Worst fight in all of Dragon Ball

[Gozar]

Goku vs. Majin Vegeta in the Manga. For such a long awaited rematch, the battle was ridiculously short in the Manga and just simply un-expanded upon. This is one instance where the Anime adding Filler actually did something justice more than Toriyama did.

[ABED]

A lot of you guys are just naming fights you think are bad, not the worst.

The worst fight in all of DB? Not sure, probably Buu vs. Gotenks. It was too jokey and nothing is particularly interesting. If I'm counting GT, perhaps Goku vs. Baby. It's a long fight where Goku is supposed to be overflowing with energy as SS4, but a few hits and he's drained, not to mention its stop start nature. The fight against Broly in movie 8 is runner up. How many times can you watch a villain take a hit but not even budge. It gets boring, and Goku's comeback is pitiful. It's ONE HIT! Broly beats up everyone for half of the movie so you'd think the most satisfying thing would be to let Goku get some offense in as a comeuppance.

[Cipher]

Gotenks vs. Boo is amazing and one of my favorite fights in the series.

[ABED]

Gotenks vs. Boo is amazing and one of my favorite fights in the series.

Fights with the entire universe at stake shouldn't be jokey.

[Eternal Super Saiyan]

Gotenks vs. Boo is amazing and one of my favorite fights in the series.

If Gotenks didn't act so childish and didn't name every little move he did, it would have been a better fight. Even Piccolo was getting weary of how Gotenks was acting in the middle of their fight.

[Cipher]

Fights with the entire universe at stake shouldn't be jokey.

I disagree because this is a series in which gods are cats and houses pop out of capsules.

Even Piccolo was getting weary of how Gotenks was acting in the middle of their fight.

It is almost as if Toriyama cast him as a straight man for comedy purposes.

Real talk, though -- the Boo arc's combination of some of the series' most dire scenarios with its most whimsical tone really does it for me, and actually compliments the tension during more serious portions of the arc -- there's a real sense of desperation and shit just hitting the fan; characters are at their wits' ends. While I wouldn't encourage comedic elements to be forced into fights where it's not organic, both Boo and power-drunk Gotenks are completely in-character in their antics (with some leeway given to up the comedy), and Piccolo being forced to sit back and pin his hopes on the most powerful being in the universe, who also happens to be a super-arrogant seven-year-old who has spent the last few weeks drawing up techniques, is hilarious. Gotenks calling on him to "help" during the volleyball attack is one of my favorite gags in the series.

Even Piccolo blowing up the door because Gotenks was holding back to be dramatic is a great comedy of miscommunication. I love their whole dynamic.

[ABED]

I disagree because this is a series in which gods are cats and houses pop out of capsules.

Neither of those things mean a battle for the sake of the world should be undercut for the sake of a joke. DB is funny, but it's not always funny. What if Goku's battle against Piccolo Daimao was constantly undercut with Goku being funny? And what about houses popping out of capsules is comedic?

and actually compliments the tension during more serious portions of the arc

It doesn't, it undercuts the tension. That's what humor does. There's little sense of desperation if your battle for the sake of the world involves kids telling Piccolo to play volleyball with the villain or naming all of their attacks. I agree that it's in character for Gotenks to be comedic, but when not only is the world at stake, but one of your parents has just been killed in front of your eyes, CONSTANTLY being humorous ruins the drama. It's one of my pet peeves with some of the recent Marvel films like Iron Man 3. They constantly go for the joke even when they shouldn't.

[Cipher]

Neither of those things mean a battle for the sake of the world should be undercut for the sake of a joke. DB is funny, but it's not always funny. What if Goku's battle against Piccolo Daimao was constantly undercut with Goku being funny?

That would have been a huge misstep because the Piccolo arc, in both build-up and execution, is very tonally different from the Boo arc?

I would like to point out that the Piccolo Jr. fight isn't void of whimsy or humor though. Goku constantly fighting to win the tournament rather than stop Piccolo as a dangerous opponent is a pretty light-hearted (and pitch-perfect) element.

It doesn't, it undercuts the tension. That's what humor does. There's little sense of desperation if your battle for the sake of the world involves kids telling Piccolo to play volleyball with the villain or naming all of their attacks. I agree that it's in character for Gotenks to be comedic, but when not only is the world at stake, but one of your parents has just been killed in front of your eyes, CONSTANTLY being humorous ruins the drama. It's one of my pet peeves with some of the recent Marvel films like Iron Man 3. They constantly go for the joke even when they shouldn't.

I don't know what to do but disagree with you here on the grounds that we may enjoy the series for different reasons. It's not the climax of the arc. If it were, I might agree with it feeling a little deflated. As a penultimate act, and particularly with Piccolo maintaining a voice of reason, I think it's both really funny and contributes to the sense of everything going to shit faster than the characters can keep up with.

I understand complaints about Gotenks' cavalier attitude just after Goten saw Boo kill Chi-Chi, but Gotenks is pretty firmly established as a different consciousness form either Goten or Trunks, and as a cosmically strong seven-year-old, he's completely drunk on his power (and he's spent literal weeks drafting up the techniques he breaks out in the fight, which he can't wait to use). Adopting hyper-dramatic, shonen-inspired sensibilities in the fight totally makes sense given Goten and Trunks' personalities and upbringing as well. I think it's quite funny. They've probably spent a lot of time watching whatever their in-universe equivalent of Dragon Ball is.

Mostly, though, I really like Dragon Ball's final act not losing its humor, and I think the Gotenks-Boo fight is a great way to include it. In a different arc going for a more hopeless kind of tension (Saiyan arc, Namek arc), I don't think it'd work. Here, I think it really does.

[Caulifor]

Gotta say I agree with everything Cipher is saying here. I think the Boo Arc gets a lot of unfair hate, when in my opinion is leagues better than the terrible, terrible Cell Arc (which is loved by mostly everyone for some weird reason).
But anyway, to the topic at hand...

A lot of DBZ fights were mentioned here, but in my opinion Dragon Ball has easily the worst fight in the entire manga: Goku vs Panputto. Let's summarize this, shall we?

Goku and Panputto are to fight in the quarter finals of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, which happens after a three years timeskip. We are all wondering how stronger Goku has gotten since then. His match is against Panputto, a famous fighter said to be really, really strong. And then Goku defeats him with one hit.

While that's not unusual (something very similar happened with Reacoom in Namek and that was awesome), in this case it's a complete waste of a match! In this very same tournament, we've already seen the results of Goku's training when he fights King Chapa in the elimination rounds. And that fight is much more interesting, not only because Chapa seems to be a better fighter than Panputto (he did win a Tenkaichi Budokai once, after all), but the fight itself is much more engaging, with Goku showing off a new move (he stops himself in the air with a scream!) and Chapa using a technique that would be useful later when Goku was fighting Tenshinhan.

So, what's up with that? How come an elimination round match was so much better than an actual quarter finals match? They should've been swapped.

[FoolsGil]

The worst fight in all of Dragonball is the Nappa fiasco. Nappa fluctuates in skill and ability, to the point of either one shotting opponents, or falling to their schemes, culminating at a point where if Goku isn't using Kaioken, Nappa can fight him almost evenly. yeesh.

[Eternal Super Saiyan]

I think the Boo Arc gets a lot of unfair hate, when in my opinion is leagues better than the terrible, terrible Cell Arc (which is loved by mostly everyone for some weird reason).

Many people didn't like the fact that there was a childishly acting giant blob of gum as the main villain.
Also, this Arc was completely filled with a high amount of transformations, power ups, and Gotenks ruined his fights by naming all of his attacks.
I also have a vibe that they intended for Gohan to be the savior of the story by defeating Buu, but then things changed...

The story in the Cell Arc wasn't bad. I personally didn't see many issues with this part of Dragon Ball Z, though this highly depends if whether you watched the Anime or read the Manga during the Cell Arc (IMO the Manga did well with it, but Anime, had some sour moments.) But then again, the Anime saved the Arc with the battle between Goku and Perfect Cell. Intense is the only way I can describe that.

A lot of DBZ fights were mentioned here, but in my opinion Dragon Ball has easily the worst fight in the entire manga: Goku vs Panputto.

This fight actually succeeded in showing us how much Goku has improved. Note Tienshinhan's reaction from Goku's really quick 2 blows he delivered.

The worst fight in all of Dragonball is the Nappa fiasco. Nappa fluctuates in skill and ability, to the point of either one shotting opponents, or falling to their schemes, culminating at a point where if Goku isn't using Kaioken, Nappa can fight him almost evenly. yeesh.

I'm certain that "Nappa on par with Goku" part was an Anime only thing. In the Manga he was shown being outclassed every way. While I love the Anime a lot more, it tends to veer away from Manga accuracy on several occasions.

[DBZAOTA482]

Nappa wasn't even with Goku at all. Goku was toying with Nappa the entire fight.

[FoolsGil]

Well even so, the Nappa fights were still terrible.

[sintzu]

Goku vs. Majin Vegeta in the Manga. For such a long awaited rematch, the battle was ridiculously short in the Manga and just simply un-expanded upon. This is one instance where the Anime adding Filler actually did something justice more than Toriyama did.

Goku vs Kid Buu was even worse due to it being the story's final battle.

[ABED]

The worst fight in all of Dragonball is the Nappa fiasco. Nappa fluctuates in skill and ability, to the point of either one shotting opponents, or falling to their schemes, culminating at a point where if Goku isn't using Kaioken, Nappa can fight him almost evenly. yeesh.

Even in the anime, Goku is still toying with him, and Nappa fall for the Z team's plans because he's a big dumb brute. Goku doesn't want to use the Kaio-ken if he doesn't have to because it's still new and if I remember correctly, using it improperly could backfire on him.

is a pretty light-hearted (and pitch-perfect) element.

That's not lighthearted. Goku is trying to win the tournament out of pride (as opposed to arrogance in case some of you misconstrue my meaning). The fight isn't a yuckfest.

That would have been a huge misstep because the Piccolo arc, in both build-up and execution, is very tonally different from the Boo arc?

And it's tonally all wrong. Why undercut the drama constantly by making light of the situation? Goten witnessed his mother murdered, but sure, let's have a lark.

As a penultimate act, and particularly with Piccolo maintaining a voice of reason, I think it's both really funny and contributes to the sense of everything going to shit faster than the characters can keep up with.

How? They are constantly making light of everything by it all being not serious. Even after everyone they love is dead, Gotenks is still not taking it completely serious. I'm not saying it's out of character, but it make for a terrible boss fight with drama and stakes if you are essentially saying, "Things aren't that bad, we're just a goofy manga". Gotenks is a combination of Trunks and Goten, he's not completely foreign to their actual personalities. If things were going to crap, why would you pester Piccolo to play Volleyball?

Mostly, though, I really like Dragon Ball's final act not losing its humor, and I think the Gotenks-Boo fight is a great way to include it. In a different arc going for a more hopeless kind of tension (Saiyan arc, Namek arc), I don't think it'd work. Here, I think it really does.

DB never lost its sense of humor and the sense of hopelessness conveyed through humor is absent here. There's a difference between making a joke because things are getting grim and making light of the situation completely and saying "none of this matters, no need to take this seriously at all."

There are other fights that might be shorter or less eventful, but many of those are by design so I can't fault something like Goku vs. Pamputto. I do fault Gotenks vs. Buu because it's long and it feels this incessant need to be funny. I love humor as much as the next guy but I like stories to have a spectrum of emotion and to take things like fighting for the fate of the world seriously.

[Caulifor]

The story in the Cell Arc wasn't bad. I personally didn't see many issues with this part of Dragon Ball Z, though this highly depends if whether you watched the Anime or read the Manga during the Cell Arc (IMO the Manga did well with it, but Anime, had some sour moments.) But then again, the Anime saved the Arc with the battle between Goku and Perfect Cell. Intense is the only way I can describe that.

Sure, Cell is the best thing about the Cell Arc, but everything before him is garbage. The fact that a human made beings stronger than the stronger being in the Universe (Freeza) is just ridiculous. Cell makes sense because he uses... well, cells, from strong fighters - including Freeza - AND absorbs energy from living beings, so it's only natural that he is so strong. But the Artificial Humans? How did he go from #8 tier to #17 and #18 tier is beyond me, and that alone is enough to take me away from the story. Then you add the fact that Toriyama couldn't decide on a villain, changing from #19 and #20 to #17 and #18 to Cell, and... ugh, this Arc really isn't for me, I guess. I have a lot more fun with the Boo Arc.

In the end of the day, it's just a matter of taste, I believe. And since this is getting quite off-topic, there's not much reason to continue this discussion

A lot of DBZ fights were mentioned here, but in my opinion Dragon Ball has easily the worst fight in the entire manga: Goku vs Panputto.

This fight actually succeeded in showing us how much Goku has improved. Note Tenshinhan's reaction from Goku's really quick 2 blows he delivered.

I feel like you kind of ignored my whole explanation as to why this fight is terrible. We've already seen some of Goku's improvements with the King Chapa fight, and in a much more interesting and revealing way. Chapa has a more impressive backstory (he once won a Tenkaichi Tournament once without even being touched by his opponents), a very cool move that Goku later uses against Tenshinhan, and Goku does something no one has never seen before by stopping himself in mid-air with a scream. It's impressive. It's a thrilling fight.

What does Panputto's match accomplish? Nothing. Panputto won "a" tournament, but not a Tenkaichi Tournament. He just shows off some "normal" moves, like Mr. Satan would do much later in the series. And then Goku defeats him with "one" blow that was actually three. But "rapid movement" isn't anything new, the fight between Kuririn and Jackie Chun in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai was actually more impressive than that, as they did much more than just three elbow strikes in a split-second. Yeah, it was a gag, but it still served the purpose of saying those characters were really fast. So Goku being so fast the audience can't see his movement isn't at all something new.

[rereboy]

EP 5 of DBS, everything was terrible, from the art/drawings, animations, the fight choreography. Awful.

This is not terrible: http://webm.host/0fd3f/

[DBZAOTA482]

EP 5 of DBS, everything was terrible, from the art/drawings, animations, the fight choreography. Awful.

This is not terrible: http://webm.host/0fd3f/

That's decent (outside Whis' derby face) but nothing special.

[rereboy]

That's my point, the art/animation in the episode wasn't great by any means, it was in fact weak, but it's nowhere all bad, it was pretty decent in several moments and pretty much most of what fans are pointing out are still frames from in-between movements.

[DBZAOTA482]

That's my point, the art/animation in the episode wasn't great by any means, it was in fact weak, but it's nowhere all bad, it was pretty decent in several moments and pretty much most of what fans are pointing out are still frames from in-between movements.

It's not just still frames. It just looks terrible overall.