My issue is that DB tends to have a very limited, reductive view of strength as something that can be objectively quantified. People always talk about the battle powers, but, honestly, on either side of battle powers' role in the story (although more prevalent afterwards), the mindset is very much the same: strongest guy wins. So you'd better figure out a super-powerful finishing move or pull out a glowy transformation. That's how you do it. There is very little nuance to it. Character powers up. Character is better in every conceivable way. Even Vegeta famously says that, as his power goes up, so too does his speed. But I've never, ever, ever liked the idea that who wins in a fight can be boiled down to... well, the inequality signs you see so often in strength debates. Character A>Character B. It's just so simplistic. Just think how silly that would be if you applied that to any other competitive event. I don't watch sports, so let's go with video game speedrunning. If Runner A's best time is 1:58:22 and Runner B's is 1:57:59, then, more often than not, by Dragon Ball logic, Runner B would win every time because Runner B is objectively better. But that ignores most of the things that make competition interesting. Runner B could have gotten lucky with their personal best time. One of them could get really lucky outcomes from the game. One could choke under pressure. Someone could succeed with a safer, slower route while their competitor fails a faster route. Any number of variables could come into play. That's why my favorite fights in Dragon Ball are ones like Goku vs. Tenshinhan (where the role of luck is explicitly stated) and the first Vegeta fight (where even the comparatively weak, bumbling swordsman is instrumental in exploiting a critical opening).
Now, you might say I'm also being reductive. After all, DB has examples like Super Saiyans Grade 2 and 3 that have strategic disadvantages, as well as Gohan's overconfidence against Cell getting everyone in trouble. And that is true. But how many times more often is it true that we hear that nobody else should even try because Goku (usually Goku but very rarely somebody else) is the only person strong enough to even have a chance? Where's the fun in that? Unfortunately, the momentum of Dragon Ball is seeing Goku become stronger and stronger. It is exciting, but the only way to really demonstrate that is to use the rest of the cast as measuring sticks, martial artists that Goku pulls away from. It's just inherently limiting. So, yes, I very much wish Goku wasn't all and around better than everybody else. It would be far more interesting to see someone be better at speed or stealth or any number of creative techniques that Goku just can't compete against. Aang is the Avatar, but that doesn't mean all his friends sit around and do nothing but watch him save the day. He's the best, sure, but he can't do everything himself.
Alright, yeah. That's my rant.
