Greatest Cliffhangers...

[TimeCrash4]

There might already be a thread for this but what do we think the greatest cliffhangers in Dragon Ball are?

[SonEric84]

The time when WB and then cartoon network played seasons 1 and 2 over and over while waiting for the "new" episodes from Funimation. Oh, how many times I was disappointed to be left hanging yet again.

[TimeCrash4]

The time when WB and then cartoon network played seasons 1 and 2 over and over while waiting for the "new" episodes from Funimation. Oh, how many times I was disappointed to be left hanging yet again.

And then I felt underwhelmed when they finally came, dam I hate it when that happens.

Mine'd have to be the conclusion of the "Babidi Saga", I was so looking forward to seeing the next episode and then we had a powercut, oh the pain.

[Char Aznable]

For me it was with my first DBZ tape as a kid - Captain Ginyu: Double Cross. I picked that one over Assault because it had four episodes, heh.

Anyway, at the end of the last episode on the video, there was a montage of Kuririn leaving toward Saichoro's, Gohan and a very odd-acting Vegeta in Freeza's ship, Dende on the way there, and Goku healing in the tank. Combine that with the narrator, and it was just the perfect build-up to the inevitable confrontation with Freeza that left me craving for more.

[xzero]

Honestly, for me it would be the next episode preview at the very end of the Freeza Saga setting up the Garlic Jr. saga. Yeah, Garlic Jr. was a huge disappointment. But that's hardly the point.

A 13 or 14 year old kid watching this for the first time in October of 1999 just dying to see whatever came next in DBZ after the fantastic finale to the Freeza storyline. Garlic totally looked like the next big thing, an epic saga involving the return of a decent movie villain with immortality on his side. And of course, more Faulconer music to love.

When it finally started airing in April of 2000, I was somewhat underwhelmed after the build-up and my own hype that I sort of generated for the episode. The music was pretty good, though.

[TripleRach]

My favorite cliffhanger is at the end of Volume 41 (Chapter 502). Gokuu returns to Earth to fuse with Gohan, but Buu suddenly absorbs Gohan. This leaves Gokuu with a choice of fusing with either Tenshinhan (unconscious), Dende (not a fighter), or... Mister Satan!?

I already knew what happened next the first time I read it, and Vegeta was already on his way back to Earth, but I just really like that cliffhanger.

[Zephyr]

Back when DBZ first started airing in the US, I remember they would play the same (the latest) episode everyday for weeks (I'm not entirely sure anymore if they actually did that, or if I was impatient and it just felt that way).

Also, the 3 episode fight between Super Buu and SSJ3 Gotenks on VHS had a terrible cliffhanger at the end: Gohan coming to save the day.

[Gaffer Tape]

Having just watched "Transformed at Last! The Legendary Super Saiya-jin--Son Goku!" on my Dragon Box, I can say without a doubt it was the dub episode 79: "Power of the Spirit." My friend and I both knew that Goku was going to become a Super Saiya-jin, and that Kuririn's death was going to be the catalyst. We just didn't know exactly when. We even took to watching the show chanting, "Kill Krillin! Kill Krillin!" (ohhh, the silliness of being 13) And then, when the aforementioned episode happened, and we saw in the last shot of the next episode preview that Goku was indeed going to be a Super Saiya-jin in the next episode, guess what day of the week it was? That's right... Friday! So then we had to wait through the entire weekend! It was agony!

Of course, compared to weekly-viewing Japanese fans, this was nothing, but when you'd gotten used to seeing it every weekday... yeah, we were spoiled.

[Bura]

I guess for me it would be the end of episode 120 of DBZ. I remember watching it with my little brother and dad that time. Freeza was chopped in half and my dad even said: "Woah, did that guy just chop him in half?" While I just thought it was some screen effect because in the dub he didn't actually split apart after that. So I truly realized it when my dad said so. I couldn't believe Freeza was killed so easily. And who was that kid?! I was soooo psyched for the next episode.

[Silver Sinspawn]

I'd have to say when Gurd was about to kill Gohan and Krillin. I don't think anything else is really a cliffhanger, because you kinda KNOW what will happen, because it's a big moment. Gohan V Cell, Vegeta V Goku. We all sorta knew what would happen with them. I didn't see this coming though.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

The plot was mostly spoiled for me back the day due to the interwebs, but the greatest cliffhanger for me when first watching the series was when Tenshinhan's Kikouhou demolished the arena and Goku was nowhere to be found.

[jda95]

I had watched some of Z, and had a basic idea of revival, and well, the fact that Kuririn was still around, but....

The cliffhanger of episode 101 was incredible. After just finishing an intense battle with Tenshinhan, we weren't ready for another villain just yet. And to kill a main character? You just can't do that, Daimaō, I'm sorry.

[LilKokuLink]

Mine would be in the anime where the narrator tells us that Bulma is about to get a phonecall that changes everything.
(During the Android Saga whilst Trunks/Krillin where in the plane taking Goku to Kame House).

[Char Aznable]

Mine would be in the anime where the narrator tells us that Bulma is about to get a phonecall that changes everything.
(During the Android Saga whilst Trunks/Krillin where in the plane taking Goku to Kame House).

Oh hey, I forgot about that one! At that point I knew Cell was coming, but I didn't know exactly how he was going to show up, so this little tidbit still took me by complete surprise and left me clamoring for the next episode.

[Thanos6]

When Cell returns after his "death" and kills Mirai. You really thought the fight was over. And then...

[TimeCrash4]

So I was sat thinking and remembered my proper favourite cliffhanger:

Episode 101 of Dragon Ball definitley. I haven't seen that episode in a long time, not since it aired on Toonami but that's the thing that most stood out to me throught the whole franchise, what a U-turn the series took at that point...

[dragondyle]

Greatest cliffhanger: The end of Dragon Ball episode 13 back in 1995. Talk about "OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED?!?!?!? "

[LilKokuLink]

Greatest cliffhanger: The end of Dragon Ball episode 13 back in 1995. Talk about "OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED?!?!?!? "

Unless you watch the WHOLE of DragonBall Z and GT first. In which case that makes me so upset I want to cry.

[SuperSaiyan3Goku]

I can't believe no one said this one yet.

The end of DBZ episode 142, where the un-named creature (Cell) launches a Kamehameha! OMGWTF

I can't see why I don't remember this from my childhood, that part of my memory must be foggy.

[Gaffer Tape]

Really? I never understood why that was such a big deal. I think Toriyama forgot that he had already shown Tenshinhan picking up the Kamehameha on the fly and telling everyone how easy it was to learn. Not to mention the fact that Goku, Yamucha, and Kuririn all managed to learn it without any specific training. So when Cell started using the Kamehameha and everyone started crapping their pants like Goku was the only person capable of ever using such a technique, it just left me scratching my head.