What is the proper way to refer to sections of the anime?

[thaman91]

So I've been wondering: what exactly is the proper way to refer to a certain part of the anime?

I've heard many refer to something as an "arc" like the Buu arc, or the Freeza arc. So would the Freeza arc, for example, refer to the entire period of time from the beginning of DBZ up until Garlic Jr. appears? Or does it start when Vegeta and company actually begin fighting Freeza?

Originally I thought the word "arc" was reserved for referring to major sections of the storyline that ended when a major villain (Freeza, Cell, Buu) was defeated. But I've also seen it used to refer to smaller sections of the story (like "Ginyu arc", "Trunks arc", "Fusion arc", etc.). Heck, I've even seen it being used to talk about a character's progression. But doesn't it sound weird when used for both story and character in the same sentence ("I really loved Vegeta's character arc in the Buu arc")?

Also, having grown up on the American dub, I remember Funimation divided the story up into their own "sagas": Saiyan, Namek, Ginyu, Freeza, Garlic Jr., Trunks, Android, Imperfect Cell, Perfect Cell, Cell Games, Saiyaman, World Tournament, Babidi, Buu, Fusion, Kid Buu (I think that's right?). Are these generally accepted or disregarded?

So I guess the main questions are these: what is the right way to refer to different sections in the anime? Is there some kind of rule? If not, should there be a rule so that it's easy for all of us to know what specifically someone is talking about (since "Buu saga" might mean the entire last third of the anime to some while to others it may not actually start until Buu first appears)? Does any of this even matter?

[ShinRogafuken]

Hujio wrote:
Shueisha / Anime (sources: Daizenshuu 3, 5, & 10)
[The TV Animation daizenshuu split up each arc into smaller acts, but I'm not going to list all those.]

DragonBall; 5 arcs
Son Goku (episodes 001-028; 11 acts)
Red Ribbon Army (episodes 029-068; 10 acts)
22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 069-101; 9 acts)
Piccolo Daimao (episodes 102-132; 7 acts)
23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 133-153; 7 acts)

DragonBall Z; 12 arcs
Attack of the Saiyan (episodes 001-035; 10 acts)
Battle on Planet Namek (episodes 036-074; 11 acts)
Terrible Emperor Freeza (episodes 075-107; 10 acts)
Fight with Garlic Jr. (episodes 108-125; 7 acts)
Android No. 16~20 (episodes 126-147; 7 acts)
Over the Super Saiyan (episodes 148-165; 7 acts)
Beginning of the Cell Games (episodes 166-194; 8 acts)
Anoyoichi Budoukai (episodes 195-219; 8 acts)
Majin Boo Returns (episodes 220-237; 5 acts)
Appearance of the Super Saiyan III (episodes 238-254; 7 acts)
The Final Fighter, Vegetto (episodes 255-268; 5 acts)
The Final Battle (episodes 269-291; 6 acts)

DragonBall GT
Nothing about the GT story arcs has ever been officially classified by Shueisha. The GT Perfect Files don't organize the episodes by arc, but by the location of each episode.


Toei Animation (source: Official Websites)

DragonBall; 6 arcs
Encounter with Bulma (episodes 001-013)
21st Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 014-028)
The Search for the Four-Star-Ball (episodes 029-068)
22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 069-101)
Daimao's Revival (episodes 102-132)
23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 133-153)

DragonBall Z; 4 arcs
Saiyan (episodes 001-035)
Freeza (episodes 36-117)
Cell (episodes 118-199)
Majin Buu (episodes 200-291)

DragonBall GT; 4 arcs
Dark Dragonballs (episodes 001-022)
Baby (episodes 023-040)
Super 17 (episodes 041-047)
Evil Dragon (episodes 048-064)


Toei Animation (source: Dragon Box)
[Just like Shueisha, you'll note that Toei isn't all that consistent either.]

DragonBall; 11 arcs
Goku and Bulma (001-013)
Kame-sen Training (014-018)
21st Tenkaichi Budoukai (019-029)
Red Ribbon (030-068)
Uranai Baba (069-078)
Training on the Road (079-083)
22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai (084-101)
Piccolo Daimao (102-123)
Heavenly Training (124-132)
23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai (133-148)
The Wedding Dress in Flames (149-153)

DragonBall Z; 9 arcs
Saiyan (episodes 001-035)
Namek (episodes 036-074)
Freeza (episodes 075-107)
Garlic Jr. (episode 108-117)
Artificial Human (episodes 118-147)
Cell (episodes 148-194)
Ano Yo-ichi Budoukai (195-199)
High School (episodes 200-209)
Buu (episodes 210-291)

DragonBall GT; 4 arcs
Searching Space (001-022)
Super Baby (023-041)
Super No. 17 (042-047)
Evil Dragon (048-064)

Now, as to exactly how "official" these are is up for debate, since they all sort of conflict with each other. For instance, you can see that Shueisha lists the Freeza arc as ending at Z episode 107 in the anime, but lists it as ending at chapter 329 (the Z Warriors are revived with the dragonballs) or chapter 337 (the artificial humans first appear) for the manga. On top of all that, they put the Trunks arc in the Garlic Jr. arc for the anime (?!). So you can see how consistent they are (those flip-floppers). As for Toei, they seem to just lump things together in much larger arcs, again with a loose consistency.

[thaman91]

Wow, thanks for compiling all that! I had no idea there were that many different ways to classify all the different sections of the story. And I guess there's no generally accepted norm among fans on which classification method to use. I wish there was; it would've helped reduce confusion somewhat. Oh well, it is what it is.

[Gaffer Tape]

Yeah, I don't think any of the official sources seem to have a consensus on to how to divide the story up. And to be frank, they sometimes don't seem to get exactly what constitutes a full story. That's mainly on FUNimation with their 7 episode Ginyu Saga and Trunks Saga, but even the Japanese sources take it too far in my opinion. Not that I'm an official source by any means, but the way I break them down for my Dragon Ball Dissection web series is as follows:

The Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc
The 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Red Ribbon Army arc
The 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Piccolo Daimao arc
The 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Saiyan arc
The Freeza arc
The Cell arc
The Majin Boo arc

That's not taking into account filler stories from the anime, but you get the gist. To me, these ten divisions seem the simplest and most logical based on narrative structure and actually telling a complete story. And while I think certain ways of dividing the series are silly, I do believe a few other methods of division have merit and sound logic behind them.

[Codarik]

The way I like to refer sections of the anime is mainly by using the term "arc" when the main topic is about the original Japanese version. And use the term "saga" when the main topic is about an English dub.

[Saiga]

Yeah, I don't think any of the official sources seem to have a consensus on to how to divide the story up. And to be frank, they sometimes don't seem to get exactly what constitutes a full story. That's mainly on FUNimation with their 7 episode Ginyu Saga and Trunks Saga, but even the Japanese sources take it too far in my opinion. Not that I'm an official source by any means, but the way I break them down for my Dragon Ball Dissection web series is as follows:

The Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc
The 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Red Ribbon Army arc
The 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Piccolo Daimao arc
The 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Saiyan arc
The Freeza arc
The Cell arc
The Majin Boo arc

That's not taking into account filler stories from the anime, but you get the gist. To me, these ten divisions seem the simplest and most logical based on narrative structure and actually telling a complete story. And while I think certain ways of dividing the series are silly, I do believe a few other methods of division have merit and sound logic behind them.

The biggest problem I have with this is the Red Ribbon Army arc. The RRA don't even last for the entirety of the arc, so I always felt calling it the Second Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc is just noticeably more accurate. Then Red Ribbon Army and Uranai Baba serve as separate sub-arcs within that. And 'Namek' and 'Android/Artificial Human' are just way better than 'Freeza' and 'Cell' for names /nitpick

I also don't like how the Boo arc covers all the earlier chapters that happen prior to the arc even being about Majin Boo or the Kaioshin. I know they don't form an arc by themselves, and bit by bit they lead to the next event that leads to Majin Boo, but it just doesn't seem right to be part of that arc. Oh well!

[B]

I'm slightly warming up to how the digital color version divided the series into seven arcs, to match the Dragon Balls.

Son Goku Training arc (Chapters 1-54; orange)
Red Ribbon Army arc (55-112; red)
Piccolo Daimao arc (113-194; green)
Saiyan arc (195-243; gold)
Freeza arc (244-329; purple)
Cell arc (330-420; gray)
Majin Buu arc (421-519; pink)

[Fizzer]

Yeah, I don't think any of the official sources seem to have a consensus on to how to divide the story up. And to be frank, they sometimes don't seem to get exactly what constitutes a full story. That's mainly on FUNimation with their 7 episode Ginyu Saga and Trunks Saga, but even the Japanese sources take it too far in my opinion. Not that I'm an official source by any means, but the way I break them down for my Dragon Ball Dissection web series is as follows:

The Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc
The 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Red Ribbon Army arc
The 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Piccolo Daimao arc
The 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai arc
The Saiyan arc
The Freeza arc
The Cell arc
The Majin Boo arc

That's not taking into account filler stories from the anime, but you get the gist. To me, these ten divisions seem the simplest and most logical based on narrative structure and actually telling a complete story. And while I think certain ways of dividing the series are silly, I do believe a few other methods of division have merit and sound logic behind them.

This is how I think of them, because these are complete stories, which is what I feel "arcs" should be. The "Great Saiyaman saga" is just a slow beginning for the story that is the Buu arc, for example.

In the anime, I throw in:
-Wedding Dress arc
-Garlic Jr arc
-Anoyoichi Budoukai
-Baby arc
-Super 17 arc
-Shadow Dragons arc

[Dbzfan94]

I use the term "saga" for Z, but in terms of the episode/chapter divisions, they're pretty much the same.

Dragon Ball Hunting Arc
21st Tournament Arc
Red Ribbon Army Arc
22nd Tournament Arc
Demon King Piccolo Arc
23rd Tournament /Piccolo Jr. Arc

Saiyan Saga
Namek Saga
Freeza Saga
Cell Saga
Buu Saga

(In my opinion, arc fits better for DB, while saga fits better for Z.)

[DonZ]

Japanese = arc
English = saga

Pretty much this. And since Dragon Ball is a Japanese anime, so I think the proper way is to call it an "arc" but it's ok if you use the term saga instead, since a lot of DB fans like the dub.

[Hujio]

Wow, thanks for compiling all that!

No problem, but ShinRogafuken actually copied my old list from 2009. The list is actually floating around in at least five threads now, and on other forums as well, but here's the most recent one:

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Here's a "quick" run-down of how both Shueisha and Toei "officially" break-up the arcs:


Shueisha / Manga (source: Daizenshuu 2)
[Remember, it's only one series, so no DBZ!]

Dragon Ball; 15 arcs

• Search for the Dragonballs (chapters 001-023)
• Training with Kame-sennin (chapters 024-031)
• 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai (chapters 032-054)
• Red Ribbon Army (chapters 055-096)
• Uranai Baba (chapters 097-112)
• 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai (chapters 113-134)
• Piccolo Daimao (chapters 135-165)
• 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai (chapters 166-194)
• Saiyan (chapters 195-242)
• Freeza (chapters 243-337)
• Artificial Human (chapters 338-356)
• Cell (chapters 357-420)
• High School (chapters 421-429)
• 25th Tenkaichi Budoukai (chapters 430-445)
• Majin Buu (chapters 446-519)

Shueisha / Manga (sources: DB Landmark and Forever)
[These guidebooks use essentially the same divisions as Daizenshuu 2, but are a tad different, so be sure to look closely.]

Dragon Ball; 15 arcs

• Search for the Dragonballs (chapters 001-014)
• Training with Kame-sennin (chapters 015-032)
• 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai (chapters 033-054)
• Red Ribbon Army (chapters 055-096)
• Uranai Baba (chapters 097-111)
• 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai (chapters 112-134)
• Piccolo Daimao (chapters 135-164)
• 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai (chapters 165-194)
• Saiyan (chapters 195-243)
• Freeza (chapters 244-329)
• Artificial Human (chapters 330-357)
• Cell (chapters 358-420)
• High School (chapters 421-429)
• 25th Tenkaichi Budoukai (chapters 430-444)
• Majin Buu (chapters 445-519)

Shueisha / Manga (sources: Dragon Ball Digital Color Edition Release)

Dragon Ball; 7 arcs

• Son Goku Training arc (chapters 1-54)
• Red Ribbon Army arc (chapters 55-112)
• Piccolo Daimao arc (chapters 113-194)
• Saiyan arc (chapters 195-243)
• Freeza arc (chapters 244-329)
• Cell arc (chapters 330-420)
• Majin Buu arc (chapters 421-519)

Shueisha / Anime (sources: Daizenshuu 3, 5, & 10)
[The TV Animation daizenshuu split up each arc into smaller acts, but I'm not going to list all those.]

Dragon Ball; 5 arcs

• Son Gokou (episodes 001-028; 11 acts)
• Red Ribbon Army (episodes 029-068; 10 acts)
• 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 069-101; 9 acts)
• Piccolo Daimao (episodes 102-132; 7 acts)
• 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 133-153; 7 acts)

Dragon Ball Z; 12 arcs

• Attack of the Saiyan (episodes 001-035; 10 acts)
• Battle on Planet Namek (episodes 036-074; 11 acts)
• Terrible Emperor Freeza (episodes 075-107; 10 acts)
• Fight with Garlic Jr. (episodes 108-125; 7 acts)
• Android No. 16~20 (episodes 126-147; 7 acts)
• Over the Super Saiyan (episodes 148-165; 7 acts)
• Beginning of the Cell Games (episodes 166-194; 8 acts)
• Anoyoichi Budoukai (episodes 195-219; 8 acts)
• Majin Boo Returns (episodes 220-237; 5 acts)
• Appearance of the Super Saiyan III (episodes 238-254; 7 acts)
• The Final Fighter, Vegetto (episodes 255-268; 5 acts)
• The Final Battle (episodes 269-291; 6 acts)

Dragon Ball GT

• Nothing about the GT story arcs has ever been officially classified by Shueisha. The GT Perfect Files don't organize the episodes by arc, but by the location of each episode.

Toei Animation (source: Official Websites)

Dragon Ball; 6 arcs

• Encounter with Bulma (episodes 001-013)
• 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 014-028)
• The Search for the Four-Star-Ball (episodes 029-068)
• 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 069-101)
• Daimao's Revival (episodes 102-132)
• 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai (episodes 133-153)

Dragon Ball Z; 4 arcs

• Saiyan (episodes 001-035)
• Freeza (episodes 36-117)
• Cell (episodes 118-199)
• Majin Buu (episodes 200-291)

Dragon Ball GT; 4 arcs

• Dark Dragonballs (episodes 001-022)
• Baby (episodes 023-040)
• Super 17 (episodes 041-047)
• Evil Dragon (episodes 048-064)

Toei Animation (source: Dragon Box)
[Just like Shueisha, you'll note that Toei isn't all that consistent either.]

Dragon Ball; 11 arcs

• Goku and Bulma (001-013)
• Kame-sen Training (014-018)
• 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai (019-029)
• Red Ribbon (030-068)
• Uranai Baba (069-078)
• Training on the Road (079-083)
• 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai (084-101)
• Piccolo Daimao (102-123)
• Heavenly Training (124-132)
• 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai (133-148)
• The Wedding Dress in Flames (149-153)

Dragon Ball Z; 9 arcs

• Saiyan (episodes 001-035)
• Namek (episodes 036-074)
• Freeza (episodes 075-107)
• Garlic Jr. (episode 108-117)
• Artificial Human (episodes 118-147)
• Cell (episodes 148-194)
• Ano Yo-ichi Budoukai (195-199)
• High School (episodes 200-209)
• Buu (episodes 210-291)

Dragon Ball GT; 4 arcs

• Searching Space (001-022)
• Super Baby (023-041)
• Super No. 17 (042-047)
• Evil Dragon (048-064)

--------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, all of these "official" divisions contradict each other, even within the same company. A lot of these divisions come out of mere convenience for the company, depending on what product they're selling (i.e. guidebook). Story arc divisions for the series have always been a debated topic, for as long as I can remember. These divisions have really become dependent on each individual fan, in fact even my personal division of the series has changed over the years. Unfortunately there's really no correct division to follow, so fans have always been left to their own exploits. While many fans have relatively similar divisions, they aren't necessarily the exact same, and it's not that one fan is more right than the other. In my opinion, as long as you can justify why you divided it the way you did, then I'm fine with it.

Japanese = arc
English = saga

Pretty much this. And since Dragon Ball is a Japanese anime, so I think the proper way is to call it an "arc" but it's ok if you use the term saga instead, since a lot of DB fans like the dub.

Eh... that's not necessarily true, at all. In Japanese they don't use either term, "saga" or "arc", to refer to these sorts of things. They use 編 (hen) or 篇 (hen), both of which mean "compilation" or "volume". So for instance, they write サイヤ人編 (saiya-jin hen), which we typically translate as "Saiyan arc". It's just one of those instances where it's easier to adjust to the English language's vernacular, because we don't normally use those terms with respect to animated works. And this isn't specific to just Dragon Ball or our translations; numerous anime series and companies do this. But I know what you might be thinking now, why not translate it as "saga" then, since that's what FUNimation uses? Well...

It all comes down to understanding the difference between these two terms, and I'll say it, FUNimation technically got it wrong, at least with how they originally divided up the "Z" series. The definition of a "saga" is a "very long story with dramatic events or parts" and is typically a "narrative or legend of heroic exploits". This does not describe the individual divisions of the series, if anything it's how you would describe all of Dragon Ball, as a whole. Whereas the definition of a story arc is "an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media". In my honest opinion, it's one of those things that FUNimation started using it as a marketing ploy for their individual DVD releases and just couldn't get away from it. It's just one of those things that annoys me, like making up seasons that don't exist. But these days FUNimation has stepped back from all those "sagas" a bit, and when they redesigned their Official Dragon Ball Z Website they dropped it down to four.

So basically by definition, the saga of Dragon Ball is made up of numerous story arcs, but not vice versa. And now I'll get off my high horse...

[SingleFringe&Sparks]

The way I like to refer sections of the anime is mainly by using the term "arc" when the main topic is about the original Japanese version. And use the term "saga" when the main topic is about an English dub.

Hmmm... call me informal but I've always just call the subplots in a section of a Saga regardless as the "arc" and call the main villain of the season the title "Saga"

For example, I call the Cyborg villain season as the "Android arc" where as the season is called the "Cell Saga"

Or go even further by dividing sections based on the fights themselves like the "Kid Buu arc" is from when he appeared to when he loses in the "Buu saga"... and the Babidi intervention is the "Majin Arc" or specifically the "Majin Vegeta" arc from when he appears to when he dies.

[Dbzfan94]

The way I like to refer sections of the anime is mainly by using the term "arc" when the main topic is about the original Japanese version. And use the term "saga" when the main topic is about an English dub.

Hmmm... call me informal but I've always just call the subplots in a section of a Saga regardless as the "arc" and call the main villain of the season the title "Saga"

For example, I call the Cyborg villain season as the "Android arc" where as the season is called the "Cell Saga"

Or go even further by dividing sections based on the fights themselves like the "Kid Buu arc" is from when he appeared to when he loses in the "Buu saga"... and the Babidi intervention is the "Majin Arc" or specifically the "Majin Vegeta" arc from when he appears to when he dies.

I never thought of it like that, that's a pretty good way.

[thaman91]

So basically by definition, the saga of Dragon Ball is made up of numerous story arcs, but not vice versa. And now I'll get off my high horse...

Hmmm... call me informal but I've always just call the subplots in a section of a Saga regardless as the "arc" and call the main villain of the season the title "Saga"

I actually really like both of these ways of classification. Hujio's seems to be the more accurate one though because (now that I think of it) the word "saga" is often used in other franchises to refer to an entire story, like when saying something like "own the entire Star Wars saga on Bluray now!"

However, this leaves the dilemma of what to call those larger portions of the story. Personally, "Buu Saga" sounds much better than "the last third of the Dragonball Z saga". So for the purposes of talking about Dragon Ball, I think my own personal method is going to be the same as SingleFringe&Sparks'. I have given up on trying to find some kind of official way to say it since there seems to be no consistency with the companies.