Dragon Ball Anime Remake Chapter coverage 7.0 (163 episodes)

[JulieYBM]

Every so often I wonder "just how would a new animated series adaptation of Dragon Ball be organized?" After watching Bleach and Hajime no Ippo, where the average ratio of chapters in an episode is two-to-three (seven minutes a chapter), I decided to try similar with Dragon Ball. Amazingly, so far I have managed to organize chapters #1-163 into fifty-two episodes. I'll post back later when I've done more!

Spoiler:

Dragon Ball Arc:

Episode #1 “Blooma and Son Gokuu” covers chapter #1-2: Gokuu meets Blooma. The two camp out at night.
*Notes: The first two chapters are mostly standalone. .

Episode #2 “The Kinto’un of the Kame-sen’nin; “The Shape-Shifting Demon! Oolong Appears” covers chapters #3-6: Gokuu gets Kinto'un from the Turtle Hermit after saving Umigame from a bear bandit. Oolong appears!
*Notes: The 1986 series initially introduced Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu earlier than the comic did. In the interest of getting through as much content as possible, I would avoid adding any extra content in the hopes of cutting through as much of the comic’s material as possible in a fast, but well-structured manner. The main focus of this episode should be on introducing the Kame-sen’nin and the Kinto’un. Breaking from the usual structure of Dragon Ball’s animated series episodes, this episode would be structured similar to a young children’s series: two half episodes with their own titles. This is primarily due to wanting to avoid repeating what the 1986 series did, but also to allow a few creative changes to change up the story a bit from what has already been done.

Episode #3 The Desert Bandit, Yamcha” covers chapters #5-10: Gokuu and friends traverse a desert and come across a desert bandit looking to take their Hoi-Poi Capsules.
*Notes: The introduction of Yamcha works better as a standalone episode, especially considering his continued role as an ‘antagonist’ for the rest of the Dragon Ball hunt.

Episode #4 “The Gyuumaou of the Burning Mount Fry Pan” covers chapters #11-15: Blooma and friends arrive at Mount Fry Pan, learn it's on fire. Gokuu and Chichi go to find Muten Roushi. Muten Roushi blows up Mount Fry Pan, Blooma’s group acquires the next Ball, and Gokuu learns the Kamehame-Ha
*Notes: Episodes #5 introduce Chichi and Gyuumaou. The pace remains the same with two chapters covered in each episode. We’re moseying along at a clip I think will best allow for the actual production team some room to play around with in adding their flair separate from Toriyama as the team of the 1980s production did.

Episode #5 “Turned into a Carrot! The Terrible Rabbit Gang’s Boss” covers chapters #16-17: Gokuu beats the Rabbit Gang.
*Notes: Episode #7 is really a stand alone, but I have to say I’m really impressed with how well Toriyama has made each new location very concise, especially for dramatization.

Episode #6 “Come Forth, Shen Long!!” covers chapters #18-20: Pilaf captures the gang and begins summoning Shen Long. Oolong wishes for panties and the gang are recaptured.

Episode #7 “Your Wish is Granted!! Beware the Monster that Comes Out at the Sight of a Full Moon” covers chapters #21-23: Gokuu transforms into an Oozaru when he sees the full moon. Oozaru Gokuu destroys Pilaf's castle. Gokuu's tail is chopped off by Yamcha and Pu'erh. Yamcha and Blooma decide to hook up and Gokuu goes off to train under Muten Roushi.
*Notes: Episodes #8-9 are where the first real deviation from the 1980s series ends. Toei Animation animated chapters #18-19 each as their separate episodes. While it’s not painfully slow, it’s a little sluggish and can easily be tightened up a little. By making the Pilaf section of the arc three episodes I have effectively tightened the series down to ten episodes for the first twenty-three chapters.

Twenty-First Tenka'ichi Budoukai Arc:

Episode #8 “A Rival for Son Gokuu!! My Name is Kuririn” covers chapters #24-27: Gokuu and Kuririn meet and head off to get Muten Roushi a pichi-pichi gal. Gokuu and Kuririn bring back Lunch, a girl who changes personalities every time she sneezes.
*Notes: The gags have enough time to play out while also leaving room for Kuririn to be properly introduced.

Episode #9 “The Peculiar Girl, Lunch-san” covers chapters #28-30: Gokuu and Kuririn begin training! Kuririn cheats during a competition, however, and gets to eat dinner while Gokuu doesn't. Roushi and Kuririn wound up eating fugu, so they get sick. Gokuu and Kuririn begin their regular grind for the next right months until the Tenka'ichi Budoukai.
*Notes: Again, Toriyama does two chapters standalone from the next set, but it allows for the plot to progress forward nonetheless. With Lunch introduced training can begin in the next episode and no plot-points will feel tacked-on.

Episode #10 “The Kame-Sen’nin’s Intense Training Methods” covers chapters #31-33: The time for the Tenka'ichi has come! Gokuu and Kuririn enter and Kuririn miraculously wins a match, showing an incredible boost in strength.
*Notes: I want to avoid having the training in only one episode. While the anime did it in three, I felt a 1:1 ration might be a little out of sorts with the general pace of the series, so I combined #30-31.

Episode #11 “The Tenka’ichi Budoukai Begins! Aim to the the Number One Under the Heavens!” covers chapters #34-37: The gang make it into the final eight, the matches decided. Kuririn beats Bacterian and Jackie Chun beats Yamcha
*Notes: I wanted to tie up the preliminaries here so that the final eight’s fights could be evenly adapted in the following episodes. In my previous draft I considered splitting these four chapters across two episodes, but I felt a lot of the preliminaries could be easily covered in one episode using Mezase Tenka’ichi as an insert theme.

Episode #12 “A Man of Honor! Namu versus Lanfan” covers chapters: #38-40 Namu beats Lanfan and Gokuu battles and defeats Giran.
*Notes: The first episode to cover a full three chapters. I was hesitant to introduce one of these so early into the series, but I wanted to keep the plot progressing in a uniformed manner. No episode before this would have to cover a full forty-two pages, but with mostly fighting going on I think it can work.

Episode #13 “Kuririn versus Jackie Chun” covers chapters #41-43 Jackie Chun and Kuririn fight, Jackie Chun wins.
*Notes: Another episode that covers three chapters. The entire Jackie Chun versus Kuririn fight felt like it could best hold down an entire episode to itself, so I decided to gamble it.

Episode #14 Namu’s Life-or-Death Battle! Son Gokuu versus Namu” covers chapters #44-46: Gokuu fights and beat Namu.
*Notes: We’re back to two chapters and episode, but while action-packed I would hope it provide a small breather from the speediness of the previous two episodes.

Episode #15 “A Master and Student Clash?! Son Gokuu versus Jackie Chun” covers chapters #47-50: Jackie Chun tells Namu of his identity and free water, Gokuu and Jackie Chun begin their fight. Gokuu and Jackie Chun continue to fight. Finally, Gokuu sees the full moon and becomes an Oozaru.
*Notes: I really felt that Gokuu becoming an Oozaru would be a great cliffhanger, so I decided to end this episode like so. I also wanted to make used of the plethora of fighting that happens in these chapters.

Episode #16 “Incredible! The Kamehame-Ha That Destroyed the Moon!” covers chapters #51-52: Jackie Chun uses a Maximum Power Kamehame-Ha to destroy the moon. Gokuu and Jackie continue their fight.

Episode #17 “I Am the Winner of the Tenka’ichi Budoukai!! A Master’s Greatest Lesson” covers chapters #53-54: Jackie Chun wins the Tenka'ichi Budoukai and Gokuu sets out to find the Four-Star Ball.
*Notes: With only four chapters in the arc left, this was the only real course of action. I certainly did not want to rush the ending by placing four chapters in one episode.

Red Ribbon Army Arc:

Episode #18 “The Terrible Red Ribbon Army” covers chapters #55-57: Gokuu fight Colonel Silver and wins. Gokuu hitches a plane to a snowy land to get the next Dragon Ball but is shot down. Snow carries him back home. Gokuu learns about the RRA from Snow's family. Gokuu beats up two soldiers who come to Snow's house.
*Notes: The start of a new arc…and oddly enough, the Captain Silver stuff is nicely concluded in only two chapters. Amazingly enough, the 1980s series stretched these two chapters into an amusing six episode mini-arc where Chichi, Gyuumaou, and even Pilaf’s gang returned. Chapter #57 serves as a perfect lead in to the following episodes’ coverage of the Muscle Tower story, too.

Episode #19 “Go, Gokuu! Attack on Muscle Tower” covers chapters #58-62: Gokuu begins attacking Muscle Tower and comes across Sergeant Metallic, defeating him. Gokuu comes across Murasaki and they fight. Murasaki summons Artificial Human No. 8.
*Notes: It’s a bit of a quick run into the Muscle Tower arc, but I figure with some good visuals (and an insert theme, maybe) Gokuu could quickly bust into Muscle Tower and beat up Metallic. In fact, Metallic needn’t even speak if Gokuu’s raid on Muscle Tower opens with an insert theme. This allows for Murasaki to receive the bulk of the episode’s focus, rapid-fire gags boosting up the rising action.

Episode #20 “The Peculiar Artificial Human No. 8” covers chapters #63-66: Gokuu beats Murasaki and befriends Artificial Human No. 8; they fall through a trap door. Gokuu and No. 8 beat Buyon. General White falls and peace returns to Jingle Village.
*Notes: The Buyon battle can easily be glossed over if necessary, allowing the story to focus on the eventual fall of General White.

Episode #21 “The City of the West! Son Gokuu and Blooma Meet Again” covers chapters #67-69: Gokuu learns Kinto'un is still alive and heads to Metro West. Gokuu meets up with Blooma, has the Radar fixed, and they head off in search of the next Ball.
*Notes: Kind of an obvious choice of cliffhanger, I think.

Episode #22 “The Cunning General Blue” covers chapters #70-72: Gokuu and Blooma arrive at Kame House, pick up Kuririn, and set off after the next Ball. Meanwhile, General Blue's forces give chase while keeping an eye on Kame House.
*Notes: Toriyama’s pacing is sort of weird in this set of chapters. I don’t want to cram too much in one episode, but it feels like not a whole lot happens either.

Episode #23 “Chase into the Pirate’s Cave” covers chapters #73-75: Gokuu, Blooma, and Kuririn make their way through the underwater cave, General Blue close behind. Finally, they find the Pirate's Harbor. Gokuu faces off with a Pirate Robot so Kuririn and Blooma can find the Dragon Ball. Blue misdirects Gokuu.
*Notes: Discovering the Pirate’s Harbor feels like a good, solid cliffhanger. In a way it feels like things are dragging…but stuff is happening in-chapter, so I think it’d transition to screen well.

Episode #24 “The Pirate Cave’s Guardsmen” covers chapters #76-78: Gokuu fights and eats an octopus. Kuririn gets beaten up by Blue. Gokuu arrives, but with Blue's paralyzing technique he is in a real bind. Gokuu runs back toward where his friends are with a mouse in tow.
*Notes: A lot of stuff happens…and we end on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Episode #25 “Escape the Pirate’s Cave” covers chapters #79-80: The gang escapes the cave, but Blue follows them back to Kame House and steals their Dragon Balls. Gokuu gives chase on Kinto'un.
*Notes: A lot more happens…and we end on another exciting cliffhanger! Boy, Blue just won’t stay down (then again, it means more Furukawa Toshio for us to enjoy, so…)!!

Episode #26 “N’cha!! Arale-chan Appears” covers chapters #81-83: The Dr. Slump arc.
*Notes: This is actually a three episode arc in the 1980s series, but the three chapters here are so nicely grouped together I think if they trimmed a few things down it could flow nicely.

Episode #27 “The Greatest Assassin in the World, Tao Pai Pai” covers chapters #84-86: Gokuu meets Bora and Upa, saving Upa from Yellow. Tao Pai Pai kills Blue and heads to the Karin Holy Land. Tao Pai Pai kills Bora. Gokuu tries to avenge Bora, but is knocked back easily. Tao Pai Pai takes Gokuu’s backpack and returns to leaves to get new clothes.
*Notes: I really love how the 1980s series handled this arc, but in order to be a bit quicker (but have the right cliffhanger), I’ve had to combine a lot.

Episode #28 “Karin-sama of Karin-tou” covers chapters #87-89: Gokuu climbs and Reaches the top of the Karin-tou and begins training. Gokuu learns from Karin-sama that it took the Kame-Sen’nin three years to acquire the Chou Shin Sui. Gokuu gets the Water, his strength increased from the training; Karin thinks the boy might have now surpassed Muten Roushi
*Notes: Previously I didn’t combine chapters #87-89 in the same episode because I thought it might be too quick a progression, but I thought it might make things more even to have the entirety of the rematch in the next episode.

Episode #29 “The Counterattack of Son Gokuu!” covers chapters #90-92: Meanwhile, Tao Pai Pai returns to the base of the tower to retrieve the Dragon Ball he left behind. Gokuu returns and they begin their second fight. Gokuu beats Tao Pai Pai.
Episode #30 “Red Ribbon Army Headquarters Under Assault! The Fall of the Red Ribbon Army” covers chapters #93-96: Red learns that it is Son Gokuu who approaches and not Tao Pai Pai. Gokuu mows through the RRA. Black kills Red and takes over the army. Black uses a mecha to fight Gokuu but is killed when Gokuu smashes through it.
*Notes: Son Gokuu smashing through the Red Ribbon Army with next to no effort is very befitting of a single episode. Four chapters of high-octane action adapted into an episode with high-octane action!

Episode #31 “Find the Last Dragon Ball! The Last Chance is Uranai Baba” covers chapters #97-98: To find the last Dragon Ball the gang visits Uranai Baba.
*Notes: And so we begin the Uranai Baba portion of this arc. I wanted this to be an easily episode after a string of big fights, especially considering the next string of episodes will be very battle-oriented.

Episode #32 “Assault! We Are the Five Warriors of Uranai Baba” covers chapters #99-102: Dracula Man is defeated first, followed by Suke-san. Mira-kun defeats Yamcha.
*Notes: Dracula Man and Suke-san hardly need an episode to themselves. Yamcha’s fight with Mira-kun flows well enough as half and episode.

Episode #33 “The Mysterious Fifth Man Sure Smells Familiar!” covers chapters #103-106: Gokuu fights Mira-kun and wins. Gokuu defeats Akkuman. Gokuu battles a mysterious, masked man. To his dismay, the masked man can use the Kamehame-Ha.
*Notes: A nice cliffhanger that will allow the arc’s two final episodes to be paced evenly.

Episode #34 “The Fifth Man is Son Gohan! Give Chase For the Final Dragon Ball” covers chapters #107-109: The Masked Man is really Son Gohan! After a teary reunion, Gokuu learns of the location of the last Ball and gives chase.
Episode #35 “Meet Again in Three Years at the Twenty-Second Tenka’ichi Budoukai” covers chapters #110-112: Gokuu beats up Pilaf and gets the last Ball. Gokuu and friends summon Shen Long and Bora returns to life. They learn that the next Tenka'ichi Budoukai is in three years and go their separate ways to train.
*Notes: The pacing speaks for itself. All of the reunions have proper time to play out.

Twenty-Second Tenka'ichi Budoukai:

Episode #36 “New Rivals from the Crane Hermit School?!” covers chapters #113-115: Gokuu and friends reunite. Son beats King Chapa and makes it to the final eight with his friends.
Episode #37 “Yamcha versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #116-118: The match-ups are decided. In the first match, Tenshinhan defeats Yamcha, breaking his leg in the process. Jackie Chun and Man-Wolf begin their fight.
*Notes:

Episode #38 “The Answer Was ‘Eight’!” covers chapters #119-121: Jackie beats Man-Wolf. Kuririn beats Chaozu.

Episode #39 “Confidence in the Coming Era! Jackie Chun versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #122-124: Gokuu beats Panputto. Jackie Chun fights Tenshinhan, but eventually forfeits, confident in the coming era’s young warriors.
Episode #40 “Gokuu versus Kuririn” covers chapters #125-127: Gokuu and Kuririn meet in battle! Gokuu wins, however, and goes on to face Tenshinhan in the finals.
*Notes: This sort of speaks for itself. It’s nice how neatly these things worked out.

Episode #41 “Fierce Clash! Gokuu versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #128-130: Gokuu v. Tenshinhan! Gokuu is being paralyzed by Chaozu on orders from the Crane Hermit.
*Notes: A good cliffhanger, not to mention it helps even out the last few episodes of the arc.

Episode #42 “Unleash the Kikou-Hou! The Iron Pride of Tenshinhan” covers chapters #131-134: Muten Roushi sends the Crane Hermit flying so that Tenshinhan can win the fight honorably. The episode ends with Tenshinhan readying the Kikou-Hou. Tenshinhan unleashes the Kikou-Hou and eventually wins. Kuririn is killed by Tambourine.
*Notes: Again, a good cliffhanger.

Piccolo Daimaou Arc:

Episode #43 “The Greatest Evil Reborn?! Piccolo Daimaou Returns” covers chapters #135-137” Gokuu finds Kuririn. Filled with rage, Gokuu takes the Dragon Radar and gives chase. Roushi explains who Piccolo Daimaou is. Gokuu catches up to Tambourine, but is beaten in battle. Piccolo Daimaou orders Tambourine to kill the world's best martial artists. Daimaou births Cymbal and orders him to collect the Dragon Balls. Gokuu wakes up and eats Yajirobe's fish.
Episode #44 “Piccolo Daimaou’s Revenge”: covers chapters #138-141: Yajirobe attacks and they trade blows. Cymbal arrives for Yajirobe's Dragon Ball, but Yajirobe kills and eats Cymbal. Daimaou sends Tambourine to avenge Cymbal, but Gokuu kills him. Piccolo decides he will have to face this mighty foe himself
*Notes: The plot progresses steadily and in a manner I can then squeeze the first battle between Daimaou and Son Gokuu in the arc’s third episode.

Episode #45 “Daimaou Stands! Son Gokuu versus Piccolo Daimaou” covers chapters #142-144: Piccolo Daimaou confronts Gokuu. After a battle, Piccolo leaves a battered Gokuu for dead, taking the Three-Star Ball. Piccolo heads for the location of Muten Roushi, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu with their Balls while Yajirobe takes a battered Gokuu to Karin-tou.
*Notes: This seemed like the best way to handle things, especially considering the events of the next two chapters.

Episode #46 “The Mafuu-Ba Fails?! Muten Roushi-sama Dies” covers chapters #145-147” Kame-sen'nin confronts Piccolo Daimaou, but his Mafuu-Ba fails and he dies.
*Notes: Toei’s series in the 1980s really did some cool things with this arc by adding in filler scenes of Roushi, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu collecting the Dragon Balls. Sadly, to keep up a good clip we’ll have to cut those things. I find it a bit sad that Roushi dies so easily, but that’s how things are.

Episode #47 “Youth Restored! Piccolo Daimaou Conquers the World” covers chapters #148-151: Bora tosses Yajirobe and Gokuu up Karin-tou, Yajirobe climbs the rest of the way to the top. Daimaou's youth is restored. Piccolo kills Chaozu and Shen Long. Piccolo and Piano head for the King's Castle, slaughter the guards, and confront the King of the World. Gokuu and Yajirobe make it to the top of Karin-tou. Piccolo Daimaou becomes ruler of the world. Gokuu drinks the Choushinsui. Tenshinhan has been training to perfect the Mafuu-Ba and has finally finished. Gokuu's new power is overflowing...
*Notes: A lot happens here, but I really want to avoid one-chapter episodes. If I could I’d replace the Choushinsui with Gokuu eating a senzu and growing stronger from being near death, foreshadowing his Saiyan abilities. As for pacing, it just seemed to fit the best considering the events of the next half of the arc.

Episode #48 “The Destruction of Metro West?! Tenshinhan Confronts Daimaou” covers chapters #152-154: Gokuu heads off to fight Piccolo Daimaou again. Piccolo holds a news broadcast to reveal he will destroy one district a year on each May 9th for the next forty-three years. Piccolo picks at random a district, first picking Metro West—Blooma's home! Blooma's group heads for the Capital to stop Piccolo. Tenshinhan arrives and must confront Drum first. Drum kicks Tenshinhan's ass. Gokuu shows up and kicks his head so hard it explodes.
*Notes: Son Gokuu killing Drum with one kick is a great way to end an episode.

Episode #49 “Son and Daimaou Meet Again” covers chapters #155-158: Gokuu faces Piccolo Daimaou next. Piccolo envelopes the entire city in a huge blast
Episode #50 “Son Gokuu’s Last Gamble” covers chapters #159-161: Tenshinhan saved Gokuu from the explosion using Bukuu-jutsu. Gokuu pierces Piccolo through the gut with one final punch, but Piccolo shoots up an egg containing his reincarnation. Yajirobe takes Gokuu to Karin-tou for healing [again!] and Ten-san heads to Kame House with Blooma's group. The reincarnated Piccolo hatches and swears revenge for his father.
*Notes: These chapters are mostly fighting, so covering seven chapters across two episodes shouldn’t be a problem. Piccolo Daimaou unleashing his blast on the city is a great way to end an episode, too. Episode #50 ending with the end of the fight makes, too.

Episode #51 “Training From God?! Another Battle in Three Year’s Time” covers chapters #162-165: Gokuu retrieves the Nyoi'bou and confronts Mister Popo. God explains his relationship to Piccolo to Gokuu, revives Shen Long, and begins training for the Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai.
*Notes: A nice, cozy end to the arc. I didn’t want God to be learned of and appear in the same episode, so I figured this worked best for the pacing, too.

Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai Arc:

Episode #52 “Reunion” covers chapters #166-167: After three years the gang reunites. Gokuu is much taller now! The gang sign in and make it through their preliminary fights. Gokuu and Tenshinhan spot Piccolo's reincarnation, but Gokuu asks Ten to keep it on the low-down. Gokuu fights and beats King Chapa again. Tao Pai Pai beats Chaozu, surprising everyone with his appearance.
*Notes: Toei Animation’s TV series from the 1980s had #166 as one episode to itself, which I think is a good idea all intents and purposes aside. Ultimately, I had to handle things a little differently. Chapter #167’s cliffhanger makes for a great end to an episode, so I decided to use that instead of including chapter #168.

Episode #53 “Tenshinhan’s Battle” covers chapters #168-171: The final eight are decided. Tenshinhan faces Tao Pai Pai to avenge Chaozu, revealing he has far surpassed his former mentor. Tenshinhan defeats Tao Pai Pai. Gokuu battles and defeats Chichi, the former agreeing to marry the latter.
*Notes: I hate intruding on a big fight like this, but I decided to move the finishing up of the preliminaries into the Ten v. Tao fight.

Episode #54 “Great Pinch For the Kame Soldiers” covers chapters #172-175: Kuririn fights Ma Junior but must forfeit due to injury. Yamcha fights Shen, Gokuu figuring out he is really God.
*Notes: Having both Kuririn and Yamcha defeated in the same episode (roughly ten minutes for each of their fights) provides a sense of organization and allows for the story to move along steadily. These are just the warm up fights for the big championship, of course!

Episode #55 “Rematch! Gokuu versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #176-179: Gokuu and Tenshinhan have their rematch, Gokuu showcasing an enormous increase in speed and stamina. Gokuu defeats Tenshinhan.
*Notes: This set of chapters really flows together well. Each character can have their time to shine and some dramatic tension can be built up. Gokuu’s rematch with Tenshinhan can receive a full tour de force performance from a team of ace animators.

Episode #56 “God versus Daimaou” covers chapters #180-181: God and Daimaou face off. God tries to seal Piccolo with the Mafuu-Ba, but Piccolo reverses it, sealing God in a jar and eating the jar.
*Notes: Again, Toriyama basically hands an animation team great pacing to work with. Two chapters folding into one episode and bam, everything can work in synch.

Episode #57 “The Fated Showdown at Last! Son Gokuu versus Piccolo Daimaou” covers chapters #182-185: Son Gokuu and Piccolo Daimaou face off again. Gokuu's gi becomes beaten up, so he tears off the remains of his shirt. Gokuu unleashes the Chou Kamehame-Ha, leaving Piccolo pretty beat up.
*Notes: Originally I was going to cover this as two episodes, but with so much of this stuff fighting I don’t think the story will feel rushed. Thus…we have our first four-chapter episode, which has a killer ending, too!!

Episode #58 “Confusion at the Tenka’ichi Budoukai”): covers chapters #186-188: The audience recognizes Piccolo Daimaou at last and make a run for it. Piccolo grows large to crush Gokuu, but...Gokuu leaps into Piccolo's mouth and takes the stole jar, throws it to Tenshinhan, freeing God. God blocks a punch for Gokuu, interrupting the match. Gokuu refuses to play dirty, wishing to win on his own. Gokuu gives Piccolo a free punch.
*Notes: Dialogue begins to seep in, so I thought it best to start slowing things down again.

Episode #59 “This is My Fight! Son Gokuu Stands Firm” covers chapters #189-192: Piccolo's own tracking waves comes back and blasts him, breaking his arm. Piccolo tears off his useless arm and re-grows it. Piccolo prepares to unleash a devastating blast. The entire island has been reduced to a wasteland, but Gokuu took it head on with no problem. Gokuu unleashes a strong combo that hurts Piccolo badly. Just when the count is about to go in his favor, Gokuu receives a mouth kikou-ha to the chest from Piccolo. Piccolo prepares to finish Gokuu off, and with a final blast...
*Notes: A great cliffhanger!

Episode #60 (“I Finally Won the Tenka’ichi Budoukai!!”): covers chapters #193-194 (Gokuu, having learned bukuu-jutsu, dodged Piccolo blast and head butts him. And unconscious Piccolo falls out of the ring, and Gokuu is declared the winner of the Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai. Gokuu eats a Senzu and gives one to Piccolo, not ready to lose his arch-nemesis. Gokuu and Chichi fly off on Kinto'un to get hitched).
*Notes: And the story arc comes to a close. Not much else to say.

[JulieYBM]

I've added up through episode #60 to the first post. Since there is a text limit I will have to add the rest here!

Spoiler:

Saiyan Arc:

Episode #61 “Five Years Later…” covers chapters #195-197: Five years later, Raditz arrives on Earth. He confronts Piccolo Daimaou, being unharmed by a blast from him. Blooma and Gokuu show up at Kame House for a reunion. The gang meets again...but then Raditz shows up and knocks Kuririn into Kame House...with his tail!! Raditz reveals Gokuu past and kidnaps Gohan.
*Notes: I took a lot of care with the arc, because it is one I felt Dragon Ball Kai really, really dropped the ball with. In essence, I think there’s a very clear line between trying to keep the pace up and glossing through the plot like it is a clip show. Anyhow, this episode ends the same way that the first episode of Dragon Ball Kai does…only it doesn’t have to tact on a recap of the Bardock special and the events of the first 194 chapters. I think it’s actually a pretty good place to end the episode, actually.

Episode #62 “The Strongest Guy in the History of the World is Gokuu’s Brother?!” covers chapters #198-201: Piccolo shows up and proposes they team up to kill the bastard. The World's Strongest Team flies off to kick some ass, Blooma, Muten Roushi, and Kuririn soon to follow. Son and Piccolo confront Raditz and get their tails handed to them. Piccolo unleashes his Makankou-sappou
*Notes: Plot exposition plus a team up equals a cool place to end the episode. This leaves room for two episodes of fighting.

Episode #63 “Gokuu Dies! In One Year Two More Saiyans Will Appear” covers chapters #202-204 The first Makankou-sappou failed! Gohan breaks out of Raditz's ship and damaged Raditz. Gokuu holds Raditz in position while Piccolo fires a second Makankou-sappou. Raditz spills the beans about the other two Saiyans showing up in a year. Gokuu dies, his friends by his side.
*Notes: I felt it was important that the events of this fight have some time to feel…’important’? After all, this is the first time Piccolo and Gokuu team up and the first time Gokuu dies, after all.

Episode #64 “Train to Overcome the Saiyans” covers chapters #205-208: Gokuu and God speak with Enma the Great. Gokuu sets down the Serpentine Road. Piccolo takes Gohan to go train. Gohan sees the full moon and changes into an Oozaru, Piccolo destroys the moon
*Notes: Some good plot progression as well as a neat place to end the episode. It also allows the next episodes to receive and even shake.

Episode #65 “Are You Kaiou-sama?” covers chapters #209-212: Yajirobe informs Kuririn they, Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and Yamcha are to receive special training under God. Piccolo begins to teach Gohan the art of combat. After six months Gokuu arrives at Kaiou-sama's and passes his test to become his student. Gokuu catches Bubbles-kun, passing his first test. Another six months pass and Blooma and Muten Roushi ask Shen Long to revive Gokuu.
*Notes: More plot progression. The plot might seem like it were moving too slow if only two chapters were adapted an episode for two consecutive episodes.

Episode #66 “Unending Terror! The Saiyans Are Too Formidable” covers chapters #213-216 After months of training...the Saiyans have arrived. Nappa destroys the city he and Vegeta arrived in. Earth's heroes are stunned by the terrible ki emitted by the Saiyans. Kuririn quickly meets up with Piccolo and Gohan. The Saiyans have found Piccolo's group! Tenshinhan and Chaozu show up, followed by Yamcha. Vegeta has Nappa plant the Saibaimen and begin a little game. Tenshinhan quickly beats his foe down. Yamcha takes on a Saibaiman, but when victory seems certain...the Saibaiman latches onto Yamcha tightly and self-destructs. Kuririn is filled with rage at the lost of his dear friend and unleashes a powerful, but slow, blast that kills all but one of the Saibaimen and the Saiyans. Piccolo kills the remaining Saibaiman when he attacks Gohan. Nappa readies himself for battle, his ki terribly great.
*Notes: Yamcha’s fight can be mostly skipped to make more room for the story and character moments.

Episode #67 “Sayonara, Ten-san! My Last Kikou-Hou!!” covers chapters #217-219: Nappa chops off Tenshinhan's arm with one blow! Chaozu tries killing Nappa with a self-destruction...but that hardly fazes him. Tenshinhan, filled with rage and grief, places all of his power into a final Kikou-Hou. Nappa's armor is damaged...but that's all Tenshinhan could do with his dying attack. Kuririn begs Gokuu to arrive quickly. Vegeta decides to give this 'Son Gokuu' three hours to prepare. Gohan apologizes for his cowardice. Gokuu arrives at Enma's and is brought back to Earth by God. Gokuu picks up two Senzu at Karin's, eats one, and rides on Kinto'un to the battlefield. Three hours are up, so the three decide to give it another go.
*Notes: Chaozu and Tenshinhan receive an episode to themselves while also covering three chapters worth of content.

Episode #68 “I Will Hold Off the Saiyans! Son Gohan’s Courageous Stand” covers chapters #220-222: Piccolo grabs Nappa's tail...but it doesn't affect him! Nappa knocks Piccolo down in the head hard, knocking him unconscious. Piccolo, Gohan, and Kuririn hold the Saiyans at bay. With Son Gokuu approaching with a battle power of five thousand, Nappa orders he end it now. Nappa tosses a blast at Gohan, but Piccolo leaps in the way.
*Notes: Building up to Piccolo’s sacrifice will be this episode’s big focus.

Episode #69 “Piccolo Daimaou Dies! Son Gokuu Arrives Too Late” covers chapters #223-226: Piccolo dies from his injuries, leaving Gohan greatly angered. Gohan unleashes his Masen-Kou, but Nappa slaps it away. With all hope lost...Kinto'un quickly saves Gohan! Son Gokuu has arrived on the scene. Gokuu feeds Gohan and Kuririn the remaining Senzu Bean and begins his fight with Nappa, powering up to “over eight thousand” and breaks Nappa's back.
*Notes: I really want the death scene to have room to breathe. Dragon Ball Kai sort of just rushes through it, which I don’t want to see happen here. Gokuu’s arrival doesn’t need to be as wordy as it is in the comic and can be cut with a lot of silence and quick images. I think Gokuu’s battle with Nappa can be mostly brushed over and brought to a quicker end than seen in the original comic.

Episode #70 “A Heated Battle for the Entire Planet Earth! Son Gokuu versus Vegeta” covers chapters #227-231: Vegeta kills Nappa, now useless to him. Gokuu sends Kuririn and Gohan back to Kame House so he can fight Vegeta with his full attention. Gokuu and Vegeta relocate and begin to fight. Even with the Kaiou-ken, however, Vegeta is superior to Gokuu. Gokuu uses the Three-Times Kaiou-ken to deal a great deal of damage to Vegeta. Angry, Vegeta flies into the air and unleashes his Gyallic-Hou. Gokuu counters with a Four-Times Kaiou-ken powered Kamehame-Ha, sending Vegeta flying.
*Notes: A big, big episode! We’re going with five chapters in one episode again, because most of it is fighting anyhow. I thought the cliffhanger of Vegeta being sent flying was also a good one, too.

Episode #71 “Vegeta’s Great, Terrible Transformation! Give Me Your Genki, Earth!!” covers chapters #232-234: Vegeta decides to use a Power Ball to transform into his Oozaru form. Gokuu, unable to match Vegeta's enhanced power, creates a Genki-Dama to destroy him. Vegeta blasts Gokuu before he can unleash his attack and picks up the tired and injured Son, squeezing the life out of him.
*Notes: The pace keeps up a little bit, actually. Gokuu being squeezed to death felt like the best sort of cliffhanger for the episode, anyhow.

Episode #72 “Protect Your Daddy! Son Gohan Returns to the Battlefield!” covers chapters #235-238: Kuririn and Gohan show up to help Gokuu. Kuririn's Kienzan is dodged by a watchful Vegeta. Yajirobe appears from nowhere and cuts off Vegeta's tail. Gokuu gives the remaining Genki-Dama to Kuririn to throw. With a little help from Kaiou-sama, Kuririn manages to form the ball. Yajirobe accidentally tips Vegeta off to the Genk-Dama, allowing him to dodge it. Gohan bounces the Genki-Dama back and it hits Vegeta, sending him flying. As the gang rejoices, sure of their victory, Vegeta falls back down to the Earth, still alive.

Episode #73 “The Genki-Dama Fails? Vegeta, the Indestructible Warrior” covers chapters #239-241: Unleashing a huge blast, Vegeta sends everyone flying. Gohan turns over and with encouragement from his dad looks up at the artificial moon, transforming into an Oozaru. Oozaru Gohan beats up Vegeta. Vegeta is crushed by Gohan. Gokuu requests that Kuririn allow Vegeta to live as Vegeta makes off in his spaceship

Planet Namek Arc:

Episode #74 “Bound for Planet Namek! To Piccolo-san’s Home World” covers chapters #242-243: Gokuu and friends are picked up by Blooma and Roushi's group. Kaiou-sama informs them of where Namek is. After Blooma blows up Nappa's ship Mister Popo reveals he has a spaceship.
*Notes: I felt it was best to slowly build back into a groove here, so we’re back to just two chapters an episode. I don’t want the dialogue to be rushed through, either. Chapter #242 really seems like a one-chapter episode, but that’s not really something I feel I could do comfortably considering the conversation continues into the first half of the next chapter. I guess learning there is another spaceship is a relatively good cliffhanger, too.

Episode #75 “Arrival on Planet Namek! A New Evil Enters” covers chapters #244-246: Mister Popo shows Blooma to God's spaceship. Blooma, Kuririn, and Gohan take off for Namek. Vegeta gets his injuries healed after landing on Freeza Planet #79. Vegeta heads off to Namek with Kewi in pursuit. Blooma's group land on Namek.
*Notes: So much is happening in what seems to be a short span of time. I hate having the gang take off for Namek and REACH Namek in the same episode, but considering the next chapter or two it just didn’t seem to flow well by breaking #246 off and putting it together with #247.

Episode #76 “His Name is Freeza! Vegeta’s New Mission” covers chapters #247-249: Freeza threatens a Namekian village, noticing that Vegeta and Kewi have landed on Namek. Kuririn and Gohan defeat two of Freeza's men who have destroyed their ship. Vegeta kills Kewi. While looking for a place to hide, Kuririn and Gohan sense the terrible ki of Freeza and his men passing by.
*Notes: Kewi dies off quickly and we’re introduced to the new villains. It’s an eventful chapter with a tense ending.

Episode #77 “A Great Battle Brews on Planet Namek! Rise Up Again, Son Gokuu” covers chapters: #250-251 Kuririn and Gohan follow Freeza to investigate. Gokuu gets fed a Senzu Bean and takes off for Capsule Corp. where he gets his ship and takes off, beginning his training at 20G. Meanwhile, Kuririn and Gohan arrive at the Namekian village that Freeza is attacking and watch from afar.
*Notes: A bit of a breather to let the new story elements settle. We also get our first real focus on Gokuu in a while, too. I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to try to cram a third chapter in, I’d rather let it all play out in the next episode.

Episode #78 “The Bravery of the Namekian Warriors! Dodoria-san is Angry” covers chapters #252-254: Freeza's men cut down the Namekians to just Muuri and the kids. Muuri refuses to sell out the other Namekians, so Dodoria attacks.
*Notes: Dialogue and some fighting! It’s another intense chapter with a great cliffhanger.

Episode #79 “Vegeta versus Dodoria! A Gesture of Uprising” covers chapters #255-257: Gohan and Kuririn save Dende from Dodoria and fly off, but Dodoria gives chase. Gohan and company hide while Vegeta arrives, fights and then kills Dodoria.
*Notes: A chase scene! Also, Dodoria meets a rather quick end.

Episode #80 “Training in the Afterlife! The Fallen Z Warriors Return” covers chapters #258-260: Kuririn and co. return to the cave where Blooma is hiding. Kuririn leaves with Dende to visit the Grand Elder. Vegeta attacks a village and hides the Four-Star Ball in the nearby waters. Meanwhile, Gokuu learns his dead friends have gone to Kaiou-sama's for training.
*Notes: A bit of a calm episode, even though some stuff happens. Next episode can be devoted to Gokuu’s learning more about Freeza and Vegeta versus Zarbon round one.

Episode #81 “The Handsome Zarbon’s True Reality” covers chapters #261-263: Kaiou-sama warns Gokuu not to get into it with Freeza. Yamcha and company agree not to fight Freeza so that they may be trained. Vegeta comes across Zarbon and fights him. Zarbon transforms and beats Vegeta, leaving him for dead.
*Notes: A bit of an obvious choice.

Episode #82 “Power Unleashed!! The Plan to Defeat Freeza and Vegeta” covers chapters #264-265: Freeza scolds Zarbon for not confirming Vegeta's death, so he goes to find the body. Kuririn and Dende come across the Grand Elder, Kuririn having his hidden power unleashed by the Grand Elder. Kuririn returns to get Gohan so he can have his power unleashed, too. Meanwhile, Vegeta is healing in the healing tank, but awakens and kills Appule. He finds the room with the Dragon Balls and...
*Notes: Back to two chapters. I wouldn’t want to cram in the second fight so early, either.

Episode #83 “Vegeta’s Great Scheme! The Saiyans Who Grow Mightier Beating Death” covers chapters #266-268: Gohan finds Vegeta's hidden Four-Star Ball and begins his return trip to Blooma. Vegeta steals Freeza's Dragon Balls and makes off. He spots Kuririn, wondering why he is on Namek, but dismisses it as he has the last Ball. Vegeta and then Zarbon arrive at Kuririn's hiding place, Kuririn cursing himself for being so careless. Vegeta fights Zarbon again and quickly defeats him. Kuririn gives up the One-Star Ball and Vegeta allows them to keep their lives.
*Notes: The next big fight. This also allows for the episode to be more focused.

Episode #84 “The Ginyuu Special Force Are On Their Way?! A New Formation is Born” covers chapters #269-271: Vegeta comes across Gohan, but doesn't notice he has taken the Four-Star Ball. When Vegeta realizes the Ball is missing, he explodes in rage. By the time he returns to their hideout, the Earthlings are already gone! Kuririn and Gohan leave Blooma in a new hiding spot and head off for the Grand Elder's again. Vegeta waits it out, hoping to spot the Earthlings again. Meanwhile, Gokuu finishes his training at 100G. Finally, Vegeta spots Kuririn and Gohan's ki and flies off toward them. Gohan and Kuririn sense that Vegeta is coming for them so Kuririn sends Gohan on ahead. Vegeta bypasses Kuririn only to find a powered up Gohan awaits him. While arguing, Vegeta senses the Ginyuu Special Corps is nearing Namek. Begrudgingly, Vegeta teams up with the Earthlings.
*Notes: A lot of running back and forth happens in this episode, but I wanted to try and avoid giving Gurd and entire episode to himself.

Episode #85 “The Terrible and Ridiculous Ginyuu Special Force Arrives” covers chapters #272-274: The Ginyuu land and greet Freeza. Vegeta's group arrives at the site of the other five Balls, but the Ginyuu cut them off. Vegeta throws his Dragon Ball, but Burta catches it. Kuririn tries to break his, but Ghurd uses his time freeze to steal it. Captain Ginyuu allows his men to play with Vegeta and his friends while he takes the Balls to Freeza. Gohan and Kuririn take on Ghurd; however they become trapped by his telekinesis. Vegeta chops off Ghurd's head while he is distracted, and then blasts it with ki.
*Notes: I don’t think much needs to be done with Gurd, to be honest. Mister Gurd has been well represented in the original comic, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Kai, and even numerous video games. I think his fight could simply be re-written to having Gohan and Kuririn kill him quickly before he even got to show off.

Episode #86 “Hurry to Namek, Gokuu!! The Hellish Reacoom is One Bad Dude” covers chapters #275-277: Vegeta begins fighting Reacoom, but soon he is beaten down. Kuririn tells Gohan they might need to rush in to help. Two minutes remain until Gokuu lands on Namek. Kuririn and Gohan save Vegeta from the Reacoom Eraser Gun. Kuririn and taken out with one kick, but Gohan struggles on.

Episode #87 “I Am Son Gokuu’s Son! Son Gohan’s Great Stand” covers chapters #278-280: Freeza finds he cannot make his wish so he goes off to the Grand Elder to ask how to make his wish. Meanwhile, Reacoom breaks Gohan's neck with a kick. All seems lost until a spaceship lands nearby. Son Gokuu has arrived! Gokuu feeds Gohan, Kuririn, and Vegeta Senzu Beans. Gokuu takes out Reacoom with one elbow to the gut and Vegeta begins to think he may be the Legendary Super Saiyan.
*Notes: I felt this formation best allowed for Vegeta and Gohan’s section of this fight to receive proper attention. It also allows for the next few chapters to flow together in episode form.

Episode #88 “Commander Ginyuu is Angry! Meanwhile, Freeza Draws Nearer…” covers chapters #281-283: Gokuu makes short work out of Burta and Jheese. Jheese abandons Burta and runs off to get help. Vegeta finishes off Reacoom and Burta, scolding Kakarrot for his soft heart. Ginyuu learns of his men's deaths and rushes off in rage to confront Gokuu. Ginyuu and Jheese arrive on the scene, Kuririn and Gohan leaving to find the Dragon Balls. Vegeta abandons Gokuu, going off to find the Balls on his own. While distracted, Ginyuu attacks Gokuu.
*Notes: Quite a bit happens here, but it also sets up the next few episodes’ events. I felt Vegeta abandoning Gokuu was a great cliffhanger, too.

Episode #89 “Freeza Finds the Grand Elder?! Nail, Duty-Bound Warrior” covers chapters #284-287: Gokuu unveils his Kaiou-ken, raising his battle power to 180,000, terrifying Ginyuu and Jheese into believing the battle is over before it even starts. Meanwhile, Freeza finds the Grand Elder's home and confronts him. Nail promises the Grand Elder he will buy the Earthlings as much time as possible by holding Freeza off. Freeza and Nail find a new place to fight. Nail is quickly overwhelmed, despite his battle power being much higher than any other Namekian yet. Meanwhile, Ginyuu damages his body and then switches it with Gokuu's body. Meanwhile, Gohan and Kuririn find Blooma and get the Dragon Radar. At Freeza's ship, Vegeta freshens up and gets a new battle jacket. From there Kuririn and Gohan arrive at Freeza's ship and dig up the Dragon Balls. Suddenly, they sense Ginyuu and Jheese returning and hide.
*Notes: Instead of including Gokuu versus Ginyuu, I thought it would be interesting to skip that fight!

Episode #90 “That’s Not My Father! Son Gohan, Defeat Your Father” covers chapters #288-289: Gohan and Kuririn finally confront Ginyuu [in Gokuu's body]. Ginyuu cannot muster Gokuu's full power, not being familiar with Son's body. Gokuu [in Ginyuu's body] arrives, explaining who he is to his friends. Vegeta confronts Jheese. Vegeta fights and kills Jheese, then pummels on Ginyuu. Ginyuu's in bad shape, so he begins changing bodies with Vegeta!

Episode #91 “The Plan to Summon Super Shen Long” covers chapters #290-291: Gokuu [in Ginyuu's body] leaps in Ginyuu's way and takes over his body again. Ginyuu tries to switch with Vegeta again, but Gokuu tosses a frog in Ginyuu's way. Ginyuu is powerless now. Vegeta places Gokuu in a medical tank so he can help fight Freeza later. Gohan and Kuririn get battle jackets to wear for increasing their defenses. Meanwhile, Nail finally clues Freeza in on his being a decoy for the Earthlings. Freeza discovers his scouter isn't picking up any of the Ginyuu Special Corps. Cursing, Freeza makes a mad dash back to his ship. Kuririn and Dende meet up, Dende knowing how to summon the Dragon God.
*Notes: More set up for the final battle. I split the chapters up as such so that the resolutions could have some time to play out and so that the cliffhangers would be neat.

Episode #92 “The Grand Elder Dies! Freeza-sama is Very Angry” covers chapters #292-294: Kuririn, Gohan, and Dende summon Polunga and make their wishes. Vegeta arrives on the scene, pissed. Polunga disappears, the Grand Elder having died. Freeza shows up, pissed at Vegeta and company. Piccolo comes across Nail.
*Notes: The pace begins to pick up now as we can summon up Polunga and get the wishes made. Freeza finally confronting Vegeta and gang is also a great cliffhanger.

Episode #93 “Battle Power Higher Than One Million?! The Nightmare is Just Beginning” covers chapters #295-298: Piccolo and Nail merge. Freeza transforms into his second form and impales Kuririn on his horn. Gohan attacks Freeza in rage, but Freeza beats him up.
*Notes: I really felt chapter #296 had a great cliffhanger, so for dramatic reasons we’re back to just two chapters.

Episode #94 “Piccolo, the Warrior Who Arrived Late! Freeza Unveils a Hellish Second Transformation” covers chapters #299-302: Kuririn saves Gohan from death and draws Freeza's attention away. Dende heals Gohan, as he did Dende. Gohan returns to help Kuririn and Vegeta fight...when suddenly Piccolo arrives. Piccolo fights Freeza, showing an incredible increase in power. Freeza transforms into his third form and begins blasting the Hell out of Piccolo. Vegeta wants Kuririn to blast him into near death so Dende can heal him and his power will increase.
*Notes: A lot of great fighting happens in this episode so I think having Tate Naoki, Oonishi Ryou, and Shida Naotoshi as key animators would be awesome. Otherwise speaking, Piccolo being blasted to bits is a great cliffhanger to end on.

Episode #95 “True Form At Last! Freeza’s Terrible Final Transformation” covers chapters #303-306: Gohan saves Piccolo from Freeza. Kuririn blasts Vegeta, but Dende refuses to heal him. Dende heals Piccolo, who convinces Dende to heal Vegeta. With Freeza transforming into his true form Piccolo believes they are going to need Vegeta's help in beating him. Vegeta is healed and Freeza completes his transformation, killing Dende so that they may no longer be revived. Piccolo, Gohan, and Kuririn attack Freeza to avenge Dende, but it is no good. Freeza attacks Gohan, but Vegeta saves him to show off his new power. Still, Vegeta's new strength is not enough to beat Freeza. Vegeta weeps, giving up on the fight. As Freeza pounds on Vegeta, Gokuu is finished being restored to full health.
*Notes: Again, another great cliffhanger. Chapter #306 actually gets an entire episode to itself in Dragon Ball Z. Animated by Uchiyama Masayuki’s Last House; it actually expands upon Vegeta’s fight with final four Freeza pretty well, including some neat visuals. While there won’t be as much room for that sort of thing here, I figured four battle-laced chapters being covered would still allow for a fair amount of extra fighting. The cliffhanger of Vegeta being pounded to death juxtaposed with Gokuu being ‘reborn’ is also pretty awesome.

Episode #96 “The Prince of Saiyans Dies! Give Me Your Pride, Vegeta” covers chapters #307-308: Gokuu arrives on the scene. Vegeta begs with his dying breath for Kakarrot to make sure a Saiyan kills Freeza. Gokuu buries Vegeta, determined to win.
*Notes: God knows I’d never want to rush through such important scenes.

Episode #97 “A Destined Battle! Son Gokuu versus Freeza” covers chapters #309-312: Yamcha and the gang learn of Vegeta's death. Meanwhile, Gokuu and Freeza begin their titanic battle. After a light warm-up, Gokuu discards his over shirt. Gokuu begins to be overwhelmed by Freeza's fifty percent power. Kaiou-sama reveals Gokuu's already using the Ten-Times Kaiou-ken...and still losing.
*Notes: It’s been a while, my old friend the four-chapter episode. Considering how much fighting is going on I think it can be afforded, especially with the awesome cliffhanger of learning that Gokuu is losing while using the ten-fold Kaiou-ken

Episode #98 “What’s that in the Sky?! A Super-Large Genki-Dama is Our Last Chance” covers chapters #313-316: Gokuu tries the Twenty-Times Kaiou-ken and manages to burn Freeza's hand a little. Gokuu's power, however, is now quickly falling. Gokuu resorts to using the Genki-Dama, Gohan and Kuririn noticing it in the air. Piccolo buys time for Gokuu to form his Genki-Dama. Finally, Gokuu can unleash his large Genki-Dama and it swallows Freeza whole. Gohan and Kuririn wonder what has happened to Gokuu and Piccolo in the aftermath.

Episode #99 “Awaken, Gokuu!” covers chapters #317-319: Piccolo carries Gokuu ashore and they all laugh it up, finally in the clear. Suddenly, Freeza returns! Freeza blasts Piccolo in the chest and then kills Kuririn. Gokuu erupts in rage, becoming the Legendary Super Saiyan. Gokuu's new power is too great for Freeza to handle. Freeza resorts to forming a Death Ball to destroy the planet.
*Notes: I wanted to make that the Super Saiyan form had time to settle in. I wanted to capture the cliffhanger of Namek “being destroyed.”

Episode #100 “Five Minutes Until the Destruction of Planet Namek! Come Forth, Shen Long” covers chapters #320-324: Mister Popo is gathering the Dragon Balls, so God contacts Kaiou-sama. Kaiou is elated to learn that Namek hasn't been destroyed yet. Freeza estimates five minutes remain until the core goes 'boom'. Freeza powers up to full power and rushes toward Gokuu, who is preparing a Kamehame-Ha. Meanwhile, Mister Popo summons Shen Long. The Namekians are restored to life. Gokuu convinces Kaiou to allow him to stay. Dende has Polunga transport everyone else to Earth.
*Notes: A lot of the dialogue between God and Kaiou can be trimmed to cut to the chase quicker, I think.

Episode #101 “Conclusion of the Great Battle On a Dying World covers chapters #325-327 Gokuu gives up on fighting Freeza, the tyrant's power is running too low. Gokuu dodges Kienzan for a bit, but Freeza accidentally gets sliced into pieces by one of his own Kienzan. Gokuu gives Freeza some power to escape Namek, but...Freeza uses it to attack Gokuu. Gokuu fires back, 'killing' Freeza.

Episode #102 “Planet Namek is Destroyed! RIP, Son Gokuu…” covers chapters #328-329: Namek explodes and everyone thinks Gokuu is dead. Time passes and those dead are restored to life. Gokuu, however, never died and is out in space somewhere to return when he's ready. More time passes and one day...our heroes sense Freeza approaching Earth.
*Notes: Both of these are great cliffhangers. It feels a little weird in retrospect, but it’s the only real solution to the problem. The two anime adaptations already out there remove the cliffhanger of Freeza really being alive to the beginning of the next episode, but I think it’d be pretty cool to end the arc as the comic does.

Artificial Humans Arc:

Episode #103 “A Second Super Saiyan?! Freeza Returns” covers chapters #330-331: Freeza has come to Earth with a rebuilt body and his Papa. A mysterious boy appears before Freeza and unveils his Super Saiyan form, slicing Freeza in two.
*Notes: A lot happens here and I didn’t want to rush through it, but at the same time we have to keep things moving.

Episode #104 “Son Gokuu Returns”: covers chapters #332-333: The Super Saiyan teen kills King Cold next and then takes Gohan and company to where Son Gokuu should land. Three hours later, Gokuu appears.
*Notes: Another two chapters go by and more stuff happens. I imagine this would be a little more even than the previous episode.

Episode #105 “Train For Three Years to Defeat the Artificial Humans” covers chapters #334-336: Trunks reveals his past to Gokuu and then Piccolo fills in everyone else. Gokuu reveals how he got off Namek and where he was all this time. Three years later the gang finishes their training and head off to fight the Artificial humans.
*Notes: Man, what weird pacing from Toriyama. He begins the next arc right in the same episode as the Trunks stuff finishes up. Dragon Ball Z originally added two episodes of filler training here, but I really didn’t see much reason to copy that.

Episode #106 “Terrible Cold-Bloodedness!! A Small City Becomes Hell” covers chapters #337-339: The gang all meet up after three years of training. The Artificial Humans attack Yajirobe, then Yamcha. Gokuu, Tenshinhan, and Piccolo lure them away from the city.
*Notes: Things pick up again, ending with a cool cliffhanger, I think.

Episode #107 “Son Gokuu’s Wars” covers chapters #340-342: Gokuu and the others land in an area covered with large rocks for cover. Artificial Human No. 20 explains their goals and Gokuu erupts into Super Saiyan to fight No. 19. Gokuu's heart virus eventually drains too much of his strength and No. 19 begins to gain the upper hand. Suddenly, Vegeta appears and saves Gokuu.
*Notes: All of the Gokuu stuff will get out of the way and Vegeta can show up for another cool cliffhanger.

Episode #108 “I Am the Mightiest Warrior! Super Vegeta Awakens” covers chapters #343-345: Vegeta reveals he is now a Super Saiyan and kills No. 19. No. 20 flees, planning to absorb Piccolo and the others' ki to defeat Vegeta.
*Notes: A bunch of stuff happens and we set up the next episode’s events with some scenes from Gero’s point-of-view.

Episode #109 “Artificial Human No. 20 is Dr. Gero?! Race to the North” covers chapters #346-348: No. 20 attacks Piccolo and begins absorbing his ki. Piccolo telepathically warns Gohan, who quickly helps him out. Kuririn tosses a Senzu to Piccolo and Piccolo fights No. 20, showing off his real power. Trunks returns from the future and finds the disembodied head of No. 19. Trunks arrives on the scene of the fight with No. 20, astounded by the strange Artificial Human. Blooma flies by and No. 20 uses the chance to create a distraction, destroying her car and running off to activate No. 17 and No. 18. Blooma explains that No. 20 is really Dr. Gero himself! Gohan takes Blooma, present Trunks and Yajirobe back home while the others give chase.
*Notes: And…a lot more goes on. The plot’s taking shape at this point and we can end the episode with a cool cliffhanger.

Episode #110 “Another Nightmare Begins?! Three More Artificial Humans” covers chapters #349-351: The gang find Gero's lab, but it appears he has already activated Artificial Humans No. 17 and No. 18. No. 17 kills Gero and No. 18 wishes to activate No. 16. Filled with rage, Trunks destroys the lab in an attempt to stop them. No. 16 is activated, nonetheless, and the trio goes off to kill Son Gokuu. Vegeta follows, wishing to fight them.
*Notes: Gero is removed from the scene and our new baddies are introduced. Next time we can get off to a real butt-kicking.

Episode #111 “Deadly Beauty! No. 18 Defeats Super Vegeta” covers chapters #352-354: No. 18 kicks Vegeta's ass, so Trunks steps in. No. 17 and No. 18 beat up Trunks, Piccolo, and Tenshinhan and decide to leave.
*Notes: The entire first round with No. 18 and company all out of the way in one action-packed episode.

Episode #112 “The Game is On! Hunt Down Son Gokuu” covers chapters #355-357: Kuririn has his encounter with No. 18. Kuririn feeds Senzu to his friends after the Artificial Humans leave. Piccolo, angry at himself for being beaten, flies off in a huff. Kuririn and Trunks go to the Son's and move Gokuu to Kame House. Piccolo tells God it is time they merged into one again. God decides to wait it out a little longer, annoying Piccolo. Blooma calls and Kuririn and informs him that another time machine has appeared!
*Notes: I really wanted #357 to be the cliffhanger, so one more three-chapter episode was necessary.

Episode #113 “God and Daimaou Become One Again” covers chapters #358-360: Trunks, Gohan, and Blooma investigate the second time machine. Piccolo and God merge and then Piccolo descends to Ginger Town where he sees...!!
*Notes: Again, another awesome cliffhanger just waiting to be adapted.

Episode #114 “I Am Cell, Your Sibling! Horror Envelopes Gingertown” covers chapters #361-364: Piccolo and Cell face off. Piccolo is caught by Cell, who absorbs his left arm. Piccolo fools Cell into revealing his intentions, tears off his dead arm, and regenerates it. Trunks and Kuririn arrive on the scene, but Cell uses the Taiyou-ken to blind them and escape. Vegeta and Tenshinhan show up. Piccolo explains what is going on.
*Notes: Originally I was going to tact #364-365 together as one episode, but I felt that was a little lopsidedly paced. Anyhow, a lot of this first half is fighting so I figure that will flow together pretty quickly, allowing the latter half of the episode to get all of the details out.

Episode #115 “To Reach Beyond the Super Saiyan” covers chapters #365-368: Two days pass and Gokuu is back at full health, claiming he will go beyond Super Saiyan. The Saiyans go to God's palace to train in the Room of Spirit and Time. Meanwhile, the Artificial Humans show up at Kame House. Piccolo lures them to a deserted island and begins fighting No. 17. Cell shows up on the scene, drawing fear out of Piccolo who is exhausted from fighting No. 17.
*Notes: I felt it was best to give the appearances of Cell some space from each other, so I wanted episode #142 to basically be an exposition and plot episode.

Episode #116 “The Unrelenting Cell! I Will Attain Perfection” covers chapters #369-372: Cell makes short work of Piccolo, so No. 16 steps in and begins attacking Cell. Cell sneaks up behind No. 17 and absorbs him.
*Notes: Ending the episode with No. 17 being absorbed seemed like a great cliffhanger to precede twenty minutes of dreadful build up.

Episode #117 “I Will Defeat You! Son Gokuu is Bold” covers chapters #373-374: Tenshinhan holds off Cell using his Shin Kikou-Hou, allowing for No. 16 and No. 18 to escape. Blooma gives Kuririn the shut down controller for the Artificial Humans. Gokuu picks up the exhausted Tenshinhan and Piccolo, briefly confronts Cell, and takes them to God's again. After a round of Senzu, Popo reveals that Trunks and Vegeta have emerged.
*Notes: While Tenshinhan holding Cell off does make for a great cliffhanger, I really felt making #145 a four-chapter episode would be pushing it, so I decided to hold off. Here we can give a chance for the pieces to fall into place as the next episode episodes move into more battles.

Episode #118 “Super Vegeta is Reborn! The Power Beyond the Super Saiyan” covers chapters #375-377: Cell begins yelling loudly, demanding No. 18 show herself if he doesn't want to be destroyed by his island destroying blasts. Blooma gives the Saiyan armor to the gang at God's Sanctuary and Vegeta and Trunks depart. The Sons enter the Room of Spirit and Time and begin their training. Vegeta finds Cell and transforms into Super Saiyan Grade 2, punching Cell.
*Notes: Hopefully Wakamoto Norio can do the shouting for this episode properly, as he did in Dragon Ball Z. Anyhow, Vegeta making his first punch on Cell is a pretty good cliffhanger, so I felt it best to leave off here.

Episode #119 “Cell’s Great Pinch!” covers chapters #378-380: Super Vegeta beats up Cell. Vegeta agrees to allow Cell to reach his perfect form for a good fight, but Trunks stands in his way. Then, Cell spots No. 18 on the island below him.
*Notes: A good cliffhanger is always the best way to end an episode, so a three-chapter episode works best for this triad of chapters.

Episode #120 “Perfection At Last! Sayonara, No. 18” covers chapters #381-382: Cell absorbs No. 18 and knocks Kuririn aside.
*Notes: Another episode that needs the dreadful build up of the inevitable.

Episode #121 “Incredible! Cell’s Perfect Form is Unbreakable” covers chapters #383-385: Vegeta is having a hard time hitting Cell now that he is complete. Finally, Vegeta fires a Final Flash, but Cell regenerates from that easily. Cell knocks Vegeta out, prompting Trunks to transform into his Super Saiyan Grade 3 form.
*Notes: Again, it’s all about getting that good cliffhanger. This also allows for Vegeta versus Perfect-form Cell to have room to play around.

Episode #122 “Save Your Father, Trunks! A Super Fight Where Speed is Key” covers chapters #386-388: Trunks gives up, finding he cannot even touch Cell. Cell decides to give him another chance to power up. Ten days from now he will hold his 'Cell Game' to decide the fate of the Earth.
*Notes: Here we can get through all of the Trunks versus Cell stuff quickly and end on the cliffhanger that Cell wants to hold his own tournament. There’s really no need to split it across two episodes.

Episode #123 “Terrifying Broadcast! Cell’s Tournament” covers chapters #389-391: Cell gives his broadcast. Gokuu and Gohan emerge, finished training.
*Notes: Three chapters…and not too much happens. It’s best to let the plot play out like-so, though, so we don’t just rush into the Cell Games.

Episode #124 “A New God! The Dragon Balls Return” covers chapters #392-394: The military attacks Cell...but Cell destroys them with ease. Gokuu decides to teleport to Kaiou-sama's to find out the location of New Namek. Gokuu goes to Namek and brings Dende to Earth to be the new God. Gokuu collects the Dragon Balls and the gang meets up to go to the arena.
*Notes: An odd number of chapters, but the plot progresses forward neatly.

Episode #125 “Son Gokuu versus Cell! Doctor Gero’s Revenge Culminates” covers chapters #395-399: Mister Satan steps into the ring and gets his butt handed to him. Son Gokuu steps into the ring! After a warm up round, the two power up and continue going at it. Gokuu shows off his Shunkan-Idou, but Cell shows that even without Shunkan-Idou he is speedy.
*Notes: The stuff with Mister Satan can be glossed over pretty quickly. There should be enough room to add in some of Cell’s many different techniques, too, as Dragon Ball Z did with episode #178.

Episode #126 “Full Power Kamehame-Ha! The End of the Battle” covers chapters #400-402: The fight continues until Gokuu uses Shunkan-Idou to appear in front of Cell and fire a full power Kamehame-Ha. Cell rejuvenates, however, and the two continue fighting. Gokuu surrenders; no longer confident he can win.
*Notes: While the Shunkan-Idou Kamehame-Ha is a really great cliffhanger, I felt like I would be pushing it to add it to the end of the first episode. Here I can also deal with the resolution and the end of the fight.

Episode #127 “It’s Your Turn, Gohan! Son Gohan Takes the Battlefield” covers chapters #403-405: Gokuu tells Cell he'll have to fight Gohan next. Gohan powers up, startling everyone. Cell and Gohan fight, but Gohan reveals he doesn't really like it. Gohan lets Cell in on his explosive hidden power. Intrigued, Cell decides to make Gohan angry, but just hurting him isn't enough.
*Notes: Gohan fights a bit, but then we move into Cell unleashing his plan. I didn’t really see another way to handle it.

Episode #128 “Grief Explodes! Son Gohan Awakens” covers chapters #406-407: Cell steals the Senzu Beans and No. 16 tries to self-destruct, but Blooma took out his self-destruct mechanism! Cell destroys No. 16's body and unleashes his Cell Juniors to beat up Gohan's friends. The Cell Juniors beat up Gohan's friends. Finally, with the death of No. 16, Gohan erupts into Super Saiyan 2.
*Notes: I wanted to make sure No. 16’s speech got some time to fit well and also to make sure the torture of the Z Warriors felt brutal for Gohan and the audience.

Episode #129 “Unleashed Cruelty! Son Gohan’s New Super Transformation” covers chapters #408-410: Gohan kills all of the Cell Juniors. Gohan beats up Cell a bit. Cell fires a massive Kamehame-Ha, but Gohan counters with his own, blowing away some of Cell's body.
*Notes: I figured we could gloss right over Gohan killing the Cell Juniors, really making it quick and brutal. With so little time devoted to the death of the Cell Juniors we could then end the episode with the big Kamehame-Ha struggle.

Episode #130 “Bye-Bye, Everyone! The Ultimate Kamehame-Ha Clash” covers chapters #411-413: Cell regenerates and powers up into his buff form like he did against Trunks. Gohan still beats up Cell, who finally vomits up No. 18. Cell decides to self-destruct, no longer a match for Gohan. Gokuu decides the only chance left to save the Earth is to teleport Cell to Kaiou-sama's world. Gohan is overcome with grief, knowing his arrogance got his father killed. Cell returns in his perfect (now 'Super Perfect') form, killing Trunks.
*Notes: This works as a great cliffhanger and build up, so I felt this was the best pairing.

Episode #131 “Thank You, Son Gokuu!! Son Gohan Reigns Triumphant” covers chapters #414-416: Cell reveals how he came back. Vegeta attacks Cell in rage, but is tossed aside with a broken arm. Gohan protects Vegeta from a killing blast, his arm also trashed. Cell powers up a powerful Kamehame-Ha, planning to blow them all away. Gohan, with encouragement from his dead in the Afterlife and help from Vegeta kills Cell once and for all.
*Notes: At one point this was two episodes, and then it was one episode (a four-chapter episode). While working on this draft I took a look at the plan and asked myself why the Hell I thought these four chapters as one episode would be a good idea. I could not think of a good reason. The events of these chapters really need their own room to breathe and settle in the minds of the viewers.

Episode #132 “Don’t Wish Me Back! Son Gokuu Decides to Stay in the Afterlife” covers chapters #417-418: Shen Long is summoned and wishes are granted. Trunks returns to his timeline. Trunks kills the Artificial Humans and Cell in his timeline.
*Notes: Pretty simple, I think. This is basically the clean up episode.

Majin Boo Arc

Episode #133 “Seven Years Have Passed! The Great Saiyaman Appears” covers chapters #421-423: Gohan stops a bank robbery on his way to his first day of high school. During gym, Gohan shows off his incredible power by accident. To fight crime without his identity being revealed, Gohan asks Blooma for a costume. Gohan becomes the Great Saiyaman. Gohan stops a duo driving recklessly in his new costume.

Episode #134 “Fight Me At the Tenka’ichi Budoukai! Videl-san’s Blackmail” covers chapters #424-426 Great Saiyaman helps Videl stop a bus jacking. Videl tricks Gohan into revealing his true identity. Gohan agrees to enter the twenty-fifth Tenka'ichi Budoukai and teach her to fly to protect his identity. Gokuu reveals he will use his one day to return to the human world to enter the tournament too! Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo, No. 18, and Kuririn decide to enter too.
*Notes: Kind of weird pacing here. Toriyama doesn’t really allow for the arc to settle before allowing us to begin a new Tenka’ichi Budoukai.

Episode #135 “Train For the Tenka’ichi Budoukai” covers chapters #427-429: Gohan begins training with his little brother, Goten, who is also a Super Saiyan. Videl shows up to begin flying lessons. Videl and Goten quickly master bukuu-jutsu. Everyone continues training seriously.
*Notes: I don’t want to rush into the next bit of the arc so quickly, so I thought two episodes was the best pace.

Episode #136 “Son Gokuu Returns! Gather at the Tenka’ichi Budoukai” covers chapters #430-432: The twenty-fifth Tenka'ichi Budoukai has arrive at last. Everyone meets up, Gokuu too. The Kids division goes first and Goten and Trunks easily make their way through it. Trunks beats Idaasa.
Episode #137 “Battle of the New Super Warriors! Son Goten versus Trunks” covers chapters #433-435: Goten beats Ikouse. Goten and Trunks fight at last, but Trunks wins.
*Notes: Two episodes for the kids’ division seemed like it would work best.

Episode #138 “Strange Occurrences at the Tenka’ichi Budoukai” covers chapters #436-439 Trunks fights Mister Satan. Gokuu and gang meet the mysterious ‘Shin’. The adult match-ups are decided. Kuririn beats Punter. Piccolo forfeits to Shin.
*Notes: To keep the pace even I felt that this would be the best formation. The ending also allows for some mystery about Shin.

Episode #139 “Explode! Gohan’s Roaring Assault” covers chapters #440-442: Videl begins fighting Spopovitch but the fight turns nasty quickly. Spopovitch is beating up Videl badly. Gohan, angry, bursts into Super Saiyan and rushes at him, however Yamu tells him to stop playing around. Videl is tossed out of bounds, losing the fight. Gokuu goes to Karin-sama to get Senzu.
*Notes: I felt it was best to try to get all of the Videl stuff in one episode.

Episode #140 “Gohan Under Assault?1 Dark Clouds Roll Over the Tenka’ichi Budoukai” covers chapters #443-444: Gohan faces Kibito next and shows off Super Saiyan 2. Yamu and Spopovitch absorb Gohan's ki and fly off.
*Notes: I wanted to make sure this section of the story had some room to wrap up well enough, so I kept it down to two so that the focus could be on Gohan.

Episode #141 “The Culprit is Babidi! Kaioushin-sama Explains it All” covers chapters #445-447: Kaioushin and the others fly off after Yamu and Spopovitch, Gohan's group soon in tow. Kaioushin explains the Majin back-story. Both groups arrive at the Babidi's ship and watch Yamu and Spopovitch hand over the ki container and get blown to bits. Dabra heads right for them.
*Notes: This episode will mostly be exposition, but I figure the latter third is also pretty exciting with the shot of Dabra heading right for our heroes.

Episode #142 “Battle in An Underground Spaceship! Babidi’s Evil Forces” covers chapters #448-452: Dabra kills Kibito and turns Piccolo and Kuririn to stone. Vegeta kills Puipui. Gokuu kills Yakon.
*Notes: Pui-pui is nothing, complete inconsequential to the plot. In fact, so is Yakon!

Episode #143 “Battle Royal at the Tenka’ichi Budoukai! An Evil Heart Awakens” covers chapters #453-455: The Tenka'ichi becomes a battle royal. No. 18 fights Mighty Mask and reveals that he is really just Goten and Trunks. Mister Santa pays off No. 18 so he can win the match and protect his fame. Goten and Trunks fly off to see Majin Boo. Gohan fights Dabra; Dabra notices Vegeta's evil heart and retreats to tell his master.
*Notes: Toriyama doesn’t do much with the Gohan versus Dabra fight, so I wanted to try to leave some room to expand on it.

Episode #144 “Vegeta the Dark Prince” covers chapters #456-458: Vegeta is brought under Babidi's control. Vegeta kills people at the Tenka'ichi. Gokuu agrees to fight him, but somewhere secluded. Kaioushin and Gohan decide to take on Babidi and Dabra head on. Gokuu and Vegeta fight. Gohan and Kaioushin confront Babidi and Dabra.
*Notes: A lot happens in just two chapters. It’s a shame Toriyama didn’t include more of Gokuu versus Majin Vegeta and Gohan versus Dabra. Anyhow, learning that Majin Boo has reached full power seems like the best cliffhanger to me.

Episode #145 “The Terrifying Horror of Majin Boo” covers chapters #459-462: Majin Boo hatches, beats up Dabra, Kaioushin, and Gohan.
*Notes: Ending on the note that Gohan and is in a real pinch seems like a good place to end it.

Episode #146 “Majin Boo, Indestructible?!” covers chapters #463-465 Boo sends Gohan flying. Boo eats Dabra. Vegeta begins fighting Majin Boo, but is having trouble.
*Notes: Another intense cliffhanger.

Episode #147 “Goodbye, Blooma, Trunks…Kakarrot” covers chapters #466-467: Vegeta can't beat Boo, so he self-destructs.
*Notes: This episode deserves some breathing room, especially for the ending.

Episode #148 “Recovery After the First Confrontation” covers chapters #468-470: Majin Boo and Babidi are still alive! Gokuu wakes up and meets up with the others, realizing he can't beat Boo. Blooma and gang summon Shen Long and revive those that died that day. Gokuu has Shen Long wait to grant their other wishes. Kibito brings Kaioushin and Gohan to the Kaioushin realm. Babidi speaks to the people of the world, showing them Boo's power.
*Notes: A lot of the plot begins to come together here.

Episode #149 “The Z Warrior’s Counterattack is…Fusion?!” covers chapters #471-474: Babidi threatens the world, wanting to know about Piccolo and the others who had nearly killed him. He learns their names. Gohan's strength is restored and he pulls out the Z Sword. Gokuu and Piccolo begin teaching the Fusion technique. Babidi threatens to destroy Metro West and Blooma tells Gokuu that the Dragon Radar is down there, so Gokuu tells Trunks to go get it while he stalls Babidi and Majin Boo. Gokuu shows off his Super Saiyan forms...and shows that a Super Saiyan 3 exists!
*Notes: Here we have time to learn and digest the fusion subplot. At the same time, we have time for Gohan’s training to begin.

Episode #150 “Goodbye, Everyone! Son Gokuu Returns to the Afterlife” covers chapters #475-477: Gokuu and Majin Boo fight for a little bit, but once Trunks has found the Radar Gokuu powers down and teleports back to the Heavenly Realm. Babidi berates Boo for allowing him to escape, but Majin Boo decides to just kill him by punching his head off. Majin Boo explores on his own. Gokuu's time runs out and he returns to the Afterlife with Uranai Baba.
*Notes: The plot begins to shift here as Gokuu returns to the Afterlife and Majin Boo is now on his own. As usual I think some time to let these events gain some weight is the best choice of action.

Episode #151 “The Ritual to Unleash Gohan’s Hidden Power” covers chapters #478-479: Gokuu meets up with Gohan in the Kaioushin Realm. Majin Boo restores a boy's sight. Gohan tries cutting a block of katchin with the Z Sword, but it breaks. An older Kaioushin appears from the sword. The old Kaioushin begins a ritual that will draw out Gohan's hidden powers in twenty-five hours.
*Notes: The Old Kaioushin appears and the next phase of Gohan’s training begins. I felt that was deserving of its own episode, considering the coming events.

Episode #152 “The Super Strong Guy Appears! Gotenks is Born” covers chapters #480-482: (Goten and Trunks fail fusion twice, but perfect it the third time. Gotenks runs off, arrogantly thinking he can defeat Majin Boo. He returns later, all beat up. Mister Satan meets up with Majin Boo and attempts to kill him, but consistently fails. Eventually, the two befriend each other. The kids fuse as Super Saiyans, becoming Super Saiyan Gotenks. Gotenks' fusion runs out before he can challenge Majin Boo, so the kids run off back to God's place.
*Notes: The pacing picks up here as Gotenks is born and a lot of shenanigans begin to unfold.

Episode #153 “A Dark Cloud Appears! Majin Boo’s Dark Secret” covers chapters #483-486: Majin Boo befriends a puppy. Some creeps shoot the puppy. Majin Boo heals the puppy. Mister Satan kicks the snipers' butts. Mister Satan gets shot, so Boo heals him too. Majin Boo, filled with anger, expels smoke from his head. That smoke begins to take shape. The smoke has become a thinner, grey Majin Boo. The two demons fight it out, the thin Boo turning the fat one into chocolate and eating him. A new Boo is born, roaring into the sky. The two snipers are killed by this new Boo. The new Boo flies up to God's, now able to sense ki.
*Notes: Ah, a nice good cliffhanger. It’s been a while since we last saw one of these so I felt it best to give it (and Mister Satan’s relationship with Boo) some time to pan out.

Episode #154 “Super Gotenks is Incredible! Defeat Majin Boo, Young Spirit” covers chapters #487-490: Piccolo has the boys train in the Room of Spirit and Time, trying to buy them as much time as he can for them to power up some more. Majin Boo destroys everyone remaining on Earth, aside from Tenshinhan, Chaozu, Mister Satan, and Bee. Majin Boo is waiting for an hour to pass so he can fight the super strong guy that Gokuu promised he could fight. Chichi bothers him for 'killing' Gohan-chan, so he turns her into an egg and breaks her. Piccolo finally takes Majin Boo into the Room of Spirit and Time so he can fight Goten and Trunks. They become Gotenks, in normal form. After some fighting they impress Piccolo by transforming into Super Saiyan while in their fused form. Gotenks unleashes his newest technique: the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack.
*Notes: Gotenks versus Majin Boo begins! The fight is pretty gag-heavy, but there’s room for it to breathe and hold weight.

Episode #155 “Super Gotenks’ Super Ultimate Trump Card!” covers chapters #491-493: Gotenks decides to screw around with Piccolo, pretending he can't beat Boo. Piccolo destroys the exits from the Room of Spirit and Time. When Majin Boo learns he cannot escape he goes nuts, screaming such might that a whole is torn open into the outside world. He escapes, but Gotenks and Boo are stuck. Gotenks unveils Super Saiyan 3 and breaks himself and Piccolo out of the Room of Spirit and Time. Once they escape the two see only Boo is around. Majin Boo has eaten their friends.
*Notes: The first half of the fight ends with the second half now ready to begin. Learning that Boo has eaten most of the gang also allows for some nice tension to round off a combined three chapters.

Episode #156 “Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks Cannot Lose!” covers chapters #494-496: Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks knocks Majin Boo around the planet. Super Saiyan 3, however, runs out of power before Gotenks can deliver his final attack. Gohan's power-up is finished and Kibito takes him to Earth. Gohan gets a gi like his dad's and flies off. Goten, Trunks, Piccolo, and Majin Boo sense a grand new ki is coming their way.
*Notes: Gotenks versus Majin Boo comes to a surprising, if weak, end. Since it has three chapters and a nice cliffhanger I didn’t want to toss in anymore.

Episode #157 “Son Gohan, the Ultimate Warrior” covers chapters #497-498: Gohan is back and stronger than ever. Gohan beats up Majin Boo, who decides to self-destruct. Gohan and the others find Mister Satan and Dende. The episode ends with the gang feeling the ki of Majin Boo.
*Notes: I wanted to make sure Gohan’s fight with Majin Boo had some time to have gravitas, so I moved chapter #499 to the next episode, even though it’s a great cliffhanger.

Episode #158 “The Mightiest Majin?! Majin Boo’s Great Reversal” covers chapters #500-503: Majin Boo reappears, challenging Gotenks to a rematch. Majin Boo uses pieces of himself to absorb Gotenks and Piccolo. Gohan cannot overcome Majin Boo's newest form. Old Kaioushin-sama gives Gokuu his life and his Potara earrings. Kaioushin-sama and Kibito fuse. Tenshinhan shows up, saving Gohan from a big blast. Gokuu shows up, saving Gohan. Majin Boo absorbs Gohan and knocks out Tenshinhan. Vegeta returns to Earth for a day. Gokuu convinces Vegeta to fuse with him, so they become...
*Notes: It’s a pretty cliffhanger, especially for an episode full of Gohan getting the crap kicked out of him.

Episode #159 “Super Warriors Combined! Super Vegetto is Born” covers chapters #504-507: Vegetto is born. Super Vegetto beats up Majin Boo. Majin Boo finally manages to absorb Vegetto. Inside of Majin Boo Vegetto splits back into Gokuu and Vegeta. The two search for their friends, find them, and set them free. Back outside of Boo, Boo begins to grow large from the loss of his absorbed fighters.
*Notes: A good cliffhanger episode #203. I didn’t want to rush Vegetto, so I decided to split up the chapters for these two episodes. Vegetto lasts a bit longer in the first animated adaption, but I didn’t want to do a one-chapter episode, so one solid episode it had to be.

Episode #160 “The Original Majin Boo? The Earth, Destroyed” covers chapters #508-509: Majin Boo takes on the small, 'pure' form he held before absorbing the South Kaioushin and DaiKaioushin. Boo blows up the Earth, Gokuu, Vegeta, Mister Satan, Dende, Bee and Kaioushin barely escaping. The fight begins anew on the Kaioushin Realm world when Majin Boo follows the gang there.
*Notes: I wanted to make sure we had time to set up the final battle without rushing things, so two chapters was the best choice I could make. It’s also a nice cliffhanger, I think.

Episode #161 “The Final Fight to Save the Universe! Erupt, Super Saiyan 3” covers chapters #510-512: Gokuu fights as a Super Saiyan 3, but can't win without powering up to his full power. Vegeta buys him some time, but suddenly...Gokuu returns to normal.
*Notes: I wish Gokuu versus Boo was longer n the comic…but it just isn’t. Toei did a great job making this an epic clash in Dragon Ball Z, but if we want to avoid one-chapter episodes (and include great cliffhangers and content per episode) then this is really the only formation that will benefit these chapters.

Episode #162 “Super Saiyan 3 Fails?! Raise Your Hands into the Sky, Everyone” covers chapters #513-516: Super Saiyan 3 has failed, Gokuu's stamina being shot. Good Majin Boo fights with Pure Majin Boo, but Pure Majin Boo is too powerful for him. Vegeta has Kaioushin-sama and Dende go to Namek. On Namek they summon Polunga, wishing Earth and the Earthlings back to life. Vegeta (through Kaiou-sama) calls on the Earthlings to help destroy Majin Boo by giving them their genki, but they're hesitant. Mister Satan pleads to those of Earth to give him their genki to defeat Majin Boo. Gokuu finally overcomes Majin Boo with his Super Genki-dama.
*Notes:

Episode #163 “Bye-Bye, Dragon World! Son Gokuu’s Next Big Adventure” covers chapters #517-519: The gang meets up after Majin Boo's defeat. Six months pass and the gang use the Dragon Balls to wish away knowledge of Majin Boo. Ten years pass and Trunks goes to Gohan's house, learning Goten is off training with Gokuu. Vegeta and Blooma meet up with Gokuu and Goten, who are training. Gokuu's going the enter the Tenka'ichi Budoukai 'cause some super strong guy is gonna be there! At the Tenka'ichi Pan beats Mou Kekko in battle. Gokuu fights Oob. Gokuu decides to run off an train with Oob.
*Notes: Toriyama really just rushed into this timeskip. Dragon Ball Z split this into a three episode set. Technically I’m rushing through a lot of major reveals in one episode, but if I split it into two I’d wind up with #517 all by itself. In the end we’re stuck with this.

[Ryuman]

Did you just..... Wow, that's certainly a lot of condensing.
All the filler the anime brings in just makes it difficult for me to wrap my head around it. Nice job.

[JulieYBM]

I do love the first two Dragon Ball shows the way they are, but doing these projects is always a lot of fun. I've done two or three for Rurouni Kenshin, too.

After watching Hajime no Ippo I decided to really go for broke by attempting three or four chapters per episode. The 2000-2002 Hajime no Ippo TV series covered chapters #1-269 of the Hajime no Ippo comic in just seventy-five TV episodes. That is over three and a half chapters an episode. Fights in Hajime no Ippo still manage to last for multiple episodes, too. Even better, you almost never notice it. Working from that idea I simply started grouping what I thought would make for the best combination of three or four chapters. Sometimes I would hold back and stick to two if it made sense in the context of the surrounding chapters fitting better together in a separate episode. This is why episode #77 only covers chapters #250-251, the following three chapters worked best as a single episode.

I was concerned with how to handle the Saiyan arc, though. Dragon Ball Kai handled the arc very unevenly, mostly thanks to editing together footage from Dragon Ball Z. Assuming I used these summaries to create a new series from scratch the pacing and editing could be a lot more sufficient by simply leaving out unnecessary bits or changing the story. This was my thought process for episode #69 (#223-226), where Gokuu's ass-whooping of Nappa would be trimmed down to focus on Piccolo's death scene. For episode #142 (chapters #448-452) I imagine killing Puipui and Yakon very quickly, without even bothering to have Babidi change the battle environments. Perhaps Puipui is arrogantly proclaiming how strong he is before being cut off by Vegeta blasting him. From there cut to Babidi's shock and Darbra's reassurance, before then recutting to Gokuu instantly killing a charging Yakon with a counterattack. This way unimportant bits can be glossed over or skipped while the rest of the episode is devoted to more important elements while keeping the plot moving.

[sangofe]

Every so often I wonder "just how would a new animated series adaptation of Dragon Ball be organized?" After watching Bleach and Hajime no Ippo, where the average ratio of chapters in an episode is two-to-three (seven minutes a chapter), I decided to try similar with Dragon Ball. Amazingly, so far I have managed to organize chapters #1-163 into fifty-two episodes. I'll post back later when I've done more!

Spoiler:

Dragon Ball Arc:

Episode #1 “Blooma and Son Gokuu” covers chapter #1-2: Gokuu meets Blooma. The two camp out at night.
*Notes: The first two chapters are mostly standalone. .

Episode #2 “The Kinto’un of the Kame-sen’nin; “The Shape-Shifting Demon! Oolong Appears” covers chapters #3-6: Gokuu gets Kinto'un from the Turtle Hermit after saving Umigame from a bear bandit. Oolong appears!
*Notes: The 1986 series initially introduced Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu earlier than the comic did. In the interest of getting through as much content as possible, I would avoid adding any extra content in the hopes of cutting through as much of the comic’s material as possible in a fast, but well-structured manner. The main focus of this episode should be on introducing the Kame-sen’nin and the Kinto’un. Breaking from the usual structure of Dragon Ball’s animated series episodes, this episode would be structured similar to a young children’s series: two half episodes with their own titles. This is primarily due to wanting to avoid repeating what the 1986 series did, but also to allow a few creative changes to change up the story a bit from what has already been done.

Episode #3 The Desert Bandit, Yamcha” covers chapters #5-10: Gokuu and friends traverse a desert and come across a desert bandit looking to take their Hoi-Poi Capsules.
*Notes: The introduction of Yamcha works better as a standalone episode, especially considering his continued role as an ‘antagonist’ for the rest of the Dragon Ball hunt.

Episode #4 “The Gyuumaou of the Burning Mount Fry Pan” covers chapters #11-15: Blooma and friends arrive at Mount Fry Pan, learn it's on fire. Gokuu and Chichi go to find Muten Roushi. Muten Roushi blows up Mount Fry Pan, Blooma’s group acquires the next Ball, and Gokuu learns the Kamehame-Ha
*Notes: Episodes #5 introduce Chichi and Gyuumaou. The pace remains the same with two chapters covered in each episode. We’re moseying along at a clip I think will best allow for the actual production team some room to play around with in adding their flair separate from Toriyama as the team of the 1980s production did.

Episode #5 “Turned into a Carrot! The Terrible Rabbit Gang’s Boss” covers chapters #16-17: Gokuu beats the Rabbit Gang.
*Notes: Episode #7 is really a stand alone, but I have to say I’m really impressed with how well Toriyama has made each new location very concise, especially for dramatization.

Episode #6 “Come Forth, Shen Long!!” covers chapters #18-20: Pilaf captures the gang and begins summoning Shen Long. Oolong wishes for panties and the gang are recaptured.

Episode #7 “Your Wish is Granted!! Beware the Monster that Comes Out at the Sight of a Full Moon” covers chapters #21-23: Gokuu transforms into an Oozaru when he sees the full moon. Oozaru Gokuu destroys Pilaf's castle. Gokuu's tail is chopped off by Yamcha and Pu'erh. Yamcha and Blooma decide to hook up and Gokuu goes off to train under Muten Roushi.
*Notes: Episodes #8-9 are where the first real deviation from the 1980s series ends. Toei Animation animated chapters #18-19 each as their separate episodes. While it’s not painfully slow, it’s a little sluggish and can easily be tightened up a little. By making the Pilaf section of the arc three episodes I have effectively tightened the series down to ten episodes for the first twenty-three chapters.

Twenty-First Tenka'ichi Budoukai Arc:

Episode #8 “A Rival for Son Gokuu!! My Name is Kuririn” covers chapters #24-27: Gokuu and Kuririn meet and head off to get Muten Roushi a pichi-pichi gal. Gokuu and Kuririn bring back Lunch, a girl who changes personalities every time she sneezes.
*Notes: The gags have enough time to play out while also leaving room for Kuririn to be properly introduced.

Episode #9 “The Peculiar Girl, Lunch-san” covers chapters #28-30: Gokuu and Kuririn begin training! Kuririn cheats during a competition, however, and gets to eat dinner while Gokuu doesn't. Roushi and Kuririn wound up eating fugu, so they get sick. Gokuu and Kuririn begin their regular grind for the next right months until the Tenka'ichi Budoukai.
*Notes: Again, Toriyama does two chapters standalone from the next set, but it allows for the plot to progress forward nonetheless. With Lunch introduced training can begin in the next episode and no plot-points will feel tacked-on.

Episode #10 “The Kame-Sen’nin’s Intense Training Methods” covers chapters #31-33: The time for the Tenka'ichi has come! Gokuu and Kuririn enter and Kuririn miraculously wins a match, showing an incredible boost in strength.
*Notes: I want to avoid having the training in only one episode. While the anime did it in three, I felt a 1:1 ration might be a little out of sorts with the general pace of the series, so I combined #30-31.

Episode #11 “The Tenka’ichi Budoukai Begins! Aim to the the Number One Under the Heavens!” covers chapters #34-37: The gang make it into the final eight, the matches decided. Kuririn beats Bacterian and Jackie Chun beats Yamcha
*Notes: I wanted to tie up the preliminaries here so that the final eight’s fights could be evenly adapted in the following episodes. In my previous draft I considered splitting these four chapters across two episodes, but I felt a lot of the preliminaries could be easily covered in one episode using Mezase Tenka’ichi as an insert theme.

Episode #12 “A Man of Honor! Namu versus Lanfan” covers chapters: #38-40 Namu beats Lanfan and Gokuu battles and defeats Giran.
*Notes: The first episode to cover a full three chapters. I was hesitant to introduce one of these so early into the series, but I wanted to keep the plot progressing in a uniformed manner. No episode before this would have to cover a full forty-two pages, but with mostly fighting going on I think it can work.

Episode #13 “Kuririn versus Jackie Chun” covers chapters #41-43 Jackie Chun and Kuririn fight, Jackie Chun wins.
*Notes: Another episode that covers three chapters. The entire Jackie Chun versus Kuririn fight felt like it could best hold down an entire episode to itself, so I decided to gamble it.

Episode #14 Namu’s Life-or-Death Battle! Son Gokuu versus Namu” covers chapters #44-46: Gokuu fights and beat Namu.
*Notes: We’re back to two chapters and episode, but while action-packed I would hope it provide a small breather from the speediness of the previous two episodes.

Episode #15 “A Master and Student Clash?! Son Gokuu versus Jackie Chun” covers chapters #47-50: Jackie Chun tells Namu of his identity and free water, Gokuu and Jackie Chun begin their fight. Gokuu and Jackie Chun continue to fight. Finally, Gokuu sees the full moon and becomes an Oozaru.
*Notes: I really felt that Gokuu becoming an Oozaru would be a great cliffhanger, so I decided to end this episode like so. I also wanted to make used of the plethora of fighting that happens in these chapters.

Episode #16 “Incredible! The Kamehame-Ha That Destroyed the Moon!” covers chapters #51-52: Jackie Chun uses a Maximum Power Kamehame-Ha to destroy the moon. Gokuu and Jackie continue their fight.

Episode #17 “I Am the Winner of the Tenka’ichi Budoukai!! A Master’s Greatest Lesson” covers chapters #53-54: Jackie Chun wins the Tenka'ichi Budoukai and Gokuu sets out to find the Four-Star Ball.
*Notes: With only four chapters in the arc left, this was the only real course of action. I certainly did not want to rush the ending by placing four chapters in one episode.

Red Ribbon Army Arc:

Episode #18 “The Terrible Red Ribbon Army” covers chapters #55-57: Gokuu fight Colonel Silver and wins. Gokuu hitches a plane to a snowy land to get the next Dragon Ball but is shot down. Snow carries him back home. Gokuu learns about the RRA from Snow's family. Gokuu beats up two soldiers who come to Snow's house.
*Notes: The start of a new arc…and oddly enough, the Captain Silver stuff is nicely concluded in only two chapters. Amazingly enough, the 1980s series stretched these two chapters into an amusing six episode mini-arc where Chichi, Gyuumaou, and even Pilaf’s gang returned. Chapter #57 serves as a perfect lead in to the following episodes’ coverage of the Muscle Tower story, too.

Episode #19 “Go, Gokuu! Attack on Muscle Tower” covers chapters #58-62: Gokuu begins attacking Muscle Tower and comes across Sergeant Metallic, defeating him. Gokuu comes across Murasaki and they fight. Murasaki summons Artificial Human No. 8.
*Notes: It’s a bit of a quick run into the Muscle Tower arc, but I figure with some good visuals (and an insert theme, maybe) Gokuu could quickly bust into Muscle Tower and beat up Metallic. In fact, Metallic needn’t even speak if Gokuu’s raid on Muscle Tower opens with an insert theme. This allows for Murasaki to receive the bulk of the episode’s focus, rapid-fire gags boosting up the rising action.

Episode #20 “The Peculiar Artificial Human No. 8” covers chapters #63-66: Gokuu beats Murasaki and befriends Artificial Human No. 8; they fall through a trap door. Gokuu and No. 8 beat Buyon. General White falls and peace returns to Jingle Village.
*Notes: The Buyon battle can easily be glossed over if necessary, allowing the story to focus on the eventual fall of General White.

Episode #21 “The City of the West! Son Gokuu and Blooma Meet Again” covers chapters #67-69: Gokuu learns Kinto'un is still alive and heads to Metro West. Gokuu meets up with Blooma, has the Radar fixed, and they head off in search of the next Ball.
*Notes: Kind of an obvious choice of cliffhanger, I think.

Episode #22 “The Cunning General Blue” covers chapters #70-72: Gokuu and Blooma arrive at Kame House, pick up Kuririn, and set off after the next Ball. Meanwhile, General Blue's forces give chase while keeping an eye on Kame House.
*Notes: Toriyama’s pacing is sort of weird in this set of chapters. I don’t want to cram too much in one episode, but it feels like not a whole lot happens either.

Episode #23 “Chase into the Pirate’s Cave” covers chapters #73-75: Gokuu, Blooma, and Kuririn make their way through the underwater cave, General Blue close behind. Finally, they find the Pirate's Harbor. Gokuu faces off with a Pirate Robot so Kuririn and Blooma can find the Dragon Ball. Blue misdirects Gokuu.
*Notes: Discovering the Pirate’s Harbor feels like a good, solid cliffhanger. In a way it feels like things are dragging…but stuff is happening in-chapter, so I think it’d transition to screen well.

Episode #24 “The Pirate Cave’s Guardsmen” covers chapters #76-78: Gokuu fights and eats an octopus. Kuririn gets beaten up by Blue. Gokuu arrives, but with Blue's paralyzing technique he is in a real bind. Gokuu runs back toward where his friends are with a mouse in tow.
*Notes: A lot of stuff happens…and we end on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Episode #25 “Escape the Pirate’s Cave” covers chapters #79-80: The gang escapes the cave, but Blue follows them back to Kame House and steals their Dragon Balls. Gokuu gives chase on Kinto'un.
*Notes: A lot more happens…and we end on another exciting cliffhanger! Boy, Blue just won’t stay down (then again, it means more Furukawa Toshio for us to enjoy, so…)!!

Episode #26 “N’cha!! Arale-chan Appears” covers chapters #81-83: The Dr. Slump arc.
*Notes: This is actually a three episode arc in the 1980s series, but the three chapters here are so nicely grouped together I think if they trimmed a few things down it could flow nicely.

Episode #27 “The Greatest Assassin in the World, Tao Pai Pai” covers chapters #84-86: Gokuu meets Bora and Upa, saving Upa from Yellow. Tao Pai Pai kills Blue and heads to the Karin Holy Land. Tao Pai Pai kills Bora. Gokuu tries to avenge Bora, but is knocked back easily. Tao Pai Pai takes Gokuu’s backpack and returns to leaves to get new clothes.
*Notes: I really love how the 1980s series handled this arc, but in order to be a bit quicker (but have the right cliffhanger), I’ve had to combine a lot.

Episode #28 “Karin-sama of Karin-tou” covers chapters #87-89: Gokuu climbs and Reaches the top of the Karin-tou and begins training. Gokuu learns from Karin-sama that it took the Kame-Sen’nin three years to acquire the Chou Shin Sui. Gokuu gets the Water, his strength increased from the training; Karin thinks the boy might have now surpassed Muten Roushi
*Notes: Previously I didn’t combine chapters #87-89 in the same episode because I thought it might be too quick a progression, but I thought it might make things more even to have the entirety of the rematch in the next episode.

Episode #29 “The Counterattack of Son Gokuu!” covers chapters #90-92: Meanwhile, Tao Pai Pai returns to the base of the tower to retrieve the Dragon Ball he left behind. Gokuu returns and they begin their second fight. Gokuu beats Tao Pai Pai.
Episode #30 “Red Ribbon Army Headquarters Under Assault! The Fall of the Red Ribbon Army” covers chapters #93-96: Red learns that it is Son Gokuu who approaches and not Tao Pai Pai. Gokuu mows through the RRA. Black kills Red and takes over the army. Black uses a mecha to fight Gokuu but is killed when Gokuu smashes through it.
*Notes: Son Gokuu smashing through the Red Ribbon Army with next to no effort is very befitting of a single episode. Four chapters of high-octane action adapted into an episode with high-octane action!

Episode #31 “Find the Last Dragon Ball! The Last Chance is Uranai Baba” covers chapters #97-98: To find the last Dragon Ball the gang visits Uranai Baba.
*Notes: And so we begin the Uranai Baba portion of this arc. I wanted this to be an easily episode after a string of big fights, especially considering the next string of episodes will be very battle-oriented.

Episode #32 “Assault! We Are the Five Warriors of Uranai Baba” covers chapters #99-102: Dracula Man is defeated first, followed by Suke-san. Mira-kun defeats Yamcha.
*Notes: Dracula Man and Suke-san hardly need an episode to themselves. Yamcha’s fight with Mira-kun flows well enough as half and episode.

Episode #33 “The Mysterious Fifth Man Sure Smells Familiar!” covers chapters #103-106: Gokuu fights Mira-kun and wins. Gokuu defeats Akkuman. Gokuu battles a mysterious, masked man. To his dismay, the masked man can use the Kamehame-Ha.
*Notes: A nice cliffhanger that will allow the arc’s two final episodes to be paced evenly.

Episode #34 “The Fifth Man is Son Gohan! Give Chase For the Final Dragon Ball” covers chapters #107-109: The Masked Man is really Son Gohan! After a teary reunion, Gokuu learns of the location of the last Ball and gives chase.
Episode #35 “Meet Again in Three Years at the Twenty-Second Tenka’ichi Budoukai” covers chapters #110-112: Gokuu beats up Pilaf and gets the last Ball. Gokuu and friends summon Shen Long and Bora returns to life. They learn that the next Tenka'ichi Budoukai is in three years and go their separate ways to train.
*Notes: The pacing speaks for itself. All of the reunions have proper time to play out.

Twenty-Second Tenka'ichi Budoukai:

Episode #36 “New Rivals from the Crane Hermit School?!” covers chapters #113-115: Gokuu and friends reunite. Son beats King Chapa and makes it to the final eight with his friends.
Episode #37 “Yamcha versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #116-118: The match-ups are decided. In the first match, Tenshinhan defeats Yamcha, breaking his leg in the process. Jackie Chun and Man-Wolf begin their fight.
*Notes:

Episode #38 “The Answer Was ‘Eight’!” covers chapters #119-121: Jackie beats Man-Wolf. Kuririn beats Chaozu.

Episode #39 “Confidence in the Coming Era! Jackie Chun versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #122-124: Gokuu beats Panputto. Jackie Chun fights Tenshinhan, but eventually forfeits, confident in the coming era’s young warriors.
Episode #40 “Gokuu versus Kuririn” covers chapters #125-127: Gokuu and Kuririn meet in battle! Gokuu wins, however, and goes on to face Tenshinhan in the finals.
*Notes: This sort of speaks for itself. It’s nice how neatly these things worked out.

Episode #41 “Fierce Clash! Gokuu versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #128-130: Gokuu v. Tenshinhan! Gokuu is being paralyzed by Chaozu on orders from the Crane Hermit.
*Notes: A good cliffhanger, not to mention it helps even out the last few episodes of the arc.

Episode #42 “Unleash the Kikou-Hou! The Iron Pride of Tenshinhan” covers chapters #131-134: Muten Roushi sends the Crane Hermit flying so that Tenshinhan can win the fight honorably. The episode ends with Tenshinhan readying the Kikou-Hou. Tenshinhan unleashes the Kikou-Hou and eventually wins. Kuririn is killed by Tambourine.
*Notes: Again, a good cliffhanger.

Piccolo Daimaou Arc:

Episode #43 “The Greatest Evil Reborn?! Piccolo Daimaou Returns” covers chapters #135-137” Gokuu finds Kuririn. Filled with rage, Gokuu takes the Dragon Radar and gives chase. Roushi explains who Piccolo Daimaou is. Gokuu catches up to Tambourine, but is beaten in battle. Piccolo Daimaou orders Tambourine to kill the world's best martial artists. Daimaou births Cymbal and orders him to collect the Dragon Balls. Gokuu wakes up and eats Yajirobe's fish.
Episode #44 “Piccolo Daimaou’s Revenge”: covers chapters #138-141: Yajirobe attacks and they trade blows. Cymbal arrives for Yajirobe's Dragon Ball, but Yajirobe kills and eats Cymbal. Daimaou sends Tambourine to avenge Cymbal, but Gokuu kills him. Piccolo decides he will have to face this mighty foe himself
*Notes: The plot progresses steadily and in a manner I can then squeeze the first battle between Daimaou and Son Gokuu in the arc’s third episode.

Episode #45 “Daimaou Stands! Son Gokuu versus Piccolo Daimaou” covers chapters #142-144: Piccolo Daimaou confronts Gokuu. After a battle, Piccolo leaves a battered Gokuu for dead, taking the Three-Star Ball. Piccolo heads for the location of Muten Roushi, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu with their Balls while Yajirobe takes a battered Gokuu to Karin-tou.
*Notes: This seemed like the best way to handle things, especially considering the events of the next two chapters.

Episode #46 “The Mafuu-Ba Fails?! Muten Roushi-sama Dies” covers chapters #145-147” Kame-sen'nin confronts Piccolo Daimaou, but his Mafuu-Ba fails and he dies.
*Notes: Toei’s series in the 1980s really did some cool things with this arc by adding in filler scenes of Roushi, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu collecting the Dragon Balls. Sadly, to keep up a good clip we’ll have to cut those things. I find it a bit sad that Roushi dies so easily, but that’s how things are.

Episode #47 “Youth Restored! Piccolo Daimaou Conquers the World” covers chapters #148-151: Bora tosses Yajirobe and Gokuu up Karin-tou, Yajirobe climbs the rest of the way to the top. Daimaou's youth is restored. Piccolo kills Chaozu and Shen Long. Piccolo and Piano head for the King's Castle, slaughter the guards, and confront the King of the World. Gokuu and Yajirobe make it to the top of Karin-tou. Piccolo Daimaou becomes ruler of the world. Gokuu drinks the Choushinsui. Tenshinhan has been training to perfect the Mafuu-Ba and has finally finished. Gokuu's new power is overflowing...
*Notes: A lot happens here, but I really want to avoid one-chapter episodes. If I could I’d replace the Choushinsui with Gokuu eating a senzu and growing stronger from being near death, foreshadowing his Saiyan abilities. As for pacing, it just seemed to fit the best considering the events of the next half of the arc.

Episode #48 “The Destruction of Metro West?! Tenshinhan Confronts Daimaou” covers chapters #152-154: Gokuu heads off to fight Piccolo Daimaou again. Piccolo holds a news broadcast to reveal he will destroy one district a year on each May 9th for the next forty-three years. Piccolo picks at random a district, first picking Metro West—Blooma's home! Blooma's group heads for the Capital to stop Piccolo. Tenshinhan arrives and must confront Drum first. Drum kicks Tenshinhan's ass. Gokuu shows up and kicks his head so hard it explodes.
*Notes: Son Gokuu killing Drum with one kick is a great way to end an episode.

Episode #49 “Son and Daimaou Meet Again” covers chapters #155-158: Gokuu faces Piccolo Daimaou next. Piccolo envelopes the entire city in a huge blast
Episode #50 “Son Gokuu’s Last Gamble” covers chapters #159-161: Tenshinhan saved Gokuu from the explosion using Bukuu-jutsu. Gokuu pierces Piccolo through the gut with one final punch, but Piccolo shoots up an egg containing his reincarnation. Yajirobe takes Gokuu to Karin-tou for healing [again!] and Ten-san heads to Kame House with Blooma's group. The reincarnated Piccolo hatches and swears revenge for his father.
*Notes: These chapters are mostly fighting, so covering seven chapters across two episodes shouldn’t be a problem. Piccolo Daimaou unleashing his blast on the city is a great way to end an episode, too. Episode #50 ending with the end of the fight makes, too.

Episode #51 “Training From God?! Another Battle in Three Year’s Time” covers chapters #162-165: Gokuu retrieves the Nyoi'bou and confronts Mister Popo. God explains his relationship to Piccolo to Gokuu, revives Shen Long, and begins training for the Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai.
*Notes: A nice, cozy end to the arc. I didn’t want God to be learned of and appear in the same episode, so I figured this worked best for the pacing, too.

Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai Arc:

Episode #52 “Reunion” covers chapters #166-167: After three years the gang reunites. Gokuu is much taller now! The gang sign in and make it through their preliminary fights. Gokuu and Tenshinhan spot Piccolo's reincarnation, but Gokuu asks Ten to keep it on the low-down. Gokuu fights and beats King Chapa again. Tao Pai Pai beats Chaozu, surprising everyone with his appearance.
*Notes: Toei Animation’s TV series from the 1980s had #166 as one episode to itself, which I think is a good idea all intents and purposes aside. Ultimately, I had to handle things a little differently. Chapter #167’s cliffhanger makes for a great end to an episode, so I decided to use that instead of including chapter #168.

Episode #53 “Tenshinhan’s Battle” covers chapters #168-171: The final eight are decided. Tenshinhan faces Tao Pai Pai to avenge Chaozu, revealing he has far surpassed his former mentor. Tenshinhan defeats Tao Pai Pai. Gokuu battles and defeats Chichi, the former agreeing to marry the latter.
*Notes: I hate intruding on a big fight like this, but I decided to move the finishing up of the preliminaries into the Ten v. Tao fight.

Episode #54 “Great Pinch For the Kame Soldiers” covers chapters #172-175: Kuririn fights Ma Junior but must forfeit due to injury. Yamcha fights Shen, Gokuu figuring out he is really God.
*Notes: Having both Kuririn and Yamcha defeated in the same episode (roughly ten minutes for each of their fights) provides a sense of organization and allows for the story to move along steadily. These are just the warm up fights for the big championship, of course!

Episode #55 “Rematch! Gokuu versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #176-179: Gokuu and Tenshinhan have their rematch, Gokuu showcasing an enormous increase in speed and stamina. Gokuu defeats Tenshinhan.
*Notes: This set of chapters really flows together well. Each character can have their time to shine and some dramatic tension can be built up. Gokuu’s rematch with Tenshinhan can receive a full tour de force performance from a team of ace animators.

Episode #56 “God versus Daimaou” covers chapters #180-181: God and Daimaou face off. God tries to seal Piccolo with the Mafuu-Ba, but Piccolo reverses it, sealing God in a jar and eating the jar.
*Notes: Again, Toriyama basically hands an animation team great pacing to work with. Two chapters folding into one episode and bam, everything can work in synch.

Episode #57 “The Fated Showdown at Last! Son Gokuu versus Piccolo Daimaou” covers chapters #182-185: Son Gokuu and Piccolo Daimaou face off again. Gokuu's gi becomes beaten up, so he tears off the remains of his shirt. Gokuu unleashes the Chou Kamehame-Ha, leaving Piccolo pretty beat up.
*Notes: Originally I was going to cover this as two episodes, but with so much of this stuff fighting I don’t think the story will feel rushed. Thus…we have our first four-chapter episode, which has a killer ending, too!!

Episode #58 “Confusion at the Tenka’ichi Budoukai”): covers chapters #186-188: The audience recognizes Piccolo Daimaou at last and make a run for it. Piccolo grows large to crush Gokuu, but...Gokuu leaps into Piccolo's mouth and takes the stole jar, throws it to Tenshinhan, freeing God. God blocks a punch for Gokuu, interrupting the match. Gokuu refuses to play dirty, wishing to win on his own. Gokuu gives Piccolo a free punch.
*Notes: Dialogue begins to seep in, so I thought it best to start slowing things down again.

Episode #59 “This is My Fight! Son Gokuu Stands Firm” covers chapters #189-192: Piccolo's own tracking waves comes back and blasts him, breaking his arm. Piccolo tears off his useless arm and re-grows it. Piccolo prepares to unleash a devastating blast. The entire island has been reduced to a wasteland, but Gokuu took it head on with no problem. Gokuu unleashes a strong combo that hurts Piccolo badly. Just when the count is about to go in his favor, Gokuu receives a mouth kikou-ha to the chest from Piccolo. Piccolo prepares to finish Gokuu off, and with a final blast...
*Notes: A great cliffhanger!

Episode #60 (“I Finally Won the Tenka’ichi Budoukai!!”): covers chapters #193-194 (Gokuu, having learned bukuu-jutsu, dodged Piccolo blast and head butts him. And unconscious Piccolo falls out of the ring, and Gokuu is declared the winner of the Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai. Gokuu eats a Senzu and gives one to Piccolo, not ready to lose his arch-nemesis. Gokuu and Chichi fly off on Kinto'un to get hitched).
*Notes: And the story arc comes to a close. Not much else to say.

Wait, what are you really doing here? "Kai'ing" DB? I'm confused.

[Gaffer Tape]

So if I understand it correctly, you're adapting for television in a way that addresses the pacing issues inherently different between a comic and television, which is why you're truncating certain events to more evenly pace others?

[theawesomepossum777]

Every so often I wonder "just how would a new animated series adaptation of Dragon Ball be organized?" After watching Bleach and Hajime no Ippo, where the average ratio of chapters in an episode is two-to-three (seven minutes a chapter), I decided to try similar with Dragon Ball. Amazingly, so far I have managed to organize chapters #1-163 into fifty-two episodes. I'll post back later when I've done more!

Spoiler:

Dragon Ball Arc:

Episode #1 “Blooma and Son Gokuu” covers chapter #1-2: Gokuu meets Blooma. The two camp out at night.
*Notes: The first two chapters are mostly standalone. .

Episode #2 “The Kinto’un of the Kame-sen’nin; “The Shape-Shifting Demon! Oolong Appears” covers chapters #3-6: Gokuu gets Kinto'un from the Turtle Hermit after saving Umigame from a bear bandit. Oolong appears!
*Notes: The 1986 series initially introduced Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu earlier than the comic did. In the interest of getting through as much content as possible, I would avoid adding any extra content in the hopes of cutting through as much of the comic’s material as possible in a fast, but well-structured manner. The main focus of this episode should be on introducing the Kame-sen’nin and the Kinto’un. Breaking from the usual structure of Dragon Ball’s animated series episodes, this episode would be structured similar to a young children’s series: two half episodes with their own titles. This is primarily due to wanting to avoid repeating what the 1986 series did, but also to allow a few creative changes to change up the story a bit from what has already been done.

Episode #3 The Desert Bandit, Yamcha” covers chapters #5-10: Gokuu and friends traverse a desert and come across a desert bandit looking to take their Hoi-Poi Capsules.
*Notes: The introduction of Yamcha works better as a standalone episode, especially considering his continued role as an ‘antagonist’ for the rest of the Dragon Ball hunt.

Episode #4 “The Gyuumaou of the Burning Mount Fry Pan” covers chapters #11-15: Blooma and friends arrive at Mount Fry Pan, learn it's on fire. Gokuu and Chichi go to find Muten Roushi. Muten Roushi blows up Mount Fry Pan, Blooma’s group acquires the next Ball, and Gokuu learns the Kamehame-Ha
*Notes: Episodes #5 introduce Chichi and Gyuumaou. The pace remains the same with two chapters covered in each episode. We’re moseying along at a clip I think will best allow for the actual production team some room to play around with in adding their flair separate from Toriyama as the team of the 1980s production did.

Episode #5 “Turned into a Carrot! The Terrible Rabbit Gang’s Boss” covers chapters #16-17: Gokuu beats the Rabbit Gang.
*Notes: Episode #7 is really a stand alone, but I have to say I’m really impressed with how well Toriyama has made each new location very concise, especially for dramatization.

Episode #6 “Come Forth, Shen Long!!” covers chapters #18-20: Pilaf captures the gang and begins summoning Shen Long. Oolong wishes for panties and the gang are recaptured.

Episode #7 “Your Wish is Granted!! Beware the Monster that Comes Out at the Sight of a Full Moon” covers chapters #21-23: Gokuu transforms into an Oozaru when he sees the full moon. Oozaru Gokuu destroys Pilaf's castle. Gokuu's tail is chopped off by Yamcha and Pu'erh. Yamcha and Blooma decide to hook up and Gokuu goes off to train under Muten Roushi.
*Notes: Episodes #8-9 are where the first real deviation from the 1980s series ends. Toei Animation animated chapters #18-19 each as their separate episodes. While it’s not painfully slow, it’s a little sluggish and can easily be tightened up a little. By making the Pilaf section of the arc three episodes I have effectively tightened the series down to ten episodes for the first twenty-three chapters.

Twenty-First Tenka'ichi Budoukai Arc:

Episode #8 “A Rival for Son Gokuu!! My Name is Kuririn” covers chapters #24-27: Gokuu and Kuririn meet and head off to get Muten Roushi a pichi-pichi gal. Gokuu and Kuririn bring back Lunch, a girl who changes personalities every time she sneezes.
*Notes: The gags have enough time to play out while also leaving room for Kuririn to be properly introduced.

Episode #9 “The Peculiar Girl, Lunch-san” covers chapters #28-30: Gokuu and Kuririn begin training! Kuririn cheats during a competition, however, and gets to eat dinner while Gokuu doesn't. Roushi and Kuririn wound up eating fugu, so they get sick. Gokuu and Kuririn begin their regular grind for the next right months until the Tenka'ichi Budoukai.
*Notes: Again, Toriyama does two chapters standalone from the next set, but it allows for the plot to progress forward nonetheless. With Lunch introduced training can begin in the next episode and no plot-points will feel tacked-on.

Episode #10 “The Kame-Sen’nin’s Intense Training Methods” covers chapters #31-33: The time for the Tenka'ichi has come! Gokuu and Kuririn enter and Kuririn miraculously wins a match, showing an incredible boost in strength.
*Notes: I want to avoid having the training in only one episode. While the anime did it in three, I felt a 1:1 ration might be a little out of sorts with the general pace of the series, so I combined #30-31.

Episode #11 “The Tenka’ichi Budoukai Begins! Aim to the the Number One Under the Heavens!” covers chapters #34-37: The gang make it into the final eight, the matches decided. Kuririn beats Bacterian and Jackie Chun beats Yamcha
*Notes: I wanted to tie up the preliminaries here so that the final eight’s fights could be evenly adapted in the following episodes. In my previous draft I considered splitting these four chapters across two episodes, but I felt a lot of the preliminaries could be easily covered in one episode using Mezase Tenka’ichi as an insert theme.

Episode #12 “A Man of Honor! Namu versus Lanfan” covers chapters: #38-40 Namu beats Lanfan and Gokuu battles and defeats Giran.
*Notes: The first episode to cover a full three chapters. I was hesitant to introduce one of these so early into the series, but I wanted to keep the plot progressing in a uniformed manner. No episode before this would have to cover a full forty-two pages, but with mostly fighting going on I think it can work.

Episode #13 “Kuririn versus Jackie Chun” covers chapters #41-43 Jackie Chun and Kuririn fight, Jackie Chun wins.
*Notes: Another episode that covers three chapters. The entire Jackie Chun versus Kuririn fight felt like it could best hold down an entire episode to itself, so I decided to gamble it.

Episode #14 Namu’s Life-or-Death Battle! Son Gokuu versus Namu” covers chapters #44-46: Gokuu fights and beat Namu.
*Notes: We’re back to two chapters and episode, but while action-packed I would hope it provide a small breather from the speediness of the previous two episodes.

Episode #15 “A Master and Student Clash?! Son Gokuu versus Jackie Chun” covers chapters #47-50: Jackie Chun tells Namu of his identity and free water, Gokuu and Jackie Chun begin their fight. Gokuu and Jackie Chun continue to fight. Finally, Gokuu sees the full moon and becomes an Oozaru.
*Notes: I really felt that Gokuu becoming an Oozaru would be a great cliffhanger, so I decided to end this episode like so. I also wanted to make used of the plethora of fighting that happens in these chapters.

Episode #16 “Incredible! The Kamehame-Ha That Destroyed the Moon!” covers chapters #51-52: Jackie Chun uses a Maximum Power Kamehame-Ha to destroy the moon. Gokuu and Jackie continue their fight.

Episode #17 “I Am the Winner of the Tenka’ichi Budoukai!! A Master’s Greatest Lesson” covers chapters #53-54: Jackie Chun wins the Tenka'ichi Budoukai and Gokuu sets out to find the Four-Star Ball.
*Notes: With only four chapters in the arc left, this was the only real course of action. I certainly did not want to rush the ending by placing four chapters in one episode.

Red Ribbon Army Arc:

Episode #18 “The Terrible Red Ribbon Army” covers chapters #55-57: Gokuu fight Colonel Silver and wins. Gokuu hitches a plane to a snowy land to get the next Dragon Ball but is shot down. Snow carries him back home. Gokuu learns about the RRA from Snow's family. Gokuu beats up two soldiers who come to Snow's house.
*Notes: The start of a new arc…and oddly enough, the Captain Silver stuff is nicely concluded in only two chapters. Amazingly enough, the 1980s series stretched these two chapters into an amusing six episode mini-arc where Chichi, Gyuumaou, and even Pilaf’s gang returned. Chapter #57 serves as a perfect lead in to the following episodes’ coverage of the Muscle Tower story, too.

Episode #19 “Go, Gokuu! Attack on Muscle Tower” covers chapters #58-62: Gokuu begins attacking Muscle Tower and comes across Sergeant Metallic, defeating him. Gokuu comes across Murasaki and they fight. Murasaki summons Artificial Human No. 8.
*Notes: It’s a bit of a quick run into the Muscle Tower arc, but I figure with some good visuals (and an insert theme, maybe) Gokuu could quickly bust into Muscle Tower and beat up Metallic. In fact, Metallic needn’t even speak if Gokuu’s raid on Muscle Tower opens with an insert theme. This allows for Murasaki to receive the bulk of the episode’s focus, rapid-fire gags boosting up the rising action.

Episode #20 “The Peculiar Artificial Human No. 8” covers chapters #63-66: Gokuu beats Murasaki and befriends Artificial Human No. 8; they fall through a trap door. Gokuu and No. 8 beat Buyon. General White falls and peace returns to Jingle Village.
*Notes: The Buyon battle can easily be glossed over if necessary, allowing the story to focus on the eventual fall of General White.

Episode #21 “The City of the West! Son Gokuu and Blooma Meet Again” covers chapters #67-69: Gokuu learns Kinto'un is still alive and heads to Metro West. Gokuu meets up with Blooma, has the Radar fixed, and they head off in search of the next Ball.
*Notes: Kind of an obvious choice of cliffhanger, I think.

Episode #22 “The Cunning General Blue” covers chapters #70-72: Gokuu and Blooma arrive at Kame House, pick up Kuririn, and set off after the next Ball. Meanwhile, General Blue's forces give chase while keeping an eye on Kame House.
*Notes: Toriyama’s pacing is sort of weird in this set of chapters. I don’t want to cram too much in one episode, but it feels like not a whole lot happens either.

Episode #23 “Chase into the Pirate’s Cave” covers chapters #73-75: Gokuu, Blooma, and Kuririn make their way through the underwater cave, General Blue close behind. Finally, they find the Pirate's Harbor. Gokuu faces off with a Pirate Robot so Kuririn and Blooma can find the Dragon Ball. Blue misdirects Gokuu.
*Notes: Discovering the Pirate’s Harbor feels like a good, solid cliffhanger. In a way it feels like things are dragging…but stuff is happening in-chapter, so I think it’d transition to screen well.

Episode #24 “The Pirate Cave’s Guardsmen” covers chapters #76-78: Gokuu fights and eats an octopus. Kuririn gets beaten up by Blue. Gokuu arrives, but with Blue's paralyzing technique he is in a real bind. Gokuu runs back toward where his friends are with a mouse in tow.
*Notes: A lot of stuff happens…and we end on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Episode #25 “Escape the Pirate’s Cave” covers chapters #79-80: The gang escapes the cave, but Blue follows them back to Kame House and steals their Dragon Balls. Gokuu gives chase on Kinto'un.
*Notes: A lot more happens…and we end on another exciting cliffhanger! Boy, Blue just won’t stay down (then again, it means more Furukawa Toshio for us to enjoy, so…)!!

Episode #26 “N’cha!! Arale-chan Appears” covers chapters #81-83: The Dr. Slump arc.
*Notes: This is actually a three episode arc in the 1980s series, but the three chapters here are so nicely grouped together I think if they trimmed a few things down it could flow nicely.

Episode #27 “The Greatest Assassin in the World, Tao Pai Pai” covers chapters #84-86: Gokuu meets Bora and Upa, saving Upa from Yellow. Tao Pai Pai kills Blue and heads to the Karin Holy Land. Tao Pai Pai kills Bora. Gokuu tries to avenge Bora, but is knocked back easily. Tao Pai Pai takes Gokuu’s backpack and returns to leaves to get new clothes.
*Notes: I really love how the 1980s series handled this arc, but in order to be a bit quicker (but have the right cliffhanger), I’ve had to combine a lot.

Episode #28 “Karin-sama of Karin-tou” covers chapters #87-89: Gokuu climbs and Reaches the top of the Karin-tou and begins training. Gokuu learns from Karin-sama that it took the Kame-Sen’nin three years to acquire the Chou Shin Sui. Gokuu gets the Water, his strength increased from the training; Karin thinks the boy might have now surpassed Muten Roushi
*Notes: Previously I didn’t combine chapters #87-89 in the same episode because I thought it might be too quick a progression, but I thought it might make things more even to have the entirety of the rematch in the next episode.

Episode #29 “The Counterattack of Son Gokuu!” covers chapters #90-92: Meanwhile, Tao Pai Pai returns to the base of the tower to retrieve the Dragon Ball he left behind. Gokuu returns and they begin their second fight. Gokuu beats Tao Pai Pai.
Episode #30 “Red Ribbon Army Headquarters Under Assault! The Fall of the Red Ribbon Army” covers chapters #93-96: Red learns that it is Son Gokuu who approaches and not Tao Pai Pai. Gokuu mows through the RRA. Black kills Red and takes over the army. Black uses a mecha to fight Gokuu but is killed when Gokuu smashes through it.
*Notes: Son Gokuu smashing through the Red Ribbon Army with next to no effort is very befitting of a single episode. Four chapters of high-octane action adapted into an episode with high-octane action!

Episode #31 “Find the Last Dragon Ball! The Last Chance is Uranai Baba” covers chapters #97-98: To find the last Dragon Ball the gang visits Uranai Baba.
*Notes: And so we begin the Uranai Baba portion of this arc. I wanted this to be an easily episode after a string of big fights, especially considering the next string of episodes will be very battle-oriented.

Episode #32 “Assault! We Are the Five Warriors of Uranai Baba” covers chapters #99-102: Dracula Man is defeated first, followed by Suke-san. Mira-kun defeats Yamcha.
*Notes: Dracula Man and Suke-san hardly need an episode to themselves. Yamcha’s fight with Mira-kun flows well enough as half and episode.

Episode #33 “The Mysterious Fifth Man Sure Smells Familiar!” covers chapters #103-106: Gokuu fights Mira-kun and wins. Gokuu defeats Akkuman. Gokuu battles a mysterious, masked man. To his dismay, the masked man can use the Kamehame-Ha.
*Notes: A nice cliffhanger that will allow the arc’s two final episodes to be paced evenly.

Episode #34 “The Fifth Man is Son Gohan! Give Chase For the Final Dragon Ball” covers chapters #107-109: The Masked Man is really Son Gohan! After a teary reunion, Gokuu learns of the location of the last Ball and gives chase.
Episode #35 “Meet Again in Three Years at the Twenty-Second Tenka’ichi Budoukai” covers chapters #110-112: Gokuu beats up Pilaf and gets the last Ball. Gokuu and friends summon Shen Long and Bora returns to life. They learn that the next Tenka'ichi Budoukai is in three years and go their separate ways to train.
*Notes: The pacing speaks for itself. All of the reunions have proper time to play out.

Twenty-Second Tenka'ichi Budoukai:

Episode #36 “New Rivals from the Crane Hermit School?!” covers chapters #113-115: Gokuu and friends reunite. Son beats King Chapa and makes it to the final eight with his friends.
Episode #37 “Yamcha versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #116-118: The match-ups are decided. In the first match, Tenshinhan defeats Yamcha, breaking his leg in the process. Jackie Chun and Man-Wolf begin their fight.
*Notes:

Episode #38 “The Answer Was ‘Eight’!” covers chapters #119-121: Jackie beats Man-Wolf. Kuririn beats Chaozu.

Episode #39 “Confidence in the Coming Era! Jackie Chun versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #122-124: Gokuu beats Panputto. Jackie Chun fights Tenshinhan, but eventually forfeits, confident in the coming era’s young warriors.
Episode #40 “Gokuu versus Kuririn” covers chapters #125-127: Gokuu and Kuririn meet in battle! Gokuu wins, however, and goes on to face Tenshinhan in the finals.
*Notes: This sort of speaks for itself. It’s nice how neatly these things worked out.

Episode #41 “Fierce Clash! Gokuu versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #128-130: Gokuu v. Tenshinhan! Gokuu is being paralyzed by Chaozu on orders from the Crane Hermit.
*Notes: A good cliffhanger, not to mention it helps even out the last few episodes of the arc.

Episode #42 “Unleash the Kikou-Hou! The Iron Pride of Tenshinhan” covers chapters #131-134: Muten Roushi sends the Crane Hermit flying so that Tenshinhan can win the fight honorably. The episode ends with Tenshinhan readying the Kikou-Hou. Tenshinhan unleashes the Kikou-Hou and eventually wins. Kuririn is killed by Tambourine.
*Notes: Again, a good cliffhanger.

Piccolo Daimaou Arc:

Episode #43 “The Greatest Evil Reborn?! Piccolo Daimaou Returns” covers chapters #135-137” Gokuu finds Kuririn. Filled with rage, Gokuu takes the Dragon Radar and gives chase. Roushi explains who Piccolo Daimaou is. Gokuu catches up to Tambourine, but is beaten in battle. Piccolo Daimaou orders Tambourine to kill the world's best martial artists. Daimaou births Cymbal and orders him to collect the Dragon Balls. Gokuu wakes up and eats Yajirobe's fish.
Episode #44 “Piccolo Daimaou’s Revenge”: covers chapters #138-141: Yajirobe attacks and they trade blows. Cymbal arrives for Yajirobe's Dragon Ball, but Yajirobe kills and eats Cymbal. Daimaou sends Tambourine to avenge Cymbal, but Gokuu kills him. Piccolo decides he will have to face this mighty foe himself
*Notes: The plot progresses steadily and in a manner I can then squeeze the first battle between Daimaou and Son Gokuu in the arc’s third episode.

Episode #45 “Daimaou Stands! Son Gokuu versus Piccolo Daimaou” covers chapters #142-144: Piccolo Daimaou confronts Gokuu. After a battle, Piccolo leaves a battered Gokuu for dead, taking the Three-Star Ball. Piccolo heads for the location of Muten Roushi, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu with their Balls while Yajirobe takes a battered Gokuu to Karin-tou.
*Notes: This seemed like the best way to handle things, especially considering the events of the next two chapters.

Episode #46 “The Mafuu-Ba Fails?! Muten Roushi-sama Dies” covers chapters #145-147” Kame-sen'nin confronts Piccolo Daimaou, but his Mafuu-Ba fails and he dies.
*Notes: Toei’s series in the 1980s really did some cool things with this arc by adding in filler scenes of Roushi, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu collecting the Dragon Balls. Sadly, to keep up a good clip we’ll have to cut those things. I find it a bit sad that Roushi dies so easily, but that’s how things are.

Episode #47 “Youth Restored! Piccolo Daimaou Conquers the World” covers chapters #148-151: Bora tosses Yajirobe and Gokuu up Karin-tou, Yajirobe climbs the rest of the way to the top. Daimaou's youth is restored. Piccolo kills Chaozu and Shen Long. Piccolo and Piano head for the King's Castle, slaughter the guards, and confront the King of the World. Gokuu and Yajirobe make it to the top of Karin-tou. Piccolo Daimaou becomes ruler of the world. Gokuu drinks the Choushinsui. Tenshinhan has been training to perfect the Mafuu-Ba and has finally finished. Gokuu's new power is overflowing...
*Notes: A lot happens here, but I really want to avoid one-chapter episodes. If I could I’d replace the Choushinsui with Gokuu eating a senzu and growing stronger from being near death, foreshadowing his Saiyan abilities. As for pacing, it just seemed to fit the best considering the events of the next half of the arc.

Episode #48 “The Destruction of Metro West?! Tenshinhan Confronts Daimaou” covers chapters #152-154: Gokuu heads off to fight Piccolo Daimaou again. Piccolo holds a news broadcast to reveal he will destroy one district a year on each May 9th for the next forty-three years. Piccolo picks at random a district, first picking Metro West—Blooma's home! Blooma's group heads for the Capital to stop Piccolo. Tenshinhan arrives and must confront Drum first. Drum kicks Tenshinhan's ass. Gokuu shows up and kicks his head so hard it explodes.
*Notes: Son Gokuu killing Drum with one kick is a great way to end an episode.

Episode #49 “Son and Daimaou Meet Again” covers chapters #155-158: Gokuu faces Piccolo Daimaou next. Piccolo envelopes the entire city in a huge blast
Episode #50 “Son Gokuu’s Last Gamble” covers chapters #159-161: Tenshinhan saved Gokuu from the explosion using Bukuu-jutsu. Gokuu pierces Piccolo through the gut with one final punch, but Piccolo shoots up an egg containing his reincarnation. Yajirobe takes Gokuu to Karin-tou for healing [again!] and Ten-san heads to Kame House with Blooma's group. The reincarnated Piccolo hatches and swears revenge for his father.
*Notes: These chapters are mostly fighting, so covering seven chapters across two episodes shouldn’t be a problem. Piccolo Daimaou unleashing his blast on the city is a great way to end an episode, too. Episode #50 ending with the end of the fight makes, too.

Episode #51 “Training From God?! Another Battle in Three Year’s Time” covers chapters #162-165: Gokuu retrieves the Nyoi'bou and confronts Mister Popo. God explains his relationship to Piccolo to Gokuu, revives Shen Long, and begins training for the Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai.
*Notes: A nice, cozy end to the arc. I didn’t want God to be learned of and appear in the same episode, so I figured this worked best for the pacing, too.

Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai Arc:

Episode #52 “Reunion” covers chapters #166-167: After three years the gang reunites. Gokuu is much taller now! The gang sign in and make it through their preliminary fights. Gokuu and Tenshinhan spot Piccolo's reincarnation, but Gokuu asks Ten to keep it on the low-down. Gokuu fights and beats King Chapa again. Tao Pai Pai beats Chaozu, surprising everyone with his appearance.
*Notes: Toei Animation’s TV series from the 1980s had #166 as one episode to itself, which I think is a good idea all intents and purposes aside. Ultimately, I had to handle things a little differently. Chapter #167’s cliffhanger makes for a great end to an episode, so I decided to use that instead of including chapter #168.

Episode #53 “Tenshinhan’s Battle” covers chapters #168-171: The final eight are decided. Tenshinhan faces Tao Pai Pai to avenge Chaozu, revealing he has far surpassed his former mentor. Tenshinhan defeats Tao Pai Pai. Gokuu battles and defeats Chichi, the former agreeing to marry the latter.
*Notes: I hate intruding on a big fight like this, but I decided to move the finishing up of the preliminaries into the Ten v. Tao fight.

Episode #54 “Great Pinch For the Kame Soldiers” covers chapters #172-175: Kuririn fights Ma Junior but must forfeit due to injury. Yamcha fights Shen, Gokuu figuring out he is really God.
*Notes: Having both Kuririn and Yamcha defeated in the same episode (roughly ten minutes for each of their fights) provides a sense of organization and allows for the story to move along steadily. These are just the warm up fights for the big championship, of course!

Episode #55 “Rematch! Gokuu versus Tenshinhan” covers chapters #176-179: Gokuu and Tenshinhan have their rematch, Gokuu showcasing an enormous increase in speed and stamina. Gokuu defeats Tenshinhan.
*Notes: This set of chapters really flows together well. Each character can have their time to shine and some dramatic tension can be built up. Gokuu’s rematch with Tenshinhan can receive a full tour de force performance from a team of ace animators.

Episode #56 “God versus Daimaou” covers chapters #180-181: God and Daimaou face off. God tries to seal Piccolo with the Mafuu-Ba, but Piccolo reverses it, sealing God in a jar and eating the jar.
*Notes: Again, Toriyama basically hands an animation team great pacing to work with. Two chapters folding into one episode and bam, everything can work in synch.

Episode #57 “The Fated Showdown at Last! Son Gokuu versus Piccolo Daimaou” covers chapters #182-185: Son Gokuu and Piccolo Daimaou face off again. Gokuu's gi becomes beaten up, so he tears off the remains of his shirt. Gokuu unleashes the Chou Kamehame-Ha, leaving Piccolo pretty beat up.
*Notes: Originally I was going to cover this as two episodes, but with so much of this stuff fighting I don’t think the story will feel rushed. Thus…we have our first four-chapter episode, which has a killer ending, too!!

Episode #58 “Confusion at the Tenka’ichi Budoukai”): covers chapters #186-188: The audience recognizes Piccolo Daimaou at last and make a run for it. Piccolo grows large to crush Gokuu, but...Gokuu leaps into Piccolo's mouth and takes the stole jar, throws it to Tenshinhan, freeing God. God blocks a punch for Gokuu, interrupting the match. Gokuu refuses to play dirty, wishing to win on his own. Gokuu gives Piccolo a free punch.
*Notes: Dialogue begins to seep in, so I thought it best to start slowing things down again.

Episode #59 “This is My Fight! Son Gokuu Stands Firm” covers chapters #189-192: Piccolo's own tracking waves comes back and blasts him, breaking his arm. Piccolo tears off his useless arm and re-grows it. Piccolo prepares to unleash a devastating blast. The entire island has been reduced to a wasteland, but Gokuu took it head on with no problem. Gokuu unleashes a strong combo that hurts Piccolo badly. Just when the count is about to go in his favor, Gokuu receives a mouth kikou-ha to the chest from Piccolo. Piccolo prepares to finish Gokuu off, and with a final blast...
*Notes: A great cliffhanger!

Episode #60 (“I Finally Won the Tenka’ichi Budoukai!!”): covers chapters #193-194 (Gokuu, having learned bukuu-jutsu, dodged Piccolo blast and head butts him. And unconscious Piccolo falls out of the ring, and Gokuu is declared the winner of the Twenty-Third Tenka'ichi Budoukai. Gokuu eats a Senzu and gives one to Piccolo, not ready to lose his arch-nemesis. Gokuu and Chichi fly off on Kinto'un to get hitched).
*Notes: And the story arc comes to a close. Not much else to say.

Wait, what are you really doing here? "Kai'ing" DB? I'm confused.

He is pretty much making a hypothetical episode guide of a Dragon Ball anime reboot. Take for example the new Hunter X Hunter anime. The manga was adapted to anime in 1999, but it fell victim to being too close to where the manga was. That is why it got a new anime that adapts the manga much better. Same with Fullmetal Alchemist. It had an anime in 2004 that ended up with a radically different ending to the series because the manga came out at a slow pace. If Toei were to redo adapting the Dragon Ball manga series (which would be suicidal at this point), it would be the "Kai" concept fully realized. So that would be a yes to your question.

[JulieYBM]

So if I understand it correctly, you're adapting for television in a way that addresses the pacing issues inherently different between a comic and television, which is why you're truncating certain events to more evenly pace others?

Yeah, basically. I think one of Kai's flaws was perhaps not simply outright changing the story enough. Not everything has to be panel-for-panel so long as the story flows well between episodes and each episode does the best it can on what it is attempting to accomplish. Toriyama's pacing can be a little funky sometimes so it makes for some jerry-rigging to make a chain of episodes be both not too slowly paced, but also properly dramatic. This is why I would suggest making Puipui and Yakon into even bigger jokes. They serve no purpose in the grand scheme. Going back to my example of episode #69, I can easily imagine the episode opening with Piccolo's dramatic death and Gokuu arriving on the battlefield just before the first eyecatch. The second part of the episode would likely take the bulk of the usual twenty minute runtime with Gokuu defeating Nappa.