Least favorite filler?

[jjgp1112]

I've been marathoning Dragon Ball from the very beginning since 2 weeks ago and I have to say, my least favorite filler stuff that I've come across is the stuff from when everyone was teleported from Namek to earth. They got Vegeta's character completely wrong - they portray him as some cowardly cartoon supervillain celebrating the fact that Goku and Fr­ieza are going to be destroyed by Namek's explosion and how it'll make him the strongest in the universe and the new ruler, whereas in reality he was angry at the fact that he was only strongest by default and that Goku was the one who went Super Saiyan and is fighting Frieza, and he seemed to lose his desire for immortality. Then they say he always knew that Frie­za destroyed Planet Vegeta. And the worst part? In episode 107 they pretend it never happened.

[Kroni_Hunter]

I think all the filler involving snake way were just annoying diversions. I pick those.

[jpdbzrulz4sure]

My bottom 3 filler (that I can think of at the moment, at least):

#3: Garlic Jr. Saga
#2: Fake Namek
#1: Bulma and the crab

[Codarik]

My least favorite fillers are the ones that create plot holes.

[PuppetDoctor]

I HATE Fake Namek with a passion. It is a useless filler that takes up two episodes collecting fake Dragon Balls and I just have terrible memories of it.

I also don't like the Garlic Jr. saga since it just seems like it drags on for to long.

[Satan-Sama]

While I actually really enjoy Garlic Jr, Other World Tournament and especially the filler that documented Goku's training with Kami and (to a greater extent) Mr. Popo before the 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai.

I can say that Fake Namek, Space Children and basically any filler involving Bulma in the Namek-Freeza Saga are pieces of filler I hate with a passion. Mostly due to them being extremely dull and inane adventures that entertained me in no shape or form. I also dislike Goku and Vegeta venturing in Super Buu's stomach but not nearly on the same level as the aforementioned. I'm sure I will be able to think of more later.

[SuperAndroid11]

I HATE Fake Namek with a passion. It is a useless filler that takes up two episodes collecting fake Dragon Balls and I just have terrible memories of it.

I also don't like the Garlic Jr. saga since it just seems like it drags on for to long.

I hated Fake Namek too, but didn't mind Garlic Jr Saga. Marron or whatever was hot.

Kinda off topic, but I recall that the Garlic Jr saga wasn't in the manga, did they make that just for the show?

[Luke Groundwalker]

My most hated filler episodes are literally the ones where literally nothing happens.

Case in point, the very first episode of Dragon Box 5 which I watched the other day. So goddamn terrible. The entire episode was basically Goku and Gohan doing absolutely nothing.

[Satan-Sama]

Kinda off topic, but I recall that the Garlic Jr saga wasn't in the manga, did they make that just for the show?

Well that is filler my friend.

Case in point, the very first episode of Dragon Box 5 which I watched the other day. So goddamn terrible. The entire episode was basically Goku and Gohan doing absolutely nothing.

Care to enlighten? Specifically which dreadful episode was this?

[Luke Groundwalker]

Care to enlighten? Specifically which dreadful episode was this?

Episode 169. You made me pull out my Dragonbook for that!

[DBZ Mick]

Generally filler I don't is filler in every sense of the word. Stuff that fills in time and that goes nowhere. Filler I like is one that develops the characters more, or the mythology of the Dragonball universe ie.

I actually didn't mind Fake Namek but skip it nowadays, I also didn't mind MOST of Bulma's adventures on Namek even the crab stuff.

However I really hated the Chichi wants to go to Namek filler, also some of the early Red Ribbon filler involving Pilaf and Silver was horrible.

[sangofe]

Hm...
Fake Namek,
Garlic Jr.

[PuppetDoctor]

Generally filler I don't is filler in every sense of the word. Stuff that fills in time and that goes nowhere. Filler I like is one that develops the characters more, or the mythology of the Dragonball universe ie.

I actually didn't mind Fake Namek but skip it nowadays, I also didn't mind MOST of Bulma's adventures on Namek even the crab stuff.

However I really hated the Chichi wants to go to Namek filler, also some of the early Red Ribbon filler involving Pilaf and Silver was horrible.

Thank you for reminding me that I also couldn't stand the Piccolo Daimao arc in the anime because of filler. I hated all of the Suno (Snow) filler where she was in the hospital helping all the people and such. It really ruined the arc for me in the anime and I loved it so much in the manga. There was just to much padding in the anime so when I finally saw that whole arc properly when I got Season 4 of Dragon Ball I was really disappointed.

Funny thing is I know a lot of people dislike Bulma and the crab. I actually do not mind that filler at all. The filler in the Namek arc I hate more (not including that horrid Fake Namek) would be when Bulma switches bodies with Ginyu.

[Akumaito Beam]

Obviously this is all just my opinion...

Silver Vs. Monkeys
Episode 33 was called “The Legend of the Dragon”. The actual legend itself was a brief filler scene. I’m confident they chose to call it that because otherwise the title would've been “Silver Burns Down a Forest! Goku Saves A Couple Monkeys!!!” Yes, the majority of this episode is Silver burning down a forest and Goku trying to save some monkeys he had just met. This episode bores me so bad I skip it anytime I watch the Red Ribbon arc and I rarely skip or fast forward anything when I watch DVDs.

Bulma Vs. Giant Crab
This is on everyones list. I don’t really hate the space orphans or even fake Namek but this is too much even for me. It isn’t entertaining in the slightest. It’s literally just Bulma fighting a giant crab. There’s nothing redeeming about it. I think even Funimation thought this one was really dumb because if I remember correctly they gave it a really corny Johnny Questesque title like “Bulma’s Big Day!”

Garlic Jr.
The actual story of the Garlic Jr. saga itself isn’t bad. I love how Gohan and Kuririn take the front lines and how they show Vegeta cleaning up Freeza’s spare henchman in space. I even really enjoy the Kami and Mr.Popo B plot. I just think 10 episodes is a bit much. Two things that stick out in my memory clearly are the fact that the henchman refused to die and that the Marron jokes while funny at first wore out their welcome REAL quick. I think that’s kind of the theme for this saga, wearing out your welcome. Personally if they wrapped this thing up in about 4 or 5 episodes it wouldn’t be on this list.

[Jackal puFF]

I hate almost all of it.. The ones I kinda like.. are in dragonball.

[Cipher]

I actually enjoy most of the filler. But there are a few that really grind my gears.

1. Space Orphans

Dull, should and could have been one episode long. Tries really, really had to both be emotional and build up Freeza, but doesn't do either particularly well.

2. Ginyu is Bulma and Bulma is Ginyu

A.K.A. how to kill a climax with one superfluous subplot. I find this more offensive than Chi-chi wanting to go to Namek (which is mildly amusing) because it interacts directly with the main conflict. It's a real mood killer, and not particularly entertaining.

3. Kaiou repeating absolutely everything during the Freeza fight. Everyone on his planet being continuously shocked.

It's not really a total filler plot like most of you guys are listing, but seriously, fuck this. At least twice per episode, we cut back to Kaiou's planet, have him say something ominous, pause for a moment, wait for Yamcha to ask what's wrong, listen to Kaiou explain exactly what we've just been watching, and then pause for a few reaction shots and a zoom-out from his planet. This is the worst of all padding, hands down. Worse than shots of scenery, worse than stare downs. It's just fucking awful.

4. Colonel Silver vs the monkeys

I'm seconding this from earlier in the thread. A.K.A. how not to start a plot arc. It's a shame, because the bit with Pilaf's flying fortress was entertaining.

5. Goku vs a star!

I know it's only half an episode, but shut up and let me get back to Namek. This would be fine later in the arc, but the fact that the events on Namek are just beginning to get interesting and are moving at a particularly slow pace just make this one infuriating. Basically, a kindof/sortof fun side story that has the misfortune of breaking up a much, much more interesting slowburn cat-and-mouse game.

Most other filler I enjoy or can at least tolerate. I don't even hate Bulma vs. the crab, since at least it throws her a bone at that point in the series. Even fake Namek, while an irritating tease, is pretty fun if you watch it on its own.

[caejones]

Episodes that involve one or two attacks, then spend twenty minutes having people comment on it, or stare at each other over it. I seem to remember Goku Vs Freeza having this happen several episodes in a row, and I think it happened with Cell a couple times as well.
... Oh, and the fact that Trunks killing Freeza took all of five seconds... and three episodes.

I suddenly want to rewrite DBZ in a manner similar to the 1990s X-men cartoon, not because the two styles fit together at all, but because I'm interested in how the pacing of action sequences would work.

[Pokewhiz7]

Least Favorite:

Bulma and Ginyu: This wasn't an entire episode of filler, but in all honesty, most people can agree this was just plain stupid. C'mon, a frog translator?

Bulma and Crab: This was just really boring. It seemed to drag on endlessly. The animation during this also seemed to be piss-poor.

Ginyu Force on Kaio's Planet: Yeah, okay. You're training there for like a couple of days, you're not going to get stronger than Vegeta in that time.

Favorite:

The Hell Episode: It was a pretty fun episode, even if it didn't add anything to the story.

Garlic Jr.: You get to see people besides Goku and Vegeta fighting, not to mention Maron in Karin's place was pretty funny.

Driver's Ed: Not much to say, it's just pretty damn funny, especially Post Boy.

Bardock: Not sure if you would consider this filler since Toriyama added him in for two panels, but anyway, his really adds nice Saiyan backstory, and makes Goku vs. Freeza a much more intense fight just knowing about it.

Ano Yo-Ichi Budoukai (sp?)

[Shnuki]

My top 3:

#3 - Goku and Vegeta searching for the others in Buu's insides.

It was so quick in the manga - Vegetto lands in Buu's body, fusion ends, quick dialogue between the Saiyans and they find the others. But in the anime, they spent three or four episodes in there while having some "adventures". Boring adventures.

#2 - Early Red Ribbon Army arc filler.

It was a good idea to give Colonel Silver more screen time, because I felt that his appearance in the manga was too short. But execution of that idea wasn't too great. The worst part of it was the episode with the monkeys.

#1 - Bulma vs. Crab

Do I have to explain?

[kenisu3000]

Goku and Vegeta searching for the others in Buu's insides.

It was so quick in the manga - Vegetto lands in Buu's body, fusion ends, quick dialogue between the Saiyans and they find the others. But in the anime, they spent three or four episodes in there while having some "adventures". Boring adventures.

Yeah, but then Evil Illusion Gohan turns into a giant cupcake. Cracks me up every time.

Anyway, it's threads like this that make me realize just how beside myself I am with my love of certain filler episodes. I can't understand how the Fake Namek arc can be so universally hated, especially since I find it refreshingly creative. At least the Fake Namek is lush and green, even if all the vegetation is just an illusion (I always find myself wishing longingly that the actual Namek was more like the fake one and less like the barren, boring wasteland it is), but then I'm a DuckTales fan, so adventure-minded DBZ episodes that remind me of my childhood in any way always get a plus from me. Guess I'm biased.

I don't even mind the Space Orphans two-parter, in fact it's one of my favorites.

I also think the Garlic Jr. saga takes too much crap. The first few episodes honestly aren't that bad, it's really just once Kami and Popo are released that I start wanting to puke (I always find myself mentally screaming "if I have to watch them reuse that footage of those two running from the former gods one more time..."), and then after you get through all that, you have the Kuririn-breaks-up-with-Maron episode, which I adore. Either way, I'll echo what was said earlier in this thread about it: 5 episodes would have been much more reasonable.

And then there's the filler from the Piccolo Daimao saga, which I love love love love love. The two-parter where Goku and Yajirobe venture into an ice labyrinth and wind up in a cave where they have to face the ominous being known as Darkness, in order to get the Super Divine Water, has to be my all-time favorite.

As for filler I don't like, well, in the original DragonBall, there are two episodes out of that five-part filler arc just after the 21st Budokai which I'm not terribly keen on, and surprisingly enough, neither of them are the Silver vs. Monkeys one. The first one is where Gyumao prepares a wedding feast for Goku and Chichi, and the second one is right after that, the Flying Fortress episode. Bleh. But when it comes right down to it, I don't really like the canon series that much at all until Goku reaches Jingle Village.

And then in DBZ, aside from the parts from the Garlic Jr. arc I already mentioned, you have episode 102: "Let's Get it On!! Two Remain On a Vanishing Planet". All that is is Goku and Freeza beating each other up, and nothing notable happens. And then there's episode 105, which is probably 40% flashback. The animators must have been on vacation.

And a great big retching noise goes toward most of the Great Saiyaman arc. Hate that stuff.

After all is said and done, when I really take it all into consideration, it has to be the battle filler I dislike the most. Self-contained filler episodes can range from crappy to fantastic, but battle filler is almost always aggravating for me. Take the padding from Goku vs. Freeza, SSJ 2 Gohan vs. Cell, and Gotenks-form Boo vs. Vegetto...

Take it, please.