Does the DB Fanbase Actually Despise the Garlic Jr. arc?

[JohnnyCashKami]

I mean, why? It's missing Son Goku? Not cannon?

For once back then it was a mini arc where Son wasn't the hero who had to fix it and instead rely on others to do so. But I'm glad they went back to using Goku for everything afterwards (Well, Gohan sorta handled the Cell arc though).

I just don't get the hatred for Garlic Jr.'s arc. And if I'm honest, GT also gets a lot of it too.

[VegettoEX]

There is no single hivemind/collective opinion or consensus.

Different people like different things for different reasons which may change over time. You're sure to hear a variety of these opinions.

I couldn't get through it the first time in Japanese many moons ago, and I have no recollection of what I said about it in our podcast review ten years ago (?!). That it's so forgettable to me probably says something, but perhaps every ten years it's worth another look.

[Kunzait_83]

I've not now, nor have I ever at any point had anything against the Garlic Jr. filler arc. Was never a detractor of these eps at any point: generally speaking, I mostly kinda like them alright enough (with some caveats and points of criticism though).

Is the arc particularly special or exemplary of the series? Not at all remotely (though the first DBZ movie that its a sequel to certainly is). Is it the worst dogshit to ever have the DB name on it? Absolutely not, nowhere even lightyears close to it.

The Garlic Jr. arc is decent. Okay. Not bad. Its passably fun Dragon Ball from during the very tail-most end of (or perhaps immediately right after) its peak/prime years.

The only aspect of it I find in any way particularly grating is Maron, who is one of the single worst characters in the entire franchise. Nearly every scene involving her is so mind numbingly dumb (barring an occasional semi-clever gag here or there) it makes me want to open up a vital artery. So it definitely loses points for prominently featuring her.

But aside from the Maron factor, the Garlic Jr. episodes are totally fun, if wholly unessential time wasters. Its Dragon Ball on auto-pilot back when the overall series quality was high enough to where being on auto-pilot was something that DB could occasionally get away with from time to time. Other than Maron, the Garlic Jr. arc's biggest flaw is how much it overly-relies on reusing concepts and ideas from the first DBZ Movie (Really? Gohan just knocks him into the Dead Zone again? That's the ending we're really gonna go with here?).

So its not in any way the most creative arc, but its got at least a few other cool ideas going for it (like the room in the Heavenly Temple that houses the souls of previous Kamis) so its not exactly 100% bereft of interesting stuff either. And yeah, its nice to get some extra focus on Piccolo and Kuririn (though really, it wouldn't have hurt to allow Yamucha, Tenshinhan, and even poor Chaozu and Yajirobe to get in on the fun a bit here).

You've got vengeful demons, Eastern mysticism, and plenty of DB/Z's signature high flying, hyper kinetic, brutally impactful, super powered martial arts fighting within a cool floating temple in the sky. Lots of solid, competent direction, fight choreography, and animation throughout much of the episodes.

Just be sure to ONLY watch these eps in Japanese, even if you're otherwise an ardent dub fan: the dub for these episodes was at its absolute all time rock bottom in the gutter lowest, even by its normally crappy standards. Even if you're the most die-hard FUNimation fanboy on the planet who lives and breathes the English "reversioning", its all but outright impossible to reasonably defend or find any kind or charitable words to say about anything that FUNi did with these particular eps, which in terms of voice acting, dialogue, and music are all just gratingly obnoxious and unlistenable ear-rape all the way through in the dub's audio.

Dub and Maron aside though, the arc is just bog-standard, vintage DBZ shenanigans: nothing particularly awful or awesome, just reasonably competent, cool looking, visceral fun.

[ZeroNeonix]

The Garlic Jr. Saga was just so painful to sit through. I don't know what it is, exactly. It just feels super long, while nothing special ever happens. Plus, it was basically something we'd already seen in Garlic Jr.'s movie, with the same conclusion even. The villain has literal invincibility. He cannot be defeated. All he has to do is outlast the heroes, but he just can't resist resorting to using the Dead Zone again, the one thing that could be used against him.

[MasenkoHA]

I have mild nostalgia for that time Toonami ran the entire saga for New Year’s 2001 but other than that it does nothing for me. I don’t despise it and I prefer it over other attempts to allow the manga to stay ahead but its easily skippable with good reason

The only thing I genuinely dislike is I’ll see fans occasionally insist The Dead Zone is canon due to this saga even though it clearly isn’t

[Robo4900]

No idea about the fanbase as a whole -- and honestly, I don't put much stock in what general consensus says in a fandom so divided and weird in their opinions as Dragon Ball's -- but the arc itself was a decent premise for a sequel to the 1989 Garlic Jr. movie, stretched out into a 10-episode slog. It has some great parts to it, but the pace just kind of ruins it. So, I wouldn't be surprised if it's generally disliked.

[ABED]

Basically what everyone here has said. The same exact ending as the movie, really? It's never been a well regarded arc, but it has its moments. Even at 10 episodes, it's too long. Kuririn's 101st proposal is very bitter sweet and un-DB, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

[coola]

Like i said in one of my topics, i actually really like Garlic jr. Saga, it gave my favorite group of Gohan Kuririn and Piccolo time to shine, and its been one saga Goku didnt appear. Only two things i didnt like were henchmen and lack of Akira Kamiya as Garlic Jr.

[ABED]

Only two things i didnt like were henchmen and lack of Akira Kamiya as Garlic Jr.

If you're going to be replaced, Shigeru Chiba ain't a bad choice.

[coola]

Only two things i didnt like were henchmen and lack of Akira Kamiya as Garlic Jr.

If you're going to be replaced, Shigeru Chiba ain't a bad choice.

Nothing against Shigeru Chiba, he is really good actor, it's just...Kamiya was perfect in that role, and i doubt any replacement would be better, but thats just my humble opinion

[Bebi Hatchiyack]

For me The Garlic Jr had one problem for me and it is the whole Kuririn Girlfriend thingy. If they had instead given more focus on the consequence of the Namek battle why not giving Kuririn some PTSD about second his death. Also Piccolo being controled was nice. The whole deal with Kami exploring some part of the Kami's Lookout for the Chōseisui with the ancient Ghost Kami loved it too.

In definitive I would have also thought of an original ending to kill once and for all Garlic Jr.

[Jackalope89]

Despise? Not so much. But I never cared for it.

[sumpter360]

I agree with others here: not a bad premise, but 10 episodes is WAY too long and drawn out. Make it 3 or 4, I think I would've liked it more. The way it is, I generally skip it outright if I'm watching through the series for enjoyment.

[Majin Buu]

Like hating on GT, hating on the Garlic Jr. arc is kind of a meme that many fans default to. I'm personally neutral about it. Don't particularly like it or hate it. It's just there for me. (I've always been more of a fan of the Afterlife Tournament for filler arcs.)

Though it was kind of cool to bring demon-type antagonists back into the fold when the story was still in full sci-fi mode.

[Oniman]

It's a pretty bad story arc given how boring and slow it is. Not even people on the old fan sites like it back in the day.

[SheonGT]

Eating cement is preferable to watching the Garlic Jr saga. Movie 1 is likely my all time favorite so it was a huge disappointment and clearly a time filler.

By the time Kami pulls it out of his ass that he has to go to the Kami graveyard for some Aquamist, I wanted this short godawful arc to end already.

Maron is okay but only because of how she makes Krillin look/act.

The Funi dub is probably at its worst but I like the leitmotif Faulconer created for Garlic Jr/Makyo Star.

I was also super disappointed that the Japanese music placement didn’t exclusively use BGM from movie 1 even though the opportunity was right there.

Edit: also there’s this gem buried in the menu of the Funimation singles and lost to time https://youtu.be/QC-u6cmP3Mg

[PacificOceanDub]

I personally like the Garlic Jr. arc. Dead Zone is still my absolute favorite movie, so it was cool to see it get followed up in the anime. I also love the trifecta of Piccolo, Kuririn and Gohan here. It’s not without it’s flaws though, I can certainly admit that. The absence of Tenshinhan and Chaozu probably being the biggest of my woes.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

It's over drawn and boring and sets up and sadly that's what DBZ becomes after so it's sets us up for that at least. I don't despise it but it's not great Garlic Jr is also a better villain than Cell and Buu though so there's that too.

[Rubens]

I (...) love the trifecta of Piccolo, Kuririn and Gohan here. It’s not without it’s flaws though, I can certainly admit that. The absence of Tenshinhan and Chaozu probably being the biggest of my woes.

I absolutely agree and I seeing the other warriors handling themselves without Goku is what I liked about that arc back when I first watched it.

The plot overall is not that bad mostly because it ties with the lore the first DBZ movie introduced and adds world building to the series, but all those bits with Marron and the stuff that preceeded it was boring, and sadly the battle at the lookout was very boring as well and weirdly conducted; I even remember both me and my brother shouting to the screen "Come on Krillin, you had your power unlocked on Namek, do something!" . It was a good idea which execution left me with a bittersweet feeling towards it.

[ABED]

If I recall, we see Kuririn's pupils change color to indicate he's infected, but that's not playing fair with the audience.

My favorite part is Piccolo's fight against Gohan. I love that they don't stage the fight, he just kicks the crap out of Gohan but knows what he can handle.