Rank the various arcs of the franchise

[Vegeta th3 4th]

Original series (DB&Z):

Z- 23rd Tenkaichi, Saiyan, & Namek arcs: This was DB at its peak. From the fights to the writing, Toriyama was at the top of his game here. Whether you're reading the manga or watching the anime, this section of the story can be compared to the best of the industry. Some of my best moments and fights from the franchise can be found here.

S- 22nd Tenkaichi, King Piccolo, and Cell arcs: Tien's arc is when DB finally felt like DB, which was continued into the King Piccolo arc. The fights became intense, villains weren't black and white, and more risks were being taken with the story. Although the Cell arc isn't as good as what came before it (mentioned above), it was still a very solid entry into the story.

A- The Buu arc: As I mentioned in a previous post, this is where the cracks began to show. Aspects such as Vegeta's character development and the relationship between Buu and Satan keep this arc from being any lower. However; the middle section beginning with Goku's departure back to the afterlife until his return really slowed the arc down.

B- Pilaf, 21st Tenkaichi, & Red Ribbon Army arcs: Greatness from small beginnings. These arcs do a good job at introducing the characters and establishing the world, but you can tell Toriyama was still trying to figure out what and where he wanted to take this story. Manga today is not given this luxury, as they're pretty much cancelled if they don't hit the ground running.

GT:

B- The Baby arc: The baby arc is GT at its highest. We got a villain tied into the Saiyans' history, an amazing transformation in Ssj4, and two permanent sacrifices towards the end. Had the middle section been better and had the final been more than Goku vs a Great Ape for 5 episodes straight, this arc would've easily gotten an A.

C- The Shadow Dragons arc: Such an amazing concept butchered by poor execution. The final dragon and overall conclusion to the series save this arc from falling into the D tier. It would've easily gotten into B had they just allowed the other characters to fight some of the dragons.

D- The Super 17 arc: How on earth do you follow the Baby arc with this travesty ? The only reason this isn't an F is because of the scenes with android #18. Piccolo helping Goku and Vegeta's declaration of earth being his home also helped. I really liked Super #17's design, they just did nothing interesting with him.

F: The Black Star arc: The only reason I have a somewhat positive view towards GT is thanks to Funimation skipping this arc. I'm all for preserving the artist's "vision", but this is where I make an exception. I have no issue with the idea of going back to the series' roots, but you have to make it good. It seems like every bad decision that could've been made was made here. Although Planet M-2 ended things on a high note, it was nowhere near enough to salvage this arc.

Modern series:

A- Daima: What a difference two episodes can make, which goes to show you shouldn't judge/rank something before it's complete. After 12 years of revival material, we finally have an A on our hands. Let's get the obvious out of the way; this is by far the best animated Dragon Ball project we've ever seen. I don't think you can point to a single frame that looks off in these 20 episodes. The writing was far more consistent than anything we got in Super's anime, which proves that Toriyama was indeed more hands on here like he said. Most importantly of course is the fact that we finally got Super Saiyan THREE Vegeta.

B- The Moro arc: This is the one arc that feels like actual effort was put into it. I love the villain's design and powers, Buu playing a role was a great change of pace, Vegeta's closure with the Namekians was long overdue, and the fights were all choreographed very well. If the anime adapts this and removes that scene of Goku giving Moro a Senzu bean, then it's a solid A from me.

C- The Zamasu arc: It started very strong, but got worse with each plot point and never recovered. That ending was by far the worst in any DB story. What makes this so painful is that it had the potential to be among the best arcs in the franchise.

D- The U6 tournament and the Tournament of Power arcs: What a downgrade from the tournament we got in the original series. Gone were the fights with a story to tell, and in were random fights with generic nobodies. What's worse is that Super spent over a 3rd of its episode count on one tournament (TOP). So many more interesting stories could've been told instead.

F- The movie retellings and Granola arc: The movie retellings were some of the worst animated content I ever watched. I think there was potential to expand on the movies' stories in meaningful ways, but they did none of that. Then there's the terrible production quality that just made sitting through these an insult to the eyes. The Granola arc was also bad, but for different reasons. As far as visuals are concerned, it was a good looking arc. The writing however was terrible, as it was mostly just one big fight from start to finish with little in-between. Oh wait, there was something that broke up the fighting, the Bardock segment. Just when I thought Minus killed his character, this arc just kicks the poor dead horse even more.

Full breakdown:
Z+: Saiyan arc
Z: Namek arc
Z-: 23rd Tenkaichi arc

S+: Cell arc
S: 22nd Tenkaichi arc
S-: King Piccolo arc

A: Buu arc
A-: Daima

B+: Red Ribbon Army arc and Moro arc
B: 21st Tenkaichi arc and Baby arc
B-: Pilaf Arc

C+: Shadow Dragons arc
C: Zamasu arc

D+: U6 Tournament arc
D: Super 17 arc
D-: Tournament of Power arc

F+: The Black Star arc
F: Granola arc
F-: Super's movie retellings

[Yuji]

I think the original 10 arcs of the original manga stand alone as the best Dragon Ball has to offer, even if I can find some value in modern material. I'd rank them thusly:

1. Namek arc (A+)
2. Saiyan arc (A+)
3. 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc (A+)
4. Boo arc (A)
5. 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc (A)
6. Cell arc (A)
7. Red Ribbon Army arc (A)
8. 21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc (A-)
9. Pilaf arc (A-)
10. Piccolo Daimao arc (A-)

After that, the GT and Super arcs all rank from "enjoyable" to "bad" and of course the ranking would also vary depending on the version (anime, movie, manga). I'll rank the best version of each.

11. Battle of Gods movie (B+)
12. Superhero movie (B+), though the manga version is almost as good and I liked the extra content.
13. Tournament of Power arc manga (B), the anime version would be almost at the bottom however.
14. Moro arc (B)
15. Zamasu arc manga (B-), though I prefer the anime's rendition of Goku Black and Merged Zamasu
16. Broly movie (C+)
17. Granolah arc (C+)
18. Universe 6 arc manga (C)
19. Baby arc (C), though if you count the first half separately, it would be the worst arc of the series to me
20. Daima (C-)
21. Shadow Dragons arc (D)
21. Resurrection F movie (F), but honestly the anime version isn't as bad as people say and improves on a few things
22. Super 17 arc (F)

Jury's still out on whether Daima can improve or downgrade its score, but it's been consistently mediocre on the side of disappointment.

[fadeddreams5]

I combined a few together.

1. Saiyan/Namek saga - From what I can tell, fans unanimously consider this the best one. It just has everything. Absolutely everything. Immediately at the start, the tone is set when the first villain of the saga is many times stronger than the main character and main antagonist of the previous arc, the MC is killed, and it's revealed this dude was just fodder in comparison to what was to come. And since we know this, there's this sense of anticipation for the arrival of the saiyans. After this arc, you think the Namek one will be an innocent adventure, only for Frieza and minions to create possibly the greatest sense of dread ever shown in this anime. The tone is definitely a serious one, but it never forgets its roots, and the comedy and charm are still there. The dichotomy between the behavior of Ginyu Force and their actual threat level is brilliant. Lastly, it has some of the greatest and most iconic moments/battles in anime history.

2. Android/Cell saga - So yes, the writing is a bit more wonky in this arc compared to the previous ones. You have a human creating machines stronger than the strongest being the universe without even knowing of the existence of these aliens outside Earth. You have what is basically the poster boy of fanfiction characters in Trunks (random guy with powers similar to protagonist who is the son of two unrelated fan favorite characters). You have Gohan being triggered by 16, despite them never interacting beforehand. Hell, Gohan barely did anything until the end, and shouldn't have stayed frozen during the Cell Jr thing--it was out of character. And finally, yes, the characters acted so fucking stupid. Not preemptively stopping Gero, not shutting down android 18 with the remote, letting Cell go perfect, giving Cell a senzu bean, and so on. But you know what? Fuck it. IT WAS COOL! This saga was so effing cool! The very serious tone set by Trunks, the fights, the shocking feeling of seeing SSJ Vegeta get wrecked by a woman after talking all that smack, the transformation sequences, the trash talking, Trunks turning Frieza into mince meat, that father-son kamehameha, ripping the Cell Jrs apart with kicks and punches, the horror sequence with Imperfect Cell, Vegeta being an absolute prick, Piccolo having his moments, Trunks getting his vengeance against the androids at the end, the training scenes, and I could go on.

3. King Piccolo/Piccolo Jr saga - The one that set the stage for DBZ to be a thing. No moment captures the sheer shock of Krillin's death in this entire franchise. Unlike other deaths, where it's hard not to just shrug them off, this one hit hard, and when King Piccolo killed Shenron, it cemented that feeling. All of this has you cheering for Goku to kick Tambourine and Piccolo asses so badly, and boy is it satisfying when he does. Fast forward to the tournament, and it was just amazing because these tournament arcs were fun as they are, but now we have a real villain present. There is more tension compared to the other tournaments, and the fights are absolute peak.

4. Buu saga - I wrote everything I needed to about this saga here already. I blame it for a lot of the bad in modern DB, but the good moments certainly outweighed the bad, and some of them were very iconic.

5. ToP arc - I don't know what happened here, but it feels like they heavily increased their budget for Super. Even the opening was a billion times better than the trash before it. The arc itself was a power scaler's nightmare, the pacing wasn't the best, and I personally disliked the structure of this tournament, which I wish was more like Yu Yu Hakusho's dark tournament, but when I shut my brain off completely, I really enjoyed it. The improved animation made for some of the best fights...ever... in the entire franchise. Ultra Instinct was also really cool, which surprised me considering how every new transformation they made since BoG was dogshit.

6. Otherworld Tournament arc - I like Pikkon, his dub theme is badass, and the visuals of the the other world were so appealing. A lot of fun new characters introduced, some funny moments, and the final battle was pretty good. Honestly, this may be one of the best filler arcs ever made in an anime. I liked it 10x more than the Great Saiyaman arc after it.

7. Red Ribbon/Tien saga - The Red Ribbon arc was pretty fun. A lot of funny moments. The highlights were the ones centered around Mercenary Tao though--killing that kid's father, beating Goku, and then losing to Goku after Goku's climb up the tower makes him stronger. Seeing Goku mercilessly kill humans and dismantle the army was unintentionally hilarious too. Now, the Tien arc was great. Dude was cool, and seeing his gradual redemption as the tournament progressed made him my favorite character in OG DB.

8. Pilaf/Jackie Chun saga - The Pilaf arc is like Daima with actual good pacing. In 13 episodes, Goku met Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, Roshi, Chi Chi, collected 7 dragon balls, and defeated Pilaf. Was it a remarkable arc? No. It was... meh. But short enough to be inoffensive and a nice intro. Now, the arc afterwards was great. Goku's relationship with Krillin was a lot of fun, and that tournament was so wacky and entertaining. Not a saga I get thrilled to rewatch, but it was cute.

9. Daima - I don't think my opinion of this series will change much after 2 episodes. The animation is great and some of the battles have been fun, but it was plagued with awful pacing, consistency issues, and felt like it was made for a younger demographic than DBZ, with little to no tension or real character development. In 10 years, people will forget this show even existed, outside SSJ3 Vegeta, SSJ4 Goku, and the inevitable fusion bug.

10. Goku Black arc - Man, this arc had so much potential. The tone was darker, the villain was initially great. But... so much bothers me. Right off the bat, Future Trunks' design made me want to puke. The inconsistency of Goku's base form having SSJG power or not really stood out when he sparred Trunks and created so much head canons. The Goku Black mystery definitely didn't pay off after they revealed the most obvious person was the main culprit. The repetition of going back and forth between time was so cheap and lazy. Wtf was Rage Trunks? Wtf was that magical sword? How could they possibly end the arc by destroying his universe after everything he went through in the Cell arc? Why does Goku still act like a dimwit, despite the tone this story is trying to put out? But you know what? I would forgive all of it, just like I do with the Cell saga, if the animation was not such effing trash. Visually, this arc was ugly af like the ones before it. None of these battles stand out, and the backgrounds in the future were diarrhea color. The fights all look stiff and unappealing, with the exception of Vegito vs Zamasu. My opinion of this arc may be very different if it had ToP or Daima's budget. idk. Also, Sparking Zero's Gohan Black arc was so much better than the actual arc, and that is embarrassing.

11. Garlic Jr arc - Of all the movie villains they could have brought back, they chose Pilaf's doppleganger. Boring arc. The highlight was seeing Vegeta's looney ass traveling space to find Goku. lol.

12. Champa arc - This arc single-handedly showcased to me how tournament arcs are only fun when the studio behind it has a budget. Ugly, hideous, gross, and put merchandising over story the minute they reintroduced the SSJ forms and confused the entire fandom, who most now believe Base Cabba is SSJG level, despite the context of the story clearly not intending that.

13. Movie Retelling arcs -


And no, I won't do GT because I only ever watched the dub that skipped an entire arc and had the same boring music track playing every scene. It's just not fair. lol.

[Vegeta th3 4th]

I think the original 10 arcs of the original manga stand alone as the best Dragon Ball has to offer, even if I can find some value in modern material.

I'd say out of all the post-original material we've gotten, the Battle of Gods movie is the only one to feel like a genuine part of the original series. Although not the most talked about or even liked, I quite enjoyed the 2008 OVA as well. I wish its art style stuck around longer than it did.

I won't do GT because I only ever watched the dub that skipped an entire arc and had the same boring music track playing every scene. It's just not fair. lol.

If you decide to watch it, you should watch it in Japanese with subtitles. The actual performance of the dub cast isn't bad, but the scripts sure are. Also, skip episodes 6-15; it'll save you on having to get therapy afterwords.

[AliTheZombie13]

Original Dragon Ball:

First Dragon Ball Hunt: 10/10

Spoiler:

Love this arc, every single character is useful, endearing, fun to watch, and has an arc of their own. There's a lot of black humor and sex jokes, some of which would outright be banned if it aired today, and I love it. Goodbye, hopeless romantic useful rival Yamcha, it was good knowing you while you lasted.

21st Budokai Tenkaichi: 8/10

Spoiler:

The pacing here starts to falter. There are whole episodes dedicated to repetitive training or preliminary matches that don't really evoke any tension and gag fight scenes that don't really click with me. I wish I could erase the entirety of Bacterian off my head. Other than that, good character stuff with Goku, Kuririn, Roshi and Lunch.

Red Ribbon: 7/10

Spoiler:

Not gonna lie, a lot of this arc puts me to sleep. The locations are interesting and the story is satisfactory, but man, the story drags a lot and it was a chore watching the same old "Oh no, looks like Goku was finally defeated, is this the end of our hero? Ha ha, just kidding, Goku was just fooling around and wasting our time. Oh look, he defeated his enemy with a single punch! Isn't Goku so amazing, kids? " It gets better when Bulma, Kuririn and General Blue enter the picture, but not by much. Gets fantastic once Tao Pai Pai enters the picture. Really didn't like the Goku Time moment of everyone ganging up together to go save him, only to arrive there and realize that he never needed any help to begin with and they have no reason for existing anymore. Drags a little during Uranai Baba, but makes up for it with the character stuff from Puar, Upa and Grandpa Gohan. If it was streamlined a bit, would make a great arc.

22nd Budokai Tenkaichi: 6/10

Spoiler:

There are a lot of great character moments in this one, but I don't really find myself invested with the story. Tenshinhan is a boring rival turned good with the flimsiest of excuses for developing, Chiaotzu is a nothing character, and the Evil Hermit (don't remember his name) really didn't land on me. Doesn't help that many fight scenes go like this: "Oh no, looks like Goku was finally defeated, is this the end of our hero? Ha ha, just kidding, Goku was just fooling around and wasting our time. Oh look, he defeated his enemy with a single punch! Isn't Goku so amazing, kids? "

Piccolo Daimao: 8/10

Spoiler:

It was incredible seeing a Dragon Ball hunt play more seriously than usual and seeing Goku genuinely react and be in hunt for blood when somebody hurt and/or killed his friends. A far cry from his adult self, who adopted this boring "No Kill Rule" and was merciful to the point of idiocy. Even though the franchise very much has a problem with making death stick, the Dragon Balls being at the mercy of the villain, then Piccolo destroying Shen Long are more than enough to make you go "HOLY SHIT!!! THEY'RE NOT COMING BACK NOW!!" I don't like the Goku Time aspect of him coming back and effortlessly wiping the floor with Piccolo after drinking magic water, whereas Tenshinhan struggled to learn a special technique and failed miserably at it. But hey, can't be perfect.

23rd Budokai Tenkaichi: 6/10

Spoiler:

There's a lot of great character moments in this one, but most of the actual tournament puts me to yawn. Not for a single second, I actually felt tension watching Piccolo fight the others. I have to ask myself, why a tournament? Why is everybody adhering to the tournament rules when the world is at stake? If Goku lost the tournament, would he let Piccolo take over the world and kill everybody all over again? I know, I know, it's a gag series, but damn. This was a letdown compared to the previous arc.

Dragon Ball Z:

Saiyan Saga: 8/10

Spoiler:

For how much I hate the "alien" retcon, this one does a great job of exploring Goku's character and analyzing his relationship to his current friends/family. Raditz being a genuine threat that puts everybody to sweat, killing Goku, Gohan being kidnapped and developing a bond with the Satan of Dragon Ball himself, with him sacrificing himself to save that child, and everybody ganging up together to finally defeat Vegeta are all great moments. If I have a problem with this arc, it's that Vegeta and Nappa are "nothing" characters. They exist to be evil tanks and that's it. You might argue "But Vegeta has pride, look how he feels so insulted when Goku makes him bleed!" Well, Tao Pai Pai and General Blue were already doing that before it was cool, and they had a lot more personality than this. This arc shines, however, with the post-battle stuff, everybody grieving for their lost ones, and setting up their adventure for the next arc.

Namek: 5/10

Spoiler:

This arc starts relatively great. Again, we're still dealing with the characters grieving, setting up their adventure for the next arc, and once we finally land on Namek. Oh boy, there's a threat even bigger than Vegeta. Now everybody's involved in some kind of civil war between two antagonists. A lot of the characters' pasts, relationships and themes of racism are explored here, and it's all great stuff. The first half of it does a great job sending the heroes and the villains on stealth missions to gather the Dragon Balls, making everybody form alliances and strategies that don't require them to just punch their way to victory.

Sadly, as soon as the Ginyu Force arrives, the arc goes downhill. It's one fight scene after another, most of them being extremely long and unnecessary, and uninteresting repeats of "Wait until Goku arrives while everybody is dying, so he can save the day!"

As you can probably imagine, I don't care about the Legendary Super Whatever, power numbers or the dreaded "Zenkais." I hate these concepts. When a story that prides itself on telling me that "There's no magic to make you stronger, you get stronger through hard work and training." (Red Ribbon) or "With hard work and dedication, anyone can reach this level." (Saiyans) starts introducing elements that gives the main protagonists several unfair advantages just for existing and having special space biology, that's when it story loses me.

And of course, Goku being "No longer Son Goku, but the warrior filled with rage" who, instead of just killing Freeza immediately, decides to fool around for several more chapters... Just end it, I'm sick of it.

TL;DR: Fantastic first half, abominable second half.

Garlic Jr.: 4/10

Spoiler:

A blatant, boring ripoff of the movie it was based on, stretched out to the point of frustration. I like the Maron bits, I like the parts where everybody is possessed and threatening Gohan. Don't find a lot more to say about this. I guess it's nice to have Goku and Vegeta out of the spotlight for once?

Cell: 2/10

Spoiler:

I think I've already ranted a lot in this forum about why I hate this one in particular. So I'll make it short: A lot of this arc relies heavily on characters acting arrogant, careless, annoying stupid, or a combination of all four. And I don't particularly care if it's in-character, intended, Wuxia-related, this story gives me frequent migraines with how often it can get resolved in two seconds.

"We can stop the Artificial Humans right now... But we won't!"
"I'm bringing my baby to the battlefield to watch the terrible murderous robots, I sure hope I don't give the villains a distraction!"
"I could kill Goku right now, but nah, I'mma let him run away because saving the best for last or something!"
"I was about to do something awesome and kill the Artificial Humans right now, but Vegeta ruined my special moment!"
"I knew where Gero's lab was all along, but I never told anyone about it, not even my future son, because... reasons!"
"I could kill you right now, but let me monologue about my plans and give you a chance to stop me!"
"I could've killed Cell immediately, but other people showed up and distracted me!"
"You're right, #16. I should probably run away... (does nothing)"
"Oh no, Cell powered up beyond belief and is after #17, there's nothing we can do! (They later show there was something they could do, they just didn't do it because the story required them to be stupid and wait after damage was caused)"

OK, you get the idea. A lot of this arc is dumb, I don't like it.
Positivity spot: I like #16, #17 and #18 while they were the main antagonists. They're so carefree, awesome, they're not black-and-white evil and are just doing shit for fun. I do like that Goku has a semi-character arc where he realizes his careless actions are a danger to the Earth, decides to stay dead and pass the torch to Gohan. Only wish it actually stuck.

Afterlife Tournament: 7/10

Spoiler:

Its worst sin is being painfully inoffensive. But it does have a lot of wonderful character interactions between the Kaios, which is nice. And it does a great job exploring Dragon Ball's afterlife elements... You know, before it all gets retconned. Overall, I enjoyed it, it's a neat little distraction and doesn't overstay its welcome.

Boo: 4/10

Spoiler:

It starts great, new setting, new characters, new adventures. I love the budding relationship between Gohan and Videl and the high school setting. Reminds me a lot of Sailor Moon and Spider-Man. Then the tournament happens, and not gonna lie, the tournament bits are pretty enjoyable. Then Spopovich happens, Videl is sidelined, the very annoying rivalry between Goku and Vegeta is brought back, characters once again devolve into stupid for the sake of the story, I'm quite tired and not gonna repeat it all over again.

The highlight of this arc, as many will say, is Vegeta's final redemption into good guy. Without derailing too much, it's a great idea that I frankly think was terribly executed over the course of the series. Vegeta has done absolutely nothing other than bitch and whine about how evil he is and how much he doesn't care about anyone to deserve said redemption, or at least, I don't think so. By the end of it, I just found myself not caring. But hey, he did cure his Kakarottophobia by the end, which is nice... until both GT and Super double down on it.

This arc meanders a lot about what it wants to do and does nothing. At first, it wants to train Gohan to be stronger with a sword, but that doesn't work. Then it wants Gohan to wait and be powered up by an old master, but that doesn't work. Then it wants Goten and Trunks to fuse and solve the problem, but that doesn't work. Then it wants Goku and Vegeta to fuse and solve the problem, but that doesn't work. What does work in the end is the Genki Dama, a technique that had nothing to do with this arc. The entire message about "passing the torch to the new generation" was completely wasted.

Positivity spot: Mr. Satan's budding relationship with Boo, and Videl's budding relationship with Gohan, carry this entire arc in the back.

Dragon Ball GT:

Baby Saga: 8/10

Spoiler:

Oh no, the person with a GT avatar is ranking a GT arc this high. Shock of the century! But honestly, putting the Dragon Balls back on the spotlight after being reduced to plot devices in Cell and Boo was a good idea. I like the dynamic between Goku, Pan, Trunks and Giru. The shifted focus to lighthearted adventure and comedy was one this franchise desperately needed after Z was entirely about Doom & Gloom with rare moments to breathe.

The hunt itself for the Dragon Balls could've been done better. Most of it is inoffensively fun, but that's it. I did enjoy the storylines we got, except for only the Oolong ripoff and the creepy pedophilia shit with Pan. Some of it overstayed its welcome and could've been streamlined, but overall, not bad for self-contained adventure mini-arcs. I really love the Desert Episode, as badly executed as you want to argue Pan's development is, it is nice to see the show is at least trying to develop her.

Once Baby enters the picture, the show gets fantastic, there is not a single episode that bores me or keeps me uninterested, it's a blast to watch every single one of them. The creepy scenes with their loved ones slowly getting infected and lashing at each other, Baby's slow ascension to very much earned power, Vegeta's past coming back to bite him in the ass and show him some humility, the gang returning home only to get their asses wrecked, Pan being the only survivor and trying to save the world on her own only to get threatened by her own parents, Goku losing control and Pan, who initially hated him and was embarrassed of him, but is now urging him to regain his humanity... it's all brilliantly done.

Could it all have been executed better? Absolutely!
But I'm not ashamed to say I love this arc. Great stuff!

Super #17: 4/10

Spoiler:

What if we ripped off Fusion Reborn, Cell, and numerous other events from the past all at once, not give any of them any semblance of substance, just for the sake of one big, boring, stupid fight scene? The result is this arc.

It has its moments. #18 losing Kuririn is a fantastic moment, her coming back in the finale for revenge and helping Goku combo Super #17 to death is also great. Pan and Giru coming to save the day and Giru pointing a gun to Gero's face, Piccolo rampaging in Heaven to pressure Enma to send him to Hell, and Chi-Chi and Videl trying to save the day on their own was all hilarious and I wish all the stupid fight in the forest was replaced just by these two ladies alone... But no, we need to have Goku repeatedly fail at spamming Ki Blasts at Super #17, because of course we do.

This arc is so short, and yet so long, so poorly explained. But at the very least, it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Evil Dragons: 7/10

Spoiler:

This one has a great initial setup, and a perfect ending for the franchise as a whole. But literally everything else in-between is painful to watch. A boring monster-of-the-week show where Goku, Pan and Giru (what the fuck happened to Trunks and everyone else on Earth?!) go places, beat the monster, purify the Dragon Ball, and that's it.

There's some nice gags here and there, and I think I like the Six Star Dragon? She's neat and her introduction to how she was born is hilarious. But I don't think I find anything else to like in this entire arc. Even then, its worst sin is being painfully inoffensive. It doesn't make me want to strangle the characters and wish them dead without any means of resurrection like certain other arcs make me, it's just... painfully mediocre. The ending more or less saves it from being completely forgettable.

[MasenkoHA]

1. Piccolo Daimao arc
2. Saiyan arc
3. 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc
4. Boo arc
5. Artificial Human arc
6. 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc
7. 21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc
8. Namek arc
9. Red Ribbon arc
10. Shen Long arc
11. Afterlife Tournament arc
12. Tournament of Power arc
13. Garlic Jr arc
14. Champa arc
15. Zamasu arc
16. Baby arc
17. Black Star Dragon Ball arc
18. Shadow Dragons arc
19. Super 17 arc
20. Beerus arc
21. Golden Freeza arc

[Koitsukai]

Z:
Namek/ Saiyan/ 23rd TB/ Cell.
This is Dragon Ball, this is what one thinks of when hearing Dragon Ball. The franchise cannot live without this. Remove this and I wouldn't watch it.

S:
Buu/ RRA/ Piccolo Daimao/ 21st TB. (Broly movie)
This is the Side B of Dragon Ball, the not that indispensable arcs, but close enough.
The Buu arc is a little loose here and there and is over the top.
Daimao's arc was great but not as great as those that followed.
The 21st TB is so fun and action-packed.

A:
Pilaf/ 22nd TB/ Black/ ToP. (BoG/ Super Hero).
The Pilaf arc is the beginning of it all. Nuf said.
The 22nd TB is amazing, maybe it could be "S" level, it's definitely the best of this tier. Not as good as the 21st, to me, the humor gave the edge to the original one.
The ToP is too long, sure, but the last chunk of it, once the fodder is out of the way is too good.
The Black arc is flawed, sure, but it is still good. An evil Goku? damn.

B: Moro/ U6/ Baby arc/.
The Moro arc grew on me. Namek, DKS, Merus, an ancient warlock, UI. Flawed, sure, but still good.
The U6 arc is a fun and silly little adventure, it's not great but isn't bad either. And I fail to see big flaws, but also standout moments.
The Baby arc is has its ups and downs, is not sure where it wants to go, at times, but it builds up towards a new SS form and an old rival of the saiyans, I'm including the first 39 episodes, too. I enjoyed several of those, even if some of them are just plain bad or stupid. Loved the space exploration.

C:
Shadow Dragons/ Daima/ Afterlife Tournament/ The Preparation for the ToP.
They are both good, but the GT arc takes too many bad decisions. Only Goku and Pan? so many silly dragons. Still, great last act and amazing send off.
Daima is ok, seems too focused on lore and not much on the characters. The pacing makes no sense and so do other things like holding back even against the final boss. And is giving away free new forms, but the endings in DB usually pay the bill, so who knows? maybe by march Daim will be promoted to a higher tier.
The AL tournament is really fun, but it's clearly not a Toriyama tournament.
The pre-ToP has good and bad moments, the Hit two-parter and Barry Kahn's. The rape episode and Gohan's comeback. The 17 recruitment and them going to a spaceship.


D:
Z Movies / Garlic Jr. arc.
They are formulaic, predictable and not all are good-looking. But they are fun, nonetheless.
The Garlic Jr. arc is not my cup of tea.

This tier falls off the alphabet:
RoF, BoG retellings/ Super 17.
S-17 arc is an insult to the audience, to GT, to Goku, and even to android 17.
The retellings are disgusting.
RoF the movie also goes here, is not that much better than its retelling.

[GokuHater]

For me this would look as follows: (I try to judge the manga first and foremost, at least with the original DB, with anime versions affecting the scores but not by a large margin)

Original Dragon Ball
Tenkaichi Budokai 23 - S
Though not a typical saga but a tournament one, I feel by this point Toryiama perfected the formula. We have all here... Humor, martial arts, big bad boss, hero interactions, Goku being a genius fighter... The only thing which I can think off, I am not a fan off is lack of kid Goku as he's my favourite og Goku version but this can also be seen as a plus in that DB has shown then it is willing to go forward.

22 and 21 Tenkaichi Budokai exequo - S-
Both of them I do enjoy and both of them have specific pluses for me. The 22 one is generally more serious and has a bit more tension then the 21 more light-hearted one. On the other hand 21 gives us a fantastic training arc, Krilin, funny gags and even some wisdom and it's the turning point in which DB becomes less "funny things" and more "martial arts".

Pilaf saga - A
I can't help but adore this saga. Not only everything stared here, not only is the adventure funny, whimsical, colorful and magical, it also gives us a pletora of likable - but not perfect characters.
The anime version is just as fun and has none of the pacing issues that will plague the series moving forward. Great music. Great animation.

Red Ribbon saga - A-
I feel this could be very well be objectively the BEST saga DB has to offer with various characters, villains, locations, twists, story beats. It gives us battles, it gives us the first super villain, it gives us more Dragon Balls, it frickin gives us Arale and Gohan. The only thing that drags it down for me is that it is a bit too long for my liking (in comparison to the rest of the sagas). This isn't a big deal though, the anime however has a bigger problem as it's right here where they slowed the pacing down and some scenes are veeerry tiring.

Piccolo saga - B+
While I like the dark atmosphere of the whole saga, I can't ignore that so much story beats are reapeted from RR saga. They're twisted in new ways, sure and the conclusions is different but we have a sense that we've been there, done that. Still this doesn't make the saga bad, just not as superb as the others.

Z era
Saiyan Saga - S
This is personally my favourite saga from that era. The whole concept of having these superpower aliens threatening the planet and we have a year to get ready makes it very exciting.
I like Gohan's character, his growth, Piccolo's change. After that we have the third act of sheer horror of our characters getting slain by the sayians which is followed by the best fight in the series in my opinion.

Namek Saga - A+
This is one of the most beloved sagas and for a good reason. The storytelling and writing is tight and has three parties which we can follow, which also shows Toryiama's growth as a storyteller.

I do however feel there are some inconsistencies near the end... The whole story was about Gohan, Krilin, Vegeta, then it's all about Goku in the end.
The zenkai boosts are also absurd and not very well integrated in the story (even if Goku one shooting foes is very satisfying).

The anime version does get a few points down due to the pacing, absolute worst filler in DB history and very poor animation in places.

Android/Cell saga - B+
The sheer chaos and unpredictability of this saga makes this sometimes hectic but on the other hand Toryiama has a great talent in tying up random ideas and masking them as a planned story.
We started the saga with Frieza vs the boy from the future warning us about 2 superpower androids and ended with Gohan fighting a bug monster.
The story bits and twists are interesting but character progression is a bit hit and miss.
We have Piccolo becoming one with Kami only for him to be not existent a few chapters ahead.
We have Gohan becoming a centre of everything from nowehere

I think a bit planning would made this saga the best in Z.

Buu Saga - B-
The chaos of a story is like Cell on steroids. The villain rarely stays the same after a good chunk of chapters and so does the main hero (you could even call it the hero of the week )
Still, I like the more gag heavy Toryiama style even if it doesn't always hit the mood.
Also this saga still brings us very iconic set pieces... Vegeta' sacrifice, fusion etc
And even if chaotic, I do enjoy an ever evolving story in DB... Something we never get again in Super nor GT...
Unfortunately Toryiama's exhaustion is showing. While to this point, anime look was on a rollercoaster, the manga was always solid and beautiful, here though we can see some creaks and cracks.
Not the best but certainly not a bad saga.

Garlic Jr, anime only - D
While having some original story beats and clever solutions, it is really a bunch of nothing.
The viewer can tell it was made only to stall for time. But at least the animation is on par if not better than Namek

Grand Tour time
Baby Saga - A-

I feel we can agree this is the best GT has to offer. Bringing back Tsufulians was a VERY good idea even if copied after Plan to Eradicate...
The whole atmosphere of the arc is the best thing of it. Oozaru, SSJ4, Baby taking Vegeta - this is all good writing.
Unfortunately the other half of the writing is not so good with Goku being the only main hero who makes a difference, Uub being completely forgotten, Baby becoming a typical villain when he could have been so much more. The choreography is boring and the graphics sometimes feels off. Still, as far as GT goes, it isn't the worst.

Shadow Dragon Saga - B-
The idea for the arc is pure genius. It's not executed that well unfortunately. Half of the dragons are just the typical monsters of the week, nuova and ice shenron are typical good guy/bad guy and omega becomes yet another final boss without anything special about him. The cast is underutilized, the dragons motivations make no sense and everything isn't as great as the saga would make you believe.
Still, points for the best ending in DB history.

Black Star Saga - C+
I really want to like and give points to this Saga. I want to appreciate it.
And I do in some ways. The cast is fun. The music is great. Animation is great. But the humor and adventures always feel somewhat lacking. It feels a Toryiama-like story while clearly not Toryiama.
Going to this straight from Z feels like a big devolution because of the adventure formula and Goku being chibi again and the viewer can't shake it.
For some bonus points, I, for one, like the slow villain reveal. While we indeed have a bit too many twists, this is a new one for DB.

Android 17 Saga - F
Really a big bunch of nothing. Sadly, the idea is bad, the villain is boring, characters are not in character and the potential it could have, quickly goes away. Also it's over before you blink which could actually be a plus in this regard.

Super Duper
Broly Movie - S
Broly is Super in its peek for me. The characters, the story, animation, drawing. It's at its best. Music is great and while I know the movie will always look better than a TV show it's the style of animation, not really the budget, that makes it that much better than the rest of the series.
The story isn't very deep or creative but it's presented to us in a very enjoyable way. It very much gives us DB past and nostalgia (but not in a bad way like ToP or Super Hero do) and mixes it with modern DB. Broly is A LOT better character than what Toei made in Z days.

BoG Movie - S-
A lot of the same really applies here. BoG is like a celebration of all things DB related after 20 years.
I love the characters, I love Pilaf, I love Beerus.
The only thing dragging it down is the fighting which, when all is said and done, isn't really that special and the beginning of stupid Goku, which I am not a fan off.

RF Movie - A
People tend to hate that movie but I really always had a soft spot for it.

Moro arc - A-
Of all the arcs in Super I feel this one is the most true to what DB is. We have a new villain, various locations, all the cast doing stuff, throwbacks to Z, twists along the way. It's not perfect and sometimes it copies something a bit too blatantly (Cell? Senzu?) but it's an okay arc by itself and one of the better in Super.

Granolah - B+
The first half is a very good crafted story. Minus maybe gathering the Dragon Balls in 2 chapters or so.
After that however I feel it loses focus. The Bardock stuff is interesting but it doesn't go anywhere really.
I know we needed a second villain but Gas doesn't really sell it that much.
As for Black Frieza, while cool, it was pulled out of nowhere and because it was so many years without doing anything with him, that feels pointless now...

Super Hero Movie - B
An okay movie for Dragon Ball. Doesn't really do that much for me but also doesn't offend me in anything. I am not a fan of Gohan Beast and Cell Max, I do however like the RR stuff and the animation.

Zamasu Saga - C+
This one is easily the best for me in Super's anime run. The atmosphere is lovingly haunting and the story of a God going rouge is interesting.
On the other hand why do so many things feel half cooked? Why is Zamasu turning into another monster of the week when he could have been so much deeper? Why do we get nonsense like Trunks Rage? Why do we need to drop tension with the fact we're constantly going back and forth? Why does one of the best rage moments Goku ever had is over before it begins? Why did the ending feel so unsatisfying?

If I was too judge only the manga version it would be a bit higher. I felt it had a lot less nonsense, had a better conclusion and the writing for Black was tighter. The anime has outstanding music though.

Universe 6 Saga - C
I thought between this one and ToP but in the end this one does not actively make me stop watching it.
I do enjoy this arc, Champa, Hit, Kabba are okay characters... But it sort of feels very "safe". Nothing much happens, Monaka's joke wears down really fast and the only thing I really enjoy are Hit's time skills and Vegeta/Kabba dynamic (not a fan of Blue Kaio Ken really).
Also the whole show didn't manage yet to be free of the feel of "plastic animation" from early Super.

ToP - C-
This one is the arc in which Super (finally) finds it's good animation. And that is one thing going for it.
It also has pretournament arc, which is pretty sweet. UI and the ending are enjoyable too.
On the other hand parts of it drag like all hell (sometimes it gets so bad as in Z) and there's no guessing which episode is going to be frickin epic and which will be a bore to sit through.

The writing tight at the beginning - takes a major turn about the halfway point (I think maybe after the first UI transformation?)
I always dread this point.
I tried to watch ToP 5 times. 4 times I dropped always on this very moment.
For the fifth time I soldiered through but that's saying much.
Having your characters shout for 10 times per episode "love, love, love", or "justice, justice, justice" is NOT good writing.
Jiren backstory was very lazy even for Dragon Ball villains standard.
The throwbacks they made to Z only made me cringe, not feel anything.
And then there was that much of redundancy. Why give Vegeta a new form if we'll have Ultra Ego soon? Why do Legendary Duper Saiyan knock off if we have Broly in the next movie?

I also remember people speculating about the saga... Grand Priest being evil... Our heroes battling the gods... Something that would mean it's more than just a tournament.
Unfortunately it was just a tournament.

BoG and RoF Sagas - F-
I cannot treat those as anything other than a major waste of time, unfortunately. Not only these are stories that were already told better but in horrible pacing, bad animation and a very slow start for a shonen.
If the idea was to present some new ideas to the stories than they failed at this - not only nothing noteworthy is added but some stuff is changed for worse in my opinion. The only saving grace would be the Goku and Vegeta training episode but it's not enough to save both sagas.
When doing a rewatch of Super I always watch the movies and then go straight to Universe 6 ignoring those arcs....

[AliTheZombie13]

...

Dragon Ball Super:
* I will be talking strictly about the movies and animes, I haven't really read the manga, nor do I have any interest in doing so.

Battle of the Gods: 8/10

Spoiler:

I watched the anime version first, and you know, I watched the movie out of curiosity expecting to hate it as much. But surprisingly, the movie is fantastic. Beerus is a far cry from his annoying anime self, he's very fun and charismatic to watch, and the movie kinda leaves it up in the air whether he was completely serious about his threats or just provoking the heroes into doing what he wanted them to do. Either way, it works.

It was very fun seeing the gang hang out, have fun, not worry about Doom & Gloom threats, and Vegeta making an ass of himself to save his home planet. There is one particular line in the dub which I found hilarious: "No Vegeta-ing of any kind!!!!"

This movie should be shown alongside the anime version to potential anime writers: "How not to ruin a perfectly enjoyable story when adapting it to television."

Resurrection F: 0/10

Spoiler:

Freeza comes, Freeza goes, everybody gets new forms, THE END!
Oh, and #18 gets to stay home, because "Ew, women!"
I have literally nothing positive to say about this.

Champa: 2/10

Spoiler:

Did you know Beerus had a brother? Did you know he's fat? Did you know he's out of shape? Did you know Bulma is old and her boobs are saggy and nobody wants to bang her anymore? I hope you know all of this, because the story just won't shut up about it.

This is yet another case of "We could've avoided this if Goku wasn't stupid." Champa and Beerus don't know how to get the Dragon Balls, and the conflict was going to die right there and then, before Goku helpfully informs them how to do it, despite Vegeta warning him not to provoke them, because Goku is a moron who prioritizes fighting above anything else.

Then a bunch of stupid, boring, irrelevant fight scenes happen with stupid boring, irrelevant characters with zero charisma. Vegeta's brief relationship with Cabba was interesting, I can only wish the show actually explored that.

More boring things happen, and the tournament ends with the promise of yet another tournament, a wish is made and that's the point I remember, this entire thing was about Beerus and Champa fighting over food... this franchise had seen better days.

Goku Black: 5/10

Spoiler:

Much like Namek, this one has a great setup. There's a big air of mystery, tension and drama happening. The first half is genuinely amazing, and it's very fun to see Zamasu descend into complete Hitler, and Trunks losing then regaining faith in everything and everyone.

Where the arc loses me is when it reveals everything: This was yet another case of "We could've avoided this if Goku wasn't a fighting-obsessed moron!" Doesn't help matters the heroes keep making stupid mistake after stupid mistake, as bad as Cell.

"Oh, we forgot the Senzu Beans!"
"Oh, we forgot the seal for the Mafuba!"
"Oh, we wasted too much time playing around instead of just finishing him off!"

And then, everything gets solved with the push of a button and Trunks and Mai get sent into an existential nightmare while smiling about it, as if nothing in this arc ever mattered.

Tournament of Power: 1/10

Spoiler:

What if we repeated the 5 Minutes of Namek? But this time, it's over 30 minutes, but with the same pacing?

This arc embodies a lot of what I hate about Dragon Ball. Long, extended sequences where fighting happens just for the sake of fighting. Characters making idiotic, avoidable mistakes that doom the entire universe in the process. What seems to be a character arc unfolding turns out to go nowhere and nobody learns anything. Zero consequence whatsoever.

The idea of Goku dooming his entire universe against his better judgement and the threat of being completely erased from existence, by all means, should've been a compelling story and character arc, but absolutely nobody treats this seriously. Every second I spent watching this one was pain.

Broly: 7/10

Spoiler:

There were a lot funny gags and a redemption arc in this one. I do enjoy seeing Beerus reluctantly grow into Bra's babysitter, Freeza and Bulma both seeking the Dragon Balls for idiotic wishes, Broly growing into a better person with the power of friendship, the people in the Freeza Force being given a better light as to how their lives are like. It's all good stuff. Once the fighting starts, that's the part I get bored and forget about the movie entirely. Overall, not bad. Was a pleasant distraction.

Super Hero: 8/10

Spoiler:

Much like Broly, it's a pleasant distraction, but infinitely better in that regard. It's very nice seeing Piccolo get the spotlight again after so long, he makes for a very fun to watch, hilarious protagonist. Wish there were more scenes showcasing his relationship to the Gohan family, especially Pan. But, unlike Broly, at least it gets to play a part in the story this time.

Didn't really care much about Red Ribbon returning for the millionth time, the Gammas, Cell Max, new transformations, or Gohan learning yet again that he should be training instead of being happy and taking care of his family... Seriously, just let the man be happy already, we all know this is going to go nowhere.

ALL RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST:

#01: First Dragon Ball Hunt Arc
#02: 21st Budokai Tenkaichi
#03: Baby Saga
#04: Piccolo Daimao
#05: Saiyans
#06: Battle of Gods (Movie Only)
#07: Super Hero
#08: Red Ribbon
#09: Evil Dragons
#10: Broly
#11: Afterlife Tournament
#12: 22nd Budokai Tenkaichi
#13: 23rd Budokai Tenkaichi
#14: Namek
#15: Goku Black
#16: Boo
#17: Super #17
#18: Garlic Jr.
#19: Cell
#20: Champa
#21: Tournament of Power
#22: Resurrection F

[Zephyr]

I don't like to do numerical scores or letter grades, because they feel way too arbitrary. I can place things in order, though. I'm definitely overdue for a re-read & re-watch of all of these (some more than others). In lieu of that, some are gonna be tied, and I'm not gonna bother including any films, TV Specials, or filler arcs. So: everything within a tier is more-or-less tied, and are ordered chronologically. I was originally going to include much more detailed elaborations on my thought process behind the rankings, but it was getting way too long and rambly. Finally, this isn't my stab at ranking by "objective quality/strength", moreso ranked by what I like the most, and/or what I'd sooner re-read/re-watch by itself.

Current rankings, according to memory and after much consideration:

Tier 1
My favorite arcs from within what I consider the "peak" stretch of the original story:
- 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc
- Saiyan arc

Tier 2
The other arcs from within what I consider the "peak" stretch of the original story:
- 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc
- Piccolo Daimao arc
- Namek arc

Tier 3
My favorite arcs from outside of what I consider the "peak" stretch of the original story:
- Pilaf arc
- Majin Boo arc

Tier 4:
The other arcs from outside of what I consider the "peak" stretch of the original story:
- 21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc
- Red Ribbon Army/Four Star Ball arc
- Cell arc

Everything below here is a superfluous addition to the original's complete story. Every arc above this line is essential, in one way or another, in showing Goku's journey from a student to a master, and everything below is not.

Does this mean I think any individual arc above this line is necessarily a stronger story, all on its own, than any individual arc below this line? No, not necessarily, but I would need to do that re-read & re-watch in order to do that conversation justice, so I'm relying on the broad strokes here.

Tier 5
My favorite arcs from what I consider the best sequel to the original story:
- Goku Black arc [anime]
- Tournament of Power arc [anime]

Tier 6
These are also pretty good:
- Dragon Ball GT (all three of GT's arcs would be in this tier anyway)
- Goku Black arc [manga]

Tier 7
These are okay:
- Champa arc [anime]
- Champa arc [manga] (I am including the Battle of Gods chapters here, as they basically serve as an extended prologue)
- Tournament of Power arc [manga]
- Granola arc [manga]
- Super Hero arc [manga] (I am including its prequel, and its prequel, here)

Tier 8
The only arcs I would actually probably genuinely dread having to go through again:
- Battle of Gods arc [anime]
- Resurrection F arc [anime]
- Moro arc [manga]
- Dragon Ball Daima

I should also say that, despite my description of Tier 8, there are still some things I really like about each arc in it (universe-destroying punches, Vegeta being a pupil, Dai Kaioshin & Oob, Koo & Doo); I just really wish they were in something better.

[BernardoCairo]

Dragon Ball (manga)
1 - 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai (10/10)
2 - Saiyajin Arc (10/10)
3 - Freeza Arc (10/10)
4 - 21st Tenkaichi Budokai (9/10)
5 - 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai (9/10)
7 - First Dragon Ball Hunt Arc (9/10)
8 - Androids Arc (8/10)
9 - Piccolo Daimaoh Arc (8/10)
10 - Uranai Baba’s Tournament (8/10)
11 - Red Ribbon Army Arc (8/10)
12 - Majin Boo Arc (7/10)

Overall, I consider the original manga to be very well written and far superior to Toei’s adaptations. It’s impressive how consistent the story is, given the way Toriyama wrote the chapters. The part we know as "OG Dragon Ball" is my favorite, but in terms of writing, Toriyama was at his peak between the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai and the Freeza Saga.
It’s amazing how each of these arcs delivered incredible fights, memorable characters, great artwork, and stories that enriched the characters’ journeys. The Freeza Saga, in particular, is a joy to read in the manga. The cat-and-mouse chase for the Dragon Balls, the new characters, the Super Saiyajin, and the ideological clash between Goku and Freeza... All of it is excellent!
I feel sorry for those who only watched Z and never explored the original material. In my opinion, they’re missing out on the best of Akira Toriyama. And also the best of Vegeta as a character (seriously, he's such a fun guy to read).

I will comment on the sequels in a later post.

[sunsetshimmer]

Already posted it few years ago, don't think much would change but here's updated list, made on the go so might not be 100% accurate:

S (Great): King Piccolo, Buu, Baby, Red Ribbon Army
A (Good): Saiyan, 22nd Tenkaichi, Black Star Dragon Balls, Shadow Dragons, BoG
B (Fine): Frieza, Pilaf, 21st Tenkaichi, 23rd Tenkaichi, Super Hero
C (Bad): Cell, Super 17, Broly
D (Terrible): U6 tournament, Moro, Zamasu
F (Disgrace): RoF, ToP

Notes:
-These are anime arcs unless exist only in manga
-BoG/RoF are counted as movies, not Super arcs. DBS BoG would fall lower to B or C. DBS RoF no difference though
-Not counting obvious filler arcs like Garlic Jr., Otherworld tournament, pre-ToP tournament and so on
-When ranking Super Hero i do my best to ignore Cell Max and new forms of Gohan and Piccolo. Otherwise this would land way lower. But i just really enjoyed everything that happens prior to that and couldn't place it on the same level as Broly or even worse.

[TechExpert2021]

I haven't seen the Fortuneteller Baba and 23rd World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament arcs of the original DB and the Champa arc of DBS, and I haven't read the Moro and Granola arcs of the DBS manga, so I'm leaving those out for now.

Z (Absolute Best) – Dragon Ball Hunt/Pilaf arc (DB), 21st World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament arc (DB), Saiyan arc (Z)
A (Great) – 22nd World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament arc (DB), Great Demon King Piccolo arc (DB), Namek/Freeza arc (Z), Battle of Gods (2013 DBZ Movie)
B (Good) – Otherworld's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament arc (Z), Baby arc (GT), Evil Dragons arc (GT), Broly arc (2018 DBS Movie)
C (Mid) – Garlic Jr. arc (Z), Artificial Humans/Cell arc (Z), Majin Boo arc (Z), Ultimate Dragon Ball arc (GT), Future Trunks/Goku Black/Zamasu arc (Super), Great Demon Realm/Daima arc (Daima)
D (Mediocre) – Battle of Gods (Super), Tournament of Power arc (Super), Super Hero arc (2022 DBS Movie)
F (Godawful) – Super 17 arc (GT), Resurrection F (2015 DBZ Movie and Super), Copy-Vegeta arc (Super)

[Izanagi]

Dragon Ball (Manga):
1. Saiyan
2. Red Ribbon Army
3. 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai
4. Namek
5. 21st Tenkaichi Budokai
6. Hunt for the Dragon Balls
7. 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai
8. Piccolo Daimao
9. Majin Boo
10. Android

The Saiyan arc is by far the best story arc in the entire series. It is the best for conveying the toll of battle on the characters and the fight against Vegeta encapsulates upon that because the situation feels both dynamic and desperate. You can really gauge how far along the fighting is by how thrashed everyone has gotten, whereas later arcs deprive you of this by just having villains No-Sell everything via transformation or regeneration.

Also, the only reason the heroes barely squeak by to a pyrrhic victory is because everyone takes a bite out of that son of a bitch, including Yajirobe. The whole "bad guy is just too strong but still fears he could lose at any moment and is getting more and more annoyed by this fact" feeling was never matched by any other shounen.

The only thing that really prevents the Saiyan arc from being a 10/10 to me is the ending. Kuririn should have killed Vegeta instead of giving Goku his way and letting him go, which completely undercuts the sacrifices Piccolo and the others made to stop him. Had Kuririn killed Vegeta, then the Saiyan arc would be right up there with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in terms of raw brutality (Stone Ocean especially). Still, I greatly preferred this approach to the clumsy way parts of Freeza and later villains attempted to raise the stakes.

[BernardoCairo]

I will comment on the sequels in a later post.

Dragon Ball GT
1 - Baby Arc (6/10)
2 - Shadow Dragon Arc (5/10)
3 - Black Star Dragon Balls Arc (3/10)
4 - Super Android 17 "Arc" (1/10)

An overall flawed and boring series, but with some great moments. The Baby Saga is pretty nice despite its slow start. Nothing groundbreaking, but nothing forgettable either.

Modern Dragon Ball (movies)
1 - Battle of Gods (9/10)
2 - Broly (8/10)
3 - Super Hero (8/10)
4 - Fukkatsu no F (3/10)

Overall, it's a very fun set of movies. Unfortunately, Fukkatsu no F brings it down for me with its poorly thought-out story. However, Battle of Gods is probably the best thing to come out of Dragon Ball since the manga ended in 1995. Broly and Super Hero are also great for their own reasons. The action and character dialogue in Broly are excellent, and I love seeing Piccolo as the main lead in Super Hero.

Dragon Ball Super (anime)
1 - Tournament of Power (7/10)
2 - Universe 6 Tournament (6/10)
3 - Future Trunks Arc (4/10)
4 - Battle of Gods Arc (3/10)
3 - Golden Freeza Arc (2/10)

Same as GT. The series has its moments, but overall, it's deeply flawed. I found the Tournament of Power fun, but the other arcs were pretty underwhelming. I still can't believe they turned Battle of Gods into a boring slog. Retelling the movies was a bad idea from the start.

Dragon Ball Super (manga)
1 - Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc (8/10)
2 - Super Hero Arc (8/10)
3 - Universe 6 Tournament (7/10)
4 - Future Trunks Arc (6/10)
5 - Battle of Gods (6/10)
6 - Tournament of Power (4/10)
7 - Granolah the Survivor Arc (4/10)

The manga is far more consistent and creative than the anime. It has its issues, and not every arc is a win. The Tournament of Power feels rushed and messy, while the Granolah arc suffers from weak writing and some of the most forgettable villains in Dragon Ball history. Still, even these arcs introduced interesting concepts. Ultra Instinct, for example, may not be as flashy, but it’s much more compelling in the manga.
Like any retelling, Super Hero was boring to read through at the time, but the story is still enjoyable. I especially loved the new Goten and Trunks segments.

[Vegeta th3 4th]

I feel sorry for those who only watched Z and never explored the original material.

Same here. I cannot imagine starting Naruto or especially Attack on Titan from the middle of the story.

Tier 8
The only arcs I would actually probably genuinely dread having to go through again:
- Battle of Gods arc [anime]
- Resurrection F arc [anime]
- Moro arc [manga]
- Dragon Ball Daima

I never thought I'd see Daima on the same list as Super's movie retellings.

Battle of the Gods: 8/10
Resurrection F: 0/10

If Battle of Gods was everything you could do right in a DB film, Resurrection F was the complete opposite. I cannot believe that how they chose to follow that movie. Don't get me wrong, the potential was there for a good movie, they just made every wrong decision imaginable.

[Zephyr]

Tier 8
The only arcs I would actually probably genuinely dread having to go through again:
- Battle of Gods arc [anime]
- Resurrection F arc [anime]
- Moro arc [manga]
- Dragon Ball Daima

I never thought I'd see Daima on the same list as Super's movie retellings.

Yeah, I'm not completely confident in my Daima placement. Very torn. As said, there are things I like about it, such as Koo and Doo. I'm also largely enjoying the climax so far. But that early-middle portion I just found profoundly boring. This is something Daima shares with the Baby and Evil Dragons arcs, but there's just a lot more that GT does to make up for it in my eyes I guess?

Like, for Tiers 5 through 8, I probably could rank things within tiers, and if I did Daima would definitely be above Battle of Gods (anime) and Moro; would it be above Resurrection F (anime)? Maybe? I'm not sure. I really enjoy the stuff with Vegeta being a pupil at the beginning, but I can't think of a single thing about the rest of it that would make me want to watch it over the movie (which does have things I rather enjoy).

Either way, I could see myself bumping Daima up to Tier 7, but I think I need some distance from it, and a fresh re-watch a long while from now. And for it to actually finish, I suppose.

[AliTheZombie13]

I'm also torn on Daima.
Didn't want to rate yet as the show's not over, and its strongest supporters swear to me my opinion will change in the next two episodes, but if I would rank it right now, I would put it below Super #17.

Yes, that low. I would rather rewatch Super #17 before I ever touch Daima again.

[Vegeta th3 4th]

I'm also torn on Daima. Didn't want to rate yet as the show's not over, and its strongest supporters swear to me my opinion will change in the next two episodes.

I've been hearing this since it aired its 13th episode. It seems like the people who hyped it up don't want to admit they oversold it.

If I would rank it right now, I would put it below Super #17. Yes, that low. I would rather rewatch Super #17 before I ever touch Daima again.

Damn; that's brutal. I have to agree with you though, as the Super 17 arc at least had the decency to only be 6 episodes long. You could easily cut half of Daima out and miss nothing. Why it wasn't edited down to a movie's length and put in theaters is beyond me.

[AliTheZombie13]

Damn; that's brutal. I have to agree with you though, as the Super 17 arc at least had the decency to only be 6 episodes long. You could easily cut half of Daima out and miss nothing. Why it wasn't edited down to a movie's length and put in theaters is beyond me.

Brutal? Maybe.
But if I had to watch "Blatant ripoff of something that came before with nothing new to offer, but some neat character interactions here and there." Then Super #17 is shorter, less time for me to feel pain.

That being said, GT did turn out my opinion of the Evil Dragons Arc in the last two episodes, so who knows?