The GT writers screwed up when they made most of the Shadow Dragons pathetically weak

[90sDBZ]

I've come to like this arc more.

The sequence were the Dragons are first released is great. It shows you brief glimpses of some of the Dragons, while keeping the others shrouded in mystery.

The first few being weaker makes sense. They gradually become more threatening, and it adds to the sense of foreboding about the last few.

In a way it's similar to Cell's initial reveal. We know there's these mysterious villains roaming the planet, but we're made to wait and wonder before we see them.

By the time Syn Shenron shows up the sense of dread is real. They'd been getting progressively stronger, and this guy is the strongest of them all. His entrance were he kills Nova is actually kind of chilling.

[Vegeta th3 4th]

The first few being weaker makes sense. They gradually become more threatening, and it adds to the sense of foreboding about the last few.

The problem is that they don't gradually get stronger, as the first three were defeated by base Goku, while the last four required Ssj4. We never got a single fight with Ssj1, 2, or 3.