-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
(VIDEO) Dragon Ball Z: The Best Arc in Shonen History
- Thread starter Sami+
- Start date
I liked more The Cell Saga. Also because for me the best fight in the Dragon Ball Universe is there.
The end of the Cell Saga with Gohan as the new guardian of the Earth could have been a masterful way to end a masterful saga.
But then the fuckery of Krazy Toriyama begins.
Piccolo vs 17
The end of the Cell Saga with Gohan as the new guardian of the Earth could have been a masterful way to end a masterful saga.
But then the fuckery of Krazy Toriyama begins.
I should rewatch Kenshin. Shishio and his clique were so badass.
NESpowerhouse
Perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane.
That's not Alabasta.
Right. From Robin's perspective, it makes perfect sense that she would just dip, after all she hasn't really been that comfortable around them, and throughout her life she's never had a good reason to open up to anyone. And on our parts, the viewer, why should we really care either? She was a former villain who up until that arc it's be understandable to be quite wary of her.
And yet, they cared anyways, even without the complete knowledge the readers have concerning her backstory.
This arc was like the epitome of what Fairy Tail has been striving to do with its whole friendship shtick since its inception.
Please Buu arc is amazing, especially the beginning.
Meh. Outside of Gear 2/Gear 2nd Jet Gatling, I was unimpressed. But then I realized that the writing in One Piece does absolutely nothing for me in terms of giving a shit about any of its characters, and I now I just read it for the fights.But this is the best arc in shonen history
Sibersk Esto
Banned
*smug face*
When were you under the impression that it wasn't always a shonen ranking thread.
You beat me to this comment.
Especially with a title like that lol
But this is the best arc in shonen history
Plus Water 7 introduced us to Franky.
I thought Boo arc was better than Android arc until I read the manga version for the first time a couple of years ago. There's a notable drop in quality in the manga in terms of...everything. The art becomes disjointed and shitty, cool ideas like Babidi's palace being a reverse Muscle Tower get abandoned out of the blue. It was just so disjointed and unfocused for the entire first half. It got some steam back when Super Boo happened, but even then you could tell Toriyama was just throwing a bunch of shit on the wall and seeing what sticks.
Then he brought Gohan back to the forefront and then jobbed him after giving him a huge power up so Goku can beat Boo with a fucking Spirit Bomb.
The anime version hides these flaws by padding out the stuff with filler and making it seem more natural than it actually was in the original manga.
I watched it a couple of times again over the years, and while it's definitely not as enjoyable as the first time around, it's still pretty great.
kunonabi
Member
Honestly, the Android/cell arc does a much better job of making the supporting cast worthwhile especially piccolo and tien.
lvl99 Pixel
Member
almost any arc from Hunter X Hunter had a better adaptation.
YorkNew City arc might be my favorite
YorkNew City arc might be my favorite
You take that back.
Gentleman Jack
Member
The video directly addresses both of those arcs, which I suggest you watch. The argument is that the Frieza Saga is simply better structured from the villain down, instead of being about insane power creep that the future arcs rely on without providing nearly as compelling a villain.
I suspect most shonen has that point of inflection past which the author is clearly far past their own ability to maintain a cohesive narrative, that 'Future Trunks' moment, and although that moment may vary from reader to reader, I kind of like that this video establishes that as a needle that the discussion can pivot on.
How hard do the animators work to keep franky's cannon hair on model because there isn't much margin between that and full-blown veiny erection.
UnemployedVillain
Member
You suck!
purpleblastoise
Banned
The Chimera Ant arc had pacing issues as bad as the Frieza arc. I really don't see why it gets so much praise.
Gentleman Jack
Member
I should really just knuckle down and finish reading HxH one of these days. I keep stopping because the story has moments of aimlessness but I don't feel like skipping right ahead to the 'good stuff' folks always praise. Further dampening my spirits are the slim odds that the book is going to get a proper ending.
Anyway, he makes a good argument as to why these are both good or even great arcs but they're still lacking compared to some in the stuff mentioned in this thread. Like even when it comes to the stuff he said, i.e; character development, supporting cast, villains, great moments, etc.
lvl99 Pixel
Member
Because it was deeper than just power levels, while still having that crazy payoff.
DBZ was kind of a janky adaptation to begin with, even more so when it was dubbed, and this seems to be specifically about the anime.
The Silver
Member
The Namek stuff up until Goku comes back is peak Dragonball to me, it's still great but you lose a lot of the intrigue that came with Vegeta being the wild card.
It's no surprise my other favorite period was the initial Cell mystery and him skulking around with the androids looking for Goku while good guys play offense and defense.
It's no surprise my other favorite period was the initial Cell mystery and him skulking around with the androids looking for Goku while good guys play offense and defense.
Freezer's arc's pacing issues weren't that bad, tho.
I membah. That farewell scene still gives me chills.
I'm probably alone in this opinion but Sabaody (pre-time skip) is the tightest OP arc imo. Manga version, the anime's pacing had already gone to shit at this point.
Facts. Goku vs Piccolo Jr. is the perfect blend of classic Dragon Ball and over the top DBZ action.
The thing CA haters miss is that many fans of the arc actually like the more deliberate pacing. I thought the narrator-heavy episodes at the invasion were fucking great. It's just so different from what you usually get from these kinds of sagas in shonen manga/anime.
The one criticism I can agree with is that some of the mid-arc events (like, after the King is born and before the Invasion) are kinda boring, but the buildup and payoff is so great I can forgive it. Yorknew is more consistent but I will never regard it as highly because it simply doesn't reach the same heights. It's been years since I haven't watched or read HxH and I still think about the CA arc from time to time.
Saiyan arc has the best art
Out of DBZ, by far (though DB had the best. Really just starts at the pinnacle and gets worse as time goes on). I miss giant forehead midget Vegeta.
This is GREAT!
There's finally pay off with the Spirit Bomb, after the past times it's failed.
As far as so much being thrown at the wall and see what sticks, that's just sort of what I view how Toriyama does things. You either like what he comes up randomly week to week or you really don't.
Buu had aliens, gods, fusions, desperate measures, romance subplot, the antics of Mr. Satan, kids having fun again, old rivalries, and payoff for the spirit bomb technique, and Vegeta charcter arc coming full circle.
KenzinFive
Member
I don't really grasp people saying that the Buu arc is somehow the best DBZ arc. Yes, there's definitely cool ideas and great moments, but that arc is the epitome of "seemingly important power boost being completely worthless in the end". I swear, there must be at least 10 stop-start moments of "[character] beat Buu! Oh wait, no they didn't!" It's extremely disjointed and all over the place, and Buu having tons of forms and personality changes doesn't help.
That being said, I do appreciate Kid Buu immediately killing everyone on Earth and being defeated with a Spirit Bomb powered by those same people after Mr. Satan encourages them. I just wish they focused the arc and got to stuff like that more efficiently.
That being said, I do appreciate Kid Buu immediately killing everyone on Earth and being defeated with a Spirit Bomb powered by those same people after Mr. Satan encourages them. I just wish they focused the arc and got to stuff like that more efficiently.
Gentleman Jack
Member
So that's where Kubo got the idea for everything in Bleach.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
I admitedly haven't read the manga version of Buu (I stopped at the Saiyan saga earlier this year) but having rewatched it through Kai not very long ago I actually think that might be my favorite villain-finisher of the series. Yes, even more than father-son kamehameha (though I sometimes flip-flop between them both depending on which saga I watched most recently, which happens to be Buu at the moment lol). I just love how every single character gets to contribute in their own way, even some early DB cameos. Besides, Mr. Satan's character arc finally pays off and he truly gets to be the earth's saviour.
I don't know, I'm just a sucker for that kind of shit.
Its called a plot twists.
Vegeta suicide was for not, Goten and Trunk's build up (for fusions for that matter), so was Piccollo's attempt to trap Buu in the room of Spirit and Time and of course Gohan.
Really Goten, Trucks, Vegito and Gohan could have kill Buu if they weren't for stupidity and saiyan arrogance.
I mean that's cool and all, but all that does if drag the series out.
NoctisVsStar
Member
Idk about all shonen.. people might say I'm crazy but soul society arc in bleach is really good. However, I really love the Cell saga. Honestly, the weakest arc is the buu saga despite loving kid buu.
Cha la DBZ JP opening the goat.. not that horrible BF music.
Cha la DBZ JP opening the goat.. not that horrible BF music.
DBZ in manga form is very fast pace where this isn't an issue.
Alex_Mexico
Member
My one nitpick about this video is how he mentions that "the west" consumed DB with DBZ first while causally ignoring how all of Latin America and some parts of Europe had OG DB before we got DBZ. Hell, in Mexico we finished all the way until DBGT years before our northern neighbors!
It was mainly the United States (and maybe Canada) that got DBZ before DB but by this point I shouldn't be this surprised that some Americans can think the US represents all of "the west". #rant
It was mainly the United States (and maybe Canada) that got DBZ before DB but by this point I shouldn't be this surprised that some Americans can think the US represents all of "the west". #rant
I LOVE, LOVE the Chimera Ant arc and HxH in general but the episode where
King is revived
