Tamagon wrote: Mon Sep 09, 2019 1:17 am
Thinking on it more, I don't think the pacing pre-Raditz has any real serious issue. The brisk pacing works for something that was mostly a gag manga (though I've heard of the anime adding in filler that made the story feel more fleshed out). So I guess my contention was really with the "Z" portion, where it's more of a serious story and I don't think the pacing works as well for it. Gohan feels pretty underdeveloped which particularly hurts the Cell arc since it's about him rising to the role of the main hero, though you could maybe make the argument that it's ultimately to the manga's benefit since Gohan gets kicked out of the spotlight in the next arc :p
I've read the first two volumes of the Boo arc and most of it feels like an attempt to bring the series back to its roots, so to speak. The stakes are lower and there's a bigger focus on comedy, and there was a surprising amount of nods and callbacks to DB. It still feels all over the place though...from superhero parody to martial arts tournament in the span of a volume!
I mean I'll be the first to come in and say that Dragon Ball receded from the gag manga approach once it was done with the 21st TB, and moved away from it almost completely once the 22nd TB started. From there, while there are still comedic moments, I'd argue that entire comedic
scenes became a rarity thanks to the presence of characters like Tien and Piccolo.
Anyway, I agree that the faster pace works with the episodic nature of the original arc, the gag tournament that followed it, and for the most part it worked with the Red Ribbon Army arc too.
In terms of anime contributions, it added Pilaf
much earlier in the first arc as a Team Rocket squad, and for the 21st TB it expanded (or delayed) several fights, which I feel holds it back a tad unless you want to see Giran drinking milk and punch monks. Red Ribbon Army gets the most, such as extended adventures with Colonel Silver, slowing the pacing in Muscle Tower, and most infamously for me, REALLY dragging out the Pirate Cave stuff and adding the three chests + Shiva at the end. Baba is padded out as well (like Baba briefly wanting to recruit Goku as a fighter), and there's also blocks of filler adventures after that arc as well as after the Daimao arc, which are mostly inconsequential but reference Journey to the West from time to time. And of course there's the Wedding Dress arc at the end, which at the very least has a farewell with Grandpa Gohan and lets Goku and Chi-Chi spend time together before she becomes a b****.
Having not watched DBZ since it aired on TV, I can't make a good comparison, but OG DB doesn't slow down TOO much except in certain places, and there are three filler arcs that are incredibly easy to skip past with no consequences.
