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Dragon Ball Z is one of the world’s most popular anime and a formative title that helped the battle shonen genre significantly evolve, thanks to Akira Toriyama’s endless creativity. Dragon Ball as a whole is a monument to long-form serialized storytelling that’s bravely grown with the times and progressively pushed itself out of its comfort zone. Each Dragon Ball series brings something uniquely rewarding to anime, but DBZ is continually celebrated as the franchise’s standout entry.
Dragon Ball Z has influenced countless other manga and anime, while also operating as a strong gateway anime for audiences who are new to the medium. Dragon Ball Z’s accomplishments are immeasurable, but this doesn’t mean it’s infallible. Unfortunately, DBZ is very much a product of its time and now, over 37 years since its debut, there are certain elements that can make it difficult to revisit.
Dragon Ball Z’s Many Filler Episodes Become A Burden
The anime industry has significantly changed since the late ‘80s and ‘90s, with copious amounts of filler being one of the biggest hurdles to watching older shonen series. Even now, it’s still something that occasionally turns an enjoyable viewing experience into a chore. At 291 episodes, Dragon Ball Z is not a short series. It already requires a serious commitment to finish in its entirety and it’s understandable that some fans view this large total to be daunting, rather than exciting.
Dragon Ball Z has 39 episodes that are completely filler, which includes arcs that are entirely anime-exclusive, with more episodes that at least partially include filler content. Granted, some of DBZ’s earlier episodes tell great slice-of-life stories that enhance the experience. Many fans consider Dragon Ball Z Kai to be the better and more streamlined experience, which trims 291 episodes down to a more manageable 167, removing more than 120 from the equation.
Guess the Anime
Guess the anime from the emojis.DBZ Wasted Its Supporting Cast
Dragon Ball Z crafts a strong story that stands on its own, but it’s also building upon 153 episodes of backstory and character development that were explored in the original Dragon Ball. There’s already a large cast of characters going into Dragon Ball Z, the likes of which only continue to expand as Goku encounters new allies.
These new characters help broaden Dragon Ball Z’s horizons. However, it becomes more of a struggle for Dragon Ball Z to give everyone something to do and actually build upon their character arcs. Individuals like Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo experience plenty of growth. Unfortunately, most of DBZ’s cast is neglected, including many of the original Dragon Ball’s most interesting characters.
Certain individuals like Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu just recede into the background. It’s frustrating to see such compelling characters go overlooked, and it’s interesting to see how Dragon Ball Super successfully amends this. For instance, Master Roshi becomes an important character again and Android 17 returns to action.
Dragon Ball Z’s Storytelling Becomes Repetitive & Formulaic
Dragon Ball Z has rightfully earned its place in the shonen hall of fame. At the same time, it’s important to recognize that its entertaining storytelling falls into a repetitive pattern that’s hard for it to break. It’s not easy to write an ongoing manga week after week and so it’s understandable that Toriyama would embrace certain storytelling devices that worked for him in the past.
DBZ’s formula is much more evident when it’s compared to modern shonen anime that are more willing to take big risks, completely mix things up, and even explore different genres. There are shades of this in Dragon Ball Z, like the Cell Saga’s exploration of science fiction and time travel, but each major arc regresses into what’s comfortable, barring a few changes. Dragon Ball Z often requires heroes to take on several smaller enemies before the ultimate antagonist is faced, at which point the villain undergoes multiple transformations before they’re at peak power.
Death Begins To Feel Irrelevant, Lowering DBZ's Stakes Significantly
Death is never easy in an anime like Dragon Ball Z, but it’s something that’s inevitable. There need to be casualties that have long-lasting consequences, otherwise there are no real stakes or weight to anything. The original Dragon Ball effectively features the deaths of major characters in a way that never feels manipulative.
There are very clear rules established regarding resurrection and the Dragon Balls. DBZ is pushed into a difficult corner since various characters have already died once before when the anime begins. The regrettable decision is made to boost the Dragon Balls’ powers to solve these problems so that characters can repeatedly be revived. There are even Dragon Ball wishes that resurrect billions of people at once or restore an entire planet.
Even Goku dies on two separate occasions and still finds his way back to life. It conditions the audience to believe that any fatality will ultimately be overcome and that death is only a temporary nuisance for the Z-Fighters. The abundance of Senzu Beans also erases battle damage and conveniently restores characters with major injuries back to normal.
Dragon Ball Z’s Lewd Humor & Tropes Feel Very Dated
Fan service is a controversial trope that’s been a part of anime practically since its inception. Some anime indulge in this more than others, but it’s something that often feels out of place during Dragon Ball Z’s action-packed exploits. Granted, fan service and lewd characters – particularly Master Roshi – were even more out of control in the original Dragon Ball. It felt a little more natural in that context due to the anime’s broader gag comedy roots.
Lewd characters like Master Roshi and Old Kai are awkward relics of the past that sorely stick out in Dragon Ball Z. These instances are few and far between. It’s still enough to create dissonance that pulls the audience out of the moment and becomes too distracting. There are other ways to create levity to break tension.
Dragon Ball Z’s Cumbersome Episode Count Suffers From Slow Pacing
Dragon Ball Z isn’t a short anime, but this doesn’t mean that it needs to feel like a long series that drags its feet and is unnecessarily padded. There are plenty of long-running anime that manage to avoid this problem through quick pacing that understands when it’s the right time to move on. Dragon Ball Z feels increasingly bloated as it goes on, which is especially apparent during a rewatch.
DBZ often operates like a longer fight automatically translates to a better fight, which is far from true. Goku’s battle against Frieza is one of the most discouraging examples of this and a 5-minute ultimatum goes on to last for 20 episodes. There are also many battles within the Buu Saga that are completely pointless and feel like they’re only included to stretch out the story.
Dragon Ball Z Struggles To Pull Its Focus Away From Goku
Goku is front and center for nearly every single battle in the original Dragon Ball, and this largely continues for most of DBZ. The difference is that Goku has already reached such impressive heights by Dragon Ball’s end that his continued victories in Dragon Ball Z lose their impact. It practically feels inevitable that Goku will win whatever major fight he’s in, which makes many of his battles less interesting.
This is exactly why Goku’s loss and Gohan’s success during the Cell Saga makes it such a well-respected story arc. Unfortunately, Dragon Ball Z backpedals and pulls Gohan out of the spotlight in the Buu Saga in order to return to the status quo. It’s a safe decision that robs Gohan of further character development and sets an unhealthy precedent that’s echoed in Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super.
Flashy Transformations Replace Strategy
Super Saiyan transformations are one of Dragon Ball’s signature elements and Goku’s inaugural Super Saiyan transformation is one of the franchise’s biggest moments. That being said, what was initially a breakthrough surprise now feels like a perfunctory development. Not only does practically every Saiyan accomplish this feat, including children, but greater degrees of Super Saiyan power are also discovered. Dragon Ball Z reaches a point where audiences are practically expecting a new Super Saiyan transformation to emerge whenever there’s a new villain.
Super Saiyan 2 debuts against Cell and Super Saiyan 3 makes its introduction against Buu. The utility of new forms that radically multiply a character’s strength becomes more important than creative battle strategies that involve more than just pure power. It’s a frustrating development considering the original Dragon Ball barely has any transformations and depends on clever strategies to overcome the enemy.
