Should Toriyama Have Even Bothered With Cell?

[thatdbzguy]

Cell is by far the most boring and bland villain in the series, at least once he becomes perfect. He's not even a villain, really. Just an obstacle. The only reason he even exists is because Toriyama wanted to please his editor.

The Cell saga is loaded with significant issues, and Cell himself is one of them. Should Toriyama have just stuck with his original plan with Dr. Gero being the main villain?

[Cold Skin]

Actually, Cell is one of the highlights of the most awesome saga, so I think yes, Toriyama was right to "bother with Cell"!
His very nature (an insect that absorbs people through his tail to morph into something more and more humanish) and the fact that he's essentially a twisted Son Goku looking for a good fight rather than total destruction made him very interesting! Though of course, like most villains, he reveals a more pathetic and less classy "I WILL KILL YOUUUUU!!!" nature when cornered, back to the wall! Mister Cell genuinely thinks he's perfect and doesn't like to be proven wrong.

[Mystic Buu]

For me,no.I really liked to see Gohan as a guy who replaces Goku,even though Goku is my favourite character but DB should end right after Freeza saga.It would be really cool ending.

[Kamiccolo9]

If Toriyama hadn't bothered with Cell, we would have never gotten Damion Clarke's portrayal of him, which was, IMO, one of the highlights of the Funimation Dub.

Also the creepy bug guy running around sucking people out of their clothes added a unique horror aspect to the series. It was a nice touch, and didn't overstay it's welcome.

[MDSTSSJ]

I know is your opinion but you got to be kidding me!

In my opinion, Cell is one of the best villains in DB and one of the best Sagas. Cold Skin summarized very well. So, thank God that Toriyama brought Cell.

[RocktheDragon]

Even knowing the background history of Cell and his transformations I would still have to say that I find Cell a compelling villain. And then we wouldn't have had the fantastic battle between Gohan and Cell which would have been such a loss!

[thatdbzguy]

Even knowing the background history of Cell and his transformations I would still have to say that I find Cell a compelling villain. And then we wouldn't have had the fantastic battle between Gohan and Cell which would have been such a loss!

That "battle" was pitiful.

[MDSTSSJ]

Even knowing the background history of Cell and his transformations I would still have to say that I find Cell a compelling villain. And then we wouldn't have had the fantastic battle between Gohan and Cell which would have been such a loss!

That fight is one of the worst in all DB.

Cell Saga have some of the best fights: Piccolo Vs Nº 17, the beat that Imperfect Cell gave to Nº 17 and the best for me on all DBZ: FPSSJ Kakarotto Vs Perfect Cell with original japanese ( as always of course ) backround music.

[SSJ4_Zankuto]

I'm glad Toriyama listened to his editor and made some changes into creation of Cell. Cell is the best baddie in the Android Arc, who can use techniques from Son Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza and King Cold was brilliant idea.

[Vijay]

Cell is easily the best DBZ super-villain.

He's definetly few notches above the "obstacle" kinda villain. That goes to Buu.

Toriyama was smart on listenin to his editors at this point.

Anything but not Gero. Everything about him sucked, at least for me. Talks big, gets bitch-slapped (as Vegeta destroys 19), escape, fight Piccolo, loses, escapes AGAIN..

Yeah, I agree on Gohan vs Cell as pitiful. Zero rewatch value when compared to Goku vs Cell.

[MDSTSSJ]

Come on men, even the sound emitted when Cell is walking is terrific and incredible!

[Hellspawn28]

Cell was a cool villain and I like the idea of using mixed DNA to make a powerful villain. If it was not for the Cell saga then I would never be a DBZ fan.

[Kid Buu]

I actually consider Cell to be a far better villain than Freeza; my main gripes is just the battle with Gohan. It didn't even feel like a proper fight until the Kamehameha duel.

[RocktheDragon]

I actually consider Cell to be a far better villain than Freeza; my main gripes is just the battle with Gohan. It didn't even feel like a proper fight until the Kamehameha duel.

I actually love the "fight" for this very reason. It might not have followed the formula of a DBZ fight but what we did get was something very unique and it stays with me to this day.

[DBZ Mick]

At least in his first form he brought this sense of mystery and horror. And some actual tension/strategy to the arc. And his perfect form had a cool design.

[dbboxkaifan]

Cell is by far the most boring and bland villain in the series, at least once he becomes perfect. He's not even a villain, really. Just an obstacle. The only reason he even exists is because Toriyama wanted to please his editor.

The Cell saga is loaded with significant issues, and Cell himself is one of them. Should Toriyama have just stuck with his original plan with Dr. Gero being the main villain?

I have to disagree.

Cell is the perfect being in almost every aspect, minus the attacks which he borrows from all worthy warriors that he came across otherwise he'd be the perfect creation of God (well, Dr. Gero that is -- but it's close enough).

Wakamoto's Cell is just eargasm to many of us. Even if he ain't playing Cell he's still remembered like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFBZBAbbKt8

[Cipher]

Cell is great, until he absorbs his first android.

The weirdest thing for me about the Cell arc is how stop-gap it feels in terms of the overall progression. From Piccolo, to the Saiyans, to Freeza, and then to the level of god-like scope in the Boo arc, there's a sense of progression in not only strength, but also the scope of the world. The Cell arc is the odd man out here, although it serves as a necessary step to increase the powers of the characters from the Freeza arc to a level where it's believable in the Boo arc when they begin realizing they're the most powerful people in the universe (something Vegeta catches onto and discusses during his fight with Goku).

[Mr. Piccolo]

I am not a huge fan of the Cell arc, but I can't see Dr. Gero as the main villain. I really can't see #17 and #18 as the main villains either because they are not imposing enough. I sometimes think it may have been tough for Toriyama to come up with new villains after Freeza was hyped as much as he was. Once you beat the intergalactic space overlord what is left? Going back to Earth made the Cell saga seem "small" compared to the Freeza arc where the planet/battlefield ends up being destroyed at the end of the last fight.

The Buu saga does a better job surmounting this problem by ditching a lot of the science fiction elements of the previous sagas and returning to a more mystical/fantasy based story dealing with magic, wizards, gods, etc.

[Duo]

Cell started out great and lost his momentum over the course of the story. A bit of tweaking would have fixed this. Say he never absorbed #18, because somebody like Trunks blows her the hell up (or Kuririn deactivates her), but is re-written to have more than enough power in his second stage to still wipe the floor with everybody. The arc would then unfold with Cell trying to gather the Dragon Balls to bring her back, or he would seek out another time machine. Trying to stop him from that goal would be a lot more dramatic than him requesting a tournament for whatever reason. He also failed to use most of the more interested techniques he should have.

The first mistake with Cell was having him explain himself to Piccolo so quickly. It was creepy and disturbing when he first showed up, and it would be great if the protagonists were clueless for a decent portion of the story as to what he is or where he came from.

[ABED]

It's clear what Cell's reasons were for the tournament, to test his powers. He's very upfront.

The first mistake with Cell was having him explain himself to Piccolo so quickly. It was creepy and disturbing when he first showed up, and it would be great if the protagonists were clueless for a decent portion of the story as to what he is or where he came from.

It's a problem many writers have with exposition, they have the characters just explain stuff even when it makes little sense. Toriyama tries to cover it up by having Piccolo con Cell, but it is ultimately a boat load of exposition. That's not done in the most artful way. I also like the mystery aspect.

I like the sci-fi aspect of the arc, just don't think too hard about the time travel stuff.