Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Discussion specifically regarding the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series premiering July 2015 in Japan, including individual threads for each episode.

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BootyCheeksJohnson
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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by BootyCheeksJohnson » Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:02 pm

From least to greatest: (anime only) I'm also going to ignore filler stories that only lasted under 4 or 5 episodes. (Hit's assassination on Goku, Universal 6 vs 7 baseball.)
Revival of F tv remake
Battle of Gods tv remake (both of these felt like a waste of time. Which is a shame because I absolutely loved the Battle of Gods movie, and I saw no reason to change any of it. And, R.F. could have actually benefited better from the TV format in some areas. It would have allowed itself more room for more drama and better pacing. But, Toei rushed these out as fast as possible with as little care as possible so they would not lose their established time slot on Sunday mornings.)
Jelly People Saga (mostly forgettable, but the Drummond vs Sabat metajoke in the dub was kinda cool.)
Future Trunks/Zamasu Saga (it certainly left an impact on the franchise, but not the one they were hoping for. Zamasu and Goku Black both felt like wasted potential, and poor Trunks just got screwed.)
Tournament of Power (This saga had some of the best fights in the show. Two of the most memorable action set pieces in Dragon Ball history. The sliding Kamehameha on Kefla and barely standing Goku and Freeza taking down Jiren are instantly iconic. But, this saga went on for waaay too long. I remember skipping a few episodes here and there and feeling like I didn't miss anything. And, despite having the highest stakes in the entire show, everything felt surprisingly hollow. None of the characters really felt any remorse or conflict over killing off other universes, even if it was all in a desperate fight for survival. And, the ending drove home the point in my head that I kinda wasted my time because in the end everything went back to the safe status quo for everyone. No consequences what so ever.)
Tournament of Destroyers (actually a lot of fun to watch. Simple premise, jokes mostly landed, and fun spectacle. I had a good time with this one. The fights tended to drag in the anime, but in the manga they were perfectly paced. Probably the most enjoyable arc for me. Felt right at home in Dragon Ball.)
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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by capsulecorp » Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:00 pm

Ok i hate ratings. and rankings. but lets go:

THE GOOD: Genuinely good and interesting new works. There's a wide range between the top and bottom of this list. For example, I thought the Battle of Gods movie is vastly more enjoyable than the Moro manga, but even the Moro manga has more to offer to me than THE BAD....
  • Battle of Gods (movie)
    Broly (movie)
    Resurrection F (movie)
    Granola (manga) (so far)
    Moro (manga)
THE BAD: We start to see anime entries appear. Most of the stuff in here, even the manga, seem to be marred by interference from Toei:
  • Tournament of Power (manga)
    Battle of Gods (manga)
    Universe 6 (manga)
    Tournament of Power (anime)
    Universe 6 (anime)
THE UGLY: This is stuff I wish didn't exist. These actively lower the "value" of DBS, in my eyes.
  • Battle of Gods (anime)
    Zamasu (manga)
    Zamasu (anime)

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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by Magnificent Ponta » Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:16 pm

I go back and forth on this a lot. Here's where I'm at currently.

Manga arcs only (so the Battle of Gods recap in #1-4 isn't included here, as it's not truly an 'arc' and so would be subject to an unfair comparison), and to preface this, I think they're all at least broadly good and come out as 'net positive':

Least Good

Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc: This is probably the one I go back and forth on the most. It has real, genuine strengths to it, and its strongest stuff is better than a lot of the content I'm ranking as better than it on the whole. Which probably just goes to show how significant and tedious its weaknesses are, which drag it down just enough to come to rest here. Sometimes I think more kindly of it in the abstract, but the reading experience is probably still inferior to the other arcs, overall, for me.

Strengths: Good character work between Goku, Merus and Vegeta in particular (Merus in particular is a joy); Strong thematic use of ideas of change and changelessness, spirit and body, and Dragon Ball's story to structure the climax of the arc; Moro is (a little too straightforward, but) a better main villain than a lot of people here give him credit for; the last Act of the arc is extremely strong on the whole; Toyotarou's art is overall at its best level of quality to date.

Weaknesses: Extremely slow, sometimes elliptical plot progression which ends up giving us a lot of unnecessary 'stuff' (in particular, the interruption of the escalating clash on Earth in #54 to restart it in #56 with a sideshow set of fights that mark time is a serious error in this vein); Moro's goons are mostly colourless, pointless additions to the story; the Second Act as a whole is mostly a chore after a decent set-up.

Future Trunks Arc: I think this arc is generally overrated (I'm judging the manga here, but that judgement doesn't exclude the anime version), which is what occasionally makes ranking the Moro arc above it seem tempting. But I think overall it does enough to stay off the bottom. It moves at a steady clip (a particular advantage when directly comparing with the Moro arc), the action is generally very good, and the attempt to combine elements from the Cell and Buu arcs to construct the fundamentals of this story is interesting, even if not always totally successful.

Strengths: Good thematic developments of oneness and (in Zamas's case) falseness, and I enjoy the treatment of Zamas generally; Well paced, particularly once the action starts, and some of the best action in Super to date (its high point in #24-25 is only probably eclipsed by the Granolah arc); I enjoy the involvement of Zeno and the resolution of his own plot thread, which leavens the whole thing slightly.

Weaknesses: The arc set-up is very fiddly and overwrought (under the pretext of 'mystery') and occasionally becomes confused; I find the contrived doom-heightening (Time moves 1:1 so what if we can't save Trunks?! We can only go back to the future once more! etc.) deeply distracting, especially since it gets canned at the end, and the doomy tone that goes with the second half of the arc also is slightly tiresome; Toyotarou's art suffers a fair bit under the page expansion (before recovering nicely).

Granolah the Survivor Arc (probably, as things stand right now): This is probably the lowest placing I'll give this arc (though it's always possible to speak too soon - some things could get better, others could get worse); it suffers from the same pacing issues of the Moro arc, but I think the story is more skilfully told at the moment. I like the unfolding twin-track past-and-future development of the story, and the intensity of the action is clear and sustained as the arc continues to escalate. It's difficult to know where it might go next at this stage, but it's done pretty well so far, and if it introduces more compelling content and/or sticks the landing, it could easily improve its ranking.

Strengths: Extremely strong action once the heroes encounter Granolah; excellent development and presentation of Vegeta in particular (and his Ultra Ego sequences play excellently with this development); the involvement of (and tension between) the Heeters driving the plot continues to intrigue me; the twin-track unfolding of the story between the past and present works well so far and promises more; the art remains at a very high standard.

Weaknesses: Pacing remains probably too slow to be quite justifiable; although Vegeta's presence is excellent, Goku's is a bit nebulous by comparison at present (Even though he gets occasional good stuff); perhaps a tad predictable up to this point - provisionally, could do with the injection of a new element to shake things up further (though difficult to know what that could be).

Universe 6 Tournament Arc: Still coming up second as an excellent comic arc in the old Dragon Ball style - a playful little gem that takes the new elements of Dragon World and uses them in a continually unexpected, 'more-than-meets-the-eye' sort of way that really helps sustain the sense of fun. It's a shame that none of the other arcs in the Super manga have yet gone this way and so it remains an outlier among them. Its simplicity means there isn't that much scope for the thematic strengths that later arcs manage to use so fruitfully, but it also allows the arc to focus on what it does best. It's not a significant arc, but it's an eminently successful arc.

Strengths: A pervasive sense of fun in different and constantly enjoyable combinations that maintains a sense of the unexpected balanced with excellent humour; playful and confident use of ; a fresh and simple presentation that focuses on what its trying to do rather than trying to do to much and confusing the issue (see: Future Trunks Arc).

Weaknesses: Pacing is a little too abrupt at times (particularly at the very end) due to trying to keep pace with the anime version; its simplicity means that, even when immaculately conveyed, there still isn't enough depth to it to warrant the top spot.

Tournament of Power Arc: The Universe 6 Arc's much more serious and ambitious big brother. A thematically well-drawn, character-driven arc that unites both these features in a pacey and really well-constructed arc that balances the natural connections of the Universe 7 Team around Goku against the artificial vocational connections (or non-connection) of the Universe 11 Team around Jiren, leavened well with judicious use of the Universe 6 Team at key points when the time comes to 'flip the script' and shake things up

Strengths: Pervasive, well-deployed adherence to the key themes of Teamwork and True Strength that work well in the various combinations in which they feature, both for the heroes and the various antagonists; Great character work which naturally drives the plot (particularly for Freeza, but also in the relationships between the characters, such as Goku-Freeza, Goku-Vegeta and Goku-Roshi); tight plotting that balances neat 'Slice of Life' detail in the first third of the story with strong action in the Tournament section; Good pace that successfully conveys the sense of a race against time as much as combat between individuals and teams.

Weaknesses: Could have done with a mid-point set-piece fight (Gohan vs. Kefla springs to mind), as sometimes the parade of events can seem a little inconsequential or piecemeal at times; Art can, very occasionally, be a little weak (though generally is improved from the previous arc).

Best

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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by BWri » Sat Nov 27, 2021 12:58 am

Anime
Worst -
Tournament of Destroyers
1st half of Golden Frieza arc
Battle of Gods
ToP Recruitment
Future Trunks
9 Weeks of Filler
Tournament of Power
- Best

Didn't watch:
Copy Vegeta
2nd Half of Golden Frieza arc

Manga
Worst -
Universe Survival (ToP)
Battle of Gods
Granolah the Survivor
Tournament of Destroyers
Future Trunks
Galactic Patrol Prisoner
- Best

The Tournament of Power is inverted for me. While the anime version was bloated, it overall feels more complete while the manga gives the feeling of being rushed. The manga already omits entire arcs, but ToP feels like it got the most cuts compared to the arcs that do remain in the manga.

9 weeks of filler would take the top spot for me, anime-wise due to it presenting such consistent and enjoyable character based stories, but the ToP did manage to provide several great emotional payoffs along with amazing visuals and fight choreography, so it wins out in the end.

Tournament of Destroyers fell flat to me in both mediums. I prefer the manga version, but its an arc that doesn't seem fully thought out or even fully fleshed out. It's the most bare bones tournament in the series IMO, and that's unforgivable to me in this series.

BoG was best as a movie. The show or manga don't manage to capture the feel of the film or expand it in any meaningful way. There's little things that each adds with the manga cleaning some things up and the anime adding interesting concepts that ultimately go nowhere such as SSG healing.

I'm still not liking the Granny arc yet. Maybe by the end I will, but there's not enough cohesion for me, yet.
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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by Tai Lung » Sun Dec 05, 2021 5:21 pm

Anime

Worst -

Revival of F arc - You realize that it does not contribute anything .. more than Power Scaling
Copy Vegeta arc - If it was just Gotenks it would have been so much better
Battle of Gods arc - Really good
Tournament of U6 arc - The best DBS character appears (Hit)
Future Trunks Arc - Despite the problems. Zamasu is a better villain
Tournament of Power arc - It is basically the best Dragon Ball tournament a grand finale of goku and frieza defeating jiren

Best -

Manga

Worst -

Tournament of Power arc - Terrible shit .. it basically causes me cancer to read this ... anyone who defends this is a huge fan of toyotaro ... as they don't realize the scam
Moro Arc - almost to the level of horrible than the previous one ... with moro copy of cell and Merus sue
Tournament of U6 arc - is boring ... but acceptable for piccolo vs frost
Battle of Gods arc - neh .. is ok ... anyone who defends this is a huge fan of toyotaro ... as they don't realize the scam
Future Trunks Arc - objectively it may be better than the toei version .. but zamasu is more boring
Granolah arc - So far the best they have done . granolah is a great character


Best -

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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by Geraldo » Sat Aug 20, 2022 5:01 am

From worst to best:

1. Granolah arc (it must be the worst arc in all of the franchise with how bad it's conclusion chapter was).
2. Resurrection 'F' arc in anime, manga and movie
3. The "Battle of Gods" arc in anime and manga
4. The "Galactic Patrol Prisoner" arc
5. The Tournament of Power anime (with how sad that is.. As it dragged...)
6. The Zamasu Arc in anime
7. The Zamasu Arc in manga
8. The "Battle of Gods" movie (labeled as part of "Dragon Ball Z"; but it's only a technicality)
9. The Tournament of Power manga (still feels like they're missing a few pages to show us exactly who defeated the unseen defeated warriors)
10. The Universe 6 Arc in anime and manga
10. The Broly movie
11. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
12. Super's slice of life episodes

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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by hopjust602 » Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:26 am

Worst - Best
Revival of F Saga
Potafu Saga
Battle of Gods
Tournament of Destroyers (U6 Saga)
Granolah The Survivor Saga
Zamasu/Future Trunks Saga
Moro Arc
Tournament of Power
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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by Draconic » Sun Aug 21, 2022 5:45 am

1* Super Hero - providential placement. Read the footnote. Actual list starts below.

1. Future Trunks - best villain, great twist ending and some of the best fights. In the anime, of course.
2. Battle of Gods (movie) - still a terrific story, after all this time.
3. Tournament of Power - Ultra Instinct is amazing, Freeza is perfect, great new characters like Toppo, Kale, Caulifla and great moments for most of the U7 roster, except Tenshinhan.
4. Broly - amazing movie and great set-up for the future, but not high on story. Could go higher, depending on future developments.
5. Battle of Gods (arc) - makes the story of Super more coherent than if you were to just watch the movie, but goes on like 4 episodes too long.
6. Universe 6 - Hit is a great antagonist, Champa and Vados are great, great fights at the end (Vegeta vs Hit and Goku vs Hit), but the terrible animation in the early fights hold it down. Same placement for the manga, since the early fights are great, but the climax is a major letdown.
7. Moro - terrible new additions to the lore, way too long, but Meerus is cool and the ending is very good.
8. Granolah - terrible new additions to the lore, waaaaay too long, Granolah could be a great character but ultimately fails to be one, Gas is terrible, but Freeza at the end is cool.
9. Ressurection of F (both movie and anime) - movie is better animated, but the story sucks; the anime is muuuuch better written, but the animation sucks. If the anime had good animation, the story would be above Moro and Granolah, but as it stands, I can't place it higher.

*Will have to watch Super Hero in theaters when it opens in my country in September. I've seen the camrip already, but I want one more watch before making up my mind. Right now I tend to place it as the best Super story. It captured the true Dragon Ball feeling like no other.
Check out the videos below, made by yours truly!

Goku vs Beerus BOG/Super mash-up https://gofile.io/d/kKKnMe

Vegeta vs Freeza ROF/Super mash-up https://gofile.io/d/MKPepW

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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by Shorty GZ2 » Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:56 am

Anime: ToP > FT > U6> ToP/US > RoF
Manga: Moro > FT > Granolah > ToP/US > U6 > BoG

Broly & Super Hero are movies so I can't really rank em as arcs in the same vein as the others lmao, but they're fun

And can we even call Copy Vegeta an arc lol

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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by Civic » Thu Sep 01, 2022 11:18 pm

Anime: RoF > FT > U6 > BoG > ToP
Movies: RoF > BoG > Broly > SH

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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by ClutchBangstrip » Fri Sep 02, 2022 3:08 pm

Including the anime, mangas and movies...

1. Broly (best art and animation)
2. Superhero (2nd best art and animation)
3/4. Moro / Granolah ( Tied/Interchangeable. Granolah had better art but didn't fit the monthly release schedule as well as Moro did.)

5. BoG ( An overall great film, but the fact that the art, action, and animation will get even better later on places it here.

6.ToP (best art and animation for the anime)
7. Zamasu ( Art and animation did improve, but not to the level of the ToP.)
8. U6 (Goku vs Hit was mind blowing at the time.)
9. RoF (A decent movie at the time. I enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it the least out of everything else)

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Re: Rank the DBS arcs from worst to best

Post by BagetaSama » Sat Sep 03, 2022 11:56 am

I heavily prefer the anime to the manga in general, I think that a lot of the creative decisions were better, and some of the power scaling is better, the narrative feels stronger, and of course there are the benefits of the anime medium like having music,(In the ToP the UI theme was a big reason it was such a popular arc), and having animation(for better or for worse).

But with that being said, The Moro arc to me is clearly the best arc that DBS has produced. Honestly, if they were to fix a couple of things like the Goku senzu bean scene, then it could be the greatest arc in dragon ball history for me.

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