How many times could Perfect Cell been prevented?

[Nagyzöld]

Cell Games and Gohan's SSJ2 were the most epic parts of DBZ in my opinion. However as I rewatched Kai recently, couldn't help but notice that they only got to that point because of a bunch of mistakes from characters' side.

- Trunks didn't offer much details on the Androids.
- They didn't go right away and destroy Gero's lab after what Trunks told them.
- Nobody thought about using the Time Chamber until there was a lot at stake already.
- Goku didn't take the medicine in time.
- Piccolo didn't finish Imperfect Cell off when he was clearly overpowering him. (and the fusion with Kami turned out to be pretty much useless)
- Android 17 got too cocky with Cell instead of running away.
- Android 18 dragged on too much instead of running away (also couldn't she just hide in the ocean?)
- Vegeta got too cocky with Semi-perfect Cell and let him transform.
- Trunks was holding back too much because he was afraid of hurting daddy's feelings (as he got called out by Krillin)
- Krillin didn't destroy Android 18.

Do you agree with all of these or think any of it was justified? Or which one do you think was the dumbest?

[Lionel]

It's definitely stating the obvious -- the debacle we have in the Cell arc is the product of the Z-Warriors' underestimation and hubris more than any ingenious ploys or breakthroughs by Cell. Gero's machinations wouldn't have even gotten off the ground had Bulma's intial proposal been followed through and they hunted the mad scientist down.

[Koitsukai]

I always felt Goku nor Trunks were clear about how to take the medicine.
I usually ask my doctor a lot, when and how to take a pill, I would never buy a drug without knowing if I have to take it before I feel sick, to prevent it or when I start feeling sick, or how much is enough.
Goku is dumb, he even forgot the details about the androids arrival minutes later, so I have to blame Trunks here, he just gave him the medicine, told Goku he'd be dead in 3 years and that was it. Then Gohan even justifies Goku not taking the medicine because he never felt sick, so the drug was clearly preventive, and with a healthy Goku, the twins would've never been activated.

[blacksymbiote]

Cell Games and Gohan's SSJ2 were the most epic parts of DBZ in my opinion. However as I rewatched Kai recently, couldn't help but notice that they only got to that point because of a bunch of mistakes from characters' side.

- Trunks didn't offer much details on the Androids.
- They didn't go right away and destroy Gero's lab after what Trunks told them.
- Nobody thought about using the Time Chamber until there was a lot at stake already.
- Goku didn't take the medicine in time.
- Piccolo didn't finish Imperfect Cell off when he was clearly overpowering him. (and the fusion with Kami turned out to be pretty much useless)
- Android 17 got too cocky with Cell instead of running away.
- Android 18 dragged on too much instead of running away (also couldn't she just hide in the ocean?)
- Vegeta got too cocky with Semi-perfect Cell and let him transform.
- Trunks was holding back too much because he was afraid of hurting daddy's feelings (as he got called out by Krillin)
- Krillin didn't destroy Android 18.

Do you agree with all of these or think any of it was justified? Or which one do you think was the dumbest?

To address your points.

-In Trunks' timeline, 17 and 18 might not have been as subtle as 19 and 20 were.
-Trunks didn't know where the lab was and so the others were left without any indication of it plus none of the z fighters wanted to try this anyway.
-The chamber I took as a last resort since it can't be used indefinitely.
-Goku never felt sick. It wouldn't have been prudent to waste the medicine without the virus showing up. The virus just had dramatic timing.
-Piccolo and Cell were both distracted by the other characters flying in.
-Android 17 couldn't sense Cell's ki.
-18 didn't want to leave 16. It's a testament she isn't like her future counterpart.
-Vegeta also goaded Frieza into transforming as well. He's consistent.
-Also Vegeta got in the way
-infatuation makes people do dumb things.
In the end, this was all for dramatic effect. Imagine if Piccolo did kill imperfect Cell and the time chamber left the others easily strong enough for the androids. It wouldn't be much of a story.

[Nagyzöld]

To address your points.

- Tbh that point was mostly addressed as a joke by TFS, even though I think it still crossed the mind for some of us.
- Bulma knew the location of the lab all along. Piccolo did want to try that out, but Vegeta disagreed because he wanted a good fight. Funny that Vegeta was listened to.
- The Time Chamber could have benefited more characters, and maybe they could've reached power levels high enough to make a difference. Besides, they could use it also preventive, not only when peers are dying.
- Piccolo's and Cell's distraction was kinda far-fetched. You'd think one would be more focused and time efficient when the fate of the world is at stake.
- I mean Android 17 refused to run away because he got too over-confident in front of Cell.
- I understand 18's position, however Cell wasn't interested in 16.
- After Vegeta urged Frieza to transform, he got his sweet A handed to him. One would think he'd learned from his mistakes. So far I deem him as the dumbest of the arc.
- Though Trunks didn't phrase it like that, he made us believe he could've acted in spite of his father, but chose not to.
- Krillin's motive was the least bad imo. One could argue that he was swept off his feet too quickly and in the worst moment, but deep inside I believe he'd acted the same about Android 16, because of his good nature.

Yes it wouldn't be a story, but I am also convinced that while some terrible choices were justified, others were simply plot-derp, and wanted to see your view on this.

[Yuli Ban]

- After Vegeta urged Frieza to transform, he got his sweet A handed to him. One would think he'd learned from his mistakes. So far I deem him as the dumbest of the arc.

Just wanted to address this point.

Remember that Son Goku himself wanted to fight the Androids rather than get rid of them ahead of time. It's the one constant people keep forgetting about these two:
It's not necessarily that Vegeta is dumb. It's that he's a Saiyan. They're alien warriors. They don't think like we humans do. They lust for battle, even if it overrides common sense. It just happens that they're also the strongest, so their will be done.


As for everything else, a lot of this is literally Toriyama bullshitting everything. He didn't intend on Cell or even 17 and 18 being characters. Heck, he didn't even intend on getting to Perfect Cell so soon because he personally liked Semi-Perfect Cell so much and wanted to do more with him.

It's like the conundrum with False Super Saiyan— in universe it might be an imperfect transformation, but realistically it's just proto-Super Saiyan.
In universe, everyone was slurpin' that Idiot Juice, horribly underestimating everything new and making bizarrely stupid decisions every which way to Sunday, decisions that don't really make much sense even in context. Indeed I give Vegeta more leeway than most others because of the aforementioned point of his literally alien psychology and extreme hubris, but several other things aren't so kosher.

IRL, however... Trunks wasn't unclear about the Jinzōningen. At that point in time, 19 and 20 were who he was warning about, but "no one wanted to see Goku and friends fight an old man and a clown" so we got two 5'11" teenagers and a 6' ginger instead until they also "weren't scary enough" and we needed Cell. And so on and so forth. This arc of DBZ was held together with duct tape.