At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

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At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by 90sDBZ » Sat Jul 31, 2021 3:09 pm

Basically at what point would you say the portrayal of characters being strong reached its peak?

I'd say on Namek. The hits Goku and Frieza landed sounded so loud and powerful, they were both really bulky and intimidating, and there were times when other characters couldn't even follow their movements. The fact that they carried on fighting for so long all bloodied up on a dying planet made them feel even more impressive.

It felt like after this point the only way to make characters appear stronger was to show them beating up another strong character. Visually they never looked stronger than on Namek, which is one of the reasons it's still my favourite arc. Like I know Beerus is badass and all, but he'll never look as awesome as Goku and Frieza did on Namek.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by jjgp1112 » Sat Jul 31, 2021 3:16 pm

Was gonna say the same thing as you. I remember reading the manga of that fight as a kid and roided up pro wrestler Goku and Frieza going blow for blow always stood out to me. They looked like gladiators.
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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by TrunksTrevelyan0064 » Sat Jul 31, 2021 3:29 pm

I was also going to say Goku when he first became a Super Saiyan; something about the way he was presented gave him an aura of mightiness, like he truly lived up to the legend as the most powerful thing in the universe. When it seemed he died after Namek's explosion, it almost felt like that was the universe saying "nope, you are TOO powerful, correcting some balance here".

Of course he didn't die, but this is the feeling I had when I first saw it.
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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by precita » Sat Jul 31, 2021 5:35 pm

Boo saga. When Boo started screaming the fabric of the universe was splitting apart (both in the time chamber and then with Super Boo against Vegito), it really gave the impression the characters reached the apex of power.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by LoganForkHands73 » Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:06 pm

Pre-revival, the Cell arc. Vegeta's Final Flash rocking the Earth off its axis and destroying a star, Goku and Cell's frenetic fisticuffs, Gohan's finishing Kamehameha... Come on.

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Post-revival, it's a close call between the anime's Universe Survival arc and the Gogeta Blue vs. Broly fight. The sheer flash and excess on display helps me understand why fans see Ultra Instinct Goku as a Tier 2-A Omniversal Massively Hypersonic+ Dimension Buster with halloumi fries.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by SupremeKai25 » Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:31 pm

When Zamasu merged with the very fabric of the cosmos and laid waste to the entire multiverse, then transcended the time-space continuum itself and affected other timelines too. Which forced Zeno himself to take drastic measures and erase the entire Future timeline. Nothing else can compare.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Cursed Lemon » Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:35 pm

Depends on what you mean.

Look as in their stature/build? Steroid Goku on Namek is pretty intense.

Look as in their feats? Obviously that would be "whatever the current arc is" but I have to figure that the saiyan saga might be one of the biggest power jumps in the series. When Nappa and Vegeta landed on Earth and Nappa just nuked an entire city by literally lifting a finger, that was intense.

Look as in the production of the fights? When Broly punched Vegeta into that mountain I winced.
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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by JulieYBM » Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:51 pm

Movie #20, of course. Goddamn, the bois were swole and carved in that one.

Also, still thinking about Vegeta against Hit. 😍😍😍
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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Polyphase Avatron » Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:42 pm

I have to say that both Ultra Instinct Omen and Mastered Ultra Instinct in the ToP made quite the impression.

The Moro arc and onwards in the manga severely devalued it, of course, but it was great while it lasted, probably the first time to recapture the original SSJ on Namek feel.
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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Cipher » Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:24 pm

Only speaking about the manga:

The action feels fastest and most animated at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. I don’t know that there’s any other portion of the series that so effectively sells the escalation from what had come previously. Truly remarkable stuff.

The scale of the action feels at its largest at two points, for me: One is late Namek (particularly Goku and Freeza’s fight). It really does feel like it’s taking place on a completely different level from anything prior—constant aerial battles, zipping across oceans, slicing planets in half, etc. It feels ridiculous and huge. And yet the hits all still have believable impact and weight.

The second for me is the Boo arc, which I think is undersold on its sense of visceral scale. Although the action scenes tend to be shorter, they still sell it. Goku and Vegeta’s few pages of fighting have them blowing holes in the landscape with their most casual attacks, and Gotenks vs. Boo ends in absolutely gleeful bits of collateral damage on the empty Earth, with Gotenks marveling (appropriately childishly) at the gigantic crater Boo leaves once he spikes him into the ground. Then you also have all the weird ki techniques popping up like the Super Ghost Kamikaze, Vegetto’s sword, etc. I buy that it’s on another level from what’s come before, which isn’t always true of the action presentation in the Cell arc. There are also great panels of, like ... vacuums being created in the atmosphere by exploding blasts? Ex. after Vegeta’s self-destruction or Goku knocking Boo’s Kamehameha away. Toriyama draws the hell out of those, and they feel gigantic.

The Super anime struggled with this, but I think successfully sold me on it twice: once near the end of the Kefla fight when she’s zapping the entire stage, and once near the end when Goku is countering Jiren’s rain of punches while appearing to stand still. The Super manga and GT both struggle with it too, but while I can’t think of any particular highlights for sense of visceral scale, it isn’t to the point where I’m distracted by it—they do what they can and have proxy characters and transformations help communicate the escalation as shorthand.

Maybe Jiren’s massive, stand-obligating blast near the end of the ToP, or Goku’s round-the-world shockwave lunch against Moro. Actually, also the circumnavigation in the UI vs. UI fight. I might actually put the manga’s presentation of UI’s movement in the category of visceral scale communication too—just of a different sort.

The animation in Broly is top-notch, but hot take? Other than the dimension-breaking (intellectually, I guess), if doesn’t really feel that huge to me. It just feels like the first time animation has successfully captured what DB’s action should always have felt like from even the Saiyan arc onward.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Skar » Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:52 pm

In the original series, Goku vs Freeza felt the most powerful to me. The two strongest beings in the universe having a fight to the death while the planet was about to explode was pretty intense. In DBS, I think it's Beerus vs Champa in the manga. Regardless of how much stronger they've become, most battles have them fight in close proximity with about as much damage to their surroundings as the Saiyan saga. Their blasts cause some craters and someone gets punched into a mountain or building. Beerus vs Champa had them fighting in space and punching through planets then the Angels intervened because all out battle between them would cause destruction to both universes so they weren't even serious yet!

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Super Saiyan Swagger » Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:53 pm

Gogeta and Broly shattering reality takes the cake for me. It took me a good three seconds to comprehend what was actually going on the first time I saw it. Felt so surreal.

Goku absorbing the Genki Dama and turning into a fucking sun in Z movie 7 is probably a runner-up for me. I remember being creeped out by Goku's angry face when I was a kid.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by DBZAOTA482 » Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:13 am

Gogeta vs. Broly. They were fighting across dimensions.
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DBZGTKOSDH wrote:... Haven't we already gotten these in GT? Goku dies, the DBs go away, and the Namekian DBs most likely won't be used again because of the Evil Dragons.
Goku didn't die in GT. The show sucked him off so much, it was impossible to keep him in the world of the living, so he ascended beyond mortality.
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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Polyphase Avatron » Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:18 am

DBZAOTA482 wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:13 am Gogeta vs. Broly. They were fighting across dimensions.
Well it's not like we haven't seen that kind of thing before (Buu and Gotenks, Goku vs. Hit in the anime, Goku Black with his scythe, etc.)
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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by PurestEvil » Sun Aug 01, 2021 1:11 pm

Here are a few moments:
Super Kamehameha against Piccolo was the first beam struggle and made Piccolo, the strongest villain so far, absolutely crap his pants.

Goku turning Super Saiyan and him clenching Freeza’s hand are classics.

Vegeta’s final flash, nuff said.

Buu and Gotenks ripping a hole between dimensions with their FUCKING VOICES

Vegito beating Buu as a candy.

Goku’s Genki Dama against Yi Xing Qiu Shenron was probably Goku’s strongest Ki attack he ever made.

Goku’s ONE (inch) PUUUUUNCH against Golden Freeza

UI Goku vs Jiren.

Goku’s...weird giant thing he did to kill Moro.
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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Demon Prince Piccolo » Wed Sep 15, 2021 1:59 am

The ones that pop into my mind are:

Goku vs. Piccolo Jr. at the 23rd (Goku always seemed to be several steps ahead of everyone during this tournament, although Piccolo was right there with him).

Goku vs Nappa (after witnessing Nappa single-handedly demolish most of the Z Fighters, seeing a Goku who struggled against Raditz humiliate him the way he did only elevated Goku further)

Piccolo vs 2nd Form Frieza

SSJ Goku vs Frieza on Namek

FPSSJ Goku vs Cell

MUI Goku vs Jiren

Gogeta Blue vs Broly
The story of DRAGON BALL starts from the moment Goku met Bulma. I don't really mind the Z, so long as it's understood that it's not the true beginning of the story.

I actually prefer the Goku vs Tenshinhan and Goku vs Piccolo Jr. rivalries to the Goku vs Vegeta rivalry.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Demon Prince Piccolo » Wed Sep 15, 2021 5:44 am

Oh, also, the first Goku vs Vegeta fight. Vegeta has never felt more powerful than he did in the Saiyan Saga. He was a BEAST who simply could not be killed no matter what Goku, Gohan, and Krillin threw at him. Ironically the only other time Vegeta has felt this powerful imho is in Super: Broly.
The story of DRAGON BALL starts from the moment Goku met Bulma. I don't really mind the Z, so long as it's understood that it's not the true beginning of the story.

I actually prefer the Goku vs Tenshinhan and Goku vs Piccolo Jr. rivalries to the Goku vs Vegeta rivalry.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by The Monkey King » Wed Sep 15, 2021 7:58 am

Definitely not in the current DBS Manga

Goku and Vegeta are fighting Granola the "strongest mortal in the universe" but in terms of scale it's no more impressive than when Kid Goku fought King Piccolo :lol:

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Jack Bz » Wed Sep 15, 2021 8:24 am

I feel Goku first turning super saiyan 3 was the strongest any character has ever felt to me. The whole planet is shaking and falling apart just by Goku transforming, Goku's power can be sensed even from the kaioshin realm (I love the idea that there were ki sensing beings from other planets having a panic attack at what they were sensing and not knowing what it was), and people are genuinely scared about how far Goku is pushing himself.

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Re: At what point in the story did the characters look and feel their most powerful?

Post by Demon Prince Piccolo » Wed Sep 15, 2021 12:08 pm

Jack Bz wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 8:24 am I feel Goku first turning super saiyan 3 was the strongest any character has ever felt to me. The whole planet is shaking and falling apart just by Goku transforming, Goku's power can be sensed even from the kaioshin realm (I love the idea that there were ki sensing beings from other planets having a panic attack at what they were sensing and not knowing what it was), and people are genuinely scared about how far Goku is pushing himself.
Somehow I didn't think of this, but I totally agree. I'll always love the SSJ3 form (namely Goku having it) because of the lead-up to that transformation and then the ensuing transformation. The OG Japanese scene in the anime really paints it more as something terrifying is happening to Son Goku during the transformation. He gives this almost evil-looking smirk right before powering up. It really felt like Goku had pulled out all the stops in achieving this form in the Other World, and had kept it as trump card.
The story of DRAGON BALL starts from the moment Goku met Bulma. I don't really mind the Z, so long as it's understood that it's not the true beginning of the story.

I actually prefer the Goku vs Tenshinhan and Goku vs Piccolo Jr. rivalries to the Goku vs Vegeta rivalry.

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