Ranking the sagas of Dragonball

[ruler9871]

What do you think are the best and worst sagas of DB (including filler and GT) and why? Here's my list:

1. Namek
2. Saiyan
3. King Piccolo/23rd TB
4. Goku Black
5. Majin Buu
6. Red Ribbon/22nd TB
7. Baby
8. ToP
9. Android
10. Pilaf/21st TB
11. U6
12. Garlic Jr.
13. Shadow Dragon
14. Other world TB
15. Black Star
16. Battle of Gods
17. RoF
18. Super 17
19. Copy-Vegeta

The Galactic Patrol arc isnt finished yet so I didn't include it.

[ABED]

Saiyan, Piccolo Daimao, 21st TB, 23rd TB, Freeza, Pilaf, Fortuneteller Baba, Cell, Baby, Red Ribbon Army, Evil Dragons, Majin Buu, Super 17.

I haven't seen Super, so I can't comment.

[Thanos]

There's too many arcs throughout the meta-series so I'll just give my top five:
1. Buu (was my introduction to the series and has so many great moments)
2. Cell
3. Goku Black
4. 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai
5. Saiyan


Freeza arc doesn't make the cut due to length, anime-wise at least... and GT has been retconned from my brain.

[Lord Beerus]

1. Saiyan arc
2. 23rd Budokai Tenkaichi arc
3. Universal Survival arc
4. 22nd Budokai Tenkai arc
5. Future Trunks arc
6. 21st Budokai Tenkaichi arc
7. Red Ribbon Army arc
8. Baby arc
9. Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc
10. Majin Boo arc
11. Freeza arc
12. Champa arc
13. Shadow Dragons arc
14. King Piccolo arc
15. Cell arc
16. Black Star Dragon Ball arc
17. Battle Of Gods arc
18. Resurrection F arc
19. Garlic Jr. arc
20. Super 17 arc

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

1. Freeza arc
2. Saiyan arc
3. Buu arc
4. King Piccolo arc
5. Pilaf arc
6. 23rd Budokai Tenkaichi arc
7. 22nd Budokai Tenkaichi arc
8. Baby arc
9. Cell arc
10. Champa arc
11. Future Trunks arc
12. Red Ribbon Army arc
13. 21st Budokai Tenkaichi arc
14. Universal Survival arc
15. Garlic Jr. arc
16. Battle Of Gods arc
17. Shadow Dragons arc
18. Super 17 arc
19. Resurrection F arc
20. Black Star Dragon Ball arc

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

My top ten favorite arcs in terms of the anime would have to be the following.

1. Saiyan
2. 23rd Budokai
3. Future Trunks/Goku Black
4. Piccolo Daimao
5. Majin Buu
6. Champa
7. Pilaf aka Quest for the Dragon Balls
8. 22nd Budokai
9. Artificial Humans
10. Red Ribbon Army

[PremiumSalt]

1. Piccolo Daimaō
2. Saiyan
3. 22nd Tenkaichi Budōkai
4. 23rd Tenkaichi Budōkai
5. Hunt For the Dragon Balls
6. Zamasu
7. Tournament of Power
8. 21st Tenkaichi Budōkai
9. Broly
10. Battle of Gods
11. Boo
12. U6 Tournament
13. Freeza
14. Red Ribbon Army
15. Artificial Humans/Cell
16. Golden Freeza

Haven't watched GT in years so I can't comment on it in good faith, and the Moro arc isn't finished yet.

[Goten_jr]

1.Namek/Friezer arc
2.Saiyan arc
3.Baby arc
4.Buu Arc
5.Goku Black arc
6.Black Star DB arc
7.21st Tenkaichi Budokai
8.Cell Arc
9.BOG
10.Shadow Dragon arc

[MajinMan]

1. Majin Boo arc
2. 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc
3. Saiyan arc
4. 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc
5. 21st Tenkaicho Budokai arc
6. Freeza arc
7. Red Ribbon Army arc (including Baba)
8. Universe Survival arc
9. Future Trunks arc
10. Baby arc
11. Piccolo Daimao arc
12. Pilaf arc
13. Cell arc
14. Champa arc
15. Battle of Gods arc
16. Evil Dragons arc
17. Dark Dragon Balls arc
18. Garlic Jr. arc
19. Resurrection F arc
20. Super 17 arc

[Mago_Gosora]

I tend to bunch the "arcs" or "sagas" - or whatever you wanna call em - into bigger chunks when I rank them. I like them as more overarching plots rather than neatly dividing each encounter and fight into segregated parts that make up a whole.

1) Middle of DB (Ep 29 - Ep 101)
2) Beginning of DB (Ep 1 - Ep 28)
3) End of DB (Ep 102 - Ep 153)
4) Beginning of GT (Ep 1 - Ep 41)
5) End of GT (Ep 42 - Ep 64)
6) Garlic Jr (Movie + DBZ Ep 108 - Ep 117)
7) End of DBZ (Ep 195 - Ep 291)
8 ) Beginning of DBZ (Ep 1 - Ep 35)
9) Namek (DBZ Ep 36 - Ep 107)
10) Beginning of DBS (Ch 1 - Ch 4)
11) Cyborgs & Cell (DBZ Ep 118 - Ep 194)
12) Zamasu (DBS Ch 14 - Ch 26)
13) Freezer's Resurrection (DBS)
14) Champa's Tournament (DBS Ch 5 - Ch 13)
15) Zenoh's Tournament (Ch 27 - Ch 42)

I normally do prefer the TV show to the manga when it comes to Dragon Ball, but the DBS TV show I just can't. Lol - Manga is pretty good all things considered!

[anubisj]

I just finished re-watching the entirety of db, dbz and dbgt, plus movies and specials, dubbed with original score. I still haven´t decided on a proper ranking, but I can rank them by series (including filler). This is not a comprehensive analysis of each, but more like random thoughts put together. I´m just touching the surface here.

Dragon Ball:

1- Piccolo saga (encompassing both king piccolo and ma jr), this saga is the best of DB imo, the series takes a darker tone without abandoning its roots, both arcs are amazing. I like the concept of the mafuba, a master of master roshi, roshi taking center stage for a time, the world crumbling into chaos, the great fights of the 23 budokai, the handling of goku and adult chi chi (plus making goku and company adults), the introduction of a guardian of the earth, mr popo, ending the tenkaichi circle in a satisfactory way (goku finally wins, and what a win)...etc.
I admit I don´t really care about king piccolo´s design though, I´ve seen much better designs for main villains, but the idea of him "vomiting" eggs from which demons hatch is cool and original. His piccolo offspring (or reincarnation) is a brilliant new character, but we don´t see his potential until later in the franchise (I mean the evolution of the personality etc). I still think this is the best DB has to offer; people die left and right, the stakes are pretty high without becoming repetitive like later sagas (and how awesome is the twist of Kami possessing a civilian and fighting piccolo, and the new skills gained by the z fighters?). Fitting end for DB.

2- 22 tenkaichi saga (encompassing Goku travelling Earth in search of baddies), the tone of the series already shifts a bit in this one, plus Tien is an adequate villain, not entirely evil but powerful enough, the fights are some of the best in the entire franchise. I particularly liked the whole "serious tournament" atmosphere, compared to the previous saga (the fortuneteller saga), also diverse filler (the demons´ episode was nice, but InoShikaCho was a bit weird).
The rivalry between Yamcha and Tien was expertly handled, they didn´t make Yamcha lose immediately, and created a sort of tension before the fight, as in I was rooting for Yamcha all the way. One of the main problems of the saga is that aside from filler, it doesn´t really add plenty of new, interesting designs. The main ones are Chiaotzu and Tien, imo. In any case, the plot moves nicely.

3- 21 tenkaichi saga, this one takes a different approach to the tournament saga concept, it makes so that the only fight we are really looking forward to is Roshi vs Goku, though it doesn´t disappoint when we finally get to it. Generally hilarious comedic relief, shocking surprise at the end, and iconic scenes makes this a must watch. There might be a few too many jokes, and not many cool designs, but I still rank it third, and proud of it.

4- Pilaf saga, the one that started it all. Nice concept (though not that original), the villain is lacking in a lot of ways, and the fights are not that impressive, but it serves to introduce the main character and get to know a bit of the world, and the end with the Oozaru twist is storytelling at its finest. I do not like the lack of competent or threatening villains, but we do discover a few strange and maybe mysterious characters along the way, characters that are not necessarily Goku allies, such as Roshi and Ox king and Yamcha etc. We get to see the first Kamehameha, or ki attack even.

5- Fortuneteller Baba saga, I know it´s short, but that alone doesn´t decide quality for me, it has really original and creative villains (they are really the stars of the saga), and the reunion between Grandpa Gohan and Goku. It really has a much lighter tone than the following sagas, which is not necessarily that bad, but I also don´t like that Krillin and Yamcha barely did anything worthwhile. I think the whole witch/demon/gloomy place has a lot of potential, but in this particular saga some of that was wasted. We don´t get to see a lot of magic in action, even though it would´ve been a good time to show some of it. However, I love the devil´s toilet stage, and Pilaf´s "return".

6- RRA saga, this saga is the first long one, and has a bunch of arcs. The RRA is a nice evil organization, but I don´t like the similarities with typical human armies and mercenaries and James Bond villains. I think the fact that I´m not that interested in the RRA members is partly why I rank this saga the lowest out of DB. It just seemed (sometimes) like a chore to watch through some arcs, and despite introducing plenty of new villains, only a few of them were actually unique and interesting. I mean, I still find it enjoyable to watch, and a worthy DB saga, but it really lacks in the dramatic department. Some of the key scenes are the Tao fights (far better than the Muscle Tower fights, Goku meets a truly terrifying foe for the first time, not counting Roshi, who wouldn´t want to kill him anyways), which includes Bora´s death, and Black betraying Red, which is really cool. As always, there´s plot twists at the end, but I would´ve liked more seriousness. Korin was kinda cool, General Blue would be one of the highlights, and I laughed hard at the end, when the Z warriors arrived late to the scene ( Goku had already destroyed the RRA base).

Dragon Ball Z:

1- Saiyan saga, well what can I say that hasn´t already been said? It has so many new (and good) stuff, so many bloody, shocking, destructive moments, so many amazing designs....For starters, the Saiyan background and whole concept of them being space savages conquerors, I just love it (which is why I don´t like Super´s version of the saiyans like cabba etc, but I digress), even though it came out of nowhere. Stuff starts to get really dark here (imo, it reaches its climax in this saga), and Raditz and Vegeta´s designs, specifically, are just beyond amazing. Not to mention the fights, of course. Not only are powerful techniques in play, but people die, like a lot. There´s an invasion, and the z warriors face it as Earth´s last line of defense. I just love the idea.
We get to see otherworld, Goku dies, and we meet so many new cool people. One of the few things that bug me about the saga, is that Raditz is all of a sudden Goku´s sibling. Like, what? How?
But, in any case, it is just brilliant, almost perfect. The character development is definitely there (Piccolo & Gohan, anyone?), the stakes are high, the villains are impressive (I´m still amazed every time I watch Vegeta turning into Oozaru), and Vegeta vs Goku is just iconic in every possible way. Also, let´s not forget that secondary characters get a lot of screen time, and Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa all have brutal ways of getting defeated. Hell, even the Saibamen are a real threat. Must watch.

2- Buu saga (encompassing the otherworld tournament), the second place was a close one, but in the end, the Buu saga won. I like Buu´s depiction (he´s not the typical smart, dignified villain that talks a lot about how he is going to make Goku suffer, he´s just a demonic, playful beast), his abilities, his background, the whole magic implementation...There´s a lot of stuff going on, and I don´t find the increase of jokes and comedic relief bad, it kinda gives the saga personality. It´s like a magical, crazy voyage throughout Dragon Ball, the fights are crazy, the environments are crazy, etc. The Shin background and design is truly unique in a good way, they are like the guardians of the universe, but now only one remains. Stuff like the fusions is presented here for the first time, so it´s not like as overused as in Super. In fact, it is really fun watching people trying to fuse, and Gotenks was plain cool.
Actually, the whole time gap idea was great, it was a breath of fresh air for the franchise, and I enjoyed seeing adult Gohan defending the city, Goten and Trunks doing their antics, Chi Chi getting killed in such a fashion.
I´ll just say that I don´t dislike the fact that many people have Ssj now, it is a natural evolution for the series imo, and it makes it more likely for people aside from Goku to get involved when stuff gets real (even though the addition of Goten and Trunks made some people like Yamcha or Tien not that necessary to fight in conflicts, but they still do get involved a bit, more than I expected actually, they both get to fight Buu). I also liked when everybody was signing up for the tenkaichi, but instead of finishing it, they all forfeit, or Yamu vs Videl, the whole mystery behind who is the real villain, Vegeta majin vs Goku, Dabura, everything about Buu (including his absorptions), the new techniques...Even the otherworld tournament is entertaining, plus we see Cell and other villains in hell, and Ssj 3 is awesome. Finally, we have the potaras, and Vegito. It was a bit forced how they managed to get Vegeta and Goku ready all of a sudden, but Vegito is just so damn awesome, and the idea of the potaras being a permanent fusion (I´m ignoring Super) is genius. Congratulations, Akira and Toei. Nice ending saga for Z.

3- Frieza saga, this one has the first Ssj transformation scene, which is a big deal, and it introduces us to a galaxy wide conflict that started so many years before the series even began (the Saiyan vs Frieza war). The namek idea is...good, I guess, better than "oh look, I have more Dragon Balls!", at least they had to travel to a new planet, but I just don´t get how Brief managed to create the gravity machine. I like how most of the saga is set on another planet (which allowed the plotline to destroy it), Frieza´s army has some nice designs, and the Ginyu force was crazy good. I mean, some stuff is a bit lacklustre, like Vegeta getting healed by Zarbon, or some absurd decisions on Frieza´s part, but most of it makes sense. Ginyu´s ability to change bodies is one of the most unique things in the entire franchise, and makes my imagination run wild with hypothetical new aliens (even though in later sagas we don´t find that many unique new aliens).
Also Frieza is superb as a villain (cough unlike in Super cough), and gets to shine a lot. Porunga is cool, Vegeta, Gohan and Krillin get to do a lot, and I only wished that the same would go for Tien and the rest, although they actually trained in Kaio´s place, so that´s something. And I find it amazing that suspense is achieved even though not many good guys die, also kudos to King Vegeta´s design and implementation into the narrative.

4- Cell saga, even though it has a lot of character development and introduces us to Cell, I find this saga lacking for some reason. I think it is because of the whole android concept, which I´m not really a fan of. Still, the fights are great, Gohan´s suddenly getting into the spotlight is interesting, I really enjoy the androids (mainly 17 and 18), and the future trunks twist (him coming from a ravaged and depressing future) is great storytelling. Some other good things are the androids not being the main villain, the hyperbolic time chamber, everybody fighting in the cell games, and Mecha frieza´s arrival and subsequent defeat. Instant transmission is nice also. I don´t like, however, the virus that all of a sudden gets to Goku, nor some designs (such as Gero or 19), but I must admit the bloodiness is there, and Cell is really entertaining (specially in his perfect form). Also, this is the last time we see Piccolo getting a buff in the story.

5- I don´t dislike this saga, but it certainly deserves the last place position. It is lacking in the fights department, plus what´s going with Piccolo being "Infected"? I like the black water mist idea (even animals turn psycho), but Garlic Jr has the same stuff as the movie, it would´ve been nice if he got a new form or something. More Kami is always welcome though. But were was Tien? And the dead zone again? But I must admit some of it was fun.

Dragon Ball GT:

1- Baby saga (encompassing the search for the black star dragon balls), this one is pretty well executed, it started kind of slow, then came the fun part, with Goku, Trunks and Pan travelling throughout space (even though the villains were a bit lacklustre), and finally they face Baby, and things get serious. For starters, I don´t mind that Goku is a kid again (I get the idea behind it, about the childish joy inside Goku etc but I also would not have minded Goku staying adult, at least after the Baby saga), I really like how they designed the z warriors after the time gap, where everything is peaceful, and I find the idea to focus on just certain characters quite original and refreshing, but some fights are a bit slow. Then we get to Baby; I find him absolutely astounding, both his abilities and his personality and design (specially vegeta baby design), he´s coming to avenge the tsufurians, to extinguish the remnants of the saiyan race once and for all...and he is using their own bodies to do so. There´s just something epic in Goten and Gohan fighting each other, and Vegeta getting possessed, and all the world corrupted by the time Goku´s crew returns, and the subsequent confrontations, and of course ssj4. I found the tabletop game dimension a bit poorly done, but the rest of the saga really makes up for it, and stuff like the cult of Luud was also cool, unlike doll taki. So sometimes is a hit-and-miss. The designs were great, overall (and interesting, not only just buffed people). Some scenes are really dramatic, in the good sense. Bulma helping baby was fantastic. Uub and Majuub, another great concept, but I would´ve liked for Majuub to do more; also, what were Tien and Yamcha doing?.

2- Shadow Dragons saga, at first I was like "wow, only Goku and Pan again? Where´s everybody else etc?" but then the main shadow dragons appeared, and things finally started picking up the pace. I do not care about most shadow dragons´ designs, but I must admit the whole concept of dragon balls turning evil as a closure for the franchise is awesome. Omega Shenron doesn´t do much at first, but on the last few episodes he really proves just how much powerful he is. Gogeta Ssj 4 is just fabulous, including his personality, and Vegeta Ssj 4 is glorious; their fight with Shenron´s pretty intense (and bloody, specially when vegeta gohan and the others launch a final attack). The ending is really emotional and impactful. Brilliant end for the series.

3- Super 17 saga, really like this one, but there´s only 3 sagas, so...The villains escaping from hell and fighting the z warriors is awesome, and super 17 has interesting abilities and features, although they could´ve made an original design instead of the same, for the hellish 17. The fight between Super 17 and Ssj4 Goku is one of the best in the series, and even 18 gets involved here. A pretty decent saga, almost on par with Shadow Dragons. Pity there were few original designs.

As for the movies and specials, it would go like this (I don´t have time to elaborate, for now it will be a simple ranking)

Dragon Ball movies:

1-mystical adventure

2- curse of the blood rubies

3- sleeping princess

Dragon Ball Z movies:

1- hirudegarn

2- broly

3- janemba

4- bojack

5 - turles

6- Cooler

7- meta cooler

8- lord slug

9- android 13

10 - garlic jr

11- dr wheelo

12- broly second coming

13- bio broly

Specials:

1- Bardock

2- Future

3- goku jr

[Cursed Lemon]

I'm happy to see everyone else so high on the saiyan saga. That arc has so many teachable moments with respect to story-telling, character development, timing, tension, character utilization, etc.

[Lord Beerus]

I'm happy to see everyone else so high on the saiyan saga. That arc has so many teachable moments with respect to story-telling, character development, timing, tension, character utilization, etc.

For me, the Saiyan arc is where Dragon Ball peaks as far as having a consistently good narrative is concerned. After that point, the series becomes so schizophrenic in its quality with varying highs and varying lows in a sea of mediocrity.

[Cursed Lemon]

For me, the Saiyan arc is where Dragon Ball peaks as far as having a consistently good narrative is concerned. After that point, the series becomes so schizophrenic in its quality with varying highs and varying lows in a sea of mediocrity.

Can't disagree. The saiyan arc has literally everything you want - a looming evil, time spent building character arcs, proper use of supporting cast, power progression that hadn't yet gone off the rails, the introduction of a whole new jumping off point for the story in terms of the saiyan race, and one of the most triumphant hero returns I've ever seen.

[Soppa Saia People]

the saiyan arc is for sure peak dragon ball, especially in the anime. it really does have everything i love about the series, and it's pretty easily the best story toriyama wrote w/r/t tension, high stakes, and character development, and it even has quite a bit of humor with Goku's training with Kaio. i think the first half of the freeza arc is really the only time dragon ball ever comes close too having as high of tension as the fight against the saiyan does, but that falls apart majorly by the end. also piccolo saving gohan is probably my favorite moment in the franchise so yeah.

[Tai Lung]

1. Namek
2. Saiyan
3. King Piccolo/23rd TB
4. Goku Black
5. ToP
6. Cell Games
7. Majin Buu
8. Android
9. U6
10. Battle of Gods
11. 22 tenkaichi/RR army
12. 21 tenkaichi/Pilaf
13. Broly Arc
14. Baby Arc
15. Evil Dragons
16. Other world TB
17. Black star Dragon Balls
18. RoF
19. Super 17