Oh boy... this arc. It's the bane of my existence. There is nothing Dragon Ball has ever released, canon or otherwise, that rivals my frustration with this arc. I know well I'm in a very small minority here, this arc usually ranks very high in fan popularity polls. So, what exactly does it do wrong? A lot.
Freeza's Back And... He Sucks!
The arc begins with Freeza coming to Earth and being instantly obliterated by an unknown time-traveler. You're telling me Trunks, with his incomplete training, is stronger than Mecha-powered-up Freeza? Yeah, sure. Right off the bat, something feels very wrong with the writing.
The time-traveler Trunks then proceeds to reveal two important things: 1) He's Vegeta and Bulma's child. 2) The Z-Warriors will all die in 3 years because of two Androids.
Yamcha's a Cheater... No, Seriously!
Now, let's discuss the first one. It makes absolutely no fucking sense and it spits in the face of everyone who watched the original Dragon Ball. The in-universe explanation is that Yamcha suddenly suffered from a bad case of character derailment and went from a supporting loyal boyfriend afraid of social interaction with women to a cheating playboy.
The out-of-universe explanation is that Toriyama needed somebody to bear Vegeta's child. Toriyama doesn't like writing women or relationships, so the only viable option was Bulma. Now, let's pretend for a moment Lunch never existed here. This is so atrocious that even the voice-actors for both Yamcha and Bulma complained to Toriyama about it, and Toriyama told them: "Deal with it!"
Apparently, Toriyama prides himself in being a lazy writer.
"Oh My God, We're All Going to Die in 3 Years?! Let's Do Nothing!"
Now, for the second big revelation, Bulma devises a plan that will fix all of their problems and save the world instantly, but the "heroes" threaten to kill her if she intervenes with their deadly fight. Actually, only Vegeta does, but nobody else seems remotely interested in stopping him.
Remember when Vegeta was smart, cunning, knew when to fold 'em and was rooting for both Goku and Gohan to surpass him and become Super Saiyans during the Namek Saga? Yeah, that was Old!Vegeta. Meet New!Vegeta: an unbearable, moronic, whiny man-baby with an insufferable complex on being #1, so much he'll put his and everyone else's lives at risk while nobody does anything to stop him.
The Androids Arrive And... They Suck!
I fully understand why Toriyama's editors asked him to switch up the villains. No. 19 and No. 20 simply do not instill fear and look silly. Their battle is completely one-sided and the only reason why they're even allowed to be threatening is because they take out the weakest member of the bunch (Yamcha) and because Goku was suffering from heart failure. Oh, and Vegeta becomes Super Saiyan off-screen, then he arrives and kicks the two villains' asses effortlessly.
Gero runs away, but Bulma conveniently knows where he's going and tells the heroes, because she read it in a magazine. Okay, hold up, you're telling me Bulma knew all along where Gero was located, and she did nothing about it? Not to mention her coming to the battlefield and bringing her baby along with her, which nearly gets both of them killed?!
Final Thoughts
As you can probably see, "the plot moves forward because the characters all act like idiots" is very prevalent in this arc. It begins with Toriyama's trademark inconsistent power scaling and bad use of The Worf Effect, it plays by derailing the characters and turning them into annoying unlikable idiots, and it doesn't even offer threatening villains or good fights to justify its existence. All in all, not a good start.
Android Saga - No. 19 and No. 20
Oh boy... this arc. It's the bane of my existence. There is nothing Dragon Ball has ever released, canon or otherwise, that rivals my frustration with this arc. I know well I'm in a very small minority here, this arc usually ranks very high in fan popularity polls. So, what exactly does it do wrong? A lot.
Freeza's Back And... He Sucks!
The arc begins with Freeza coming to Earth and being instantly obliterated by an unknown time-traveler. You're telling me Trunks, with his incomplete training, is stronger than Mecha-powered-up Freeza? Yeah, sure. Right off the bat, something feels very wrong with the writing.
The time-traveler Trunks then proceeds to reveal two important things: 1) He's Vegeta and Bulma's child. 2) The Z-Warriors will all die in 3 years because of two Androids.
Yamcha's a Cheater... No, Seriously!
Now, let's discuss the first one. It makes absolutely no fucking sense and it spits in the face of everyone who watched the original Dragon Ball. The in-universe explanation is that Yamcha suddenly suffered from a bad case of character derailment and went from a supporting loyal boyfriend afraid of social interaction with women to a cheating playboy.
The out-of-universe explanation is that Toriyama needed somebody to bear Vegeta's child. Toriyama doesn't like writing women or relationships, so the only viable option was Bulma. Now, let's pretend for a moment Lunch never existed here. This is so atrocious that even the voice-actors for both Yamcha and Bulma complained to Toriyama about it, and Toriyama told them: "Deal with it!"
Apparently, Toriyama prides himself in being a lazy writer.
"Oh My God, We're All Going to Die in 3 Years?! Let's Do Nothing!"
Now, for the second big revelation, Bulma devises a plan that will fix all of their problems and save the world instantly, but the "heroes" threaten to kill her if she intervenes with their deadly fight. Actually, only Vegeta does, but nobody else seems remotely interested in stopping him.
Remember when Vegeta was smart, cunning, knew when to fold 'em and was rooting for both Goku and Gohan to surpass him and become Super Saiyans during the Namek Saga? Yeah, that was Old!Vegeta. Meet New!Vegeta: an unbearable, moronic, whiny man-baby with an insufferable complex on being #1, so much he'll put his and everyone else's lives at risk while nobody does anything to stop him.
The Androids Arrive And... They Suck!
I fully understand why Toriyama's editors asked him to switch up the villains. No. 19 and No. 20 simply do not instill fear and look silly. Their battle is completely one-sided and the only reason why they're even allowed to be threatening is because they take out the weakest member of the bunch (Yamcha) and because Goku was suffering from heart failure. Oh, and Vegeta becomes Super Saiyan off-screen, then he arrives and kicks the two villains' asses effortlessly.
Gero runs away, but Bulma conveniently knows where he's going and tells the heroes, because she read it in a magazine. Okay, hold up, you're telling me Bulma knew all along where Gero was located, and she did nothing about it? Not to mention her coming to the battlefield and bringing her baby along with her, which nearly gets both of them killed?!
Final Thoughts
As you can probably see, "the plot moves forward because the characters all act like idiots" is very prevalent in this arc. It begins with Toriyama's trademark inconsistent power scaling and bad use of The Worf Effect, it plays by derailing the characters and turning them into annoying unlikable idiots, and it doesn't even offer threatening villains or good fights to justify its existence. All in all, not a good start.
Rating: 1/5