Magical Being Boo - Necessary or Not?

[Rory]

Necessary?
Not at all. The end of the Cell arc wrapped up the story beautifully. Son Goku gone after a super-exciting(hehe) climatic battle, leaving his son to be the saviour of the planet. Gohan had ascended into an almost god like form, truly unleashing the peak of his potential, Vegeta's ultimate understanding of defeat, claiming to "never fight again".
Sure it's not all super happy, but it was a suitable ending to the series, rendering the Boo arc unnecessary.

Does that mean it's bad that Boo arc exists? Hell no.
Boo arc introduced some crazy and fun concepts, like Fusion (creating one of the most badass characters of all time).
The action in the Boo arc is well worth the read, and the illustrations are the usual A* Toriyama standard.
Yeah, it's got it's flaws. I don't really like any Boo except Super Boo, 'cause he is the only one who felt like a real threat (most characters, even Goku, being afraid of fighting him). The ending is fun too, even if the solution to the problem was painfully obvious. Just tele-port to Earth and get Gohan. Hell, grab Goten and Trunks if you feel a bit unsure.
But I suppose it felt more climatic that was. Saikyo no Gohan was truly badass, Vegetto was incredible, Gotenks was fun, and the absorptions were fun for a while. Sure it had it's problems, Boo kept changing so much that we couldn't really get attached to him as a villain or character, "Magic = god mode", and the whole wasted potential of Gotenks, Gohan and Vegetto, but it was still fun.

The Boo arc is a fun watch, even if it was rather needless.

[jjgp1112]

Cowboy Dev, Vegeta's not the best example to use, because the whole purpose of Vegeta in the Cell saga was to be the whiny arrogant warrior who gets his ass kicked and ruins everything. He's supposed to be unlikeable.

[Rocketman]

Says you. Seriously the "DBZ is the be all, end all of the series and DB was just shit jokes!" really needs to stop. I'd take a noble warrior like Yamucha or Kuririn over a all talk-pansy like Cell saga Vegeta any day.

22nd Budokai - The Death of Freeza on Namek was the glory days of Dragonball. Everything before and after (except Vegetto) sucked to varying degrees.

Also, what were you watching that made Yamcha and Krillin "noble"?

[B]

The Buu arc was complete overkill and you could tell Toriyama's heart wasn't in it.

One of his favorite fights in the series was in that arc; he probably laughed his ass off for the two years the Buu arc lasted, and all the crazy shit he pulled.

[Cowboy Dev]

Cowboy Dev, Vegeta's not the best example to use, because the whole purpose of Vegeta in the Cell saga was to be the whiny arrogant warrior who gets his ass kicked and ruins everything. He's supposed to be unlikeable.

Oh, but I think Vegeta (specifically Cell saga Vegeta) is a great example. Vegeta was such an awesome character in the Saiya-jin and Freeza arcs. He was a complete cunning asshole that you liked and disliked at the same time. Then the Cell saga rolled around and he became a whiny, pretentious fucktard who lost all the great things about him from the previous two arcs. I understand he's there to ruin things, but I felt Toriyama should have written him better other than "MY DICK'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DICK KAKKOROT!" Seriously it's his only motivation through the whole arc. Good thing by the Boo arc he mellowed out.

22nd Budokai - The Death of Freeza on Namek was the glory days of Dragonball. Everything before and after (except Vegetto) sucked to varying degrees.

I respectfully disagree. I thought all of Dragon Ball (from Pilaf to Boo) was great.

Also, what were you watching that made Yamcha and Krillin "noble"?

Well considering they stuck by their roots even when they were seriously outmatched. They're martial artists after all.

[Innagadadavida]

22nd Budokai - The Death of Freeza on Namek was the glory days of Dragonball. Everything before and after (except Vegetto) sucked to varying degrees.

Also, what were you watching that made Yamcha and Krillin "noble"?

Rocketman, you just a sourpuss.

[caejones]

Hm. I kinda think Fat Buu is more of a character, and other forms of Buu are more obstacles.
Not that Fat Buu is a particularly complex character, but he gets experiences and development with lasting effects, and winds up living in the normal world afterward (anyone else think Mr. Buu's filler outing for ice cream mirrors some of Goku's first trips to the cities in DB?).

Buu is just a different kind of villain from his predecessors.

[SaiyamanMS]

Oh, but I think Vegeta (specifically Cell saga Vegeta) is a great example. Vegeta was such an awesome character in the Saiya-jin and Freeza arcs. He was a complete cunning asshole that you liked and disliked at the same time. Then the Cell saga rolled around and he became a whiny, pretentious fucktard who lost all the great things about him from the previous two arcs. I understand he's there to ruin things, but I felt Toriyama should have written him better other than "MY DICK'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DICK KAKKOROT!" Seriously it's his only motivation through the whole arc. Good thing by the Boo arc he mellowed out.

... I read this paragraph, and it made me want to draw this:

[Godo]

Oh, but I think Vegeta (specifically Cell saga Vegeta) is a great example. Vegeta was such an awesome character in the Saiya-jin and Freeza arcs. He was a complete cunning asshole that you liked and disliked at the same time. Then the Cell saga rolled around and he became a whiny, pretentious fucktard who lost all the great things about him from the previous two arcs. I understand he's there to ruin things, but I felt Toriyama should have written him better other than "MY DICK'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DICK KAKKOROT!" Seriously it's his only motivation through the whole arc. Good thing by the Boo arc he mellowed out.

... I read this paragraph, and it made me want to draw this:

Which instantly reminds me of the song "Cigaro" by System of a Down.

[batistabus]

Which instantly reminds me of the song "Cigaro" by System of a Down.

My...erm..."hair"...can walk right through the door.

[Cowboy Dev]

Oh, but I think Vegeta (specifically Cell saga Vegeta) is a great example. Vegeta was such an awesome character in the Saiya-jin and Freeza arcs. He was a complete cunning asshole that you liked and disliked at the same time. Then the Cell saga rolled around and he became a whiny, pretentious fucktard who lost all the great things about him from the previous two arcs. I understand he's there to ruin things, but I felt Toriyama should have written him better other than "MY DICK'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DICK KAKKOROT!" Seriously it's his only motivation through the whole arc. Good thing by the Boo arc he mellowed out.

... I read this paragraph, and it made me want to draw this:

Yeah but everyone knows Chaozu's bigger than both of them.

[Great Saiyaman I]

Oh, but I think Vegeta (specifically Cell saga Vegeta) is a great example. Vegeta was such an awesome character in the Saiya-jin and Freeza arcs. He was a complete cunning asshole that you liked and disliked at the same time. Then the Cell saga rolled around and he became a whiny, pretentious fucktard who lost all the great things about him from the previous two arcs. I understand he's there to ruin things, but I felt Toriyama should have written him better other than "MY DICK'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DICK KAKKOROT!" Seriously it's his only motivation through the whole arc. Good thing by the Boo arc he mellowed out.

... I read this paragraph, and it made me want to draw this:

Yeah but everyone knows Chaozu's bigger than both of them.

...Are you saying that Chaozu is a big dick?

[Rocketman]

...Are you saying that Chaozu is a big dick?

Tien: You know it, thithter!

[Perfect]

Hm, I suppose it wasn't "necessary". However a lot of things generally aren't "necessary". Is that Flat screen really necessary? No, but it sure is kick-ass. Buu's saga wasn't necessary, but it sure was kick-ass! The whole aspect of it wasn't trivial either, the ending tied up with a decent amount of closure and alpha. I enjoyed every minute of Buu, though the Cell saga being my favorite still. Buu was a great villain on many levels, he was essentially the omega. Each form of Buu retained to the original in some way or another, making him unique. He went from a monster with the mentality of a child that didn't know any better that was being controlled by a sadistic wizard to a hateful form of near pure evil. From there he took on the personality of his victims, each one being slightly different from the last. If you compare Super Buu to Super Buu with Gohan absorbed, they're some noticeable differences. Super Buu had a very creepy persona to him, he was incredibly disturbed. Though there's still that reassuring bit of comedy lapsing throughout the entirety of the saga, hence his craving for candy and total meltdown in the Room of Time and Spirit. With Cell, you had some pretty drastic changes with his character, but you did with Buu as well. Buu's original form or Kid Buu, is a more intense version of Broly. The Buu character as a whole really shines as a unique and dynamic character.

I've read some comments that support my reasoning, along with some attention seeking trolls that really have no place here as they can't justify the volubility of what they say. Regardless, Toriyama's passion was still in the series, you could tell he had a lot of fun with the fight between Buu and Gotenks.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Oh, but I think Vegeta (specifically Cell saga Vegeta) is a great example. Vegeta was such an awesome character in the Saiya-jin and Freeza arcs. He was a complete cunning asshole that you liked and disliked at the same time. Then the Cell saga rolled around and he became a whiny, pretentious fucktard who lost all the great things about him from the previous two arcs. I understand he's there to ruin things, but I felt Toriyama should have written him better other than "MY DICK'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DICK KAKKOROT!" Seriously it's his only motivation through the whole arc. Good thing by the Boo arc he mellowed out.

... I read this paragraph, and it made me want to draw this:

Oh, SaiyamanMS. You cheeky bastard.


P.S. I reckon the joke would've been funnier if you made Gokū transform into a SS3, instead.

[Cowboy Dev]

Oh, but I think Vegeta (specifically Cell saga Vegeta) is a great example. Vegeta was such an awesome character in the Saiya-jin and Freeza arcs. He was a complete cunning asshole that you liked and disliked at the same time. Then the Cell saga rolled around and he became a whiny, pretentious fucktard who lost all the great things about him from the previous two arcs. I understand he's there to ruin things, but I felt Toriyama should have written him better other than "MY DICK'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DICK KAKKOROT!" Seriously it's his only motivation through the whole arc. Good thing by the Boo arc he mellowed out.

... I read this paragraph, and it made me want to draw this:

Oh, SaiyamanMS. You cheeky bastard.


P.S. I reckon the joke would've been funnier if you made Gokū transform into a SS3, instead.

While every female character crowds around in amazing.

[SaiyamanMS]

P.S. I reckon the joke would've been funnier if you made Gokū transform into a SS3, instead.

Probably. Although I suppose I was just thinking within the confines of the Cell arc.

Honestly, Buu arc Vegeta would have been easier to doodle quickly too due to the lack of armour.

[Cableguy15]

I don't think Buu was any more or less necessary than a villain like Cell. Thinking about it, what were their purposes in existence? Literally nothing after certain plot points came to pass. After Cell became complete, he even admits in the story itself that he has no purpose and just wants to test his power. That's as boring and generic as it gets story-wise. He's just... there. It's the exact same case with Buu after he ditches Babidi. What's his purpose? His motivation? Nothing, he's just destroying shit for no apparent reason while occasionally being distracted by other tasks. It just feels like lazy character design to me. Fat Buu and Imperfect Cell were decent characters because they were funny and clever respectively, but their final characters were just awful in my opinion.

Though in the long run the Buu arc was very entertaining thanks to Fat Buu and Gotenks, so I'd take it over the Cell arc any day.

[Amigo Ten]

I agree with the first reply. The Boo arc is basically the Cell arc, but actually fun and entertaining. For a while at least, Bootenks onwards I don't really like. Overall though it felt like a parody of the Cell arc, which is what was great about it. The Cell arc is the epitome of what people stereotype DBZ as being. A bunch of serious looking blonde dudes having staring and shouting contests before transforming a dozen times and then a big beam struggle happens. Not to mention that the story was really mopey and pessimistic, and bogged down with forced plot changes and time travel nonsense and incredibly flimsy science.

The Boo arc took the Cell arc and fixed almost everything about it. The plot managed to be both sillier and more coherent that the Cell arc's plot, and all around it was just far more entertaining. It had energy and enthusiasm.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Was the Boo arc necessary or not? No. But that doesn't mean it's not an essential part of the Dragon Ball series.

I don't think the Boo Arc was necessary because I believe that the Cell Arc was a good ending to the series. Not the "perfect ending" to the series that many fans constantly label it as, but good. Goku had sacrificed himself to save the planet, Gohan had reached the peak of his power (that's what we assumed was the "peak of his power" until Mystic came and shat all over it) and was able to take over Goku's role as protector of Earth, yadda yadda.

The Boo Arc, however, seemed more like an add-on, just for the sake of it. I don't feel it was as connected with the rest of the series as the other arcs, and there's no denying it had a lot of inconsistencies and, as aforementioned, shat on the idea of Gohan taking over the mantel of Earth's hero when it turned out he hadn't trained at all, needed "all his potential drawn-out" (make up your mind, Toriyama, Guru's power-up, SSJ2 and now this?!) and was given a cliched "next generation" replacement (haven't we heard that before ) in the form of Goten and Trunks, boring characters whose roles in the series were simply catalysts for the Gotenks fusion.

That being said, I can't really imagine a Dragon Ball fandom without the Boo Arc. It introduced a lot of interesting, if slightly flawed, concepts (Fusion) and "completed" some character development (Vegeta, Mr. Satan). Perhaps the fact that Toriyama didn't put as much effort into the Boo Arc than the earlier arcs is because the Boo Arc never took itself seriously and was basically a gag. There's no doubt Toriyama just couldn't be fucked to put in the same effort he had done when he first began with the series, so he just brought it back to its comedy roots, stuck in a pink Cell clone, brought back Goku for the hell of it (or because of the fanboys, it's a rumour, I dunno) and finished it up with ol' fourth-generation "coming of age" Oob. Well, it's at least it's got Vegetto.

And while I'm on the topic, why is there never an argument about the Freeza Arc? It recycles the "Goku arrives to save the day and everyone's WTF" plot device twice, abuses the Zenkai power-up to no end to have Goku and Vegeta catch up with the villains, has Vegeta bang on like a broken record about who's the Super Saiyan, which appears to basically be a guess of whoever's got the most strength 'cos of a Zenkai (Goku's a SSJ! No he's not! I'm a SSJ! No I'm not! Gohan's a SSJ! No he's not! I'm a SSJ! No I'm not! Goku's a SSJ!) And the "legend" of the Super Saiyan is a short-lived concept that vanishes the moment anyone other than Goku gets it.

Rant over. Milkshake, anyone?