Pros & Cons

[penguintruth]

I wasn't implying that it was any hasty arrangment to prolong the story after it was previously decided to end it, just that it was a somewhat suspect element in itself.

[Chibi Mystic Gohan]

I wasn't implying that it was any hasty arrangment to prolong the story after it was previously decided to end it

Oh, I know you weren't. The part I specifically wanted you to pay attention to was this:

Kaio asks God if the dragonballs can revive people who die naturally, God says no, so Kaio asks about people whose lives are shortened unnaturally, which God says may work (the Great Elder doesn’t actually get revived until the next chapter). So if Toriyama really wanted to, he could have simply had God answer “yes” when asked if it were possible to revive those who die of natural causes, and not contradict anything ever previously said about the dragonballs.

See, I don't see how you can call it a "stretch," unless Toriyama had written himself into a corner, or something.

[Cipher]

I really, really hesitate to call anything in Dragon Ball "well-written."

Anyway,

Saiyan/Namek arc
+ Natural sense of build-up
+ Characters thrown in far over their heads
+ No one is safe; the main character is killed immediately
+ The afterlife is introduced
+ Toys with expectations for the series by taking such a dark tone, killing off major characters right and left
+ Goku gets character development
+ Vegeta gets character development
+ Piccolo gets character development
+ Namek provides the culmination of a lot of characters' arcs
+ Dragon Balls are the focus of the story
+ Freeza and his army provide a fantastic set of villains
+ The entire cat-and-mouse routine on Namek
- Namek is visually uninteresting
- The Saiyan arc is a bit breezy in the manga; the anime helps by fleshing out the training
- The constant abuse of Saiyans' near-death power-ups
- Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chaozu are built up only to be immediately side-lined
- The pacing of the anime on Namek is terrible, and we all know it
- Mr. Popo gathers the Dragon Balls, and we never get a related filler arc

Android arc
+ 17, 18 and 16 are incredibly entertaining "villains"
+ First form Cell provides a horror-movie villain not seen before or after
+ The bit in the middle with Cell, Vegeta, and the Androids all doing their own thing is great
+ The interactions between Trunks and Vegeta, and Goku and Gohan, are great; the character drama is the highlight of this arc
+ Shows how much the world has changed since the beginning of the series, with the "The world had forgotten Son Goku" moment
+ Mr. Satan is introduced
- Although he's not particularly entertaining or welcome in this arc
- The Room of Spirit and Time is a glaring asspull in an otherwise tightly woven arc
- Completely humorless, even though it riffs on every silly b-movie plot in the book
- The time travel, though interesting, stumbles over itself fairly quickly
- Cell's a bit boring once he reaches completion
- Waaaay too focused on "who's stronger than who" to provide interesting fights
- The Cell games are a snore

Buu arc
+ Great Saiyaman
+ Characters' normal lives
+ Kid Trunks
+ Gotenks
+ Mr. Satan
+ Buu. Buu is an amazingly entertaining villain.
+ Babidi
+ Gotenks
+ The entire fight in the Room of Spirit and Time
+ There's an escalation of the series again; Goku and company have saved the universe, but now they're being called in by the highest gods to save all of existence
+ Super Saiyan 3 is interesting both for its otherwordliness, and the fact it's ineffective
+ Casts aside all expectations from previous arcs. The new transformation fails, fusion fails, Gohan's power-up fails. It heads into its final fight with two characters who have already been defeated, a dog, and Mr. Satan.
+ Vegeta's character arc
+ Its overall more humorous tone. Toriyama does great things when he's feeling unrestrained.
- The section on Babidi's ship really drags
- Events are slightly disconnected; it doesn't seem to know its direction for a while
- The Saiyaman material, while incredibly entertaining, doesn't build toward anything
- The fact that the second half of the arc, from Gotenks to the end, is essentially one long fight against Buu gets a little tiring

[penguintruth]

- The Cell games are a snore

Really? That was my favorite part of Dragon Ball.

[Eire]

Even. I can't imagine what most of people find interesting in him.

And yet you find Kaioshin, a being who's supposed to be the most powerful and yet turns out to be weak and bland, a plus?

I find him as a plus for several episodes when he seemed to be mysterious and powerful (let's say till they reached Badibi's spaceship). The greater idea, the greater disappointment when he turned out to be what we saw.

[Cipher]

Really? That was my favorite part of Dragon Ball.

Goku's fight is well-animated in portions of the anime, but it doesn't do anything novel in the manga. Gohan's fight with Cell shows a remarkable proclivity for avoiding any actual blows as well. It's a lot of melodrama, and some rocks.

I'm being too harsh on it, I know.

[penguintruth]

I'm mostly talking about the significance of Gohan surpassing his father and being the hero and Goku's sacrifice. But I also really liked Goku's fight with Cell.

[Perfect]

-Cell Games-
+Cell kills Goku.
+Vegeta acknowledges his son.
+Goku vs. Cell was fantastic.
+The Cell Juniors were a nice touch.
+Mr. Satan's stupidity was hilarious.
+Kaio-sama, God (Dende), Namek (Filler) and various other's concerns towards the end of the saga really sheds some light on the people of the universe finally realizing what's going on.
+Zenkai boosts are retouched on once more.
+Gohan surpasses Goku and becomes one of the strongest in the universe.
+Goku having realized that he attracts unwanted attention decides to sacrifice himself (He also tell Gohan to tell his mother he's sorry for everything), that shows quite a bit of character development, considering how unready he was to die on Namek. Not to mention that Goku only died the first time because he knew he'd come back.
+Trunks has an epic and totally unsuspected death.
+The Cell saga comes to a close...No it doesn't. Cell comes back stronger than ever, wounding Gohan. The tides have turned and everything looks hopeless.
+Vegeta apologizes to Gohan, Vegeta...Apologizing! You can certainly tell he's been mentally cracked a little, his pride crushed even more so than when Goku allowed him to live all those years ago.
+Mr. Satan claims the defeat of the millennium, truly molding what type of a person he is to the audience.
+Time travel is featured once more, so we see the Artificial Humans and the creepy Imperfect Cell once more.

I missed a huge bunch of +s, but I'm a little tired.

[Fin]

Just gonna do the pre-Z era for now. I may post my thoughts on the rest later.

Dragon Ball search arc

Pros

Cute, weird, sometimes clever, sometimes funny.
Pilaf. Just... Pilaf.

Cons

Though most of the time Toriyama manages to be clever enough about it that he manages to amuse me, the general style of the humour really isn't my thing.


Tournament arc

Pros

Introduces Kuririn <3
Probably the best training segment in the whole series.
Toriyama starts to demonstrate his flair for fight choreography.
Namu is just awesome.
Final fight had a great climax.

Cons

A lot of the fights rely on gimmicks, some of which I don't much care for.
Final fight is itself filled with gimmicky chapters, and drags a little more than I'd like.
I kind of wished Goku hadn't lost so narrowly. The message would have carried more weight if he'd lost more severely.


Red Ribbon arc

Pros

General Blue and Adjutant Black are both awesome, despite the slight homophobia and racism.
For that matter, so is every character (and event) involved in the Karin holy land mini-arc.
Loved all the build up to the awesome moment when Black took command of the army.

Cons

Shame it was followed by the most anti-climactic beating ever.
The whole arc felt a little all over the place. We've got pirates, robots, ninjas... it seemed like Toriyama just had all these things he wanted to do and he was going to put them in whether they made sense or not. Worked a little better in the first story arc, where the whole point was the zany hijinks, but this storyline with a singular villain needed a little more uniformity among their ranks, I think.
To me the Dr Slump crossover was that awkward moment in a family reunion when you're reintroduced to a distant cousin who you're supposed to know but really don't remember.


Fortuneteller arc

Pros

Fun battles. Toriyama's tendency toward throwing in whatever kind of character he feels like works better in tournament storylines, I think (though the way they stuck to a theme probably helped)
Goku versus Gohan was one of the most awesome battles in the series.
And was followed by one of the cutest parts of the series. Goku head-glomp equals instant awwww.
Return of Pilaf!

Cons

Weak transition from the last story arc. The Red Ribbon Army is beaten... and then they may as well have never existed, for how casually we shift gears to the next storyline. I wouldn't have minded, but Upa ties these two arcs together, yet nothing else makes them feel like part of a whole.


Crane Master arc

Pros

The single best storyline in all of Dragon Ball.
Tenshinhan. I'd consider this the best redemptive plot in the series. Probably due to the fact that the story is all about his redemption, whereas Piccolo and Vegeta's arcs occurred in the middle of larger conflicts.
Toriyama has really hit his stride as far as characterisation goes at this point, but this storyline still retains a lot of the innocent charm of the early series. A delicious combination.
I love how Toriyama sets up Tenshinhan to score a cheap win after he's decided he wants an honourable battle. It shouldn't work, but somehow Toriyama pulls this off as a satisfying way to end his development for this plot.

Cons

The wolfman battle feels like filler. Though I did like how it built off of events in the last tournament.
The physics of Goku's out of bounds loss never ceases to confuse me.


Demon King arc

Pros

Arguably the most threatening villain in the series. The action is still grounded enough in reality that the battles are a little easier to relate to, the Dragon Balls haven't been used so often that the deaths manage to be shocking (especially when Shenlong dies), and Piccolo actually achieves his goal. Probably the darkest chapter of Dragon Ball.
Tactical use of comic relief keeps this arc from getting too bogged down in the drama.
Goku is presumed dead, so the rest of the characters actually try to do something rather than running around waiting for Goku to save them.
Tenshinhan's storyline builds very nicely off the last arc.

Cons

The subplot of Tenshinhan practicing the Mafuuba goes nowhere.


Demon Junior arc

Pros

I love the artwork! Especially Piccolo. I kind of wish he looked like this for the rest of the series.
The Taopaipai subplot was an excellent way to round out Tenshinhan's character development.
I think this is the only tournament where I enjoy each and every battle.
Especially Kuririn versus Piccolo, my absolute favourite battle of the entire series.
Nice payoff to Goku's losses in the last two tournaments.

Cons

A minor thing, but I hate the way Goku's friends argue that he has the right to fight Piccolo on his own terms because he's already saved the Earth once. Not as bad as when the same reasoning was applied to letting Vegeta go, but I still hated it. Goku shouldn't get license to be reckless with the fate of the Earth just because he's saved it once.

[Attitudefan]

Tenshinhan got the best character developments in Dragonball!
Then he is tossed aside in DBZ certainly during the Cell arc.... (he did die against Nappa but he was training hard in the next arc then to be useless again)

I agree with everything that was said before DBZ.
DBZ well the best arc in the the whole series is the Saiyan and Freeza arcs!

[Rocketman]

Tenshinhan got the best character developments in Dragonball! :)

"Grr I will be killer assassin!"
"Don't do that, be good!"
"Ok, I be good."

[Attitudefan]

Tenshinhan got the best character developments in Dragonball!

"Grr I will be killer assassin!"
"Don't do that, be good!"
"Ok, I be good."

Better than what Vegeta got!
"I must kill Kakarot!"
"He's stronger than me?!?! It cannot be!"
"I am stronger than Kakarot.... oh no I'm wrong, he's #1"

Tenshinhan in the Daimao arc is cool, the struggle and failure he went through to try and beat Piccolo is just great!

[Rocketman]

Better than what Vegeta got! :)

Maybe, but Vegeta's took place over several years. Tien flip-flops within two hours.

[Attitudefan]

No, his also happens over several years. Do not deny the coolness of Tenshinhan!

[violadude]

Vegeta was different in every arc.

Saiya-jin arc- he was a pompous and proud character that didn't think anything would get in his way on earth. His reality shattered when he was defeated by Goku and Co.

Freeza Arc.- He was like a secret agent, sneakily working behind the scenes to get what he wanted and he KNEW he wasn't the most powerful, but was working to get there.

Cell Arc - He changed from that sneaky and strategical Vegeta to a bull headed Vegeta that thought he was the absolute best and instead of strategically taking out his enemies behind the scenes he went straight for the catch.

Boo Arc (beginning) - A family man that still has a desire to be better than Goku but it's much more toned down until of course he sees Goku defeat Yakon. When he fights Majin Boo his approach is direct like it was in the Cell arc but for a much more Noble cause now.

Boo Arc (end) - A good friend (and friendly competitor) to Goku.

[Attitudefan]

Vegeta was proud in all of them. He just changed his approach on fighting. It's not a personality change. Even against Freeza he was proud until the bitter end.

[violadude]

Just because he kept one trait the same throughout the arcs doesn't mean his personality doesn't change at all.

Well anyway, not trying to negate what you said about Tenshinhan's character development. I like his a lot too.

[Nazi Cola]

Saiyan Arc
+ Vegeta.
+ Goku getting the tar beat out of him.
+ Tenshinhan getting his arm one-shotted by Nappa. Pure awesome.
+ Nappa (thank you, TFS!).
+ Raditz was kind of cool.
+ Yajirobe cutting Oozaru Vegeta's tail was an epic moment.
- Gohan being a bitch.
- Piccolo dying.
- Yamcha.
- Chaozu.
- Nappa dying like a bitch.

Namek Arc
+ Vegeta.
+ Vegeta's fight with Recoome was epic.
+ The Ginyu Force was cool.
+ Zenkais.
+ Dodoria and Zarbon's deaths.
+ The Ginyu Force members' deaths.
+ Gohan wasn't so much of a bitch.
+ Krillin got much cooler.
+ No Yamcha and Chaozu being useless.
- No arm one-shotting by Nappa.
- Hell, no Nappa at all.
- Freeza was just a bitch in a Hoveround Pro.
- Nail being owned so horribly.
- Goku being hyped up against Recoome, Jeice, and Burter, only to be completely owned by Ginyu. What a waste.
- Namek is just a boring place. I'm glad Piccolo knew this and decided not to go with the others to New Namek.
- No Piccolo.

Freeza Arc
+ Vegeta and his fight with Freeza, bar the parts where he gets owned.
+ Goku's fight with Freeza before he turned Super Saiyan.
+ Piccolo's fight with Freeza.
- Vegeta gets killed. No thanks.
- Vegeta and Piccolo's fights with Freeza just seem like time killers until Goku arrives, which sucks.
- Once Goku went Super Saiyan, the whole fight just got boring.

Android/Cell Arc
+ Trunks was a cool character, although a bit annoying with his constant "Androids r gun kill us lets fuckin book" banter.
+ 1st Form Cell was a very interesting character.
+ The Cyborgs were interesting as well.
+ Vegeta owning #19 was one of the best moments in the series to me.
+ Goku getting owned by #19 was nice.
+ Vegeta's fight with #18, even though Vegeta lost.
+ Android #16 was cool, and his fight with 1st Form Cell was a good one.
+ SSjin Grade 2 Vegeta owning 2nd Form Cell.
+ Goku's fight with Cell was one of the top five fights in the series IMO.
+ The humans getting owned by the Cell Juniors. Always a good thing to see.
+ Gohan wiping Cell out once and for all.
- Androids #19 and #20 were stupid and useless.
- Android #17's cockiness was annoying.
- 2nd Form Cell was a whiny little bitch and I just wanted to skip his parts.
- Perfect Cell was bland.
- Gohan's fight with Cell was the antithesis of Goku's fight with Cell.
- Tenshinhan's tomfoolery with the Shin Kikoho.
- No Nappa. Not even a little cameo from Ghost Nappa.

Boo Arc
+ Goku and Vegeta fighting the last battle against Kid Boo.
+ Vegeta owning Pocus.
+ SSjin 2 in general.
+ Bootenks and Kid Boo were the only Boos I liked.
+ Gohan whenever he decided to fight.
+ When Piccolo stepped in to fight Super Boo after the kids dropped out of Fusion.
+ Piccolo slashing Bobbidi in half. Pure win.
+ Fat Boo blasting Gohan away. The anime did this in such an epic way that I love the manga way just as much.
+ Bootenks owning Ultimate Gohan.
+ SSjin 2 Gohan.
+ Videl.
- Kaioshin was a waste of space.
- Piccolo became pretty useless.
- The kids. 'Nuff said.
- Gotenks. Another annoying waste of space.
- Pocus was actually kind of cool to me, and I wish we would've seen him not be so uberpwned.
- I wish the manga would've had the filler scene of Base Vegeta and Base Goku fighting Dabra just after Kibito is killed. For no particular reason, it's just win to me.
- Dabra wasn't used to his full potential.
- Vegeta didn't get to fight Dabra. I wanted to see that.
- Goku and Vegeta's rematch was crap.
- Gohan got shafted after his epic build-up. Lol.
- The whole Boo confusion that came out of this part of the series.
- Vegeta's sacrifice was pointless.
- Bobbidi living after Piccolo stomped the yard with his ass.
- Super Boo wasn't too interesting.
- SSjin 3 was cool at first but I just lost all interest in it by the time Kid Boo came around.
- The stuff inside the spaceship could've been longer. That was one of my favorite parts of this arc honestly.
- The ending was TERRIBLE.
- Fuck Oob. Really. Fuck Oob. Piece of shit.
+/- Vegetto. He goes either way for me, depending on my mood. But I know he was annoying yet cool in the anime.

[violadude]

Goku wasn't completely owned by Ginyu. He far outclassed Ginyu and had the upper hand until Ginyu switched bodies.

[Li'l Lemmy]

- The kids. 'Nuff said.

For me, Goten and Trunks typify what makes the Boo arc so much fun. Gotenks was a bit much sometimes, especially to have him achieve SSj3, but even that can be forgiven due to the WTF?! nature of the rest of the arc-- nothing about these episodes approaches the seriousness of what came before, and instead harkens back to Ye Olde DragonBall.

I couldn't be happier with how these characters turned out.


~Da Lemmy