Anyone else find the RRA arc hard to rewatch?

[Mad Swami]

The issue isn't one thing leading straight into another, it's the resolution of a story requires its own arc.

The Freeza and Saiyan arcs are distinct arcs. It's not the same thing. The arc begins with Goku on a mission to find his grandfather's DB and ends after Baba's tournament.

I don't really find that to be an issue though. I still think Fortune Teller Baba's segment is the same arc. I personally don't really look at it as the RRA arc. I mean they are the most dominant antagonistic force, but they don't mark the beginning or end of the arc.

[ABED]

The issue isn't one thing leading straight into another, it's the resolution of a story requires its own arc.

The Freeza and Saiyan arcs are distinct arcs. It's not the same thing. The arc begins with Goku on a mission to find his grandfather's DB and ends after Baba's tournament.

I don't really find that to be an issue though. I still think Fortune Teller Baba's segment is the same arc. I personally don't really look at it as the RRA arc. I mean they are the most dominant antagonistic force, but they don't mark the beginning or end of the arc.

It's beginning, middle, and end isn't as clean as others, but it's certainly a story arc. The hunt for the 4 star ball is a quest that lasts through 2 arcs.

[Mad Swami]

The issue isn't one thing leading straight into another, it's the resolution of a story requires its own arc.

The Freeza and Saiyan arcs are distinct arcs. It's not the same thing. The arc begins with Goku on a mission to find his grandfather's DB and ends after Baba's tournament.

I don't really find that to be an issue though. I still think Fortune Teller Baba's segment is the same arc. I personally don't really look at it as the RRA arc. I mean they are the most dominant antagonistic force, but they don't mark the beginning or end of the arc.

It's beginning, middle, and end isn't as clean as others, but it's certainly a story arc. The hunt for the 4 star ball is a quest that lasts through 2 arcs.

Sure I think its not as clean of an arc in structure, but I do view it as one arc. I get your opinion though

[ABED]

But why? Vegeta isn't working for Freeza when he goes to Earth. He's going to Earth to get the Dragon Balls. That's him committing treason.

[Mad Swami]

But why? Vegeta isn't working for Freeza when he goes to Earth. He's going to Earth to get the Dragon Balls. That's him committing treason.

What? I wasn't talking about Vegeta. I was talking about The RRA saga

[ABED]

But why? Vegeta isn't working for Freeza when he goes to Earth. He's going to Earth to get the Dragon Balls. That's him committing treason.

What? I wasn't talking about Vegeta. I was talking about The RRA saga

My bad but regardless, a story arc is just a story that lasts for longer than an episode and has a beginning, middle, and end. The RRA has a resolution well before Goku gets the 4 star DB.

[Mad Swami]

But why? Vegeta isn't working for Freeza when he goes to Earth. He's going to Earth to get the Dragon Balls. That's him committing treason.

What? I wasn't talking about Vegeta. I was talking about The RRA saga

My bad but regardless, a story arc is just a story that lasts for longer than an episode and has a beginning, middle, and end. The RRA has a resolution well before Goku gets the 4 star DB.

I understand and see why many people make that distinction, but I just personally don't. Similar to the King Piccolo saga, which ends with Goku training at Kami's after Krillin is revived in my eyes. I think the 'RRA' arc ends when Goku revives Bora as all plotlines introduced in the RRA section are resolved. It just works better that way in my eyes.

[Mad Swami]

But why? Vegeta isn't working for Freeza when he goes to Earth. He's going to Earth to get the Dragon Balls. That's him committing treason.

What? I wasn't talking about Vegeta. I was talking about The RRA saga

My bad but regardless, a story arc is just a story that lasts for longer than an episode and has a beginning, middle, and end. The RRA has a resolution well before Goku gets the 4 star DB.

no worries I was just confused because I agree that Vegeta is a separate arc

[MyVisionity]

It can be called the Red Ribbon arc but that doesn't necessarily mean that the arc begins and ends with them. It's just a way of identifying the arc using the primary antagonist as a title, instead of what the arc is actually about.

[ABED]

What? I wasn't talking about Vegeta. I was talking about The RRA saga

My bad but regardless, a story arc is just a story that lasts for longer than an episode and has a beginning, middle, and end. The RRA has a resolution well before Goku gets the 4 star DB.

I understand and see why many people make that distinction, but I just personally don't. Similar to the King Piccolo saga, which ends with Goku training at Kami's after Krillin is revived in my eyes. I think the 'RRA' arc ends when Goku revives Bora as all plotlines introduced in the RRA section are resolved. It just works better that way in my eyes.

The Piccolo Daimao arc ending after Kuririn is revived is fine. It's also not the same thing as Baba's tournament as it doesn't introduce a new antagonist as part of the resolution or just impediment to the hero's journey.

[90sDBZ]

I don't see how the Baba arc being an extension of the RRA arc is all that different from the Frieza arc continuing the story of the Saiyan arc. Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo all die in the Saiyan battle, and most of them aren't revived until after Frieza's defeat. The casualties of the Saiyan arc are a constant plot point of the Frieza arc.

[ABED]

Because several reasons, not the least of which is stories don't have 2 climaxes. The motivation at the beginning of the Saiyan arc doesn't carry through to the Freeza arc. By the end of the Saiyan arc, the heroe have achieved their goal.

[MasenkoHA]

I don't see how the Baba arc being an extension of the RRA arc is all that different from the Frieza arc continuing the story of the Saiyan arc. Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo all die in the Saiyan battle, and most of them aren't revived until after Frieza's defeat. The casualties of the Saiyan arc are a constant plot point of the Frieza arc.

Because both the Red Ribbon arc and Baba arc revolve around Goku looking for the four-star ball. The inciting moment is Goku going off to find his grandpa’s dragon ball then that turns into needing all 7 dragon balls to bring Bora back and after he defeats the Red Ribbon army he still needs to find the last one so he goes to Bana and only after that does he gather all 7, lets Upa make his wish, and then grabs his grandpa’s ball before it flies away.

The Saiyan arc and Freeza arc have two entirely different conflicts. The Saiyan arc is about the Super Warriors preparing for and fighting the Saiyans. The Freeza arc is about Gohan, Kuririn, and Bulma going to Namek to get the Namekian Dragon Balls to bring back their fall friends from the Saiyan battle and crossing paths with Freeza and his clan and Vegeta.

[BeaBumby]

. Goku can't really bounce off the villains here and Android 8 is a very boring character personality wise, so there wasn't much to go on in terms of interactions.

Suno, Ninja Murasaki, the people of Penguin Village, Bora, and Upa all say hi.

heh, always thought her name was snow

[MyVisionity]

. Goku can't really bounce off the villains here and Android 8 is a very boring character personality wise, so there wasn't much to go on in terms of interactions.

Suno, Ninja Murasaki, the people of Penguin Village, Bora, and Upa all say hi.

heh, always thought her name was snow

It's a play on the word "snow".

Japanese approximation of the word "snow" = su•no•o
The character's name = su•no
Toriyama just drops the last syllable.

I prefer to call her "Sno", but many will call her "Suno" because I think that's her Funi dub name (as well as her name in the official subtitles, for some odd reason).

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

. Goku can't really bounce off the villains here and Android 8 is a very boring character personality wise, so there wasn't much to go on in terms of interactions.

Suno, Ninja Murasaki, the people of Penguin Village, Bora, and Upa all say hi.

heh, always thought her name was snow

I believe it technically is.

Anyway, I finished re-watching this arc very recently (first time subbed) and I loved it, even most of the filler. I love the manga's pacing, but I also dig the extended introduction of Colonel Silver and how he's built up to be a mega-threat...only to show he's no match for this little kid. I like how it gives a reason for the Pilaf crew not being involved in the arc, and I thought the plot with the shady guy selling fake Dragon Balls was hilarious.

The Baba arc also is definitely a bookend to the RRA arc, moreso than I realized when I watched it back in the day. I actually enjoyed those episodes as sort of a prelude before the three-year time-skip (those along with Goku's traveling mini-arc). I can see how the Baba episodes dragged for others, but I found them pretty entertaining overall.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

This might be cheating, but Dragon Ball Recut can solve that pacing problem for you.

[Preeve]

This might be cheating, but Dragon Ball Recut can solve that pacing problem for you.

Agreed. I read the manga version of the RRA Arc before watching the anime, and I greatly enjoyed it in manga form, yet found it damn near agonisingly sluggish in the anime. Dragon Ball Recut pretty much fixed all my problems with the arc and I greatly enjoyed it in cut-down anime form the last two times I watched through it. Hell, Dragon Ball Recut is pretty much my main way to watch through the original series now. I honestly don’t know if I can go back to the uncut version.

As for the debate regarding the end of the arc, I’m also in the “Baba Arc is an extension, and ultimately, the conclusion of the RRA Arc” boat. While the RRA were the antagonist of the Arc, the main goal was primarily finding the four-star Dragon Ball, which then evolved into finding all of them in order to revive Bora, which is then resolved within the Baba Arc. The RRA and the Baba’s Warriors were more akin to obstacles than outright villains like Vegeta or Freeza, considering previous comparisons.