Just how is the Frieza saga the best one?

[EXBadguy]

I've been hearing that from awhile now here and youtube. So yeah, to you guy who think the Frieza saga the best, why do you think so, cuz I'm having a hard time figuring out why. Now don't get me wrong, I like it the Frieza saga too, but IMO, it has more repetitive(though still excusable) tropes than the other three, along with me not thinking Frieza as the best villain of DB history. And I want more answers than just "it was the last saga to have adventure" or "when Super Saiyan meant something", or "the cat and mouse". I want more than that.

Please understand that I'm not being dismissive, I'm just asking why cuz I don't see why.

[TheUltimateVegito]

It's a mix bag between the Android and Frieza sagas in terms of which one is the best from what I've seen (personally I'd say the Android saga is best). But I think it's because of the backstory between Frieza and the Saiyans as well as learning the origins of the Dragonballs and the utter sense of dread and helplessness they felt with Frieza himself along with the epic fights that made this the best saga for a lot of people.

[DBZAOTA482]

I personally think the Namek Saga is the best but I do understand the stigma. While the whole Gohan, Kuririn, Vegeta, and Piccolo vs. Freeza part was a bit boring since we knew it'd all come down to Goku in the end but the fight Goku and Freeza is awesome, and makes for a perfect climax (though the Cell Games was a good contender) as the whole series was basically building up to it. Plus after it the series in general started to fall apart from a story telling point of view. At least in the Freeza Saga, the power scaling wasn't so overblown to the point where you practically had to be a Saiyan to do anything on the battlefield and a great deal of the conflict wasn't driven the characters making dumb/irrational decisions. And let's not get started on GT.

[Doctor.]

Because it allowed Kuririn to be relevant again. Because it allowed Gohan to grow. Because it let us bond with Vegeta. Because it gave us the most iconic shounen moment of all time. Because Freeza was a menacing and terrific villain. Because it brought back the theme of adventure that was long forgotten. And, most of all, because Goku's character was developed a lot.

[Kamiccolo9]

Because it allowed Kuririn to be relevant again. Because it allowed Gohan to grow. Because it let us bond with Vegeta. Because it gave us the most iconic shounen moment of all time. Because Freeza was a menacing and terrific villain. Because it brought back the theme of adventure that was long forgotten. And, most of all, because Goku's character was developed a lot.

How did Goku's character develop?

[GeeRod]

IMO Cell saga is better, because almost everyone did something important and the whole Mirai Trunks thing was very fresh. After Freeza start to transforming was just him and Goku. Freeza saga has the best backstory with Planet Vegeta and the legendary Super-Saiyajin but, Cell saga has the best story overall. Time travel, Goku's sickness, Vegeta trying to reach the SSJ, Gohan's rage and etc.

[Doctor.]

Because it allowed Kuririn to be relevant again. Because it allowed Gohan to grow. Because it let us bond with Vegeta. Because it gave us the most iconic shounen moment of all time. Because Freeza was a menacing and terrific villain. Because it brought back the theme of adventure that was long forgotten. And, most of all, because Goku's character was developed a lot.

How did Goku's character develop?

For one, he fought Freeza not as an Earthling but, for the first time, as a Saiyan.

Plus, he managed to control the state of rage Super Saiyan gives. This might not seem like much, but the last time Goku was fueled with rage was against Piccolo Daimao, and he would have killed him if not for him spitting out an egg. Goku here gave Freeza two chances to walk away, hoping he would turn good like Piccolo (and Vegeta) did in the past. It was only when he saw Freeza was beyond redemption that he tried to kill him. And that decision was painful, you can see the disgust and sadness in his face after he fires the Kamehameha.

[DBZAOTA482]

Because it allowed Kuririn to be relevant again. Because it allowed Gohan to grow. Because it let us bond with Vegeta. Because it gave us the most iconic shounen moment of all time. Because Freeza was a menacing and terrific villain. Because it brought back the theme of adventure that was long forgotten. And, most of all, because Goku's character was developed a lot.

How did Goku's character develop?

We learn Goku's backstory and him coming in grisps with his hertiage.

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

The idea seems to be that it fleshes out Vegeta, resolves Goku and to a lesser extent Piccolo, while integrating Gohan and Krillin the entire time, along with Freeza's being a planet-busting landshark being a nice cap on the power-scaling. Its also been pointed out very recently here that Freeza is much more a means for Goku to further contrast himself from Vegeta than much to do with Freeza. As much a fan I am of Goku's "No, the Saiyans were trash and they got they deserved", and as it was put in Kai, "Even in the throws of infathomable rage you still take to a hard luck story."

[TheUltimateVegito]

I personally think the Namek Saga is the best but I do understand the stigma. While the whole Gohan, Kuririn, Vegeta, and Piccolo vs. Freeza part was a bit boring since we knew it'd all come down to Goku in the end but the fight Goku and Freeza is awesome, and makes for a perfect climax (though the Cell Games was a good contender) as the whole series was basically building up to it.

Well, technically the whole series was building up more to the Cell Games than Goku vs Frieza. Personally I'd say the Cell Games was the perfect ending for the series because of it. Gohan finally realizing his hidden potential that was built up since he was debuted, Goku passing down the torch to his son in what was a fitting recreation of the World Tournament which was a big theme of Goku's adventures. Cell, the ultimate villain who was the culmination of the past adventures and was created by a scientist who wanted revenge on Goku ever since he was a kid. And lets not forget Goku's sacrifice and him deciding to stay dead which was the perfect send off for his character. That's not to mention other elements of the saga that gave it that finale feel such as Piccolo reuniting with Kami e.t.c.

Plus after it the series in general started to fall apart from a story telling point of view. At least in the Freeza Saga,

Subjective. For me I'd say the storytelling peaked at the Android saga. Elements such as time travel and Trunks' and Cell's backstories along with other elements and analytical pits stops of the saga exceeded the Namek saga in terms of storytelling imo.

the power scaling wasn't so overblown to the point where you practically had to be a Saiyan to do anything on the battlefield and a great deal of the conflict wasn't driven the characters making dumb/irrational decisions. And let's not get started on GT.

Although Saiyans were the most influential on the battlefield (Which was only natural considering how powerful the characters were at this point) other characters such as Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo did have good roles too (Piccolo especially). Also the Namek saga also had dumb/irrational decisions which shaped the direction of the plot. Maybe not as much as the Android saga but it was pretty close.

[Tatakae!!Ramenman]

I like the whole epicness of trying to defeat Freeza. He killed Goku's entire race, which made it feel like the fight really meant something, especially after seeing Vegeta die right in front of Goku. It is my favorite fight in the manga. No matter how much stronger the heroes got,
Freeza easily topped it(until goku turns super saiyan). It always felt so hopeless. I liked all the time spent on talking about the super saiyan legend before goku eventually became one. And Vegeta's death in the dub was one of my favorite scenes. And again, since Frieza killed Goku's entire race, the whole scope of the saga felt so much bigger. It also felt like everything in the series had been leading up to this point, since the saiyan saga(although not immediately).

[samuraix123]

I like the whole epicness of trying to defeat Freeza. He killed Goku's entire race, which made it feel like the fight really meant something, especially after seeing Vegeta die right in front of Goku. It is my favorite fight in the manga. No matter how much stronger the heroes got,
Freeza easily topped it(until goku turns super saiyan). It always felt so hopeless. I liked all the time spent on talking about the super saiyan legend before goku eventually became one. And Vegeta's death in the dub was one of my favorite scenes. And again, since Freeza killed Goku's entire race, the whole scope of the saga felt so much bigger. It also felt like everything in the series had been leading up to this point, since the saiyan saga(although not immediately).

I just want to say this so much! I loved how there was so much going on. Goku vs the tyrant of the universe, Namek is about to explode, Goku becoming super saiyan, Vegeta crying asking Goku to defeat Freeza. I love the look of namek as well. Just so much.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Besides what has been mentioned so far--which I totally agree with--there was also certain ways that Toriyama set up the tone that I really liked. I'll list a few of 'em.


1) Hiding, and the feel of being hunted.

Krillin and Gohan were trying to gather information and collect the dragon balls in secret, evading Vegeta and Freeza to the best of their abilities. Vegeta too was running and hiding a lot from Freeza, strategically planning his moves. There were even some scenes where the characters had to debate whether going to (insert location here) was worth the risk of exposing themselves. It always kept me on edge as a viewer, because you really felt the risk of instant annihilation if the characters made one wrong move.


2) Vegeta is faced with the test of his life, and you see how deep his character is as a result.

I think Vegeta had been planning to kill Freeza for a long time. I also think that he had come to regard the defeat of Freeza as the test of his life...the reason he served under Freeza was so that he could get close enough to kill him, and he felt that it was his duty as the prince of saiyans to do so. He always had the thought in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to make his move too soon. When he heard that Freeza was going to wish for immortality, he had to put his plan into action before he was ready. As the fight with Freeza got closer, he started getting more tense, because he knew he was about to face the test of his life, and that he might not be ready. He cried when he realized he couldn't defeat Freeza...and I get the sense that, beyond just not being able to defeat Freeza, he looked back on his life in a tragic, "What was that all for?"-kind of way, questioning his worthiness to even exist.

If you think about it that way, Goku may have saved Vegeta, because he (unwittingly) provided Vegeta with a new obsession to focus on once he was resurrected. A new benchmark of strength to achieve...namely, becoming stronger than Goku. Given how much time Vegeta devoted in his life to becoming strong enough to defeat Freeza, he had probably gotten to the point where, psychologically, benchmarks of strength were the only terms he was capable of viewing life in.

Granted, that's a fair deal of extrapolating on my part, but the Freeza saga was one of the most revealing sagas about Vegeta's mind, and how he thinks.


3) The whole planet was a battleground.

Usually battles were confined to a relatively small area. Not in this saga. By the time Goku got to be a Super Saiyan, the whole planet was fair game. Talk about an epic final battle!


4) The length of the final battle.

This is traditionally cited as being one of the weaker aspects of the saga, and even I'll admit, it's not without its problems. Mike McFarland once joked that, when they were dubbing the Freeza saga, it got to a point where they were coming into the office every day and going, "When is this planet going to freaking explode already!?" Can't say I blame him. "Five minutes" my *@&.

However, Freeza was constantly being described as having a power unlike anything seen before. Someone so powerful that even Vegeta, the strongest opponent up to that point, was scared--even frightened--to face him immediately. And they were talking about Freeza's powers for a little over half of the saga before he actually fought anybody! We needed a proportionate payoff...and we got it. Freeza was defeated, but it was far from easy. He put up a fight worthy of the hype that had been built around him. I certainly didn't feel ripped off at the end as an audience member!


Anyway, that's just to name a few, and on top of what has already been discussed. I freaking love this saga, to the point where I would call it my favorite saga of the entire metaseries.

[SaiyaJedi]

And also, the hunt for the Dragon Balls (you know, those things in the title of the series) is actually relevant to the plot. The search itself hadn't been a major feature of the story since the Red Ribbon arc. Can't forget about that.

[B]

And also, the hunt for the Dragon Balls (you know, those things in the title of the series) is actually relevant to the plot. The search itself hadn't been a major feature of the story since the Red Ribbon arc. Can't forget about that.

Isn't that a bit of a strict guideline to their relevance, though? Piccolo Daimao gathers the balls for his immortality and then kills Shenlong; God then revives him/the balls at the end of the arc. And Vegeta and Nappa only really come to Earth for the Dragon Balls as well. I would say they definitely guide those arcs along, even if they're not the focal points.

[ss4songoku]

Personally the Freeza saga is my favorite mainly due to the fact that Super Saiyan is new and fresh and isn't some overused transformation everyone and there kid has. Also the sense of adventure and desperation are at a peak in the series. The z fighter are on a distant planet with the odds stacked to the extreme in the enemies favor. It doesn't get more exciting and suspenseful than that.

[Vijay]

I dont get the hype for Frieza Saga. Its strictly average imo.

The whole DragonBall chase in Namek saga was childish, & people complain about Buu Arc.

Like-wise, torturous, filler-filled lengthy fight in Namek, and I've seen guys criticize Buu Arc (2nd half especially for being long, long battle).

Not to mention pain-fully ugly looking drawings done in Frieza Saga. Uchiyama Masayuki & Ebisawa truly ruined most good parts of manga with their animation.

Even in manga, Frieza Arc started running on fumes post-SSJ Goku's transformation. Not trying to be harsh, but so much to stay "in-character" for Goku. Instead of going all-out against Frieza, we have various loose-hanging plot-points tied. Still, the whole scenario felt forced. Excitement was missing, & Toriyama further "watering-down" Goku's nature as Super Saiyan didn't help. The ruthless aggression as barbaric Saiyan was missing.

Over-all, I consider Cell Saga & even Buu Saga to edge Frieza Saga in terms of visual appeal & excitement factor.

[Kid Buu]

I like the early Dragon Ball hunt in the saga because how it was very strategic and cunning. Vegeta, Gohan, and Kuririn had to find a way to outsmart Freeza and each other. The arc loses momentum when Goku arrives on Namek, since he basically just becomes the deus ex machina of the arc. There's a brief moment, from Goku's fight with Freeza to the Genki Dama that is fun, but the instant he goes SSJ it becomes a stomp fight and thus all tension is dead.

Oh and I'm not too big of a fan of the character Freeza. I like Cell and Buu better because they were more strategic as opposed to Freeza who just has so many instant transformations and power-up that he grows stale fast.

[Corpsecreate]

Besides what has been mentioned so far--which I totally agree with--there was also certain ways that Toriyama set up the tone that I really liked. I'll list a few of 'em.


1) Hiding, and the feel of being hunted.

Krillin and Gohan were trying to gather information and collect the dragon balls in secret, evading Vegeta and Freeza to the best of their abilities. Vegeta too was running and hiding a lot from Freeza, strategically planning his moves. There were even some scenes where the characters had to debate whether going to (insert location here) was worth the risk of exposing themselves. It always kept me on edge as a viewer, because you really felt the risk of instant annihilation if the characters made one wrong move.


2) Vegeta is faced with the test of his life, and you see how deep his character is as a result.

I think Vegeta had been planning to kill Freeza for a long time. I also think that he had come to regard the defeat of Freeza as the test of his life...the reason he served under Freeza was so that he could get close enough to kill him, and he felt that it was his duty as the prince of saiyans to do so. He always had the thought in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to make his move too soon. When he heard that Freeza was going to wish for immortality, he had to put his plan into action before he was ready. As the fight with Freeza got closer, he started getting more tense, because he knew he was about to face the test of his life, and that he might not be ready. He cried when he realized he couldn't defeat Freeza...and I get the sense that, beyond just not being able to defeat Freeza, he looked back on his life in a tragic, "What was that all for?"-kind of way, questioning his worthiness to even exist.

If you think about it that way, Goku may have saved Vegeta, because he (unwittingly) provided Vegeta with a new obsession to focus on once he was resurrected. A new benchmark of strength to achieve...namely, becoming stronger than Goku. Given how much time Vegeta devoted in his life to becoming strong enough to defeat Freeza, he had probably gotten to the point where, psychologically, benchmarks of strength were the only terms he was capable of viewing life in.

Granted, that's a fair deal of extrapolating on my part, but the Freeza saga was one of the most revealing sagas about Vegeta's mind, and how he thinks.


3) The whole planet was a battleground.

Usually battles were confined to a relatively small area. Not in this saga. By the time Goku got to be a Super Saiyan, the whole planet was fair game. Talk about an epic final battle!


4) The length of the final battle.

This is traditionally cited as being one of the weaker aspects of the saga, and even I'll admit, it's not without its problems. Mike McFarland once joked that, when they were dubbing the Freeza saga, it got to a point where they were coming into the office every day and going, "When is this planet going to freaking explode already!?" Can't say I blame him. "Five minutes" my *@&.

However, Freeza was constantly being described as having a power unlike anything seen before. Someone so powerful that even Vegeta, the strongest opponent up to that point, was scared--even frightened--to face him immediately. And they were talking about Freeza's powers for a little over half of the saga before he actually fought anybody! We needed a proportionate payoff...and we got it. Freeza was defeated, but it was far from easy. He put up a fight worthy of the hype that had been built around him. I certainly didn't feel ripped off at the end as an audience member!


Anyway, that's just to name a few, and on top of what has already been discussed. I freaking love this saga, to the point where I would call it my favorite saga of the entire metaseries.

I agree with all of this. Also somewhat irrelevant but this saga also had some of the best and most consistent animation out of the series. The colours on the Dbox are the least damaged/faded too.

[EXBadguy]

IMO Cell saga is better, because almost everyone did something important and the whole Mirai Trunks thing was very fresh. After Freeza start to transforming was just him and Goku. Freeza saga has the best backstory with Planet Vegeta and the legendary Super-Saiyajin but, Cell saga has the best story overall. Time travel, Goku's sickness, Vegeta trying to reach the SSJ, Gohan's rage and etc.

Well, technically the whole series was building up more to the Cell Games than Goku vs Freeza. Personally I'd say the Cell Games was the perfect ending for the series because of it. Gohan finally realizing his hidden potential that was built up since he was debuted, Goku passing down the torch to his son in what was a fitting recreation of the World Tournament which was a big theme of Goku's adventures. Cell, the ultimate villain who was the culmination of the past adventures and was created by a scientist who wanted revenge on Goku ever since he was a kid. And lets not forget Goku's sacrifice and him deciding to stay dead which was the perfect send off for his character. That's not to mention other elements of the saga that gave it that finale feel such as Piccolo reuniting with Kami e.t.c.

These two right here are GOLDEN!

Because it allowed Kuririn to be relevant again. Because it allowed Gohan to grow. Because it let us bond with Vegeta.

I disagree with that. It wasn't the only saga that had these things. And I don't think Gohan grew up much in that saga as much as he did in the later ones. I do agree that Goku had the best character development of that saga.