Would the Androids saga without Cell been boring?

[Jamtia]

I've heard on here that Cell wasn't originally going to be apart of the Androids saga and that he was added in later? I am not sure how true this is. But let's talk about it. How would the Androids saga be without Cell?

Personally I was invested so much in these Androids and all the hype that was built with Trunks. Then when Cell came into the picture out of left field I was like what? I loved the fight between Piccolo and 17 and wish Cell hadn't stepped in. And don''t get me wrong. I loved Cell becoming the perfect being of Gero's creations. And I think it was the right choice given the circumstances.

I think if they stuck with the Androids, and to make things more even, they would probably take out the hyperbolic time chamber. Because they would easily make chop liver out of 16,17,18 once Piccolo merged and the Saiyans did their training. I think if you had base super saiyans and a healthy Goku, it would have made for a nice 3 on 3 or 4 if you count Super Piccolo.

But again I think they went with the right choice. Despite some of the gripes with the Cell saga, like having millions of outs to prevent what happened happened with leading Cell to become perfect, it made for a much more interesting/branched out saga. I love 16, 17,18 but they weren't the most menacing characters, even in terms of power. If they had higher power levels or were their more menacing counterparts in Future Trunks timeline, I could see them being more than a threat. These androids only wanted to find Goku. They really didn't care on destroying cities or people. Heck they didn't even bother to fight the Z Warriors only if they got in their way.

I'm also glad that 17 and 18 wound up joining the Z Warriors later on. I honestly felt bad that they were abducted by Gero.

[miguelnuva1]

The saga probably would end the same way.

If 19 and 20 were the villians then they would need the grade forms to bear 19 and ss2 to beat 20.

The grade forms would handle 18 and maybe 17 but they would need ss2 to beat 17 or 16 if he was still around.

[Jamtia]

The saga probably would end the same way.

If 19 and 20 were the villians then they would need the grade forms to bear 19 and ss2 to beat 20.

The grade forms would handle 18 and maybe 17 but they would need ss2 to beat 17 or 16 if he was still around.

I was thinking the same thing. 16 would probably take a SS2 to beat. He wouldn't be the kind guy we got. But I guess the android version of Cell if that makes sense. I guess it comes down to who was the most compelling character out of all of them in terms of excitement and character and it's Cell.

[theherodjl]

What would've made the arc interesting was a reliance on time travel when it turned out that additionally-stronger Androids existed and had then completely overwhelmed the Z Senshi again and again. Trunks could've been stuck trying to relay further information of an even greater threat incoming, leading to the introduction of each new Android and thus, Trunks would've made the realization that he was only making the problem worse with his constant time travel. The arc's end might have been a twist in which we discover that Future Bulma inventing the time machine is what led to the creation of the Androids in the first place: by vowing to destroy it after helping the past Z Senshi finally succeed, Trunks would return and wake up in a world where there were no Androids as a shout-out to Back To The Future. The past Z Senshi would also be adequately powered up by the frequent trips made by Trunks and be ready for the challenge of the next arc.

[Peach]

After seeing 17 fight in the tournament of power .....No.

It honestly could have surpassed Cell and gave us better fights.

[Lionel]

I agree that Toriyama would have needed to drastically rewrite the personalities of the characters, their conflict with the Z-Warriors, the escalating tension, and even the competency of said villains. My concern is that does it become a rehash of the Saiyan arc with one android/cyborg proving to be the sadistic and overwhelming of the two while the latter is somehow eventually disposed of? Once that battle started there wasn't really an intermission or narrative gap to help rationalise any new elements that could have afforded the heroes what they needed to overcome their opponent sans the two hour reprieve Vegeta allowed for humour's sake.

The Cell arc as we have it allowed for some unexpected twists and turns with some of them admittedly being contrived. An arc with the original blueprint of two beings spawned by a previously unseen menace in Goku's past sounds like it has too many parallels to the Saiyan arc, if you ask me. To be fair, you could say the same with the Future Trunks and Cell arcs in that revolve around two genocidal beings creating a bleak future that Trunks needs to return to the past in order to find a means for somehow rectifying.

[DBZAOTA482]

As it was going the way it did, there wouldn't be a proper villain. 19 and Dr. Gero were pretty boring outside their absorption capabilities. 16, 17, and 18 also weren't really villains just a bunch of rascals.

[LoganForkHands73]

I would hope that Toriyama would've found other ways to make the story twisty and exciting without his editors' input to make new enemies. It seems he really wanted to push the "urban sci-fi thriller" angle. I really like #19 and #20, and the whole section of the Z-Warriors tracking them down through the city was some great stuff. As much as I like Cell, #16, #17 and #18, seeing some alternate reality where Toriyama's original vision for the Android arc played out exactly as he wanted would be interesting. Or maybe I can settle for a spin-off "director's rough cut" miniseries, similar to how Dark Horse adapted one of George Lucas's dusty old rough screenplays for Star Wars into a full comic series. As others have suggested, I believe that time travel would've played a role in making #19 and #20 more of a threat, thereby integrating Trunks more. The plot may have called for the carnival rejects to get replaced eventually but their role was meant to be larger than what we saw.

Either way, I'm a fan of most parts of the arc even if it doesn't all come together. Only the Cell Games portion doesn't really do it for me.

[Jamtia]

I would hope that Toriyama would've found other ways to make the story twisty and exciting without his editors' input to make new enemies. It seems he really wanted to push the "urban sci-fi thriller" angle. I really like #19 and #20, and the whole section of the Z-Warriors tracking them down through the city was some great stuff. As much as I like Cell, #16, #17 and #18, seeing some alternate reality where Toriyama's original vision for the Android arc played out exactly as he wanted would be interesting. Or maybe I can settle for a spin-off "director's rough cut" miniseries, similar to how Dark Horse adapted one of George Lucas's dusty old rough screenplays for Star Wars into a full comic series. As others have suggested, I believe that time travel would've played a role in making #19 and #20 more of a threat, thereby integrating Trunks more. The plot may have called for the carnival rejects to get replaced eventually but their role was meant to be larger than what we saw.

Either way, I'm a fan of most parts of the arc even if it doesn't all come together. Only the Cell Games portion doesn't really do it for me.

I felt like the History of Trunks was Toriyama's vision for the Androids without Cell. Or at least part of it.

[Yosheets]

Definitely. The Cell Saga is fantastic, but sadly most of it was due to Toriyama's editor. LOL.

[BWri]

I would've taken the Geezer and the Fatso. They were actually quite intimidating for a while. I wonder how that would have unfolded and what other twists and turns Toriyama-san would have added.

[Thani]

Gero should have remained alive as a mastermind of sorts, manipulating the conflicts so he could have his vengeance on Goku.

The Cell saga, to me, is one of the worst in all of DB, mainly because it focused entirely on ass pulls both from the characters and from the story itself - 17, 18, 16 and Cell literally came out of nowhere and with little build-up to them and even less development. In the end, Cell himself was little more than a brick wall for the heroes to overcome.

Gero as the conductor of all this conflict would work well, with 17 and 18 acting as the rebellious antagonists who could join the heroes, 19 his personal attack dog, and even Cell as his secret weapon (or even secret benefactor from the future, if you want him to eventually become the Big Bad). You can even throw the other androids (13, 14, 15 and Super 13) as a miniboss squad.

The arc does have a lot of potential with it's characters, their motivations and possible contributions to the story, but imo it was wasted because Toriyama wasn't known to plan his stories at all.

[Majin Buu]

Over time I've come to view Cell as a boring character. He works as an obstacle for the heroes to overcome and looks cool (his 2nd form excluded), but as a character I find him pretty bland (and I think it's because he was more a product of Toriyama's editors than an organic Toriyama creation). So perhaps without him we would have gotten a central villain with a more interesting personality (or perhaps a version of Cell with a more interesting personality).

[BWri]

Over time I've come to view Cell as a boring character. He works as an obstacle for the heroes to overcome and looks cool (his 2nd form excluded), but as a character I find him pretty bland (and I think it's because he was more a product of Toriyama's editors than an organic Toriyama creation). So perhaps without him we would have gotten a central villain with a more interesting personality (or perhaps a version of Cell with a more interesting personality).

Form 1 is my favorite, since he's a horror movie monster slinking around in the shadows. The anime depiction of him was spot on. Outside of the look, Perfect Cell is growing on me. It's funny how fast that perfect/honorable combatant facade of his is cracked when he faces adversity. He's really the same sniveling/bratty character as form 2 (the one I really hate lol)

[precita]

Perfect Cell was just the epitome of Freeza/Saiyans/Piccolo/Androids combined into one, so he was like the "ultimate villain" at that point in time having cells of every major character at that point in the series.

[FoolsGil]

Okay, so out of story, we know how Toriyama's current and former editors made the arc what it is, but imagine reading or watching this arc for the first time. There's a level of tension and fear of the unknown that grips you as the arc more or less becomes a battle royale as the boogeyman waits for his time to make a final strike.

You take away Cell you lose all of that. Would it be boring? No. But would it be more interesting than the previous or next arc? No

[miguelnuva1]

The arc would have been slightly more interesting had it been

Cell and Gero vs Vegeta and Trunks

Then Cell and Gero vs Goku and Gohan.

[PurestEvil]

God knows what Toriyama would have done with 17 and 18 had they been the final bosses, but I prefer Cell as a villain than the twins as they are, so I guess I would not have been as invested.

[Ilikepictures-meh]

The arc would have been slightly more interesting had it been

Cell and Gero vs Vegeta and Trunks

Then Cell and Gero vs Goku and Gohan.

This.
I love the twins, so I definitely want them to still be created and involved.
But I feel like Dr.Gero is underrated, and could be an awesome main villain in his own right. Him not dying and a team up with Cell, him dying and somehow becoming a murderous A.I that controls multiple Androids, etc. Possibilities are endless.

[DBZAOTA482]

The arc would have been slightly more interesting had it been

Cell and Gero vs Vegeta and Trunks

Then Cell and Gero vs Goku and Gohan.

Cell would probably end up killing Gero.