The perfect moment power-wise

[BernardoCairo]

I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now, and for me the perfect moment in the story power-wise is the beginning of the Majin Boo arc. At that point, Goku and Vegeta as Super Saiyajin 2 feel like they’re at an "ideal" level of strength. They’re powerful enough to surpass the Kaioshins and even the King of the Demon Realm, but not so overpowered that it breaks the suspension of disbelief.
I don’t really mind the constant escalation of power and I think modern techniques like Ultra Instinct are really cool, but nothing beats the sense of “we’re at the top of our game” that the early Boo arc gives these characters. It also makes both Majin Boo and Super Saiyajin 3 feel surreal, even though everything that follows starts to feel a bit too excessive for me.

Other moments where I feel the cast was at an "ideal" level of strength are the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, when everyone is close enough in power but Goku finally stands out as the strongest on the planet, and the early Android arc, when Super Saiyajin felt at its peak, Piccolo and Vegeta could stand up to Goku, and the Androids were a nice and credible challenge.

[Koitsukai]

I think the Buu arc is the perfect moment due to the reasons provided.
Maybe, also, because it encompasses a huge period of time, it's been almost a decade and the cast has not gotten much stronger. Like, that's their limit. I guess it's the timeskip what sells it.

On the previous arcs, you could tell that there was still room for growth, whether it was vs Vegeta, Freeza or the androids. But by the Buu arc, they have died, they are grown ups, people have moved away from the fighting lifestyle, they've started families, there's a new generation coming up. By then, the standard power limit had already been established.
And to move past that limit, fusions, eternal artificial demons and afterlife training were required.

[PhantomSaiyan]

I also agree with the Buu arc, both beginning, and even end of Buu

It might be becaue that was the endgame for the longest time back when I was younger and there was no new DB content, but it really felt like the perfect place power wise

I think that's also why SS God in Battle of Gods hit so much more than SS Blue

[JulieYBM]

I liked the sort of implied level-playing field during the Artificial Human #19 and #20 stretch. Gokuu, Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo were all ostensibly in the same bracket and we have that streamlined singular transformation for the Saiyans. I think it worked really well.

[Yuji]

SS3 and fusions really powercrept everything, although they're intentionally meant to be absurd jumping-the-shark transformations (in a series already known for jumping the shark). All the escalation that followed was a byproduct of the Boo arc.

I'd say right now is one of the only times in the entire series where most of the main cast is on equal footing and you can see these as endgame forms, where you can't really fathom much above them. Goku, Vegeta, Broly, Piccolo and Gohan are all relative to each other, with unique transformations that complement their character arcs, and you could probably throw in a hypothetical adult Gotenks in the mix as well. Then of course you have a wide range of others such as Jiren, Granolah, Freeza, Beerus and so on, which are all presumably around the same range of power. For the first time in the series you could realistically write a story where you don't know who's the strongest.

But personally I also agree that the early Cell arc worked really nicely for me, it felt more grounded and each form and power boost still held some gravitas.

[BernardoCairo]

One thing to consider about the Boo Arc is that both Babidi and Dabura are great villains in terms of power balance and themes. Babidi is not strong himself, so he relies on magic and other warriors to fight for him, a concept we really had not seen since the Red Ribbon arc. Dabura, on the other hand, can be viewed as a stand-in for the devil. He is literally the king of the Demon Realm, yet he fell under Babidi’s control and could be defeated by Goku and Vegeta without much trouble. This highlights the scale of the Saiyajins’ power at that time and also reinforces how terrifying Cell’s abilities were, since Vegeta directly compared him to Dabura.

Gokuu, Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo were all ostensibly in the same bracket and we have that streamlined singular transformation for the Saiyans. I think it worked really well.

Agree. Having one singular legendary transformation works really well. It gives the cast a clear goal to pursue, and it also highlights Piccolo’s character in an indirect way. He is the only non-Super Saiyajin who can stand up to the Androids, and I think Kuririn even points this out at some point. Piccolo is not a Super Saiyajin, yet he still managed to reach that level of power through training and sheer talent alone. I especially love the moment when he cuts off #20’s arm.

SS3 and fusions really powercrept everything, although they're intentionally meant to be absurd jumping-the-shark transformations (in a series already known for jumping the shark). All the escalation that followed was a byproduct of the Boo arc.

I agree. I personally see the Boo Arc as a kind of parody of Dragon Ball, and the constant power-creep transformations are part of what makes it work. I don’t think it really started with Super Saiyajin 3, though. It was surprising, but still felt somewhat feasible. There’s nothing more “Goku” than a power that goes beyond going beyond. Super Saiyajin 2 was already an anomaly, and Goku managed to push it even further, even if he wasn’t fully used to it and had to deal with serious drawbacks.
That said, it did take away a bit of the “Super Saiyajin 2 as the peak” magic from earlier in the arc. For me, things really went off the rails with the fusions and Ultimate Gohan.

[Metalwario64]

I liked the sort of implied level-playing field during the Artificial Human #19 and #20 stretch. Gokuu, Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo were all ostensibly in the same bracket and we have that streamlined singular transformation for the Saiyans. I think it worked really well.

Yeah I liked how it felt like those all were relatively on the same level. By the Cell Games, despite all their training, it boils down to Gohan>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Goku>>>>>>>everyone else.

[JulieYBM]

I liked the sort of implied level-playing field during the Artificial Human #19 and #20 stretch. Gokuu, Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo were all ostensibly in the same bracket and we have that streamlined singular transformation for the Saiyans. I think it worked really well.

Yeah I liked how it felt like those all were relatively on the same level. By the Cell Games, despite all their training, it boils down to Gohan>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Goku>>>>>>>everyone else.

Yeah, I agree. After Super Hero, it does feel like we're basically on the same level again with Gokuu, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo and Broli being in the same position.

[MasenkoHA]

. This highlights the scale of the Saiyajins’ power at that time and also reinforces how terrifying Cell’s abilities were, since Vegeta directly compared him to Dabura.

In this case the direct comparison to Cell seemed to exist to let us know how strong Majin Boo is. “Here’s a guy roughly equal in strength to the last major foe and the new seemingly harmless and jovial big bad just smacked him around and ended him without a modicum of effort” Until Daima, Dabura being the King of the Demon World seemed like a minor detail to give him some extra spice. I suppose to show how powerful Bobbidi’s magic is that he can gain control and loyalty of a literal King of Demons

That said, it did take away a bit of the “Super Saiyajin 2 as the peak” magic from earlier in the arc. For me, things really went off the rails with the fusions and Ultimate Gohan.

Fusion served a purpose in justifying the Saiyan Little League being able to stand up to Boo while Gohan was getting his power up and Goku was still supposed to be exiting the series. It then served the purpose of explaining how Goku and Vegeta could overpower the strongest form of Boo without Goku saying “Actually as Super Saiyan 3 not only was I secretly stronger than the Fat version, I was actually far stronger than my son in his Ultimate form this whole time and can beat Super Boo even after he absorbed my son!”

[Jord]

It depends on your favorite characters. Power wise, for me Saiyan saga would be ideal if the other warriors were a tad stronger. That way you have a diverse cast with actual unique powers and abilities.

Buu saga Goku and Vegeta and Gohan basically have the same ki-based abilities.

[funrush]

For me I like the Android arc how you have Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Trunks, and later Gohan all on a similar playing field. I like how in the Saiyan/Freeza/Android arcs the focus is on a whole cast of characters instead of just Goku and Vegeta.

Another perfect moment is right now at the end of the Super Hero movie. I feel like we were just getting back to an ensemble cast in Super now that we have Goku, Vegeta, Broly, Piccolo, and Gohan all at roughly equal power levels. Between that and the Black Freeza story that still needs to be resolved it was a pretty inconvenient time for the story to stop, RIP Toriyama.

[BernardoCairo]

In this case the direct comparison to Cell seemed to exist to let us know how strong Majin Boo is. “Here’s a guy roughly equal in strength to the last major foe and the new seemingly harmless and jovial big bad just smacked him around and ended him without a modicum of effort” Until Daima, Dabura being the King of the Demon World seemed like a minor detail to give him some extra spice.

Sure, I agree. But ultimately, he's still molded in the image of the devil and was considered the king of the Demon Realm (which, at the time, could very well be seen as something akin to hell for a good portion of the public). I think this makes him a threat by design, which obviously further hyped Majin Buu up.

Fusion served a purpose in justifying the Saiyan Little League being able to stand up to Boo while Gohan was getting his power up and Goku was still supposed to be exiting the series. It then served the purpose of explaining how Goku and Vegeta could overpower the strongest form of Boo without Goku saying “Actually as Super Saiyan 3 not only was I secretly stronger than the Fat version, I was actually far stronger than my son in his Ultimate form this whole time and can beat Super Boo even after he absorbed my son!”

I see the point in them, but I think they're a bit wild, even if extremely iconic (fusion in particular). Ultimate Gohan is cool, and I like the idea of ​​gaining power without transforming and through a ritual, almost as if Gohan were drawing strength from within, something that's always been there. But ultimately, he did very little, and the power increase ended up feeling more like a footnote that further escalated things.

Power wise, for me Saiyan saga would be ideal if the other warriors were a tad stronger.

I agree. There's certainly something very satisfying about these human characters training their bodies and minds to prepare for an alien threat. Especially since they use martial arts and ki control to do so. There's almost a magic-meets-sci-fi battle going on between the two sides (which nicely marks the transition from Dragon Ball to Z, if you think about it).

I feel like we were just getting back to an ensemble cast in Super now that we have Goku, Vegeta, Broly, Piccolo, and Gohan all at roughly equal power levels.

I think the same. But they need to find a better way to visually communicate that everyone is on the same level. I still see fans arguing about Piccolo and Gohan's power levels three years after the movie's release.