goku won the fight against cell, cell surviving is a plot hole and the english dub is to blame.

[Shintoki]

it never made sense to me how goku is seen as a loser in that fight when he blew up cell right there and then. the only reason cell survived was because toriyama backpedalled against his established info of how cell regeneration works.

and for my english sub peers, no. cell does not regenerates from cells



the only way this can make sense is if cell lied, but why would the author lie to his audience from a literary standpoint? there was no buildup out of this

am i wrong on this thinking?

[SupremeKai25]

This is the biggest asspull in the entire franchise, that makes anything from Super look tame in comparison.

Not to mention how Cell derives his regenerative factor from Piccolo, but Piccolo most certainly can't regenerate from just one brain cell.

[Vegard Aune]

If anything I think the dub actually tried to fill that plot hole. Because in the manga and the Japanese dialogue Cell does very specifically say "As long as the core in my head remains undamaged, I can regenerate from anything." Which makes no sense in light of Goku blowing his entire upper body up. The dub's "I can regenerate from a single cell!" is undoubtedly them making shit up that wasn't there in the original text, but at least it better matches what we actually see on screen. (Though it means the prolonged shot of Cell's core being evaporated during Gohan's final attack feels a lot more random.)

[SupremeKai25]

If anything I think the dub actually tried to fill that plot hole. Because in the manga and the Japanese dialogue Cell does very specifically say "As long as the core in my head remains undamaged, I can regenerate from anything." Which makes no sense in light of Goku blowing his entire upper body up. The dub's "I can regenerate from a single cell!" is undoubtedly them making shit up that wasn't there in the original text, but at least it better matches what we actually see on screen. (Though it means the prolonged shot of Cell's core being evaporated during Gohan's final attack feels a lot more random.)

Well, No, this still doesn't make sense, because none of Cell's components can "regenerate from a single cell".

Are we just supposed to believe that Cell can regenerate from a single cell (unlike Frieza/Piccolo/Saiyans) because of Dr. Gero and his computer doing some unexplained bullshit?

Because that's giving DBZ more leeway than it deserves...

[Vegard Aune]

Dr. Gero being able to create anything we see in the Cell arc is absurd to the highest degree to be honest. Cell himself is absurd, as are 17 and 18. I never said it actually makes sense, only that the explanation in the dub matches what we see on screen better. They took a completely nonsensical scenario and at least tried to wrangle some sense out of it.

[super michael]

Cell seems to have superior genetic than the original, such as these examples:

- Able to make himself huge like Piccolo but his power increase.
- Give birth to children like Piccolo Daimao but even more powerful with his skills and techniques.
- Increase his muscles like SSJ Grade 2 and 3.
- Get huge Zenkai, even though his power is really high.
- Can survive blown to bits, even as a single cell.
- Can survive in space without any problem.

Cell can even gain other fighters new techniques by getting the fighters latest cells, like how he gained IT.


Cell has data from when Goku was fighting the RRA to the Saiyan Saga, that is a lot of data to collect. A genius can create things that are normally impossible, it is why they considered a genius.

Look at Iron Man an example creating robots and energy that no one can replicate.

[MasenkoHA]

Yes, you are wrong in your thinking. Goku didn't blow Cell up, Cell blew himself up and Cell came back so I'm not sure why it matters? You're gonna hold onto a line that makes no sense in spite of what actually happened on panel/screen?

Goku also wasn't fighting Cell anymore. Gohan was and Cell blowing himself up was to take everyone with hin since he was losing. Goku just intervened.

As far as the Funimation dub goes, it was that rare instance where they were fixing a plot hole instead of creating one

[SupremeKai25]

Yes, you are wrong in your thinking. Goku didn't blow Cell up, Cell blew himself up and Cell came back so I'm not sure why it matters? You're gonna hold onto a line that makes no sense in spite of what actually happened on panel/screen?

Goku also wasn't fighting Cell anymore. Gohan was and Cell blowing himself up was to take everyone with hin since he was losing. Goku just intervened.

As far as the Funimation dub goes, it was that rare instance where they were fixing a plot hole instead of creating one

Uhm, that's not what the OP is talking about. He is talking about the time when Goku destroyed Cell's head with the IT Kamehameha, which should logically have killed him. (But of course DBZ and logic don't go hand-in-hand with each other)

[coola]

This is the biggest asspull in the entire franchise, that makes anything from Super look tame in comparison.

Not to mention how Cell derives his regenerative factor from Piccolo, but Piccolo most certainly can't regenerate from just one brain cell.

Yes...Piccolo mentioned in Buu Saga he can regenerate as long as his head is intact (Then again, we had Demon King Piccolo unable to fix hole Goku made in him)

[SupremeKai25]

This is the biggest asspull in the entire franchise, that makes anything from Super look tame in comparison.

Not to mention how Cell derives his regenerative factor from Piccolo, but Piccolo most certainly can't regenerate from just one brain cell.

Yes...Piccolo mentioned in Buu Saga he can regenerate as long as his head is intact (Then again, we had Demon King Piccolo unable to fix hole Goku made in him)

Yeah, but Cell's head wasn't intact:




He should not have been able to regenerate from so much damage. Furthermore, it makes even less sense that his nucleus survived self-destruction in the first place. "Self-destruction" implies, you know "self-destruction". His entire nucleus shouldn't survive that whole ordeal. To me, "luck" is just another word for "bad writing".

[Koitsukai]

By now, it's undeniable the ball was dropped with Cell and his nucleus, with all that KHH and self-destruction situation, that was as convenient as it could be.
I'll play devil's advocate for a minute and propose Cell is his donors but better, much better, so much better that he isn't even aware of it. His regeneration ability is beyond Piccolo's, but he doesn't know it, he thinks his nucleus cannot survive if his head is blown off but apparently there is more to it.
Same with his self-destruction, he thought his nucleus and his back-up nucleus(lol) were as fragile as any other cell in his body were they be exposed to such a blast, but he is more durable than Freeza who has tanked two planets.

Does it make sense? not really, why would he say he can do A and end up doing B, and more than once. But it is what it is, Cell's opinion and knowledge about himself turned out to be wrong many times. Toriyama probably didn't envision Cell being unaware of his actual capacity, it just turned out that way. I would've preferred if Cell was expecting his nucleus to survive the blast, but oh well.

[super michael]

Cell has traits that are superior than the original cells, so why is it impossible that Cell regenerations > Piccolo?

Saiyans can't become giants without their tail.
Piccolo can turn giant but with no power increase.