Dragon Ball (Anime & Manga): A Personal Assessment

[KBABZ]

it takes away all the momentum of defeating the RRA

Had the tournament not been there, it was at the end. All that was left was for Bora to be wished back.

Not really. After Goku defeats the Red Ribbon Army, he still has to get the last Dragon Ball back, not to mention the radar can't locate it. I don't mind Baba and her fortune-telling powers and whatnot, but I do dislike going through the rigamarole of a Tournament again. We get the usual tropes: Yamcha reaches his ceiling, Goku's an amazing prodigy and gifted fighter, etc. The only positive aspect to come out of the Tournament is Goku reuniting with Grandpa Gohan. Baba coming along and saying "But you have to defeat all of my fighters first!" feels like its padding out the end of the story to me. The defeat of the RRA is the more logical climax of the RRA saga as a whole and anything else should feel more towards like an epilogue.

already done this format twice before, and it's made extra predictable by hyping up the Goku vs. Piccolo rivalry, all but confirming that they'll be the finalists and sucking the Tenshin(han) out of most of the other fights

We always knew what the finals were going to be. I don't see how that one is any more obvious than the others

In a grander sense it's more predictable. In the first Tournament, we were just discovering Goku's abilities so it wasn't particularly foregone that he would make it to the finals. In the second we had the Turtle/Crane rivalry that added spice to the finals matches, and it involved Krillin and Roshi/Jackie as well so it permeated a lot of the proceedings; Krillin proves himself against Chiaotzu and Roshi reaches out to Tien, so there's more of an overall theme to tie it all together.

With the third it felt like everything else, from Cyborg Tao to Chi-Chi to Shen, was just waiting around for the match where Goku and Piccolo would face off, and for me at least it feels that way because we are told this will happen by Kami several episodes before the Tournament even begins. And, since Piccolo is a grand villain, we can predict that Goku will also win the match... which he does. And as I explained elsewhere once before, I also don't believe for a second that Piccolo would waste his time doing the Tournament; if he's really that hellbent on killing Goku, he would put up with the match structure and killed him on the Tournament grounds at some point.

and what does "sucking the Tenshin(han) out..." even mean?

It's a pun on the word tension.

[ABED]

feels like its padding out the end of the story to me.

But entertaining padding.

he still has to get the last Dragon Ball back, not to mention the radar can't locate it

I know the story. I don't know what your point is. Is it that you're fine with him having to find the DB but not have to go through the tournament? You were the one said it takes away all the momentum of defeating the RRA. I was saying there was fundamentally not much else to do in that arc than finding that final DB, so I don't see how the momentum was ruined unless your point is that you just wanted them to get to the end.

so it wasn't particularly foregone that he would make it to the finals.

I'd say it was even in the first tournament. In the second one, it was a foregone conclusion that Tenshinhan and Goku would be the finalists. It just wasn't a sure thing who the victor would be.

there's more of an overall theme to tie it all together.

There's also a theme in the final tournament - conclusion. All the stories were coming to an end.

if he's really that hellbent on killing Goku, he would put up with the match structure and killed him on the Tournament grounds at some point.

I do think he wanted to kill Goku, perhaps not as hell-bent as before, but he certainly would have. I think you have a point, but we do know that Piccolo's offspring is fundamentally different than his father, so that could be why. I don't have a firm answer, but the matches themselves are entertaining. We know Goku will win, but so what. That match was damn good. Predictability isn't always a bad thing.