hair go up and turn red when she unleashes her psychic powers as the eponymous Crimson Fang (this is the earliest example I can find of a rage-triggered hair color transformation). This series was adapted into OVAs from July 1989 to June 1990. Her transformation into the Crimson Fang is quite Super Saiyan-like. Although the manga was serialized in a Shoujo magazine, it featured a lot of action and violence akin to Shounen.

     Another bonus: Benten, a character in Urusei Yatsura by Takahashi Rumiko (better known for Ranma ½ and Inuyasha), has a rage-induced "power-up" in the second OVA released in 1988. Although she didn't actually transform at all and it's only a gag scene, she kinda looks like a Super Saiyan here.

    Another bonus: In a 1984 chapter of Toriyama's manga Dr. Slump, character Tsukutsun Tsun has a rage-induced power-up that causes his hair to spike up. His hair doesn't change color at all, but you can see that Super Saiyan wasn't the first time Toriyama came up with a rage-induced transformation that spikes a person's hair up.

    Another bonus: The protagonist of the 1966 manga series The Shadowman by Saitoh Takao (better known for Golgo 13) transforms by turning his hair white and his skin dark after being subject to a weird science experiment that makes him super strong. Apparently, his hair is yellow in colored illustrations. Since his skin turns dark, though, it just looks like Blackface. What the hell am I reading? Uhhhh. This shit is weird.

    Sidenote: It's confirmed that Toriyama read Tetsuwan Atom aka Astro Boy's "Greatest Robot on Earth" story arc. He even called it his favorite part of Astro Boy in this interview from the February 1983 issue of Eureka magazine. Here's a quick translation (he mistakenly calls it the "Strongest Robot on Earth", though; to my knowledge, no such Astro Boy arc is called that, so it's safe to say Toriyama meant to say "Greatest Robot on Earth"). But remember that by the 1990s, the "hair color change transformation" trope was so common that Toriyama may have not been directly inspired by Astro Boy or anything else. He never actually named any series as having inspired him when he designed Super Saiyan, so we can only speculate.

Why JC Chasez's solo career flopped.

    It's 2025 and Justin Timberlake's reign as the biggest male pop star is long over. His Everything I Thought It Was album released last year flopped, partly overshadowed by rather scathing claims in his exgirlfriend Britney Spears's memoir, as well as his DUI arrest. He hasn't released a successful album in over a decade now, so he's clearly a legacy artist by this point. Still, he had a good run and nobody can deny he ruled the 2000s. But forget about Timberlake. I'd like to talk about his fellow former 'N Sync vocalist JC Chasez and why his solo career flopped. This is an article I've wanted to make for years, and I feel now's an alright occasion (but yeah, the 20th anniversary of Schizophrenic last year would have been better lol). 

    There were many so-called "boy bands" (or rather, "male vocal groups", as they're more accurately termed) in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the biggest were the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. While Backstreet Boys sold more records overall, 'N Sync held the record for fastest selling album in a week (since Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991) with the tremendous success of their sophomore album No Strings Attached in 2000. A five-piece group, the lead singers were Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez. Both had already been on the New Mickey Mouse Club, so it's no surprise they were more talented than everybody else in the group. Of course, Timberlake was easily the most popular member of the group, being younger and famously dating pop superstar Britney Spears.

     But while Chasez was only the second most popular member of the group, most people agreed he was the best singer; even Timberlake himself admitted Chasez was better. Boasting an impressive four octave vocal range, Chasez could sing a ballad like no other and sang lead vocals all by himself on a few 'N Sync songs ("Sailing" on their 1997/1998 self-titled debut and "Bringin' the Noise" on 2000's No Strings Attached). He was also the only member to feature on Blaque's hit single "Bring It All to Me" in 1999. Despite his talent, Chasez lacked the confidence to go solo, which was further exacerbated by the fact Timberlake beat him to the punch. Benefiting from his recent breakup from Spears, Timberlake's 2002 debut solo album Justified was a success, featuring hit singles produced by the likes of Timbaland and the Neptunes. With Timberlake now a star in his own right, people wondered if Chasez could follow in his footsteps.

    It was only after receiving encouragement from producer Dallas Austin that Chasez gained the confidence to embark on a solo career. Austin produced Chasez's debut single "Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)" for the Drumline soundtrack in December 2002, and while it was only a modest hit, peaking at no.35 on the Hot 100, it convinced Jive that a solo album of his was worth investing in. With his record label's support, Chasez finally began work on his solo album at the start of 2003. Released on February 24, 2004, Chasez's debut solo album Schizophrenic ended up being a total flop, only selling around 120,000 copies and failing to yield any hit singles. Chasez would leave his label and no follow-up album would be released. 'N Sync eventually broke up and Timberlake went on to become more successful on his own while everybody else who was in the group faded away into obscurity.

    That raises the question of where it all went wrong for poor ol' Chasez. "Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)" wasn't a huge hit, but no.35 isn't terrible for a song that was only for a soundtrack; it showed that Chasez had some potential for a solo career. Beyonce's debut single "Work It Out" was for the Austin Powers in Goldmember soundtrack in 2002 and it did far worse, not even cracking the Hot 100. Despite that, Beyonce still became a superstar. Granted, she was the youngest member of her group just like Timberlake was the youngest member of 'N Sync. Her fellow Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland also attempted to go solo, but she didn't succeed despite having a hit debut single like Chasez did ("Stole" from Rowland's debut solo album did moderately, peaking at no.27). It's rare for musical groups to produce one solo star, let alone two; notable outliers like the Beatles, the Jacksons, 'N Sync, Destiny's Child, One Direction, and Fifth Harmony aren't the rule. That's not to say Chasez shouldn't have bothered trying at all, but the odds were always stacked against him. 

     With such low chances of success, you would think Chasez wouldn't reduce them even further by taking high risks with his music, but he did exactly that. Asking Jive for complete creative control on his album, Chasez was allowed to do whatever he wanted and he opted to go for a highly sexual vibe. There are songs about having sex all day long, having sex in 100 different positions, one night stands, masturbating, lapdances, drugs, and girl-on girl dancing. It's clear that Chasez wanted shock value by making such a drastic departure from the more family friendly music he made with 'N Sync. For a solo artist just starting out, this was obviously the wrong decision right from the start. Total creative control isn't something that should just be handed out; artists should prove themselves by first becoming successful under guidelines. 

    Chasez hadn't achieved much of any solo success when he was given full creative control on his album; "Blowin' Me Up" was not a significant hit by any means and you would think its unimpressive performance would have convinced Chasez not to go totally sexual on his album, seeing as the song was notably raunchier than anything 'N Sync had ever put out. At least Timberlake was smart enough to wait until his second album to really get his freak on (and even then, he did so more tastefully than Chasez did. There's nothing on FutureSex/LoveSounds that sounds as utterly embarrassing as "ALL DAY LONG I DREAM ABOUT SEX"); Chasez simply couldn't keep it in his pants. Any pop singer is taking a risk when they put out highly sexual songs. When you're coming out of a squeaky-clean boy group that already produced one solo star, erotic songs aren't in your best interest. Sex only sells when it's handled carefully, and when you're already likely to fail as a solo singer, you should play it safer. Some sex songs are fine. "ALL DAY LONG I DREAM ABOUT SEX" and "SOME GIRLS DANCE WITH WOMEN" are not.

    Titling his album "Schizophrenic" and making the cover art him in a straitjacket didn't help matters, either; it should have been blatantly obvious that he was gonna offend mental health groups by doing so. You don't name your album after a mental disorder accompanied by a photograph of yourself in a straitjacket, as if you're making light of said disorder. Chasez said it was to reflect the album's musical variety ... but couldn't he have just named it "Chameleon" or some other crap like that? It could have also been named after the song "Everything You Want" or "100 Ways" if the intent was to reflect the album's eclecticism. Compare Justified's cover art to Schizophrenic's, and it's obvious which album flopped. On top of making himself look like a degenerate pervert, he made himself look like an ass. How could he lack such self-awareness? You'd think someone in his camp or Jive would've told him, "Hey, man, you gotta think of another name and use a different cover, because this is just asking for trouble". Clearly, Chasez was surrounded by yes-men.

    But indeed, true to its name, Schizophrenic features songs of many different styles as it's basically one big tribute to all the music Chasez listened to throughout his life up to that point, from the 1970s all the way to the early 2000s. There's George Michael-type pop rock on "Something Special", Prince-type funk rock on "100 Ways", Led Zeppelin and Lenny Kravitz-type funk rock on "If You Were My Girl", Police and Sting-type reggae rock on "Everything You Want", Bee Gees-type R&B on "Build My World", Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai-type disco pop on "She Got Me", Seal-type soul on "Lose Myself", Giorgio Moroder-type synth-pop on "One Night Stand", Corey Hart-type new wave on "Come to Me", and Gary Numan and Cars-type new wave on "All Day Long I Dream About Sex". There are also homages to more recent music, like the 'N Sync-type teenybopper pop tribute "Right Here (By Your Side)". "Mercy" is also very 'N Sync-influenced with its grimy electro-pop soundscape. Basement Jaxx contributed the electronic "Shake It" and it's very much in their own style. Oh, and there's whatever the hell "Some Girls (Dance With Women)" is supposed to be. The only song that seems entirely like Chasez's own unique style is probably the adult contemporary ballad "Dear Goodbye", and it's certainly one of the album's best cuts.

    Obviously, Chasez intended for the album to be all over the place; the title alone makes this blatantly obvious. One could say that having all these influences was versatility, but one could also say that he was indecisive and simply didn't know what he wanted to do with his album. Timberlake knew what he wanted Justified to be; he wanted to make an R&B album. Chasez, on the other hand, wanted his album to be, well, everything, which might have made it harder to market. But even with a lack of musical direction, an overabundance of sexual content, an awful title, and an awful cover art, I don't think Schizophrenic was doomed. Nor do I think Chasez dropping out of the 2004 Pro Bowl's halftime show had anything to do with the album flopping (the album's fate was sealed long before the Pro Bowl). The main reason the album failed lies in the singles. Released in November 2003, "Some Girls (Dance with Women)" was chosen to be the lead single and it utterly flopped, peaking at no.88 on the Hot 100. 

    It's no surprise that it did. For one, it's produced by Riprock 'n Alex G. They produced a few tracks on 'N Sync's No Strings Attached and Celebrity albums, but none of the singles. That's not to say Chasez needed household names to produce singles for him, but a team with only a few filler 'N Sync tracks on their resume obviously wasn't going to make hits for him. Making matters worse, the subject matter of the song is stupid. There's nothing wrong with girl-on-girl dancing, but this song fetishizes it from a horny male's perspective. Doesn't help that it isn't the least bit catchy, either, not even with a verse from Ol' Dirty Bastard aka Dirt McGirt. Simply put, the song was horrible, as was the second single "All Day Long I Dream About Sex". Releasing yet another sexual single produced by Riprock 'n Alex G after the first one flopped was beyond stupid, and when it's literally called "All Day Long I Dream About Sex"? Jesus Christ. Frankly, this article might be a little redundant; if anybody wants to know why JC Chasez's solo career flopped, then just watch the music video. A total embarrassment.

     Following Schizophrenic's failure, Chasez began work on his next album by the end of 2004. Titled The Story of Kate, Chasez intended to tone down the sexual content and zero in on a single, specific musical style for himself. He worked on the album all throughout 2005, and in 2006, Chasez enlisted the help of Timberlake to produce a few songs for it, including the planned lead single "Until Yesterday". At the time, Timberlake was preparing to release his sophomore album FutureSex/LoveSounds, so the fact he took time off of his own busy schedule to help an old friend was quite cool of him. However, by then, it was simply too late. Jive refused to release Chasez's second album and it ended up being shelved. Frustrated, Chasez left Jive in 2007 and that pretty much marked the end of his solo career. It's no surprise that Jive wouldn't release his next album; they gave him a chance on his first one and he blew it. Not to mention, Chasez was 31 by this point. The ship for solo stardom had obviously sailed for him, so it was time to let him go.

    Listening to the songs that were planned for The Story of Kate, it's clear Chasez wanted to adopt a more contemporary pop rock sound for himself, but the results were very generic. As unfocused as Schizophrenic was, at least it was the music Chasez genuinely wanted to make. While the album was obviously derivative of older music, it was unlike any other pop album at the time. The planned songs for The Story of Kate may have been more radio-friendly, but they could have been given to any pop singer. The fact Timberlake helped on some of them was essentially Chasez admitting defeat, too. It should have never even come to that point. Schizophrenic could have done at least moderately well if it had different singles. 

    Firstly, none of the songs produced by Riprock 'n Alex G should have been picked. The best tracks on Schizophrenic were the ones produced by Robb Boldt. He was a little known producer (who unfortunately went on to become a rapist. True story, his Discogs photo is his mugshot and his crime was raping an intoxicated woman. His full name is Robert Karl Boldt. He's definitely a piece of shit despite his musical talent), but I believe he had the potential to become as big as Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, the Neptunes, etc. If only Chasez had more faith in Boldt's cuts on Schizophrenic, because the album could have been a breakthrough for both of them (Chasez and Boldt later worked on music for Paris Hilton's debut album set to be released in 2004, but it ended up getting delayed to 2006 and none of their songs were released on it).

    All of the songs produced by Boldt on Schizophrenic—"100 Ways", "Build My World", "Come to Me", "Dear Goodbye", "Lose Myself", "She Got Me", and "Something Special"—have a raw, organic vibe to them. With the exception of "Come to Me", they were all made with live instruments and not beat machines. "Dear Goodbye" is a standout and damn near the best track on the album as I said before, although I wouldn't have picked it as a single. I believe the George Michael-inspired "Something Special" should have been the lead single; the song was very upbeat and radio-friendly, plus the harmonies remind one of 'N Sync. There was a big audience for that type of pop rock back in 2003-2004. And then, the second single should have been "Build My World". Obviously inspired by the Bee Gees tribute 'N Sync did at the 2003 Grammy Awards (but far from a shameless ripoff), "Build My World" is arguably Chasez's greatest song and I believe it would have been his definitive single; it's the exact type of ballad that would have been a smash on the radio. Finally, the third and final single should have been "She Got Me". It wouldn't have been as big as "Something Special" or "Build My World", but it'd have been a fine song to end the album's promotion with. 

    When you look at the other producers on Schizophrenic (Riprock 'n Alex G and Basement Jaxx), releasing Boldt's cuts as singles should have been a no-brainer; he may have been a nobody, but when the alternatives are Basement Jaxx (niche electronic group) and Riprock 'n Alex G ('N Sync's B-team with no hits under their belt), you may as well give him a shot. For crying out loud, why have him produce nearly half of your album if you weren't gonna release any of his songs as singles? Sure, Riprock 'n Alex G produced the same number of songs on the album ("All Day Long", "Everything You Want", "If You Were My Girl", "Mercy", "One Night Stand", "Right Here", and "Some Girls"), but none of their songs with 'N Sync were popular or even singles for that matter. "Space Cowboy"? "Digital Get Down"? "No Strings Attached" (the song, not the album)? "Bringin' da Noise"? "The Game Is Over"? "The Two of Us"? "Up Against the Wall"? Nobody knows those songs but 'N Sync geeks. It's better to release songs produced by a nobody you've never worked with before (Robb Boldt) than nobodies you've already worked with  (Riprock 'n Alex G). Especially when the former has never even been on a major album before (so they come across like newcomers) and anybody with a working set of ears can tell their songs are far superior to the latter's. Boldt's productions were quality. Riprock 'n Alex G's productions were not ("ALL DAY LONG I DREAM ABOUT SEX").

    With "Something Special", "Build My World", and "She Got Me" as the singles, plus a different title and cover art (this photograph would have made a perfect cover. As for the title, Chasez should've just named the album after himself), I believe Chasez's debut solo album would have done fine (oh, and make sure to remove "Some Girls (Dance with Women)" and "ALL DAY LONG I DREAM ABOUT SEX" from the album altogether because fuck those songs). At least well enough to ensure Chasez would have been able to release another album with Jive. Chasez was never going to be as big as Timberlake, but I think he could have at least been almost as big as John Mayer or Adam Levine. Sadly, Chasez sabotaged his own career with laughably stupid decisions and he'd never release another album again. He later became a judge for America's Best Dance Crew on MTV in 2008 and remained there until the show was axed in 2012.

    Then, Chasez tried mentoring a 12-piece (smh) girl group called "Girl Radical" in 2013. Despite his hopes that the group would blow up, it went absolutely nowhere. It kinda looked like he was having a life crisis during that period (what's a guy in his mid/late 30s doing "mentoring" twelve young women in their late teens to early twenties? In Los Angeles, btw) . Nowadays, you only hear about Chasez whenever 'N Sync gets back together for one-off appearances. They released their "comeback" single "Better Place" for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack in 2023. In 2024, they released "Paradise" on Timberlake's last album, although it wasn't a single (should've been, though). Maybe Timberlake will get back together with his old crew long-term, seeing as his solo career has fallen off by this point, but nobody really cares anymore.

    (P.S.: It actually turns out that JC released another album at the end of 2024. Apparently, it was about Frankenstein, for whatever reason? A fitting analogy for his dead career, I guess) 

 

Left to right:
Chip Skylark, Not Justin, Justin, Sephiroth, and the one who was in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. 

 

Streamlining the "Super Saiyan sucks" and "Super Saiyan 2 sucks" articles.

 

   
To be honest, my articles about why Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2's suck are rather outdated. My writing skills have evolved since I first posted those articles (I posted the SS2 one in 2017, and the Super Saiyan one in 2019), so I wouldn't necessarily recommend reading them now, although their main arguments are still correct. I probably won't fully remake those articles in extensive depth because I'm feeling burnt out from having worked on my other articles, so I'll just sum up all the main points here. 

    First, why Super Saiyan 2's design sucks :

    Let's see here. SS2's design sucks ass because it looks practically no different from SS1. The hairstyle? It changes the hairstyle from SS1 for some characters (for others such as Gokuu, it just causes them to lose bangs, which is minor. For some characters like Vegeeta and Adult Gohan, it doesn't change the hairstyle from SS1 at all. And no, SS1 Gohan isn't required to have a tiny, extra bang or any dumb shit like that, as he often only has a single bang as you see in those two pics), but we see that SS1 itself can be a variety of hairstyles. It varies from character to character and for some like Trunks, it's not even consistent what their hair is supposed to look like in SS1. 

    Look at Future Trunks and Kid Trunks (here and here). Different hairstyles and he's still SS1 all the same. In Dragon Ball Super's anime, Future Trunks's SS1 and SS2 hairstyles are exactly the same. In the manga, he loses his bangs when he turns SS2, but we already saw that he didn't have any bangs when he turned SS1 as a kid. Why should no bangs randomly equal SS2 for Future Trunks when it doesn't for Kid Trunks, not even Kid Future Trunks? No reason. It's just arbitrary. All the scenes where characters' bangs flow up due to the wind from when they're powering up or flying don't help matters, either. Those screenshots and scans end up becoming widespread; there ends up being confusion because bangs or lack thereof are dumb indicators for transformations.

    Changing the hairstyle at all doesn't stop SS2 from looking like the same general form as SS1. You shouldn't have to know what a character looks like in SS1 to be able to tell when they're SS2. One glance should be enough. You can tell when a character's SS3, SS4, SSG, SSB, SS Rose, UI, UE, Beast, etc without having to see what they look like in other forms. It's harder to distinguish SS1 and SS2 with one look because of how SS2 Kid Gohan blends right in these group shots of him with SS1 Gokuu, SS1 Vegeeta, and SS1 Trunks; they all look like they could be in the same form. 

    Same thing right here. And here. And here. They all look like different characters, but they all look like they could be in the same transformation. Again, SS1 can be a variety of hairstyles; if one didn't already know how Kid Gohan actually looked as an SS1, they would assume him to be SS1 here like Gokuu, Vegeeta, and Trunks are. You can't expect everyone to have everyone's specific hairstyles memorized form-by-form.

    There are even some SS1 who look just like SS2 Kid Gohan. SS1 Gogeeta basically has the same hairstyle as SS2 Kid Gohan. So does SS1 Shallot. If an SS1 character can look exactly like SS2 Kid Gohan does, then it goes to show that SS1 and SS2 look the same in general. SS2 Kid Gohan's hairstyle is different from SS1 Kid Gohan's hairstyle in the same way that SS1 Trunks's hairstyle looks different to SS1 Gokuu's hairstyle. They still just look Super Saiyan in general. Frankly, Kid Gohan's SS2 hairstyle is what his SS1 hairstyle should have been in the first place, because Super Saiyan is supposed to spike one's hair upward (unless it was already spiked up beforehand a la Vegeeta). 

    It never made sense why Kid Gohan's hair is hardly spiked up when he turns SS1; his hairstyle is barely any different from his base. Granted, you could say that Super Saiyan 3 looks like the same general transformation as SS1, too. It dramatically lengthens the hair and removes the eyebrows, but we've seen Saiyans with ridiculously long hair in their base form, as well as Saiyans who lack eyebrows in their base forms. Imagine how a long-haired, eyebrow-less Saiyan is going to look in SS1; they'd look exactly like an SS3. 

    When you really get down to it, SS1, SS2, and SS3 all look like the same form (actually, every humanoid Saiyan form looks like the same when you really get down to it, because they all just look like humans. Human beings come in all colors, sizes, types, whatever. It's established that all Saiyans naturally have black hair, but that's arbitrary and it doesn't stop them from looking human. Aside from having tails, Saiyans look just like humans). But while SS3 sucks plenty, too, it's not often that you see Saiyans with really long hair or no eyebrows. There aren't many transformations that lengthen the hair or remove the eyebrows, either. For these reasons, it's not as hard to confuse SS3 with another form as it to confuse SS2 with SS1 and vice versa.

    (It's funny, though. A few years ago, I argued with an idiot who claimed someone with Raditz's hairstyle wouldn't have SS3-type hair if they turned SS1. According to this idiot, SS1 would cause their hair to go up, which would make it look "different" to SS3 because SS3 makes the hair come hanging down. First, it's false to say that SS1 always causes the hair to come up as we see SS1 barely spikes up Kid Gohan's hair (if at all). But the funny thing is that in Daima, we see that Vegeeta's hair isn't hanging down when he's SS3. So, even if SS1 caused someone with Raditz's hair to go up, that wouldn't stop their hair from looking just like SS3. Not like it'd matter either way, though, because freakishly long spiky hair going up still greatly resembles freakishly long spiky hair going down; these basically look like the same shit)

    Spikier hair? Inconsistent across the map. How spiky the hair is drawn depends on the artist or art style; people just draw the hair however they want. Sometimes the hair can be drawn less detailed and not as spiky. Other times it can be drawn spiky and detailed. It's still the same form (some idiot is gonna say "b-that's 'Grade 4'!", missing the point, but all too easy now. Yes, both of those were drawn by Toriyama). Trunks' hair is literally as spiky as humanly possible in these pictures, but he's only SS1 in them. 

    If spikier hair was such a noticeable difference, then "Was Gohan SS1 or SS2 against Darbra?" wouldn't be an endless argument. It doesn't matter at all. Base doesn't look like a different form when the hair is drawn spikier and more detailed; it just looks like base. Hair spikiness, hair detail, these things vary on the whims of whoever is drawing. Absolutely stupid to use them as indicators of a transformation. A Super Saiyan with less spiky, less detailed hair doesn't actually look different to a Super Saiyan with spikier, more detailed hair at all.

    The lightning? An inconsistent trait that's easy to overlook. There are plenty of times when SS1 has lightning (loads more in the anime, too. "B-but non-canon" said the stunted nerd. The average person isn't a nerd who gives a shit about that; all official content is relevant as they affect the way viewers perceive the forms. And yes, this is in fact SS1 Gokuu Black, not SS2) and plenty of times when SS2 doesn't have lightning. At the end of the day, the lightning isn't part of someone's physical appearance, so it's not a big difference. It's not like Nappa with lightning looks like he's in a different form from Nappa without lightning. He just powered up and that was it.

    It changes the aura? Inconsistent as well. In the original manga, SS2 usually has a more intense aura than SS1 does, but there are times when SS1 has an intense aura as well. Hell, just look at these fully colored pages and try to name any difference in the auras alone. They look the same. In the anime, SS1 and SS2 have the exact same aura with no difference. At the end of the day, stuff like aura and lightning are just external substances separate from the actual physical appearance. SSB has a completely different aura from SS1 most of the time, but most people still dismiss it as a lazy recolor because that's all it really is. It's completely arbitrary to say external crap like aura and lightning make you look transformed. You don't. You just look like you've powered up if anything.

    For a trait to truly be distinctive, it has to be present at any and all times the transformation is in use. If it's a trait that disappears when the characters power down, then it's not a useful trait to rely on when determining a transformation. There's bound to be plenty of confusion when people are relying on arbitrary crap like aura and lightning. Those things aren't consistent and they're not always present. The average person would just assume Vegeeta to be Super Saiyan here despite the fact he's actually SS2 in both screenshots; if an intense aura and/or lightning indicate SS2, then most people will assume he's SS1 when he lacks those things and his hair is still golden. 

    Maybe changing the color of the irises would have helped somewhat; if nothing else, there probably wouldn't be any endless debates like "Was Gohan SS1 or SS2 against Darbra", but the artists and animators would have surely screwed up, anyway. At the end of the day, changing any part of the eyes isn't significant. There are idiots who say, "SS1 only briefly has lightning. SS2 has lightning longer, so there shouldn't be confusion", completely missing the point. If lightning is supposed to indicate SS2, then that means an SS1 is going to resemble an SS2 in the time that they do have lightning, even if only for a few seconds. 

    Because they're going to look like an SS2 in the time that the lightning is present, then there will be people who think they're SS2. Doesn't matter how "long" the lightning is present; the average person isn't a geek who actually waits to see how long a trait is present to determine what transformation is being used. Imagine if there were scenes where SS1 Gokuu suddenly got blue hair. If the blue hair only appears for an instant, then there will be people wondering if Gokuu turned SSB in that instant. Likewise, when an SS1 gets lightning for an instant, then there will be people wondering if they turned SS2 in that instant. There will be people thinking they're still SS2 even after the lightning disappears, too, because SS2 often lacks lightning.

     Isolated screenshots and gifs of SS1 with lightning wind up spreading online. So do isolated scans of the panels of an SS1 with lightning (actually, there's a bit of a debate on whether Vegeeta was SS1 or SS2 there. The thing is, though, if SS2 truly had a distinct design to SS1, there wouldn't be any debate at all). When people see those isolated screenshots, gifs, and scans, and they're under the impression that lightning indicates SS2, then there's a high chance they'll assume what they're looking at is SS2. It doesn't matter if one already knows that it's not actually SS2; the point is that plenty of other people will think it's SS2, and that creates confusion. You're a fucking idiot if you don't see the issue in SS1 having lightning and SS2 lacking lightning if lightning is supposed to indicate SS2.

    Crap like "it makes the physique buffer" and "it makes the skin lighter" are completely false. Some animators might make SS2 look buffer than SS1 as an artistic liberty, just like they might make SS1 look buffer than base as a liberty. More often than not, though, their physiques are exactly the same. Good luck trying to find a pic of SS2 Gokuu that's buffer than these pics of SS1 Gokuu. Artists draw the physiques however they want, regardless of whether it's SS1 or SS2. "Lighter skin" is also false. SS1 lightens the skin from base in the anime most of the time, but SS2 doesn't lighten it any further.

    Powering up can make someone's skin look lighter due to the light being reflected from their aura onto their skin, but this isn't specific to SS2 at all; this happens in SS1, too. And oh god, some idiots actually think SS2 changes the face or facial features. It doesn't change the facial features from SS1 at all. Sometimes when Gokuu turns SS2 from SS1, he'll look a bit angrier. That's not actually because he turned SS2, but simply because the artist felt like drawing him more pissed in that frame or panel. SS1 can look plenty pissed off; there's basically no more pissed than this. Looking more pissed off doesn't make you look "transformed", anyway.

    Toriyama forgot what SS2 looked like and thought SS3 was SS2. Characters poke fun at SS2 not looking much different from SS1 all the time (bonus: TeamFourStar). And it's left out of various promotional illustrations when all of the other main transformations from whichever eras are being covered get shown (if the illustration covers only DBZ, you'll probably just see SS1 and SS3. GT, you'll probably just see SS1, SS3, and SS4, maybe also Golden Ouzaru. DBS, you'll probably just see SS1, SS3, SSG, and SSB if the illustration is pre-2018; if it's post, then you'll probably also see UI. More often than not, SS2 gets left out. "B-but SS2 was rarely used in GT" And why do you think Toei didn't make SS2 appear more in GT? Because it's a forgettable form). That tells you how forgettable it is for most people. Let's be real. To a normal person (not a fucking nerd), all this shit looks the same.

    Now, why Super Saiyan's design sucks in general:

     Look, it's stupid and childish. Nothing about changing your hair makes you look stronger or more legendary. Changing your hairstyle, changing your hair color, it doesn't matter. You look like a regular human being all the same. You don't look like you've entered a different, higher, stronger, etc state of being when your hair changes at all. We see Gohan's hairstyle change all the time, but all of these pictures are him in his base form. Future Trunks and Present Trunks are supposed to be the same person, but they're both in their base forms here despite their hair colors being different. 

    Even Toriyama flip-flops between purple and blue for Trunks's base hair color; despite that, he remains in base. Frankly, changing his hair color doesn't actually make him look any different; he still just looks like himself regardless of his hair color or hairstyle. And yes, that includes when he turns Super Saiyan. "But Super Saiyan makes his hair spiky". We've seen his hair turn spiky without fully becoming a Super Saiyan, though, and he still looks like himself. It doesn't make a real difference if you recolor his hair on top of that; he'll still look like the same person. 

    While you can argue these could qualify as looking like different characters, you could just as well argue that they look could be the same character, and they are indeed both Trunks. The point is, despite the hair differences, those two pics of Trunks don't actually look that different; he just looks like a regular human being in both. The only way someone can objectively look "stronger" is if they put on more muscle. Obviously, more muscle makes you look physically stronger. But that doesn't actually make you look like you've entered some special state of being; it just makes you look like you've been working out. Buff, skinny, fat, whatever; your physique doesn't matter. You look like a regular human being all the same.

    An aura and other substances can make you look like you've powered up in the sense you have more energy or whatever, but we see characters get auras and other types of plasma around their bodies in their base forms all the time. It doesn't make them look like they've "transformed"; it just makes them look like they've powered up. Doesn't matter what sort of aura or plasma they have around their body. Super Saiyan gives you a golden aura, but we've seen base Saiyans get golden auras before. There's nothing that even makes a golden aura look any more special than a different-colored one; colors are just colors, so whatever meaning you try to assign them is gonna be subjective and arbitrary. 

    Really, it doesn't matter how a transformation looks. Different hair color, different hairstyle, different eyes, different physique, monkey fur, tail, etc; they're all worthless (and gaining a full outline around your eyes is an especially worthless indicator of a transformation. It's not any real difference; it doesn't even make you look "more serious". Base and SS1 Gokuu look equally serious here). 

    (It's not any surprise people constantly get Base and Mystic Gohan (oh, excuse me, "Ultimate" Gohan even though it's not even his "ultimate" form anymore) mixed up with each other; a change in "eye outline" is worthless. It's not the outline of someone's eyes that affects their facial expression; rather, it's just the size and shape of their eyes, if anything. But different facial expressions don't equal looking "transformed"; Gokuu didn't look "transformed" here). 

    A lot of people hate on newer transformations like Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue, Super Saiyan "Rosé"  (fuck that stupid "é" with the accent. Excuse me, but it should have just been called "Super Saiyan Rose", no accent. The "é" is so fucking tacky, ugh), Ultra Instinct, and Beast for only being recolors. The thing is, Super Saiyan was never much better or different than a straight recolor. It spiking Gokuu's hair up is ultimately worthless, because even if it left his hair exactly the same (oh, yeah, there are pupils in this picture, too, but that's inconsequential as it's minor), it'd still look about the same. 

    Super Saiyan can be a variety of different hairstyles and it's even a straight-up recolor for some characters like Vegeeta. Even for some characters who don't have fully spiked up hair in their base forms like Kid Gohan, SS1 barely spikes their hair up, so it's just a recolor for them. Gokuu with recolored yellow hair would blend right in a picture with other Super Saiyans, because his specific hairstyle is irrelevant. As long as his hair is spiky at all, he'll still look like a Super Saiyan. It's dumb to say that his hair spiking upward makes any significant difference when it doesn't.

    Super Saiyan God could have given Gokuu a different hairstyle, but that wouldn't actually make it look any better or much different (and for the record, Super Saiyan God slimming Gokuu down a few pounds and giving his irises pupils are insignificant changes, too. An anorexic recolor is still just a fucking recolor and tiny dots inside of his irises are insignificant). Super Saiyan Blue could have given him a different hairstyle, and you could also throw in eyeliner and a tail; it wouldn't look any better or much different. 

    Ultra Instinct could have given him a different hairstyle and a tail and it wouldn't look any better or much different. Ultra Ego could have given Vegeeta a different hairstyle and it wouldn't look any better or much different. They'd still essentially just be recolors (and for the record, a recolor that removes the eyebrows like Ultra Ego does is still essentially just a recolor).

    Super Saiyan just looks like a blonde guy (or a guy who just put on yellow hair dye), buff Super Saiyan just looks like a roided blonde guy, Super Saiyan 2 just looks like a blonde guy, Super Saiyan 3 just looks like a blonde guy with long hair and no eyebrows, Super Saiyan 4 just looks like a furry cosplayer, Super Saiyan God just looks like a ginger (or a guy who just put on red hair dye), Super Saiyan Blue just looks like someone put on blue hair dye, Super Saiyan Rose just looks like someone put on pink hair dye, Ultra Instinct just looks like someone put on white hair dye, Ultra Ego just looks like someone put on purple hair dye and shaved their eyebrows, Beast just looks like someone with long hair put on gray/silver hair dye and got electric shock, etc. 

    If anything, only Ouzaru looks like a legitimate "transformation" because it makes Gokuu look like he's turned into a different species (but he still looks primate, so not a completely different species lol), but turning into a giant monkey still isn't creative. It really doesn't matter how a transformation looks. It's always gonna be stupid, childish shit.

    Ouzaru. Super Saiyan. Pseudo Super Saiyan. Restrained Super Saiyan. Ascended Super Saiyan. Ultra Super Saiyan. Legendary Super Saiyan. Super Saiyan 2. Super Saiyan 3. Ultimate (or Mystic, Potential Unleashed, whatever the fuck you call it). Baby-Vegeeta's white Super Saiyan form. Super Baby Strongest Form 1. Super Baby Strongest Form 2. Golden Ouzaru. Super Saiyan 4. Super Saiyan God. Super Saiyan Blue aka "Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan" (worst name ever). Super Saiyan Rose, *ahem*, "Rosé" (with that accented "e". Second worst name ever). Super Saiyan Rage. Super Saiyan Berserk. Super Saiyan Blue Evolved. Wrathful. Super Saiyan Full Power. Ultra Instinct Omen. Ultra Instinct Complete. Ultra Ego. Beast. Evil Saiyan. 

    Let's see what else ... Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (Universe Tree Absorbed). Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (Berserk). Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (Berserk Controlled). Uh, Super Saiyan "Rosé" 3. Super Saiyan "Rosé" Full Power. Legendary Super Saiyan 2. Legendary Super Saiyan 3. Uh, that orange Super Saiyan and orange Ouzaru from Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Spirit Killer Tablos. Super Saiyan 5 Xicor. Super Saiyan 1000. I'm probably missing a few others, but my point is that all of these transformations are dumb.

    Everything about the "transformation" trope in Shounen is stupid (sidenote, you can read about what possibly inspired Super Saiyan here). Undergoing these immediate changes in appearance to represent becoming stronger or whatever is just silly. For someone to look stronger, all they have to do is build muscle. No matter how buff they get, though, they still look human all the same and when the visual change is instant (a la the Incredible Hulk and Buff Roushi) instead of gradual from consistently working out, it's just childish because it's over the top and unrealistic. 

    Ultimately, it's all just flashy, childish crap to sell toys. Having personal preferences is fine, but those are all arbitrary at the end of the day. Arguing about transformations, which ones look better, which ones look worse, etc as an adult just makes you look like a manchild. It doesn't matter if it's a "simple" transformation or a "complex" one. They're all stupid shit. Grow up already.