Was Dragon Ball the first time you heard the word "Saga"?

[TheGreatness25]

What's wrong with calling the different arcs "sagas"? Other than "The Saga of Goku" because Goku's story isn't finished yet.

A saga is a collection of stories, while an arc is usually just a single story. Dragon Ball as a whole would qualify as a saga, but the individual story arcs that make it up would be just, y'know, 'arcs'.

Doesn't it depend on perspective? Dragon Ball as a whole, sure. But, can't all of the events involving Freeza be his own saga?

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

What's wrong with calling the different arcs "sagas"? Other than "The Saga of Goku" because Goku's story isn't finished yet.

A saga is a collection of stories, while an arc is usually just a single story. Dragon Ball as a whole would qualify as a saga, but the individual story arcs that make it up would be just, y'know, 'arcs'.

Doesn't it depend on perspective? Dragon Ball as a whole, sure. But, can't all of the events involving Freeza be his own saga?

I've heard people debate whether everything from Raditz until Freeza's defeat be seen as a single story, however you like to define it.

What Funimation termed "The Saiyan Conflict" is its own thing with everything on Namek being a necessary follow-up for tying loose ends (some characters remaining dead, Vegeta still being a threat, the concept of Super Saiyan expanding upon Goku's newly discovered heritage, etc) but the latter is more like a sequel movie that could be lumped into a larger saga.

It's similar to how Empire Strikes Back leaves loose ends for Return of The Jedi to wrap up, Hoth, Lukes training with Yoda, both confrontations with Darth Vader, Jabba's Palace, etc are all Individual arcs though, as the fights with Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta, Ginyu force, Freeza, Goku's journey to train with Kaio-Sama and the hunt for the Dragon Balls on Namek are but they can easily be categorised into larger wholes.

You can call Dragon Ball and Star Wars sagas or break up selections of arcs into their own sagas, but ideally not too many.

[TheGreatness25]

A saga is a collection of stories, while an arc is usually just a single story. Dragon Ball as a whole would qualify as a saga, but the individual story arcs that make it up would be just, y'know, 'arcs'.

Doesn't it depend on perspective? Dragon Ball as a whole, sure. But, can't all of the events involving Freeza be his own saga?

I've heard people debate whether everything from Raditz until Freeza's defeat be seen as a single story, however you like to define it.

What Funimation termed "The Saiyan Conflict" is its own thing with everything on Namek being a necessary follow-up for tying loose ends (some characters remaining dead, Vegeta still being a threat, the concept of Super Saiyan expanding upon Goku's newly discovered heritage, etc) but the latter is more like a sequel movie that could be lumped into a larger saga.

It's similar to how Empire Strikes Back leaves loose ends for Return of The Jedi to wrap up, Hoth, Lukes training with Yoda, both confrontations with Darth Vader, Jabba's Palace, etc are all Individual arcs though, as the fights with Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta, Ginyu force, Freeza, Goku's journey to train with Kaio-Sama and the hunt for the Dragon Balls on Namek are but they can easily be categorised into larger wholes.

You can call Dragon Ball and Star Wars sagas or break up selections of arcs into their own sagas, but ideally not too many.

I look at it like yeah, they all connect, but that doesn't mean it has to be one continuous nonstop story. As far as the would-be Saiyan invasion of Earth, that started with Raditz and ended with Vegeta. The entire story of the Z Warriors going up against Freeza started when they landed on Namek and ended... well... I guess when Trunks sliced him up. In that respect, isn't it just a matter of perspective? Sure, those things didn't make up the entire Dragon Ball series, but isolating each could make them "sagas," no?

And I really liked the original "Saiyan Conflict" name that they came up with. Definitely a lot more than the "Vegeta Saga."

Oh, and I heard the word "saga" from primitive online summaries of the series back in the late 90s. That's the same way I heard of "androids" and "Buu." Always felt like Funimation might have been influenced by the fandom a little in that regard. In not sure what came first: the "sagas" or Funimation releasing the "Namek Saga" or "Saga of Goku." I feel like those are the earliest that Funimation would have officially used the term.

[JulieYBM]

I feel like 'saga' really doesn't fit the individual arcs, but of all the hills I really feel like dying on, that ain't one of them.

The being said, I deffinitely prefer 'Saiyan Invasion' as a story arc name for the Saiyan arc...but also, it's easier to write 'Saiyan arc' lulz

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

No, for me it would've been from one of those pre 97 Star Wars tapes that my older brother had. However I think Dragon Ball was the first time I heard it in relation to a TV show. Which is odd because Avatar the Last Airbender (which I saw first) could qualify as a saga. Heck even a show like the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series (the first serialized show is watched from start to finish weekly) could possibly qualify.

[ABED]

I think the first time I heard the term was the Dark Phoenix saga.