Kanzenshuu members' favorite arcs!

[sintzu]

The Saiyan arc presents an end goal and clear climax before transitioning into the Namek arc (which deals with its fallout). The problem of the Ultimate Dragon Balls continues right through the end of the fight with Baby. Episode 23 still focuses on Goku, Trunks and Pan in space.

I'd personally group them together as one large journey.

This is a good point.

I do as well.

[PelicanDynasty]

1) 21st TB
2) 22nd TB
3) 23rd TB
4) Namek (up until the Freeza fight, that part was waaaay too long)
5) Baba Tournament (by your definition this is RRA saga)


What can I say, I love those tournaments lol

[Robo4900]

1. Androids arc - For me, there's no contest; this is without a doubt the best arc. Trunks is interesting, the constant twists, Goku's farewell... Even Z's filler in this arc was really good! (Yes, this includes both the cars one and the Tao ones)
2. 21st Budokai arc - Probably an unusual choice for second place, but this arc, including the training mini-arc at the beginning, is so fun. Every time I watch Dragon Ball, the thing that gets me through the less good episodes from the Pilaf arc is the thought that this is up next. Every single time I watch this, I have an absolute blast. It's silly, it's over-the-top, and it's great. I love every moment of it.
3. Piccolo Daimao arc - The turning point when Dragon Ball began to turn into the style it would adopt for all of Z. Although unlike Z, this keeps a lot of the martial arts stuff that was largely dropped in Z in favour of energy attacks and transformations. The first major character death(Which gives me chills every time), my favourite Dragon Ball villain, everything about the Mafuba and Roshi's backstory that this arc goes into, it's all great.
4. 23rd Budokai arc - I really love my tournament arcs. This one also has the really cool stuff about Piccolo, and the ending is brilliant. Also, unlike many people, I enjoy the end of DB filler.
5. Freeza arc - Another major turning point in Dragon Ball history. Freeza is a great villain, Vegeta is awesome as usual, and begins the greatest character arc in all of Dragon Ball. The Super Saiyan transformation is unveiled, and there's even comedy for the dub fans.

PelicanDynasty -- I'm right there with you!

And here's a brief look at the other arcs, in case anyone cares...

6. 22nd Budokai arc - Another great tournament arc. Also, it has the Man-Wolf joke, which I love so much.
7. Boo arc - I like it. It was definitely flawed, but I still enjoyed it.
8. Pilaf arc - A humble, and very enjoyable, beginning.
9. Saiyan arc - Goku has a son? Goku has a brother?! Goku is an ALIEN?! Goku teams up with PICCOLO?! Goku DIES?!?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!
10. The Red Ribbon arc - This arc is far too long to do justice in such a small space, but suffice it to say, it's good, although, a little draggy in places.
11. Goku Black arc - This one still needs some time to sit with me to be honest, but for now, I'll just say I enjoyed it.
12. Champa arc - Another fun tournament arc. I liked it.
13. BOG arc - Beerus and Whis absolutely steal the show, and it actually kept continuity with GT, which I liked.
14. Shadow Dragons arc - Amazing premise, slow start, incredible ending. Overall a fun experience, if a little mixed in places.
15. Baby arc - Another mixed but fun overall experience.
16. Super 17 arc - It's fanservice. The premise is thin, it's a little stupid, but it's fun.
17. ROF arc - It had its moments, but it was a little dull overall.
18. Black Star Dragon Ball arc - It's okay. I appreciate what it's trying to do, but it doesn't quite get there really.

19. Potaufeu -

[Thouser]

The order occasionally shifts around, but my top five are:

1. 23rd Tenka'ichi Budōkai
2. Saiyan arc
3. 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai
4. Piccolo Daimaō arc
5. Namek arc

[Saikyo no Senshi]

1) 23rd Tenka'ichi Budoukai - My favorite arc in the comic. Toriyama went all out. I like all the fights. Toriyama carefully crafted each battle with precision and his use of dynamic panels was wonderful. Son Gokuu Ma-Junior fight was a highlight and absolutely insane. Torishima must've kept Toriyama in strict check which is why I assume it turned out so good.

2) Majin Boo - Best arc in the anime. While the comic was getting worse the change in character designs by Yamamuro really helped. I can't believe I praised Yamamuro but his designs were darn good.
But, the star of the arc was Yama'uchi Shigeyasu, the uncredited series director after Nishio Daisuke left.
He directed good eps in the arc like #232, #275, #279. His use of slowmo combined with his style of editing was amazing. The music and voice work was top-notch as always. Also, WE GOTTA POWER was an outstanding intro and I think I like it more than CHA-LA. The ending Boku-tachi Wa Tenshi Datta was also great.


3) Red Ribbon Army - It had world building. Toriyama's artwork and backgrounds were gorgeous. I like the arc in the comic more than the anime, but the anime was also good.

4) 22nd Tenka'ichi Budoukai - Fun arc with fun moments and was overall very entertaining. Gokuu and Kuririn fight in both the comic and anime was nice. The anime fight was done by Last House and had a well timed Shida action cut. Kame-Sen'nin's telepathic conversation with Tenshinhan in the end was the best part.

5) Freeza - The villain was great. The dialogue exchange between Freeza and Gokuu was some of the best in the franchise. Nozawa and Nakao were outstanding and despite the fight dragging on and on the dialogue scenes were handled really well. Kikuchi's music helped in creating the necessary atmosphere to show Freeza's terror. Some of the Seigasha episodes like #98 and #103 were decently animated and directed. The comic was also good though, actually better.

[mabalia]

1- 23rd Budokai arc
2- Cell/Androids arc
3- The Red Ribbon/Hunt for the DBs arc
4- Champa arc
5- Buu arc

[MajinMan]

1. Majin Buu Arc - Although this arc is definitely not the best written, it still manages to entertain me the most. I love the comedy, fights, character development, villain, and finale. The one thing that really bothers me is how Gohan was shafted. He got thrown away way too quickly after like 25 episodes of build up. If Gohan had to get shafted, it should have been done differently.

2. 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai Arc - Hands down the best tournament in the series. Every single fight was great, and the martial arts rivalry between the turtle and crane schools was a brilliant idea by Toriyama. The ending is one hell of a shocker too, in more ways than one. If I were to criticize anything, it would be that we did not get to see the Crane Hermit in action, which was a big missed opportunity.

3. Saiyan Arc - This is an arc that many people will gloss over, but I feel that it is up there with the best of the best. Great action? Check. Tension? Check. Character development? Check. This arc is responsible for changing the entire series. While the franchise benifited from all the retcons introduced in this arc, I feel that it lost something valuable. The sense of mystique was gone (until the Buu Arc).

4. 21st Tenkaichi Budokai Arc - While I do really enjoy the tournament in this arc, I rank it this high because of the first 6 or so episodes that consist of Goku and Kuririn training under Roshi. That was DB comedy at its best. I love the training that they go through and how they bond over time. The tournament, while good, could have been longer and better. Some of the fights weren't all the interesting.

5. Piccolo Daimao Arc - Piccolo Daimao was the first real big bad the series had. I like the sense of tension and dread we get in this arc. Piccolo killing all the martial artists and gaining his youth back is just shocking to watch. I also like the reveal of God at the end of the arc. One big problem with the arc however is that it borrowed too much from the Red Ribbon Army Arc. Super God Water thingy? Yup. Goku survives a near certain death situation? Yes again. And it did not do them nearly as well.

The rest of my list would go like this:

6. Freeza Arc
7. 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai Arc
8. Future Trunks Arc
9. Red Ribbon Army Arc
10. Baby Arc
11. Champa Arc
12. Hunt for the Dragon Balls Arc
13. Battle of Gods Arc
14. Cell Arc
15. Evil Dragons Arc
16. Dark Dragon Ball Arc
17. Resurrection F Arc
18. Super 17 Arc

[Soppa Saia People]

Also,

11. Black Star Dragon Ball arc.
12. Baby/Bebi arc.

Is there really a point in separating these? I get that episode 22 acts as a climax of sorts, but it's still all one storyline that begins with Goku being turned into a child and ends with his fight against Baby.

If the second hunt for the Dragon Balls is collectively one storyline between the Red Ribbon army material and the mini-arc at Uranai Baba's, so is this.

Alright, fair point. I'll change that. Nice suggestion.
(But why do you put a "y" in "Saia" ? I'm not mad, just confused )

[sangofe]

Alright this is something I saw on another forum, and I thought it be neat to do it with Kanzenshuu. So here's how it goes, state your top 5 favorite arcs from Dragon Ball. This includes OGDB, Z, GT and Super. Basically your #1 favorite arc will be worth 5 points, 2 4 points, 3 3 points. 4 2 points and 5 1 point. Please explain why you enjoy these arcs. The deadline will be December 8th and I'll rank them somewhere between the 7th and the 9-12th. The arcs with the least amount of points will be ranked last before we finish with the arc that got the most points. Also for the arcs, please use these for their names.


First place: 11.Buu Arc
Second place: 6.Piccolo/Ma Jr/23rd tournament arc.
Third place: 17.Goku Black




1.Pilaf/Goku/Hunt for the DBs arc, for the first arc.
2.21st tournament/budokai for the 2nd arc.
3.The Red Ribbon/Hunt for the DBs part 2, for the arc after the tournament and before the 22nd tournament.
4.22nd tournament/Budokai/Tenshinhan arc, for the 22nd tournament.
5.Demon King Piccolo/King Piccolo/Piccolo Daimao arc,for the arc that starts with Kuririn's death and ends with Goku training with Kami.
6. Piccolo/Ma Jr/23rd tournament arc. For the 3rd tournament
7. Saiyan/Vegeta arc, for the arc that starts with Raditz landing and ends with Vegeta's retreat
8. Freeza/Namek arc for the arc that starts after Gohan, Kuririn and Goku are in the hospital and ends with Nameks explosion.
9. Cell/Androids arc, for the arc that starts with Freeza's return and ends with Goku choosing to stay dead.
10. Boo/Buu arc for the arc that starts with Gohan going to School and ends with Kid Boo's defeat.
11. Baby/Bebi arc. (includes that Black Star DBs arc)
12. Super 17 arc.
13.Shadow Dragons arc.
14. BOG/Beerus arc.
15. ROF arc.
16. Champa arc.
17. Zamazu/Goku Black arc.

[Doctor.]

I hate to be that guy here, but are we talking about quality or preference here? Because they are different things. The title leads me to believe preference, but the opening post is a bit more confusing.

Preference it is, then.

1 - Boo arc
2 - Freeza arc
3 - Goku Black arc
4 - 23rd Tournament arc
5 - Saiyan arc

[Soppa Saia People]

I hate to be that guy here, but are we talking about quality or preference here? Because they are different things. The title leads me to believe preference, but the opening post is a bit more confusing.

Preference it is, then.

1 - Boo arc
2 - Freeza arc
3 - Goku Black arc
4 - 23rd Tournament arc
5 - Saiyan arc

It's okay, we can all be that guy sometimes
And yes it is preference.

[WobbuSleuth]

1) Piccolo Daimao arc.
This arc is my favorite for number of reasons. First of all, Piccolo Daimao, IMO, the best Dragon Ball villain ever. Because he was clever, dangerous and truly frightening. Freeza maybe have bigger impact on Goku's backstory and has more flashy fight, but Daimao in my eyes better than him in lots of ways.
Second, arc was truly mature, specially in anime. Sub-plot with Tien's dark past in one episode was very unexpected to me. Also (again, in anime) sub-plot with Suno, that sub-plot was really dark and disturbingly realistic for Dragon Ball.
Third, filler. Filler war really great and needed, because I really didn't like ultra divine water in manga. That power-up was so uninspiring and a cheap way to make Goku stronger. His adventures with Yajirobe in anime were more entertaining. Also, training arc with Popo and Kami was fun and well animated.
2) Saiyan arc. This arc has - great filler, great character development, great animation, and last, but certainly not least, great balance between usual DBZ mood and DB more humorous and adventurous tone.
3) Red Ribbon Army arc. That arc got a true ADVENTURE feel. For only that it can be my favorite, but it also has great villains and good fights. (And good insert songs in anime)
4) Freeza arc. It was long. Really-really long. And I didn't like this arc at first. But now, I appreciate character of Freeza (he was good only in this arc and in the Bardock special), really like Ginyu Tokusentai, and like fights in this arc a lot. Only minuses, besides it's longevity, too much focus on Vegeta in the beginning and lack of space adventures in manga (and lack of good space adventures in anime)
5) Probably the 22nd Budokai. I really like fights and character development of Tien in this arc. Also, Goku vs Kurilin is much better than SSJ Goku vs Majin Vegeta

[Lord Beerus]

1. Future Trunks arc - What more could be said? I was dismissive about the idea of "Evil Goku", but Goku Black delivered in spades. And Zamasu was a fantastically written character as a whole and the best main villain Dragon Ball has ever created. The ending was a total shocker but was also heartbreaking and surprisingly heartwarming and made me go through emotions that I had never gone through before when watching Dragon Ball. It's Dragon Ball's most mature arc by leaps and bounds and the apex of storytelling in the franchise.

2. Saiyan arc - Fantastic lore, great character development for Gohan and Piccolo, death having actual weight on the plot, Vegeta as a villain, fantastic cumulative battle between Vegeta and Z-Fighters, effective use of the supporting cast, wonderul supplementary material in the anime adaptation of the arc, more specifically with the filler with Gohan training and surving on his own in preparation for the Vegeta and Nappa arriving, and to cap it off, a brilliant twist ending.

3. Freeza/Namek arc - More fantastic lore and expansion of the universe, Freeza was an amazing villain and the best villain the franchise had produced until Zamasu, there was a real sense of teamwork in a lot of the battles, The Ginyu Force were a wonder to watch, Goku vs. Freeza still remains the best fight in all of Dragon Ball, the supporting cast were well utilised and the cast and mouse style of which the heroes and villains went after each other and the Namekian Dragon Balls was a thrill to watch.

4. Majin Boo arc - I love the Majin Boo arc just for how crazy and ridiculous it is and it how it reviled in it. It may have been inconsistent and logic may have been backwards-ass at times, but it was entertaining as fuck. The Majin Boo arc was dense and wacky and was fully aware of it and felt like such a throwback to the early arcs of Dragon Ball when it had its charm and had the perfect balance of comedy and action. I don't think the arc was meant to be taken seriously. But if you did, I can see why some people would be let down by the arc to a degree. The arc also has the strongest character development in the whole story with us seeing sides of Vegeta, Mr Satan and Majin Boo we thought wouldn't exist. The ending also provides a lovely "And the adventure continues.." feeling, but does ultimately feels quite abrupt.

5. King Piccolo arc - The overall tone and sense of drama for the arc was unlike what he had seen before, King Piccolo was a great villain and changed everything about Dragon Ball with his introduction, great use of the supporting cast, Yajirobe constantly stole any scene he was in, Goku losing clean, Goku vs King Piccolo (Round 2) is fantastic, Goku killing King Piccolo is one of the most iconic moments in the history of Dragon Ball and the introduction of Piccolo Jr was a great cliffhanger.

[sintzu]

I'm surprised to see how many not only have Buu in their top 5 but as their #1, I guess this can put the whole "Buu arc is the least favorite arc for fans" to rest.

While the comic was getting worse the change in character designs by Yamamuro really helped.

I think the reason the manga went downhill a bit was because of how tired Toriyama was at that point but thankfully Toei's changes and additions to the arc made up for what it lacked in the manga.

[Lunatic Fringe]

I'm surprised to see how many not only have Buu in their top 5 but as their #1, I guess this can put the whole "Buu arc is the least favorite arc for fans" to rest.

While the comic was getting worse the change in character designs by Yamamuro really helped.

I think the reason the manga went downhill a bit was because of how tired Toriyama was at that point but thankfully Toei's changes and additions to the arc made up for what it lacked in the manga.

'Round these parts, it's the Cell arc.

[sintzu]

'Round these parts, it's the Cell arc.

That's also surprising to me cause on other sites like Youtube it's a fan favorite while Buu is the one that's disliked.

[DBZAOTA482]

I'm surprised to see how many not only have Buu in their top 5 but as their #1, I guess this can put the whole "Buu arc is the least favorite arc for fans" to rest.

While the comic was getting worse the change in character designs by Yamamuro really helped.

I think the reason the manga went downhill a bit was because of how tired Toriyama was at that point but thankfully Toei's changes and additions to the arc made up for what it lacked in the manga.

'Round these parts, it's the Cell arc.

Vocal minority.

[Cipher]

(But why do you put a "y" in "Saia" ? I'm not mad, just confused )

It's present in Japanese (the second character is "ya";
it's a rearrangement of "yasai," the word for vegetable) and every official international adaptation I'm aware of. Are there versions that just go with "Saia(n)" instead?

[omaro34]

1)) Saiyan Arc - The overwhelming power of the Saiyans was exciting because these were the first "aliens" to come to Earth, creating a new dimension in Dragonball. What was admirable about the Earth's special forces was that they knew these 2 Saiyans would be extremely powerful, when Kami told them after they went to the past and fought other Saiyans from roughly a century ago, yet the Earthlings still fought. Tien died an honorable death, and Krillin was truly a warrior trying to overcome the odds. If Nappa had caught that Destructo Disk before Vegeta at the last second told Nappa not to touch it, who knows what would have happened? Krillin showed some moves, and it pissed me off during Super when he was scared to fight Freeza soldiers and needed encouragement; that completely goes against what the character has been through. This Arc also brilliantly paved the way for the plot of the next Arc to occur; the writing had a logical sequence.


2) Freeza Arc - The whole adventure was exciting, and the sequence of events were well done. The writing was great, the characters overcoming such a tough adversary unexpectedly was appealing, and just seeing the challenges the Namekians had to go through with a tryant in their midst was entertaining. Lastly, this arc had extreme tension, something that is lacking in Super. Goku turning SSJ for the first time is one of the best scenes in Anime history.


3) Android/Cell Arc - This Arc, with the exception of the Saiyan arc, had the best character usage. The Piccolo vs 17 fight is my favorite fight in the Z series, mainly because it was so evenly matched. Gohan's development and the foreshadowing that he would be extremely powerful brilliantly came to fruition during this Arc, its just too bad Goku had to die after it got to his head.


4) 23rd Budokai Arc: Piccolo Jr Vs Goku was an epic fight, one of the best in the series. The counter Mafuba was interesting as well.

[Soppa Saia People]

(But why do you put a "y" in "Saia" ? I'm not mad, just confused )

It's present in Japanese (the second character is "ya";
it's a rearrangement of "yasai," the word for vegetable) and every official international adaptation I'm aware of. Are there versions that just go with "Saia(n)" instead?

I was making fun of the speedy dub. I'm honestly not sure what they go with.