5 most boring Dragon Ball arcs (& 5 best ones)
The Dragon Ball series has an immense amount of plot arcs and storylines. Due to Funimation's translation of the series titles, there has been debate on whether related episodes are known as 'arcs' or sagas.'
Certain sagas were broken down into smaller sub-sagas, but many of these sub-sagas kept the same name as the main saga. Each saga mentioned in this article refers to the general saga in the series, not the sub-saga.
Note: This article is based purely on the author's opinion and contains spoilers for the entire series.
5 of the least enjoyable sagas in Dragon Ball
1) The Golden Frieza Saga
The Golden Frieza Saga is the second saga in Dragon Ball Super and was based on the plot of the Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' movie. It depicts Frieza's resurrection and subsequent invasion of Earth. Frieza used his new Golden Form to take on Super Saiyan Blue Goku, Vegeta, and the rest of the Dragon Team.
The movie was very entertaining and well-received by fans everywhere. However, when it was made into the Golden Frieza Saga and added to the anime, the quality decreased significantly. The art and animation during the fight scenes were a mess, and the saga as a whole was just completely bland. Many fans on Reddit and Twitter consider this to be the worst saga in the entire Dragon Ball Super anime.
2) The Garlic Jr. Saga
The Garlic Jr. Saga is the sixth saga in Dragon Ball Z. It takes place in the middle of the Frieza Saga and the Trunks Saga. This saga acts as the sequel to the Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone movie.
In the film, Garlic Jr. was defeated by four-year-old Gohan, and in the saga, he returns stronger than ever and is thirsty for revenge. The biggest problem is that neither Goku nor Vegeta are present, so it was up to Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, and everyone else to defeat him once again.
Many fans disliked the saga due to it being purely filler content. It was thought to be incredibly boring and lacked excitement like many other Dragon Ball sagas.
3) The Black Star Dragon Ball Saga
The Black Star Dragon Ball Saga is the first saga in Dragon Ball GT. Upon its release, the Black Star Dragon Ball Saga received so much backlash from fans that Funimation decided to cut the first 16 episodes of Dragon Ball GT. This fact makes it a perfect entry for this list.
Many found the comedy in this saga to be dry and unfunny. It was also seen as a failed attempt at mirroring the original Dragon Ball anime.
4) The Great Saiyaman Saga
The Great Saiyaman Saga is Dragon Ball Z's thirteenth saga, and it shows the lives of Gohan and the rest of the Dragon Team years after the Cell Games. The saga also features Goten, Trunks, and others for the first time in the anime.
During this saga, the anime adopted a more slice-of-life feel to it. This aspect was what made many fans develop a strong dislike for it. Slice-of-life is a fantastic genre, but it does not fit in a show like Dragon Ball Z, where the main premise is fighting. This made the saga uninteresting.
5) The Red Ribbon Army Saga
The Red Ribbon Saga is the third saga of the original Dragon Ball anime. The saga revolved heavily around the villains, but most of them were bland and lacked depth. There was also a severe lack of excitement throughout this saga, and as an action-oriented show, Dragon Ball needs to have as much excitement as possible.
5 Dragon Ball sagas that held the audience's attention the entire time
1) The Frieza Saga
The Frieza Saga was the second major saga in Dragon Ball Z, and it is one of the most iconic plot arcs in all of anime. Most of it takes place on Namek and features the intense battle between Goku and Frieza.
The fight with Frieza was incredible due to the fantastic animation and OST. Goku's transformation into Super Saiyan for the first time is what really cemented this saga into the minds of everyone.
2) The Saiyan Saga
The Saiyan Saga is the first saga in the Dragon Ball Z anime and contains the arrival of both Raditz, Vegeta, and Nappa on Earth. Raditz came to Earth in search of Goku, but Vegeta and Raditz came in search of the Dragon Balls so they could become immortal. These events resulted in a fight between the antagonists and the Dragon Team.
Fans loved this saga due to Vegeta's iconic "It's over 9000!!!" line and the introduction of Goku's greatest rival, Vegeta. The saga also acted as a tool to showcase Gohan's ever-growing power and potential.
3) The Majin Buu Saga
The Majin Buu Saga is one of the major plot arcs in the Z anime and deals with the emergence of Majin Buu and being controlled by Babidi. It introduced Super Saiyan 3, the Fusion Dance, and other aspects of the series that are still used today.
Several fans loved this saga due to the various forms of Majin Buu. Innocent Buu, Kid Buu, Super Buu, and the others instilled a strong sense of fear and hopelessness in many other characters due to their unmatched power. The brief appearance of Majin Vegeta also captured the interest of fans.
The action-packed fight sequences displayed in this saga and the overall quality of the animation solidified this saga as one of the best in the series.
4) The Cell Saga
The Cell Saga contains the episodes concerning Imperfect Cell, Perfect Cell, and the Cell Games. During this saga, Cell continued to get stronger and became a threat to everyone on the planet. The Dragon Team fought him in the Cell Games to try and take him down before he could do lasting damage.
The fights in this saga were its best moments, especially Gohan vs Cell. Cell's overwhelming power was able to crush practically everyone who faced him and made the Dragon Team hopeless many times.
Note: The next entry contains spoilers for unanimated portions of the Dragon Ball Super manga.
5) The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga
The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, Moro, is introduced as a new, powerful main antagonist. He was able to break through Goku's Ultra Instinct in this saga.
The fight sequences in these chapters were absolutely amazing. They were smooth and eye-catching, and since there were so many, fans easily fell in love with the saga.
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Shaheen Banu