Dragon Ball Z (Anime & Manga): A Personal Assessment

[Lord Beerus]

POSITIVES

Gohan’s Everyday Life:
[spoiler]I love the fish-out-of-water beginning portion of this arc with Gohan. Seeing how socially awkward he was, and how Gohan tried to express himself with his Great Saiyaman persona was all so hysterical, whimsical and charming. It’s the kind light-hearted and down to Earth approach to a story that Dragon Ball should do more often.[/spoiler]

Mr Satan:
[spoiler]I love this character. He’s the most well written character in this arc by a longshot. He brings such a wonderful down-to-earth level of humanity that I’ve never really seen before in Dragon Ball. How he interacts to his surrounding feel so genuine and even somewhat relatable. I could realistically see myself acting like Mr Satan, if I was in the situations that he was. But what I love about him the most is he evolves naturally as a character AND he retains his charm of being the comic relief for the arc. It’s so hard to get that balance of being a gag character but also being fleshed out in personality but Toriyama manages to do that spectacularly with this guy. Even in scenarios where the tension is high, and tone is very serious, he comical antics don’t break up the flow of the narrative or feel distinctly out of place. His gags seamlessly blend into the story and add the level of comedy which doesn’t defuse the tension or stakes. The comedy from Mr Satan doesn’t feel undercooked or overcooked, it just feels right.

Mr Satan starts off as this incredibly annoying showman, who thought that the world was his oyster, but developed into becoming a kind-hearted, considerate and immensely brave person. He befriends a monster that he tried to “defeat”, decides cut down on being a fake hero and in process becomes a real one with saving Vegeta’s life in a battle he had no right to be involved, but still chose to because he realised the severity of the situation, and in a wonderful twist, use his celebrity famed to significantly contribute to the demise of Kid Boo. That’s development. That’s a character arc. That’s taking traits that the character is known for and using it in positive and productive manner to the plot that feel consistent. This wasn’t the 50/50 booking, half baked, stop, go back and start again nonsense that was Vegeta’s character arc. Everything about Mr Satan’s evolution was well thought out and handled with tact and care.

You know, I remember reading an interview including Toriyama where he stated that if he was going to do a spin-off of Dragon Ball he would have Mr Satan as the main character. And more power to him for that because I think that be a wonderful story and I’d argue Mr Satan is Toriyama’s best written character in the manga.[/spoiler]

Majin Boo (Every form of him):
[spoiler]What a wonderful antagonist he is. Both in design and in how his personality changes to his surroundings.

His initially give off the vibe of character who’s nothing more than a gag and bit of blank slate, but he displayed a suspiring amount of intuition. In a moment that was really well built up, Majin Boo became his own character by killing Bobiddi. And how he casually still goes about his business of killing people, because that was what he was instructed to do, drives home that even when he’s no longer “on a leash” he still has the destructive capability needed to retain the stakes and tension of the story.

The turning point for me in his character was when Majin Boo healed the vision of a blind child to because his lack of vision was preventing him from being terrified by Majin Boo. It’s such a surreal moment in terms of characterisation, especially for an antagonist as it feels quite meta in its representation. Majin Boo seem himself as the “villain” with how much chaos and anarchy he’s created so he feels that any being who comes across should automatically be terrified of him. And when they aren’t, it’s almost as if he malfunctions mentally and his line of thinking is thrown way off, and he needs to create the scenario where he vilified as the monster he’s known to be. But in the process of trying to make that happen he unintentionally performs a noble deed. In the case with blind child, it was restoring his vision and giving him milk that he needed (by turning another human into a milk carton, but still, the thought was there). And then with the puppy that he found that couldn’t run away from him, and healed his leg, allowing him to walk and run again. And in both occasions, he’s praised for his actions and he feel satisfied by doing something good. And in the case with puppy, there’s a fundamental shift in his character with the positive influence and guidance of Mr Satan (another great character in this arc) as he promises to never to kill again. And Majin Boo’s credit, he doesn’t kill again… at least in regard to Mr Satan. Speaking of Mr Satan, I love Majin Boo’s relationship with him. It’s basic in premise, but just so sincere, comical and productive to the plot that really feels like something that is more integral to the grand narrative of Dragon Ball than it had any right to be.

Super Boo is very intriguing character as well. He carries of this thuggish demeanour but is very pragmatic and surprisingly strategic in battle. Much like Cell with how his personality shifts with every person he absorbs, the dynamic of how Super Boo approaches his battle depending on who he makes part of his body as entertaining to watch. His delightful mix of wanting to make the most beating up Gohan that coming with absorbing a character that pride himself in showmanship and pride like Gotenks does, while also taking into consideration his limits and wanting to end this fight before it’s too late, pragmatic traits that come with Piccolo, and his utter desperation and irrational thinking when the fight is going against him, characteristics that Gohan is known for, aid in making the narrative not feel too stale by provide each fight he takes part with its own unique flavour.

Kid Boo is the most disappointing incarnation of the character. He’s as generic as a generic doomsday villain can get. Speak gibberish, acts like an animal and just destroys planets on a whim. But given his nature of the being the most stripped-down version of Majin Boo, being the purest form of evil, it works well enough.[/spoiler]

The Anime Adaption:
[spoiler]I must give the anime adaption of the arc a lot of credit. Not just for being the most consistently well animated arc in the series, but for taking the time to expand on the plot in scenarios where Toriyama didn’t seem interested in taking a moment to allow to. The extra details like making the reunion with Goku his family more emotionally resonant, revealing who told Bobiddi about where Trunks lives, giving more time to Goku and Vegeta’s fight and making it look so much better than in the manga, giving more detail on the backstory of Majin Boo and the much better handled farewell Goku gave his family and friend when he left with Oob, make the arc a much more structured and well told story. The anime really took a story arc that felt barebones and very rushed in some portions in the manga and gave it more time to breath and made it more visually appealing and I can give nothing but praise for that. Apart for the filler episodes with Goku and Vegeta inside of Super Boo, all the other additions made by the anime staff were good in content.

Studio Cockpit deserve a really special mention, again. If people wonder why the Majin Boo has the best animation of all arcs in Dragon Ball, it’s because of these guys. They are responsible for many episodes in this arc, and even when the episode itself doesn’t have great content, such as the episodes where Goku and Vegeta are fooling around in Super Boo’s innards, their visuals make even episodes like them tolerable. Great fight animation and stunning art-style.[/spoiler]

Vegeta’s Endgame As A Character:
[spoiler]From an isolated standpoint, I love Vegeta’s epiphany. It’s one of Dragon Ball’s best character moments, if not, THE best character moment in Dragon Ball. The realisation from Vegeta about why Goku always seemed to be one step ahead of him, not only served a great way for Vegeta to put the rest any demons that he had, but also served a real reflection of the Goku’s actions and what Dragon Ball, at its core, is fundamentally representative of: pushing yourself beyond your limits.

That being said…[/spoiler]

NEGATIVES

Vegeta’s Character Arc Leading Into His Endgame:
[spoiler]…the development of Vegeta’s character leading into his endgame is something that really wished would have been as good as I remembered, but it isn’t.

Coming off the Cell arc, I was hoping that Vegeta would have mellowed out. And it kinda looks like that may have been the case. But when the Budokai Tenkaichi happens, his hard-on for beating Goku, something he’s already done, becomes a literal tumour to the plot. Then the narrative tries to paint the picture that Vegeta has pulled a face/heel turn with him unnervingly killing hundreds of people just goad Goku into fighting him. But here’s the issue… the story has already made it clear that Vegeta is still an inherently evil person. I mean, when sparring with Trunks, with the promise of taking him to the amusement park, he’s still shown to be a callous, pompous and self-righteous asshole. Even just from seeing Goten and Trunks fight each other Vegeta shows he’s still not above being vindictive and spiteful. Hell, Bobbidi even outright states that Vegeta’s heart is dripping with evil. So Vegeta has made no real significant progress in terms of his character since the Cell arc and it’s clear to see, so what am I supposed to get out Vegeta “aligning” himself with Bobiddi? Am I supposed to feel sad? Am I supposed to feel angry? Because I don’t get anything out of Vegeta committing the evil acts that he does because I just see Vegeta acting like himself. How Vegeta acts up until him allowing Bobiddi take over his soul for the sake of power-up doesn’t give the impression that he’s any better that the snide, bitter, angry, conceited person he was for 99.9% of the time. He may have that ‘M’ on his forehead and have a few veins bulging out of his body, but him murdering hundreds of people for the sake of a fight with Goku is all on him. It has nothing to do with Bobiddi and his magic awakening his evil again. He chose to kill those people in attendance at the Budokai Tenkaichi because he had the power to do so, and probably would have done it Bobiddi didn’t take over his soul and grant him more power. So, if Vegeta appears any more evil that he was before, it just him acting normally.

But what I can’t stand the most is Vegeta’s reasoning reason for letting Bobiddi “control him”. It was literally a case of him not being patient enough. Taking care of Dabra would take no more than 10 minutes and Vegeta throws a bitch fit that his fight with Goku is getting delayed despite the fact they still have a whole day for the fight to happen. Then Vegeta delves deeper into his reason for allowing Bobiddi get a mental hold of him and starts talking about how he hates that Goku saved his life. What is this nonsense? That reasoning completely tramples over the one bit of character development he got at the end of the Cell arc where he apologized to Gohan for breaking his arm in saving to save his life from Cell as a consequence of him acknowledging that he himself had become a liability in battle. Then he further states that Goku surpassed him the fact he accepted that he could never defeat Goku despite the fact that while he saw Goku fight Cell he flat out states that he could never beat Goku and even calls his brilliant for finding a way of perfecting the Super Saiyan form. So Vegeta’s character literally regresses to have this nonsensically founded, inorganic, contradictory conflict with Goku. There are some ways you can create a conflict from genuine resentment, anger or hostility that characters have towards one another, and this is not the way to do it. It feels incredibly forced, negates character development and makes Vegeta incredibly unlikable.

Then comes Vegeta’s big moment with his killing himself to stop Majin Boo. This is moment that Vegeta realises the circumstances of the scenario he’s in and his character changes for the better with him setting aside his pride and doing what absolutely needs to be done to take of the threat which put the lives of him family (and Goku) at risk. This is where Vegeta’s major character development is supposed to kick in… and it really doesn’t. First off, him killing himself lead to nothing in terms of the plot as Majin Boo survives anyway. Which just makes Vegeta’s acts look more senseless than actually noble. Then, the whitewashing of his evil deeds. Despite the fact he was told by Piccolo that his soul would be cleansed and, reincarnated and that he would go to a different plane of existence in the afterlife than Goku (basically he was going to Hell), Enma-daiō not only kept his spirit aside, but also gave him a body because… I have no fucking idea. This is worst kind of plot convenience because not only does it seem so arbitrary, but it paints Vegeta character is much more heroic and specially reserved light than it deserves to be. One good deed doesn’t wipe away all the evil shit he’s unconditionally done over the years or even in this arc. Piccolo outright states this before Vegeta’s grand suicide attack. Then when he’s brought back the realm of the living as Goku needed someone fuse with, he still acts like an abrasive, bitter, spiteful, angry asshole despite Goku giving him wanted he wanted, which was a battle with him. His initial reasoning for Goku not fusing with him just drive me up the wall. All Vegeta wanted was from Goku was a fight, but then he gets his knickers in a twist over the fact he didn’t use SSJ3 against him. Then just makes things even worse, he spitefully crushes his Potara earring despite the fact he and Goku still have to fight Majin Boo, and the fact he set aside his pride to fuse with Goku knowing it the best thing to so in their situation. And THEN, he’s goes full Cell arc Vegeta, and makes the situation more difficult than it needs to be with him cutting Majin Boo from Super Boo’s body, resulting in the original Majin Boo being created and him destroying the world and killing his and Goku’s remaining family and allies. And FUCKING THEN, he has the goddamn nerve to bitch at Goku for letting their son’s die even though it was HIS FAULT this version of Majin Boo was created, and he made no attempt to save his OWN son. It’s at that point where I throw my hands up in the air with Vegeta’s character arc because there’s no consistency to it. He’s meant to have grown beyond his pride, bitterness and hostile attitude towards Goku, but he doesn’t. He’s no better than the person we see at the beginning of the arc. His personality regresses and his characterisation arc resets TWICE in this arc. This is why, despite how much enjoy the epiphany that Vegeta has when in the climax of the arc, I don’t feel much emotional resonance with Vegeta’s whole “Goku is Number #1/The True Champion” speech or when the wish is made to bring back life all the good people of Earth that Vegeta is included in this wish, because it doesn’t feel earned. Sure, Vegea’s put his existence on the line to fight Kid Boo, but Vegeta’s character writing is so all over the place that the when logical conclusion happens for his character arc you feel like the build up to very haphazard. Vegeta endgame as far as characterisation goes, with the speech he makes about Goku when Kid Boo is fighting him, is certainly be wonderfully wholesome, but everything that precedes it is terribly inconsistent writing.[/spoiler]

Plot Devices With No Resonance:
[spoiler]Oh man. This is probably the biggest misdemeanour of this arc. There several plot devices to lead to nothing or just anti-climax in the worst way.

First, we get Super Saiyan 3 which is touted off as this transformation so powerful that can’t even be maintained in the realm of the living. And its grand use in the story is stalling for time so that Trunks can get the Dragon Ball radar, something that didn’t even need to happen in the first place. As that could have been resolved in a matter of seconds.

Then the Fusion Dance is introduced. Story devotes a good amount of time with Goten and Trunks being show and then taught the Fusion technique. And it leads to nothing. They don’t defeat Majin Boo, the end getting absorbed, which even in Majin Boo’s case doesn’t lead to anything for him as he doesn’t kill Gohan (which was the whole point of Majin Boo absorbing Gotenks) and after Goten and Trunks are freed they end up dying making all of their efforts in training in the Room of Spirit and Time and mastering the fusion dance null and void. And just the twist even further, when Shin and Kibito fuse, they’re still fodder and no match for Super Boo. So why did they even need to fuse? What purpose did it serve?

In come the Potara next (Yet another fusion based ability/technique). While I will admit that the origins and it introduction of them are cleverly woven into the plot, their significance comes down to saving Goten, Trunks, Piccolo and Gohan… which ends up being completely negated as when they’re rescued, Kid Boo emerges (And his existence itself is nonsense) just blows up the Earth and kills the very people they fused to rescue. Vegetto’s fight with Super Boo was fun to watch but know it lead to nothing. Even worse, the supposed permanent fusion of Goku and Vegeta ends up defusing inside because of… nasty air? What the hell does that even MEAN? So, in the end, we got a plot device where its special capabilities are retconned, it creates more issues than solutions to the plot and the whole reason for it being introduced into the narrative ends up being nullified. Why couldn’t have Toriyama have just saved us the trouble of this all the bullshit and anti-climaxes that would incur and just have Goku and Vegeta do the Fusion Dance?

Gohan is the most insulting case of this. We find out he has more hidden potential, because that is his gimmick, as he gets side-lined from the plot when Majin Boo takes him out, and given his own training with the Zeta sword, which is supposed to act as way of him tapping into his hidden power. But then we get swerved as the Zeta sword breaks, making all that training with it meaningless. But it ironically leads to something even “better” as an Elder Lord of Lords emerges from the broken sword and performs a ritual to awaken all of Gohan’s hidden power. This is all sound so great, doesn’t it? Then the moment of truth arrives, Gohan fights Super Boo and things seems to be going great for him as he’s laying the smackdown on Super Boo’s candy’s ass. Then after blowing himself up and stalling for an hour, and some manipulation on Super Boo’s part, he’s able get Goten and Trunks to fuse so that he can absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo. And proceed to beat the crap out of Gohan. So Gohan goes from the strongest character in the universe to a punching bag in just a few episodes/chapters. And it gets even worse. Goku and Gohan fusing is teased but doesn’t happen as Gohan himself ends up get absorbed, which that itself leads to nothing as Goku and Vegeta fuse to become Vegetto and dominate Super Boo (who has Gohan within in). Completely negating the whole reason Gohan got absorbed almost instantly. And just like Goten, Trunks and Piccolo, he ends up being killed. So, what did Gohan gain out the whole “ritual to unlock all your hidden power” plot device? Did Gohan’s character change in a positive manner? No. Because he commits the same mistakes he does against Cell in getting arrogant after getting a power-up and doesn’t get the job done. Does he even provide Super Boo with some kind of payoff when Super Boo absorbs him? No. Because the creation of Vegetto makes Super Boo’s power-up via Gohan’s absorption pointless.[/spoiler]

Goku’s Characterisation:
[spoiler]What the hell was going with Goku’s character in this arc? He just feels… off sometimes.

He first fights Vegeta and states that he’s going to use full power and then pulls Super Saiyan 3 from nowhere. Which in turn makes his battle with SSJ2 Majin Vegeta a fight that shouldn’t have escalated in the fashion that it did. But what really grinds my gears is when Goku tries to give the reasoning that he was saving Super Saiyan 3, hence him not using it when he fought Vegeta. That’s make no fucking sense. Unless you want to believe that wanted Majin Boo to resurrected, which him even more unlikable as a character, there was no reason him to save Super Saiyan 3, when the time to use that form was right then and there when he was fighting Vegeta. He turns SSJ3, then end the fight instantly and Majin Boo is not resurrected. But he chooses not to, and it snowballs into billions of people dying. I understand the concept of Goku being a bad judge of character, and perhaps you could hypothesis that he didn’t use the form to spare Vegeta’s pride, but that in itself is absurd because when has Goku ever held back in a battle to spare someone’s emotions? Hell, Vegeta call him out on this later on so it makes the justification of not using Super Saiyan even more contrived.

Fast forward to the climactic battle with the new Kid Boo, and the perspective of Goku’s character shifts into the intolerable. We get the major reveal from Goku himself that he could defeated Majin Boo when he first became a Super Saiyan 3 in front of him. If there was ever a moment that pulled the rug under the notion of the new generation taking over, this was it. It’s like the complete opposite of what happened in the Cell arc. In the Cell arc, Goku had no chance of defeating Cell and he knew that even before fighting him in the Cell Games. Even though it was still a gamble to through Gohan into the lion’s den, he at least had the justification of knowing that Gohan was much stronger than him that it was worth the risk. In the Majin Boo arc, he's warned multiple times of what a threat Majin Boo is and how they should prevent him from being resurrected. But he still contributes his resurrection, and when he has the opportunity the kill him he doesn't do it. He could have prevented billions of peoples dying and chose not to under the pretence of "the kids should handle this as I won’t be around".

I can understand the intention Goku was going for in the Cell arc, even if the way he did about it was pointlessly reckless and dumb what he did was. But the Majin Boo arc was not the same scenario at all. If you want to build up for the new generation that taking up the mantle, that's fine. Gohan's case in the Cell arc is acceptable because he was truly the only option they had at that time. But don't create multiple scenarios, where the threat could have been dealt even before it even began, without even the notion of the new generation having the lifting a finger was contemplated, like was the case in the Majin Boo arc. It would be one thing if Goku played no significant part in resurrecting Majin Boo and wasn't strong enough to kill him, but neither of scenarios were the case. He just wanted to let the kids (Goten and Trunks) fight Majin Boo. It makes his intentions of wanting the new generation to take care of themselves seem hollow.

The thing that aggravates me the most about me the most about that reveal is that is makes Goku into a liar about his strength and the strength of his opponents. This may not seem like a big to other, but Goku being straightforward and honest about his assessment of the strength of himself and the opponents he faces or talks about in proxy is a characteristic that has always been consistent. Goku constantly reasserts to himself and to others that has no chance against Majin Boo. And that even as a Super Saiyan 3, he couldn’t defeat him. Then he turns around and casually remarks that he could have killed Majin Boo but just wanted to have the new generation to have chance to defend themselves. That reasoning annoys me to now end as it just makes Goku wanting the new generation take care of themselves come across as less sincere and genuine and more of a glorified case of passing the buck and having someone else clean up the shitstorm he contributed to. The new generation wouldn’t even need to deal with Majin Boo if Goku just used Super Saiyan 3 against Majin Vegeta. Goku’s actions in that case were out of character. He didn’t need to lie about how strong he was when facing Majin Boo as a Super Saiyan 3. Why did that reveal needed to be thrown in? Was to serve as a plot twist? Because if so, that is the worst plot twist I’ve ever seen in Dragon Ball. Because it severs no purpose to the overall narrative other than to drive home that Goku is a reckless asshole who willingly endanger the lives of billions of people on a wing and prayer, something that he should have learned after the Cell arc is not a wise thing to do considering he died from that fashion of thinking. This reveal that proves that the new generation could really have relied on dead guy to win their battles for them and that it will always be up the old guard to save the day. It’s like a complete inverse of what happened in the Cell arc.

Now let’s talk about hypocritical Goku, who is as equally infuriating. Once the Vegetto defuses inside of Super Boo for reasons unknown, Goku quickly states to Vegeta that they must fuse, as they wouldn’t have a chance of fighting Super Boo unless the combine their power. Vegeta then crushes his Potara earring prevent himself and Goku from fusing again and Goku then chews out Vegeta repeatedly for doing such a thing. Fast forward to when they fight the “real” Majin Boo (Kid Boo) and Goku all of sudden decides against fusing. The very same that Goku was getting on Vegeta’s case for, Goku does it against a version of Majin Boo who has just destroyed the world and kill their remaining family and friends. I don’t like this flip-flopping of Goku’s mentality in battle without context as to why its’s happening, especially considering how vital these sudden decisions are. It’s just makes Goku seem less of character defined by his trait and more defined by what the plot demands from him.

Then there are moments of flat-out douchebaggery that make me question whether I should root for this guy. Moments like blasting Elder Lord of Lords in the face to see how powerful he is, trying to pimp out his son’s girlfriend and then his rival’s wife (twice!) to a deity, despite being told its sexual harassment and wanting Gohan to deal with it, and the several snide remarks he makes about others like Shin, Elder Lord of Lords and the out-of-nowhere a backhanded remark of his own wife. Goku’s somewhat jerkass like behaviour in the past always had some sincerity about it. He didn’t know any better. Goku is an asshole sometimes in this arc, and he’s appears to be fully aware it. That ruins the charm of Goku’s insensitivity. It’s not innocent. He acts like a jerkass in this arc just because he can. Goku was an asshole on occasion in this arc, and at times it was cranked up to 11 .[/spoiler]

Plot Holes, Continuity Errors & Plot Convenience:
[spoiler]Toriyama prides himself by writing by the seat of his pants and sometimes is works wonderfully. And other occasions, it doesn’t. With regards to the Majin Boo arc, I can’t but feel on several occasions that when the plot advances, it doesn’t feel natural with the events that preceded it. The worst offender of this is with Majin Boo himself.

I love Majin Boo’s character, but how his anatomy works is beyond fucked up and confusing. Majin Boo turns people into candy and eats them. That’s all fine and dandy, but then when the tables are turned on Majin Boo and he turned into candy, we later find out that Fat Majin Boo was kept in a pod. So where are the billions of other pods of all the other people and creatures that were turned into candy and eaten by Majin Boo? Things get even more confusing with introduction of introduction of a smaller and even more evil version of Majin Boo. A dark and skinny version from Majin Boo is formed from Fat Majin Boo getting angry and expelling his evil and he turns Fat Majin Boo into candy and changes in appearance into Super Boo. Then when Fat Majin Boo is removed from him, and instead of getting skinny and dark Majin Boo, we get a completely different form of Majin Boo that was never alluded to. And if the evil that Fat Majin Boo expelled was meant to be the original pure Majin Boo, then why didn’t he take the appearance of Kid Boo? Why did he take the appearance of some thinner, darker skinned version of Boo that wore identical clothing to Fat Majin Boo? And since the original Majin Boo (Kid Boo) absorbed two of the Kaioshin’s, where are their pods inside of Majin Boo? And why does Super Boo regress to form that resembles Some people will sweep this under rug with the mentality of “It’s magic. You can do whatever you want”, and I HATE this argument. Yeah, you can technically do whatever you want with a plot device like magic, but the audience deserve to know that the world of the story they’re reading has some kind of consistency, especially with how much a concept like magic is so crucial to the plot of the arc. If you create a world where anything can happen, regardless of how nonsensical it may be, the audience will begin to question whether they should get invested in the story or not. I mean, if the author can can’t to tell a well structure story, why should they care about the author not caring?

What’s the deal with the Potara Earrings as well? They’re touted off as a method of fusing that remains permanent… and then the Vegetto defuses. If the plan was to have the subversion that the Potara earrings, despite being such a commodity and treasure, wouldn’t be the solution to defeating Majin Boo, that fine. But handle the subversion with care. Don’t bother hyping up that plot device as this be-all-end-all with no weakness answer to defeating the big bad, and then you end up ignoring the very specific flaw it didn’t have for discernible reason, just to move the plot forward. It’s not only slopping storytelling, but completely misses the point of subverting a plot device.

Then you have the many moment of extremely egregious plot convivence like Enma-daiō keeping Vegeta’s spirit aside and giving him body when he should be in Hell, Super Boo manging to tear a hole through dimensions on accident, Gotenks bullshitting his way into becoming a Super Saiyan 3 despite an explanation into attaining the form is never given, the entire existence of the Potara earrings and the Namekians somehow knowing what was going on with Majin Boo.[/spoiler]

The New Generation:
[spoiler]This was the most conflicting thing to take into consideration with this arc. But unfortunately, when I get down to it, the positives are outweighed by the negatives. I enjoyed Gohan’s (albeit very brief) role as the lead character and how he was trying to get accustomed to living a normal in school, while trying to blend into society. But all this did was provide the stark realisation that Gohan wouldn’t thrive the greatest as the lead character in the confines of a battle manga like Dragon Ball. This is further compounded with the reveal that Gohan hasn’t been keeping up with his training at all after seven years and has gotten weaker since the end of the last arc… where he was the strongest in the universe. This is something that really comes down on Toriyama’s writing. It’s inexcusable for Gohan to be written as a character who isn’t keen on training without the motivation to do so in a story that where the central theme is strength and power. It’s even more inexcusable when you think about from an in-universe perspective because of much faith Goku put in Gohan to protect the world and keep it safe on the basis of how strong Gohan had become by the end of the conflict with Cell. Imagine what would have happened if Majin Boo was released and Goku wasn’t around? What would have Gohan done without someone telling him what to do? It doesn’t help then when he gets his potential unlocked, for the THIRD TIME, he still manages to fuck up by repeating the same mistakes he committed when he was fighting Cell.

Goten and Trunks are uninteresting characters. Goten is the most obvious case of trying to keep Goku in the plot without actually using Goku I’ve ever seen in Dragon Ball. He lacks any distinguishable characteristics beyond looking exactly like Goku. Trunks appears to have a kind of “spoiled child” streak to him but he’s fails to really have any kind of presence. I’m also not very keen on the concept that Goten and Trunks, but more-so in Goten case, could achieve Super Saiyan so easily. Kinda makes all that hard work that Goku, Gohan, Trunks and Vegeta went through to become Super Saiyans seem like and pointlessly exhausting exercise. It’s only really when Goten and Trunks fuse and become Gotenks that we get to see any kind of discernible personality from them. Unfortunately, the result fusion also brings out the worst of the characters as Gotenks quickly becomes an insufferable character. Much the like Ginyu Force were intended to be a parody of quirky and over-the-top character you would see in Super Sentai and by extension Dragon Ball, Gotenks is intended to be a parody of hot blooded and arrogant characters you would in battle manga and by extension. And much like the Ginyu Force, the parody doesn’t work for the exact same reason: the parody only feels only marginally different to what Dragon Ball is already accustomed to, so the gags don’t work. It also doesn’t help that Gotenks battle with Super Boo feel tonally imbalanced and scattered. It’s like the fight wants to serious and comical at the same time but it can handle both of those aspects properly. This doesn’t mean that the fight didn’t have funny or dramatic moments, but it just seem like the sometimes there would be moments where the tone wouldn’t be right for a certain scene.

At the end of the day, Goten, Trunks and Gohan being left to die on Earth, and not even being considered to taking part in the battle with Kid Boo, when they could have made huge difference and they could have easily taken part in that battle really summarise how the new generation were handled. We’re give this idea that new generation are something special and can step up to save day when Goku’s not around, but it doesn’t happen. It’s a plot thread that went nowhere because they ultimately have to rely on the dead in winning their battles. It’s such a shame when you think about it. The idea of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and Gotenks all fighting together against Kid Boo sounds like such an awesome idea of a final battle. The old and the new teaming up to take down a common enemy. Just like how the Z-Fighters teamed up to face Vegeta and Nappa. And it could have been just as awesome…but Toriyama just wasn’t interested at the end of the day. C’est la vie.[/spoiler]

Artwork Of The Manga:
[spoiler]This is the saddest aspect of the Majin Boo arc when taking into how both mediums handle this arc. I always relied on Toriyama eye for detail in his art style if his story isn’t up to scratch. And unfortunately, for the majority of the time, Toriyama’s artwork in the manga is messy, rushed and flat out undetailed. I got the feeling while reading the manga most of the time that Toriyama was really going through the motions with how lackadaisical some of artwork was at times.[/spoiler]

Thoughts on the arc:
You know, I came across an article once that had an interview from Toriyama where he stated that he was getting burned out on battle manga during the Majin Boo arc, and it really shows. How rushed and just ugly the art appears most of the time in the manga, how scatter-brained the plot is when the main cast fight Bobiddi’s minions, and how contrived the narrative can get at times once Majin Boo arrives. This arc is the most in-your-face-example of Toriyama writing by the seat of his pants with the countless transformations, power-ups and plot devices that are cavalierly thrown into the plot with no meaning beyond “this story MUST continue”.

Despite all the problems I have with this arc, the arc is incredibly charming, quite funny and has some hidden gems of characters in them. You can tell Toriyama had a lot more leniency with how he wanted to craft this arc because there is a greater abundance of gags and comedy, even in times when it seems like it may clash with the tone. The battle between Gotenks and Super Boo epitomizes this. Also, the staff at Toei really stepped up their game when it came to adapting the Majin Boo arc from the manga. And while the anime still suffers for the same problems as the manga does with continuity errors, plot holes, inconsistent and/or bad characterisations, and a generally haphazard plot once Super Boo starts fighting Gotenks, I commend the anime adaption for

Just like the Freeza arc, this is an arc where the mileage of your enjoyment in this arc will vary widely with what medium you choose to experience the arc with. If I were judge the arc solely based on the manga, it would be a 5.5/10. If I were to judge the arc solely based on the anime, it would be an 8.5/10. So once again, like with my rating with the Freeza arc, let’s split the difference and call it even. – 7/10

[Lord Beerus]

Apologies for re-posting some sections. It's just some sections needed to be fixed up and I didn't know how to do it.

[ShadowBardock89]

Yes.

Someday...

How about as a countdown to the release of the new movie?

....

....

....

...Time to buy and watch some Dragon Ball movies!

So, are you seriously considering this and if so, how is the progress in securing them?

[Lord Beerus]

How about as a countdown to the release of the new movie?

....

....

....

...Time to buy and watch some Dragon Ball movies!

So, are you seriously considering this and if so, how is the progress in securing them?

I've already done it.

[ekrolo2]

Glad to see I'm not alone in feeling meh about the Ginyu Force, maybe if they each had a unique ability it might help distinguish them better but of course, Guldo, the one who actually fits the criteria is the first one to die.

[sintzu]

Freeza’s death adds weight to the plot because of the later reveal of (Future) Trunks warning of threat coming to Earth that’s even greater than he is.

Another thing it adds is allowing Vegeta's bloodline to end Freeza. King Vegeta couldn't do it and Vegeta completely failed at it but it was his son (and king Vegeta's grandson) who finally put Freeza down. It just felt right for Freeza to die at that bloodline's hand as that's who had the most connections with him. Whether or not Toriyama did that on purpose is anyone's guess.

[ABED]

Freeza’s death adds weight to the plot because of the later reveal of (Future) Trunks warning of threat coming to Earth that’s even greater than he is.

Another thing it adds is allowing Vegeta's bloodline to end Freeza. King Vegeta couldn't do it and Vegeta completely failed at it but it was his son (and king Vegeta's grandson) who finally put Freeza down. It just felt right for Freeza to die at that bloodline's hand as that's who had the most connections with him. Whether or not Toriyama did that on purpose is anyone's guess.

They weren't victims. It felt very fitting that a lower class Saiyan was the one to destroy Freeza.

I don't think Freeza needed to come back. It just dilutes Freeza.

[sintzu]

They weren't victims. It felt very fitting that a lower class Saiyan was the one to destroy Freeza.

Goku may not have killed him but he without a doubt destroyed him and rightfully so as he also had connections to him but I just think it was fitting for him to be killed by a member of the royal bloodline. It's a shame Toriyama didn't add a line or 2 of Vegeta acknowledging that to Trunks.

[ABED]

But why? Vegeta and his father weren't victims of Freeza. They weren't mistreated. It's not like comeuppance.

[Doctor.]

But why? Vegeta and his father weren't victims of Freeza. They weren't mistreated. It's not like comeuppance.

They were victims, though. They were still enslaved and killed. They just had more privileges than the rest.

[ekrolo2]

But why? Vegeta and his father weren't victims of Freeza. They weren't mistreated. It's not like comeuppance.

They were victims, though. They were still enslaved and killed. They just had more privileges than the rest.

Feels like a stretch to say they're victims to me, even Goku thinks the Saiyans got what was coming to them when Freeza killed them.

[Doctor.]

But why? Vegeta and his father weren't victims of Freeza. They weren't mistreated. It's not like comeuppance.

They were victims, though. They were still enslaved and killed. They just had more privileges than the rest.

Feels like a stretch to say they're victims to me, even Goku thinks the Saiyans got what was coming to them when Freeza killed them.

A murderer is still technically a victim if he gets murdered.

[Lord Beerus]

Glad to see I'm not alone in feeling meh about the Ginyu Force, maybe if they each had a unique ability it might help distinguish them better but of course, Guldo, the one who actually fits the criteria is the first one to die.

It kills me how much the Ginyu Force haven't aged well because I seriously loved them when I first saw them. But rewatching the show they just felt like padding. And unfortunately, not the good kind either.

[ABED]

But why? Vegeta and his father weren't victims of Freeza. They weren't mistreated. It's not like comeuppance.

They were victims, though. They were still enslaved and killed. They just had more privileges than the rest.

Killed, sure, but enslaved? They seemed willing participants until the very end. I have no sympathy for them, so Freeza killing them all doesn't make me feel as though Vegeta's family being the one to kill him is poetic justice.

A murderer is still technically a victim if he gets murdered.

But not a particularly sympathetic victim.