Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

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Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by BeaBumby » Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:43 pm

Should the Buu arc, and subsequent series, not have been made? Would you think the series would be better overall? What do you think would be different had the series ended as it originally intended to be? (at least according to rumors.)
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:52 pm

No. Because rumors are just rumors and shouldnt dictate the text of the series.
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by MasenkoHA » Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:56 pm

The series was never going to end at Cell.


And Cell is a terrible ending for the series. It only works if you follow the mentality that “Dragon Ball” is Goku’s story and “Dragon Ball Z” is Gohan’s story. Which doesn’t work when you account for the fact the name change and story divide was anime only.


I’ll say it again, say what you will about the Boo arc as a whole it really did provide the best ending for the manga since the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai.

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Desassina » Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:00 pm

I don't think so, and the main reason is Gohan, or his sudden change in character. He grew consistently when he was kid, but faded into obscurity by the androids' chapters, and resurged completely different in the Cell Games, because Toriyama's strategy was to set him up through hype, so that he could deconstruct the hero in the following arc. That process led to the realization that Goku suited that role better compared to him being dead, Vegeta quitting battle altogether and the world being left to somebody whom we had just met (Gohan), because he wasn't like his Saiyan and Namek self.

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Demon Prince Piccolo » Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:05 pm

No. The ending of the Boo arc is a much more natural, fitting ending for the story as a whole. Gohan's role and purpose was never to take over as Goku's successor, even if he was originally meant to be the lead in the Boo arc. Defeating Kid Boo was a combined victory effort between Goku, Mr. Satan, and all the people of Earth (including Goku's family, and friends that he made over the entire series). Goku flying off to train with Oob to reach new heights of power is an open ending and feels more "Dragon Ball" to me than the Cell arc ending. And it's the perfect way to close Goku's story, being an ending that is a new beginning, akin to the 23rd Budokai ending.

Also, I think I enjoy the Boo arc a bit more than the Cell arc.
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by BeaBumby » Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:33 pm

MasenkoHA wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:56 pm I’ll say it again, say what you will about the Boo arc as a whole it really did provide the best ending for the manga since the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai.
Good point, and yeah the 23rd Budokai would be a good finale too, now that I think about it
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by WittyUsername » Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:35 pm

The rumors about how the manga was supposed to end with Cell are just that, rumors. There’s no evidence to support this idea. Toriyama did intend for the ending of the arc to be a passing of the baton moment, with Gohan becoming the new main character moving forward, but he was never forced to continue the story past when he wanted to end it.

With that said, the Cell arc does provide a pretty strong sense of closure, so it could work as an ending, if one wishes to view it that way.

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by 90sDBZ » Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:46 pm

I prefer the Buu saga overall, so no. The Cell Games ending is great for the arc in isolation, but not so much for the wider story. It was just a bit too serious and sad to end such an upbeat story that way. The Buu saga embraced the craziness and fun, and had Goku alive again as the main character. I love Gohan's character, but going back to Goku for the end was for the best.

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Alruneia » Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:53 pm

Buu > Cell :)
I mean, that's my genuine opinion, I enjoy the Buu arc more than the Cell arc and am happy with the fact that Dragon Ball continued for that additional arc. So no, it shouldn't have, and I'm glad it didn't.
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:51 pm

I'm happy how things are with the series.
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by DBZAOTA482 » Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:20 am

Nah, the Cell Games didn't convince me Gohan was ready to carry the torch. He was gonna give it all up when the odds were against him till daddy pep talked him.

It should've ended with the Boo arc only following through the idea of Gohan being the successor. Totiyama already did everything he could to develop Goku's character at that point so the best move is to put the focus on Gohan who's hungry for character development.
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Majin Buu » Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:04 am

Cell is only a decent ending if Dragon Ball is just "DBZ" to you.

Buu is a better ending for the Dragon Ball saga in its entirety.

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by TheGreatness25 » Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:01 pm

As someone who enjoyed the Boo arc more than the Cell arc, I'd day that I'm glad the series moved past Cell. That was such a sour ending to be honest. And after Freeza, Cell just felt a bit overwhelming. Yes, the stakes were high with the androids and Cell, but Freeza felt more like a threat. If Freeza won the battle, you knew that he would kill, overtake, and conquer everything including Earth. Cell and the androids felt a lot more isolated to Earth and while it was bleak, it wasn't as scary.

Boo brought that feeling back. Boo transcended Earth and its inhabitants. So, from that standpoint, I feel that Boo was the better villain. He also felt much more threatening than Cell.

Also, I liked the story itself. I liked seeing a more grown up Gohan and what became of Kuririn, etc. I also liked seeing a more grown up Trunks (from a baby, I mean). Goten's inclusion always felt bizarre--kind of like he existed for the sole purpose of Trunks bouncing dialog off of someone, but whatever. Also liked seeing what became of Mr. Satan.

Finally, it was nice that Goku ended up staying alive. I mean it wouldn't be fair if he did everything he did just to die young in a series where people don't have to stay dead. And I even liked the end of Z time skip. I liked the idea of GT too.

I generally enjoy Dragon Ball content and wouldn't say that I wish it ended earlier than it did. The closest thing I'll say is that I wish that it stayed ended--not because I don't like the new content, but for my own selfish reasons of not wanting to actively keep up with the series all this time later.

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by PurestEvil » Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:41 pm

No it shouldn't have. Only TFS had the right to do that.
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Kaboom » Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:54 pm

Nah, the Majin Boo arc is my favorite of the "Z" era, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Rather, Dragon Ball should have ended after GT. Well it kind of already did, but... It should have stayed ended after GT.
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Saiya6Cit » Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:10 pm

Being completely objective, Toriyama never wanted to continue dragon ball passed the radditz/freezer saga, he was asked to continue it.

It happens with many artists, actors, musicians etc they are under a contract and they have to deliver a product, wether they feel like creating or not. Mangakas in particular live under a lot of stress, as someone who draws, I understand the difficult situations in which toriyama might had been involved by that time.

He wanted to focus on Dr. Slump but DB was massively popular and giving in a lot of cash right? so he had no choice but to continue it. He did not even had ideas so he borrowed some inspiration from american comicbooks such as the X-men.

No, dragon ball should not have stopped after cell saga becuase this was the version of trunks who was being raised by vegeta in all cases they should not skip that many years til majin boo saga....

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:37 pm

I don't think so, in theory having a character sacrifice themselves as a last resort to defeat the ultimate villain is a neat idea, and as Return of The Jedi showed it doesn't necessarily always have to be the hero, but it doesn't work for how events played out in the Cell arc or Dragon Ball overall.

As has been stated Dragon Ball is still ultimately Goku's story, and not a passing of the torch (which is cliched anyway and Toriyama's style lends itself more to subversion), so having Gohan suddenly save the day, even if they had foreshadowed it more wouldn't be that interesting.

At that point in the story it was also not a time the idea could have worked, even in isolation. While Goku might have meant well it was still an error in judgement because he ended up killing Kaiō-sama, Bubbles and Gregory (last one in anime only) in the process. Being the cause of the death of your most recent mentor and his homeworld is a rather clumsy way of executing the hero sacrificing himself to save the day when he saved the day for more lives, not all.

Also, as much as I love the Piccolo, Saiyan, Freeza and Cell arcs the sense of fun and wackiness that Toriyama is known for was missing for large portions of those arcs. The Boo arc was very refreshing given how intense those arcs got. Granted the Boo arc got serious once again when Super Boo came onto the scene, but Gotenks and Vegetto's fights against him were a great juxtaposition that made it all quite fun to watch.

The Earth fending for itself was also a great way of ending the final battle, which following on from the previous arcs very appropriately escalated to deciding the fate of the universe. It was like everyone who was part of Goku's journey finally had their chance to give back, and in turn Oob's role was to emphasize that Goku continues to inspire and because he is an overgrown kid his passion for training and adventure never stops.

Boo arc felt a lot more earned, and even though the ending left something to be desired for some fans it still made a lot more sense than Cell.
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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Zephyr » Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:47 pm

Nah. After a certain point, the story started to decline in quality, reaching its lowest point in the Cell arc. The Boo arc built on the Cell arc in a way that made the blemishes useful to the story, and over all worth it.

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Majin Buu » Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:54 pm

Zephyr wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:47 pm Boo arc built on the Cell arc in a way that made the blemishes useful to the story, and over all worth it.
To bounce off of this, I think Buu himself is a better execution of concepts Cell brought to the table (To contrast the common complaint from detractors that he's "a lame retread of Cell"): He works better as an evil foil for Goku due to being far more similar to Goku in personality than Cell was, his infinite regeneration provides several cool visuals to justify its reuse, his taking on the physical and personality traits of the people he absorbs gives his absorption a uniquely empathic quality that makes it far more interesting than Cell's more straightforward absorptions, and all three of his primary forms have more engaging personalities than Cell did.

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Re: Should Dragon Ball Have Stopped After Cell?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:25 pm

It's interesting that fan reception of the Boo arc has somewhat softened with time. I remember Boo was long considered the weakest arc in the series, but nowadays a lot of people (myself included) appreciate many aspects of it, in numerous cases moreso than Cell.
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