Anyone else find the RRA arc hard to rewatch?

[Lord Beerus]

The pacing of the anime adaption can be a bit better, but generally speaking, it's a fantastic arc that is criminally overlooked by many fans of the series. In my opinion, RRA arc was the last time Earth, as a place to explore, actually felt large and diverse.

[Yosheets]

I think it's actually good until Muscle Tower ends, since the portion with General Blue is where things start to drag on for too long. It picks up again with Tao Pai Pai, which is the best part of the saga. When Goku invades the Red Ribbon Headquarters, it takes a nosedive again, and that is the worst part of the saga. Fortune Teller Baba's tournament was actually nice to watch and read, however.

[MyVisionity]

I like the Colonel Silver portion, but the Muscle Tower section I enjoy less. Although I like Sno, Hacchan, and Jingle Village.

The General Blue section is probably my favorite. It brings the Dragon Team back into the mix and has good stories, like Goku in West City, Roshi versus Red Ribbon, the pirates cave, and Penguin Village. Blue himself is a good villain, maybe my favorite in the whole saga.

The Karin Tower episodes might be the best of the RR arc. The battle with Taopaipai and training with Karin are essential moments in the series.

The final showdown at Red Ribbon headquarters is good fun and I like seeing the gang come together in the end.

Uranai Baba arc is a nice bonus and wraps things up great.

Overall I'd say the Red Ribbon saga is Toriyama at his most Toriyama. I think it's probably the defining arc of the first anime series.

[Majin Buu]

It's the Dragon Ball arc that best encapsulates the appeal of the pre-Z era. It feels like a fleshed out version of the Search for the Dragon Balls arc in that it feels like a bigger adventure than that arc was and incorporates more fighting and stakes than that arc had, but without ever taking away from the adventure feel.

I like the color based theme naming of the Red Ribbon army, I like the entire Muscle Tower segment (partially because I'm a sucker for snowy environments), I like Tao Pai Pai and how his appearance ends up raising the stakes (a dynamic Toriyama would recycle to greater effect with the Piccolo Daimao arc), and I like the surprise twist with Red and Black in the arc's endgame.

So no, I don't find it hard to watch either.

[precita]

One interesting thing about the saga is just how poor all the humans are. It seems outside of west city all the humans in the Dragonball world live in poverty like it's the early 1900's or something.

[Banduck]

I'm surprised so many of you love this arc.
Muscle Tower - The most boring thing I have ever watched.
General Blue - I guess it was all right, but nothing special.
Tao Pai Pai - Pretty good actually, but I didn't like Goku beating him so easily.
So yeah, I also find it hard to rewatch.

[MasenkoHA]

Tao Pai Pai - Pretty good actually, but I didn't like Goku beating him so easily.

He nearly killed Goku the first time. How did Goku beat him so easily? Huh?

[Gaffer Tape]

"Rewatch" is going to be hard for me to answer because I've only ever watched it once. I've read it many times, and I consider it to be the best arc in Dragon Ball, but I only ever saw the anime version once, about seven years ago. And I'd already heard its reputation for padding it out to unbearable levels. I don't remember that ever bothering me. I thought it still worked great. Most of the added moments were fun. I don't really care for padding out Colonel Silver the way they did, but that's largely because I think it undermines the point of his character rather than me thinking they were bad episodes in and of themselves. I really do want to go back and watch it again at some point.

[Banduck]

He nearly killed Goku the first time. How did Goku beat him so easily? Huh?

I meant the second fight. I would have liked it to be a close fight that Goku just barely wins.
In the first fight Tao Pai Pai was this unbeatable enemy, while in the second fight (3 days later) he just looked pathetic.

[ABED]

Well you get that with Piccolo. Tao Pai Pai isn't a big bad, he's a mercenary and the story needs to speed up to the end by that point. It was great seeing the tables turned.

[WittyUsername]

The more I think about it, the RRA arc really is a best of both worlds kind of story for Dragon Ball. Like the first arc, it’s a lighthearted adventure story where the titular objects of the series are the thing that drive the plot, but it also has plenty of action and fighting, which is what the series is best known for. It’s also probably the closest the Dragon Ball universe has come to feeling like a large world that people live in.

[90sDBZ]

So I'm further into my rewatch now and I'm actually enjoying the arc more than I initially thought I was going to. Perhaps I just needed to commit myself and dive in to get in the right mood for it. I enjoyed rewatching Muscle Tower, the West City filler was fun, and I'm currently on the Pirate Cave part and am liking it so far.

I feel like being in the right mood can have a big impact on how much I enjoy certain parts of the story. That might explain how my opinion of the various arcs can go up and down. At first the thought of rewatching the whole RRA arc again felt exhausting, but now that I'm committed it's going by surprisingly fast.

[GreatSaiyaJeff]

I've grown to appreciate the arc more when I grew older. Silver is cool and the one shot is hilarious. The muscle tower is still meh but Murasaki and Android 8 are still a delight. From the General Blue stuff onwards I love it. I still personally think Blue saved the arc as he was a fun villain.

[Cipher]

The Blue portion is easily one of my favorite sections of the entire manga.

[ABED]

The General Blue stuff is fine but my favorite parts are Muscle Tower, Pirate Cave, and Tao Pai Pai. Yes, I know General Blue is part of the Pirate Cave but I enjoy that part regardless.

[precita]

I wonder why Toriyama made it mostly a Goku solo story. Yamcha, Bulma, Roshi and Krillin are all sidelined the entire arc except for small stuff in the Blue arc.

It's weird because even back then he was treated the other characters as background.

[ABED]

When Goku reunites with his friends, it becomes crystal clear how much they add to the story. Their banter is what makes DB so fun.

[MasenkoHA]

I wonder why Toriyama made it mostly a Goku solo story. Yamcha, Bulma, Roshi and Krillin are all sidelined the entire arc except for small stuff in the Blue arc.

It's weird because even back then he was treated the other characters as background.

For the most part they really wouldn’t work with the story.

Goku clowns on the muscle tower group what the hell would Bulma and then others do besides be liabilities ? I just can’t see Goku Bugs Bunny’ing Murasaki working if Kuririn and Bulma are also hanging around.


What the hell would they do during the Land of Korin portion? Hang around Upa and assure him Goku will make it?


It worked to have them during pirate cave because Goku needed someone to play off of.

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

A few years ago it was my favorite arc. Now, not so much, but I still adore it. It's probably the Dragon Ball arc I'm most nostalgic about, as I vividly remember catching those episodes on Toonami as a kid. I think it's strongest points are the worldbuilding/exploration, broadening the scope and scale of what Goku knows, and comedy. And seeing Goku singlehandedly dismantle the RRA as a kid is always fun.

I think Dragon Ball really heats up during the 22nd Budokai, but I still look fondly on the RRA arc.

[PacificOceanDub]

Hmm I wouldn't say hard to rewatch. But it does get sluggish at times, I guess particularly the Pirate Cave part. However, Muscle Tower and the Tao fights are some of my favorite moments in all of DB