Best plot twist in Dragon Ball?

[rereboy]

Krillin dying the first time. It was so unexpected and changed in such a way the tone (besides starting another arc) that I don't see how any other plot twist compares.

[Cetra]

Goku dies at the end of GT.

But that was never unequivocally implied, nor stated. Whether you mean the final battle or him joining Shenlong.

Nozawa said that Goku died.

No, she didn't. She even said, she hoped that he was just gone with Shenlong, implying she hoped he didn't die. And even if, Masako Nozawa has nothing to do with the story.

[ArchedThunder]

I do actually quite like the "Goku is an alien" twist because it was actually foreshadowed (either on purpose or not) in the Piccolo Daimao arc,
"I've got a tail, so maybe I'm not human, who knows?!"

Goku losing to Tenshinhan at the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai.

Goku got so robbed, he would have won if that car hadn't hit him. Talk about unlucky.

[B]

Minus the ones that have already been stated, I'll go with Cell surviving his self-destruction and wounding Trunks. I'd say it's even more effective than the same thing happening to Freeza and Kuririn on Namek because Cell has been completely refueled. He's back at 100% while Gohan is exhausted; the scene is kind of terrifying. It was a little more even on Namek.

[LuckyCat]

Shen reveals himself to be none other than God! He doesn't believe Goku has the heart to kill Piccolo, so he's come to take care of the problem himself.

[Basaku]

I've always loved the build-up to Cell's appearance and the reveal of the second time machine. Something about that part of the series is just so chilling and enjoyable. The way that it slowly unfolds is great, even if it is a bit out of left-field. Some great interactions between Piccolo and Kami, too.

It's amazing how the entire Android/Cell saga turned out to be so good despite Toriyama's signature lack of planning at its very peak, editor meddling/suggestions etc. 2nd time machine reveal was definitely good choice for Android saga. Otherwise it would've been much more predictable/boring/straight-forward as Buu saga.

In any case, Goku's Saiyan origin reveal is obviously the biggest and most important twist in the saga that turned it into global phenomenon.

[TheUltimateVegito]

In terms of actual, cannot be undone, hard-hitting plot twists, I think it goes without saying that the reveal of Goku's origins takes the top spot. We learn that he has a brother and that he's a member of an evil race sent to Earth to destroy everyone. His tail is explained, his personality begins to make sense as we learn what the Saiyans actually are. It's crazy.

Totally agree.

I'd say Cell's reveal is the second best plot twist. The ominousness of the timeline changes and the Androids themselves not being as threatening as Trunks predicted culminated in the reveal of Cell not only being the true treat to earth, but the true pioneer of the events of the main timeline. Not to mention how Cell's backstory further explained why the main timeline changed so much and expanded the whole time travel portion of the plot, with the connecting timelines which led to Trunks and Cell creating the main timeline.

[TheUltimateVegito]

It's amazing how the entire Android/Cell saga turned out to be so good despite Toriyama's signature lack of planning at its very peak, editor meddling/suggestions etc. 2nd time machine reveal was definitely good choice for Android saga. Otherwise it would've been much more predictable/boring/straight-forward as Buu saga.

It's as if the less Toriyama plans, the better the story becomes.

[Neo-Makaiōshin]

It's as if the less Toriyama plans, the better the story becomes.

Toriyama is one the few mangakas (albeit 95% of mangakas "write on the fly") that can pull this amazing feat

[rereboy]

It's amazing how the entire Android/Cell saga turned out to be so good despite Toriyama's signature lack of planning at its very peak, editor meddling/suggestions etc. 2nd time machine reveal was definitely good choice for Android saga. Otherwise it would've been much more predictable/boring/straight-forward as Buu saga.

It's as if the less Toriyama plans, the better the story becomes.

Nah, the android/cell arc is the worst arc of DBZ. The early stuff of the arc is cool but the later stuff is terrible.

[TheUltimateVegito]

It's amazing how the entire Android/Cell saga turned out to be so good despite Toriyama's signature lack of planning at its very peak, editor meddling/suggestions etc. 2nd time machine reveal was definitely good choice for Android saga. Otherwise it would've been much more predictable/boring/straight-forward as Buu saga.

It's as if the less Toriyama plans, the better the story becomes.

Nah, the android/cell arc is the worst arc of DBZ. The early stuff of the arc is cool but the later stuff is terrible.

To each his own.

Personally, I think the Android arc is the best arc of the series with the Cell Games being the peak of the series, storytelling wise.

[rereboy]

To each his own.

Personally, I think the Android arc is the best arc of the series.

Fine, I'll be more specific. It's noticeably the worst written arc of DBZ.

[TheUltimateVegito]

To each his own.

Personally, I think the Android arc is the best arc of the series.

Fine, I'll be more specific. It's noticeably the worst written arc of DBZ.

How so?

[Doctor.]

Fine, I'll be more specific. It's noticeably the worst written arc of DBZ.

I think the Boo arc takes that cake.

[rereboy]

To each his own.

Personally, I think the Android arc is the best arc of the series.

Fine, I'll be more specific. It's noticeably the worst written arc of DBZ.

How so?

Just out of the top of my head, Piccolo taking #20's blast and falling, and then getting up claiming it was to distract the androids (which makes no sense) despite the fact that he easily breaks a powered-up #20 who had absorbed portion of Piccolo's power and portion of Vegeta's, Bulma randomly knowing where Dr. Gero's lab is, despite Future Trunks having mentioned that it was Dr. Gero's behind it and Bulma being all for taking him out before he even released the androids, the plotholes in the time travel stuff, and Gohan's attitude and behavior in the Cell games with no build up to it despite not fitting all previous times where Gohan reacted in the protection of his family and those who needed him, are clear signs that the writing is worse than in other arcs.

In the Buu arc, despite stuff being silly, and transformations and absorptions getting out of hand and so on, it actually seemed better/tighter.

[Doctor.]

Just out of the top of my head, Piccolo taking #20's blast and falling, and then getting up claiming it was to distract the androids (which makes no sense) despite the fact that he easily breaks a powered-up #20 who had absorbed portion of Piccolo's power and portion of Vegeta's, Bulma randomly knowing where Dr. Gero's lab is, despite Future Trunks having mentioned that it was Dr. Gero's behind it and Bulma being all for taking him out before he even released the androids, the plotholes in the time travel stuff, and Gohan's attitude and behavior in the Cell games with no build up to it despite not fitting all previous times where Gohan reacted in the protection of his family and those who needed him, are clear signs that the writing is worse than in other arcs.

In the Buu arc, despite stuff being silly, and transformations and absorptions getting out of hand and so on, it actually seemed better/tighter.

Don't forget Trunks saying that the androids of his time are called #19 and #20.

[rereboy]

Just out of the top of my head, Piccolo taking #20's blast and falling, and then getting up claiming it was to distract the androids (which makes no sense) despite the fact that he easily breaks a powered-up #20 who had absorbed portion of Piccolo's power and portion of Vegeta's, Bulma randomly knowing where Dr. Gero's lab is, despite Future Trunks having mentioned that it was Dr. Gero's behind it and Bulma being all for taking him out before he even released the androids, the plotholes in the time travel stuff, and Gohan's attitude and behavior in the Cell games with no build up to it despite not fitting all previous times where Gohan reacted in the protection of his family and those who needed him, are clear signs that the writing is worse than in other arcs.

In the Buu arc, despite stuff being silly, and transformations and absorptions getting out of hand and so on, it actually seemed better/tighter.

Don't forget Trunks saying that the androids of his time are called #19 and #20.

Yes, there are more stuff that what I mentioned. Like I said, it was just out of the top of my head.

[TheUltimateVegito]

Just out of the top of my head, Piccolo taking #20's blast and falling, and then getting up claiming it was to distract the androids (which makes no sense) despite the fact that he easily breaks a powered-up #20 who had absorbed portion of Piccolo's power and portion of Vegeta's, Bulma randomly knowing where Dr. Gero's lab is, despite Future Trunks having mentioned that it was Dr. Gero's behind it and Bulma being all for taking him out before he even released the androids, the plotholes in the time travel stuff, and Gohan's attitude and behavior in the Cell games with no build up to it despite not fitting all previous times where Gohan reacted in the protection of his family and those who needed him, are clear signs that the writing is worse than in other arcs.

In the Buu arc, despite stuff being silly, and transformations and absorptions getting out of hand and so on, it actually seemed better.

Piccolo had no idea how strong Android #20 was at that point. He was planning on attacking Android 19 without giving Android 20 time to react, he also didn't know the full extent of #20's Ki absorption capabilities until Vegeta defeated #19 so he had to have put that into consideration as well. Bulma didn't know the exact location of the lab, it's very possible that Trunks searched for the lab but didn't find it which led to them giving up. Remember that Bulma wasn't sure if Dr. Gero's lab was still there and believed that Dr. Gero could've potentially moved somewhere else. The lab is a secret lab hidden in a terrain that's easy to hide in, even Piccolo pointed out how good of a hiding place the area is. Also, Bulma's knowledge of the lab explains why the Trunks from Cell's timeline was able to deactivate the Androids, because he must've found the lab and acquired the shutdown device.

Gohan's character up to that point was more than enough build-up. Gohan is the only Z-Fighter who isn't a fighter at heart, and can loose control and kill someone accidentally. The whole point of the Gohan up to the Cell Games was for him to be a better protector than Goku, and the events of the Cell Games greatly contributed to that. I'd much rather have Gohan's stance on pointless battles be saved as a surprise/plot twist for the Cell Games than it being made obvious. Gohan's actions during the Cell Games was a showcase of his maturity/growth. During the Namek arc he didn't care much for the odds when attacking (e.g Dodoria) but he then learned the hard way that constantly attacking a superior opponent would just lead to defeat when he fought Recoome. His failure at getting past Cell the first time made him realize that he had to get fully angry to get past him and that constantly attacking Cell like he did against Recoome won't help any and could lead to death. The whole point of the Cell Games was that it was a unique situation for Gohan and by the end of it he truly became the best protector of earth both in mind and in power.

[rereboy]

Piccolo had no idea how strong Android #20 was at that point. He was planning on attacking Android 19 without giving Android 20 time to react, he also didn't know the full extent of #20's Ki absorption capabilities until Vegeta defeated #19 so he had to have put that into consideration as well.

Put what into consideration? He was trying to save Goku and then even "complains" that Vegeta "ruined" his plan. How exactly him pretending that #20 had hurt him would help Goku? It makes no sense whatsoever! This weird logic is obviously a retcon by Toriyama who initially had #20 be much stronger and then changed his mind, but he had already made Piccolo fall under his attack, so he tried to explain it with that, despite still making no sense. The problems in the writing are obvious.

Bulma didn't know the exact location of the lab, it's very possible that Trunks searched for the lab but didn't find it which led to them giving up. Remember that Bulma wasn't sure if Dr. Gero's lab was still there and believed that Dr. Gero could've potentially moved somewhere else. The lab is a secret lab hidden in a terrain that's easy to hide in, even Piccolo pointed out how good of a hiding place the area is. Also, Bulma's knowledge of the lab explains why the Trunks from Cell's timeline was able to deactivate the Androids, because he must've found the lab and acquired the shutdown device.

You are missing the point. Bulma was surprised that it was Dr. Gero and acted like Future Trunks hadn't provided that info, because, if he did, why didn't she mentioned she knew where his lab was when Goku and Piccolo told them what Trunks had said or at least suggested that she knew where to look for that info? The whole scene plays out like pretty much like she didn't now it was dr Gero and is just seems weird/awkward. It doesn't really make sense. The world of Future Trunks just makes the matter worse because if present Bulma knew, Future Bulma should also know, so why didn't she send Gohan or Trunks to the lab in search of clues once they realized the androids had been made by Gero? Also, they had three years of warning so not knowing the exact location wouldn't matter as they had plenty of time.

Gohan's character up to that point was more than enough build-up. Gohan is the only Z-Fighter who isn't a fighter at heart, and can loose control and kill someone accidentally. The whole point of the Gohan up to the Cell Games was for him to be a better protector than Goku, and the events of the Cell Games greatly contributed to that. I'd much rather have Gohan's stance on pointless battles be saved as a surprise/plot twist for the Cell Games than it being made obvious. Gohan's actions during the Cell Games was a showcase of his maturity/grow. During the Namek arc he didn't care much for the odds when attacking (e.g Dodoria) but he then learned the hard way that constantly attacking a superior opponent would just lead to defeat when he fought Recoome. He's failure at getting past Cell the first time made him realize that he had to get fully angry to get past him and that constantly attacking Cell like he did against Recoome won't help any and could lead to death. The whole point of the Cell Games was that it was a unique situation for Gohan and by the end of it he truly became the best protector of earth both in mind and in power.

Gohan, seeing Dende about to be murdered, and with no chance of beating Dodoria, Zarbon and Freeza, still acted and attacked because no one would.

Gohan, seeing Piccolo about to die at the hands of third from Freeza, and with no chance of beating Freeza, attacked to defend him, because no one would.

Gohan, at the Cell games, seeing his friends and family being tortured and about to die, is frozen in place, without acting, after only trying to hit Cell twice before he started attacking his family and friends.

It's inconsistent and almost seems like a regression in his character, after the speech he game his mother in order to go to Namek. Such a change required build-up to explain it properly, to develop it, but there's nothing. Instead, it feels that Gohan acts that way just to prolong the drama, not because of his character.

[nickzambuto]

I believe Piccolo's plan against Gero was explained as feigning defeat, then waiting for his opening to move while the androids were unsuspecting. Pretty brilliant actually if you ask me, I wonder what would have happened if Vegeta didn't show up and Piccolo got his chance.

Also the examples you listed with Gohan where he readily attacked an enemy to defend his friends, with each example he only attacked AFTER he had become enraged. His conversation with Cell shows character growth, because after training with his father he understood the power he possessed could easily kill Cell, and therefore he was holding everything back not to get enraged at all like he had against Dodoria/Freeza/whoever. That shows maturity on Gohan's part whereas previously he couldn't control his anger.