Story Arcs: 1: Saiyan Arc | 2: Namek Arc | 3: Garlic Jr. Arc | 4: Android/Cell Arc | 5: Majin Buu Arc
The Majin Buu arc is the fourth and final story arc of the Dragon Ball Z series.
Short Summary
Seven years have passed since Cell was defeated and Son family has gone on with their lives since Goku's death. Gohan is now a teenager, going to high school and now has a little brother named Goten. A couple of misadventures lead Gohan to adapting a superhero persona called the Great Saiyaman, which attracts the attention of Videl, the daughter of Mr. Satan/Hercule, who has achieved fame after stealing the credit for killing Cell. One thing leads to another until Gohan is blackmailed into participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament, which gives the other Z-Warriors an excuse to have a reunion. But danger soon comes when two agents working for an alien named Babidi steal energy so he may revive a creature known as Majin Buu, a being that's even more dangerous than Frieza and Cell combined.
Divided into a whopping five sections.
- Great Saiyaman Saga
- Martial Arts Tournament Saga
- Majin Buu Saga
- Super Buu Saga (also known as the Fusion Saga)
- Kid Buu Saga
Main Summary
Seven years have passed since Goku's death and Gohan's battle against Cell. Gohan, now a teenager with a cute little brother named Goten who's the spitting image of his father, is entering Orange Star High School, ready to become the scholar he always wanted to be. But the city Gohan attends school at, Satan City (named after the (false) Savior of the World who Defeated Cell, Mr. Satan), has a bit of a crime problem, though Satan's daughter Videl has taken to fighting it.
Along the way to his first day, Gohan spots a robbery in progress, so he uses a simple disguise to foil it by going Super Saiyan, counting on the fact that his hair changes color will disguise himself sufficiently enough. Not so: word around the school is that a mysterious "Golden Fighter" is horning in on Videl's spotlight, and with Gohan's failures to keep a low profile in baseball practice, the students begin to suspect he's the one.
As a precaution, Gohan goes to Bulma (who has a son with Vegeta now, this timeline's version of Trunks) to help design a new outfit for him, becoming a masked hero by the name of... THE GREAT SAIYAMAN!! Complete with special poses that even the Ginyu Force would find a little extreme. After getting the attention of Videl, she (addresses him as "Gohan" quickly to which he responds / notices a wound on him from one of his crimefighting escapades), revealing that Gohan is actually the Great Saiyaman. Videl, using blackmail of his identity, challenges him to enter the upcoming 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, as well as teaching her how to use the same powers he has.
Word of another Tournament quickly catches the attention of the others, like Piccolo, Krillin, Vegeta, and... Goku? That's right, for one day only, Goku will be coming back to the world of the living to spend time with his family! And it's gotten Vegeta very excited...
So the warriors prepare for battle, including Gohan training Goten and Vegeta training Trunks, where the two both discover that the kids can turn Super Saiyan as well! (Vegeta in particular notes "I guess it's a Bargain Sale on Super Saiyans...") Videl gets some training as well, in the process learning how to fly... and a haircut, too, since Gohan may have a thing for girls with short hair.
At last, the tournament comes around, and after a tearful reunion with Goku, the fighters, Goku, Gohan (in disguise as Great Saiyaman), Videl, Krillin, 18 (the two of whom have gotten married and had a kid of their own), Goten, Trunks (who now have to register for the new Junior Division), and Piccolo (returning under his alias of MaJunior, amazing how people forgot who he was!) sign up for the tournament, which has been completely redesigned since Piccolo destroyed it two tournaments earlier.
The Junior Division goes well, with Goten and Trunks overpowering their opponents and facing off against each other in the finals, with Trunks emerging as the victor. The Adult Division begins shortly thereafter, with the contenders also including, among others, Mr. Satan himself, Mighty Mask (who has his costume stolen by Goten and Trunks so they can fight for real), Spopovich, Yam... and a mysterious purple man with a large reddish attendant who announces his name as "Shin" and gives Piccolo pause (presumably because Piccolo knows that trick, having done it himself).
Krillin defeats his opponent easily, but Piccolo is forced to quit after a massive sense of fear (and some telepathy on Shin's part) causes him to surrender without fighting. Along the way, however, Shin notices Spopovich as he prepares to fight Videl and becomes very concerned. His concern was well-placed: Spopovich savagely brutalizes Videl, who only keeps fighting because her father would not back down from this fight (not aware that he was not the one who beat Cell and would give up easily). The resultant... well, "massacre" might be the best word pushes Videl to tears and Gohan to fury, but Yam steps in and tells Spopovich to just quit, ending the beatdown with a ring-out.
Videl is placed in the hospital, but Gohan flies off to Korin Tower to get some Senzu beans, one of which used to heal up Videl. Videl is surprised at how quickly she heals, and recognizes this is because of the magic bean.
Kibito gets his round against Gohan, where Gohan is immediately recognized by his classmates. Kibito demands Gohan transform into a Super Saiyan, but Gohan goes one step further and goes Super 2. At that point, however, Spopovich and Yam use a device to steal Gohan's energy, gaining a lot for whatever their goal was. Shin, revealed to be the Supreme Kai, restores Gohan, and, accompanied by Kibito, takes Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin with him to a far-off area. Videl tries to join, but she's not used to the gusts of wind in her eyes from flying at high speeds, and she is forced to stay behind.
Along the way, the Supreme Kai explains what his goal is. Spopovich and Yam are in league of a plot that started many years ago. The wizard Bibidi created a powerful destructive entity that wiped out the gods of the cosmos known as the Majin Buu. While Buu was sealed away, Bibidi had a son named Babidi who set out to restore him, needing a lot of energy for it. Vegeta in particular thinks Buu would make a good Saiyan, but the Supreme Kai tells him he would be so much worse. What could be going on in Vegeta's head right now?
One problem, though. Only four contestants for the Tournament remain! With no choice, the setup is changed to a five-way battle Royale. The kids, er, "Mighty Mask" make short work of their opponents, as does 18. But when the two start fighting and "Mask" goes Super Saiyan, 18 easily tells who they are, slices their costume in half, and disqualifies the kids. All that's left is Mr. Satan, but 18 works out a deal with him instead. 18 will throw the fight to allow Mr. Satan to keep his reputation, and in exchange, Mr. Satan will offer some of the prize money to 18, along with double of the amount of future winnings. He agrees, and 18 feigns defeat. Tournament over, Mr. Satan wins again!
The Supreme Kai's squad arrives at Bobidi's ship, to find the wizard has enslaved the king of demons, Dabura. Spopovich and Yam deliver the energy, and in exchange are killed horribly- Spopovich being inflated and blown up by Babidi and Yam being blasted by another of Babidi’s minions, the alien Pui Pui. Babidi meanwhile finds out that the Supreme Kai has an army nearby, and has Dabura kill Kibito, then spits on Krillin and Piccolo, turning them into stone. The only way out is to enter Babidi's ship, going through each stage to reach the center. Meanwhile, Babidi discovers that Gohan's stolen energy puts Buu halfway to being released.
In the first level, Pui Pui reveals that Babidi's ship is designed to absorb energy from the pain of intruders, which will be siphoned towards Buu's revival. However, Vegeta easily crushes him, even when Babidi tries to stack the odds by transporting the fight to Pui Pui's home planet, which has increased gravity, but Vegeta is all too used to heavy planets. After Pui Pui, the next level features a vicious light-eating monster called Yakon, but he's easily bested by Goku. Dabura decides to be the next opponent for Gohan, but Gohan's lack of practice shows. Vegeta begins to lose his patience, and Dabura picks up on the Saiyan Prince's darker thoughts. Retreating, Dabura advises Babidi to use his magic on Vegeta, who has a great deal of pent-up evil within him. Babidi puts Vegeta under his control, and teleports the room to the Tournament Arena. However, Vegeta refuses the wizard's command to kill the heroes; he only wants to fight Goku. To demonstrate that he is serious, Vegeta wipes out a portion of the audience, stunning the Dragon Ball gang. Realizing that there is no way around it, Goku agrees to the duel, and demands Babidi teleports them to a wasteland so their battle won't kill anyone. As Goku and Vegeta battle, Gohan and Supreme Kai descend through the ship to confront the villains. Meanwhile, far from this, Videl meets up with Goten and Trunks, and fills them in. Excited at the idea of fighting evil wizards and genies, the half-Saiyans take off, shocking Videl.
During their battle, Vegeta reveals that he intentionally allowed Babidi to control him. He saw the power boost Spopovich got, and felt that was the only way to bridge the gap Goku created between them. Furthermore, Vegeta admitted that he actually began to care about the family he was building on Earth, but Love Is a Weakness. In Buu's chamber, Gohan and Kai confront Babidi and Dabura, but it is too late. Goku and Vegeta's battle has created more than another energy to revive Buu. The shell holding Buu bursts open, and out comes Majin Buu...
...A fat Manchild made of pink goo. Huh?
This is The Dreaded Majin Buu? But Buu quickly proves that you should Beware the Silly Ones; He overpowers Gohan and Supreme Kai, blasting them away without effort, and defeats Dabura by turning him into a cookie version of himself and eating him. This cures Piccolo and Krillin of their statue fates, just in time for the kids to show up. Meanwhile, Goku, sensing Buu's revival convinces Vegeta that they need to save the Earth and finish their fight another day. Vexed, Vegeta appears to agree...and then knocks Goku out so he can deal with Buu personally. He blows up Babidi's ship, bringing himself to where the wizard and genie are to face them directly. However, Vegeta is no match for Buu, and is nearly killed before Trunks, Goten, and Piccolo intervene. The kids send Buu flying while Piccolo chops Babidi in half (reasoning that the wizard will not re-seal Buu anyway). Vegeta, realizing that he has no choice, gives his son he first hug ever and then knocks him out, followed by Goten. After confirming with Piccolo that Vegeta will not go to the same afterlife as Goku did, the Saiyan Prince sends Piccolo, the kids, and Kuririn away so he can self-destruct and take Buu with him. But when Piccolo goes back to check, he sees Buu reforming! Buu heals Babidi (As the wizard threaten to seal Buu with his dying breath, and the two go on a rampage, looking for Piccolo and the Saiyan kids.
Goku wakes up, and meets with Piccolo's group at the Lookout. After catching up, Goku admits that if Gohan or Vegeta were alive, they could fuse to beat Buu- he learned of a fusing technique in the afterlife, but the fighters have to be of equal size and chi. Mr. Popo points out that Trunks and Goten are of same size of chi, Goku decides to teach them the Fusion so they can stop Buu. Meanwhile, the rest of the Dragon Ball gang has summoned Shen Long to revive those killed during the day (Except, at Yamcha's request, anyone evil), but are stopped from using the last two wishes by Goku, who brings them to the Lookout and up to speed.
As it turned out, the wish revived Kibito, who heals the Supreme Kai and Gohan. At Kai's order, the group goes to the Supreme Kai homeworld; Seeing Gohan's power has given Supreme Kai an idea to use the Z-Sword, a sacred weapon stuck in a rock. Gohan is able to lift it, but it's still too heavy for him, and he begins training to use it.
Incomplete Summary
Finally, Earth has been saved, everyone has been resurrected, Goku has been reunited with his family, and Gohan can date Videl without worrying about keeping secrets from her. All is well that ends well...
What will Goku's next crazy adventure be? Find out next time, on Dragon... Ball.. Super!
The Majin Buu arc has the following tropes
- Accidental Hero: Mr. Satan's lie about defeating Cell made him this. His false claims made him a worldwide hero, and when the people of Earth wouldn't give Goku their energy for the Spirit Bomb, it took Satan's intervention to convince them. Thankfully when Android 18 faces him off in the Tournament's Finals, she decides to throw the fight to ensure that Hercule keeps his fame on the condition he pays her double the prize money winnings, if anything #18 is just as responsible for saving the Universe from the Majin threat as much as Mr. Satan is, as allowing him to keep said fame allows Goku to defeat Kid Buu for good.
- Achilles' Heel: Mr. Satan, for Super and Kid Buu. Neither form can hurt him because they retain Fat Buu's affection for him, which is why he survives Super Buu's Human Extinction Attack and distracting Kid Buu. Kid Buu gets rid of this weakness by separating from Fat Buu, but this also means he gets another combatant to face.
- Adaptation Expansion:
- In the manga, Gohan only has a few scenes as the Great Saiyaman before Videl figures it out, but in the anime, there are several episodes of him and Videl fighting crime in Satan City while she tries to unmask him.
- Most fights are expanded upon, as the fights in the manga were becoming shorter and less detailed. Most notably, Goku and Vegeta's fight is greatly extended. In the manga, most of it happens off-screen, while in the anime, it's a central subplot for several episodes.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Goten in the manga was not very close to his father during his 24 hour visit to Earth. He was painfully shy and didn't utter a word to him until Majin Buu arrived. The first time Goku and Goten interacted was when he called Goku out for failing to protect Gohan and letting Vegeta die on his watch, perceiving him as a weakling, unlike how he heard stories about his power. This changed after he witnessed Goku go Super Saiyan 3 and he realised Goku does live up to the legends. His final interaction with his dad (before Goku came Back from the Dead for good) has him trying (and failing) to ask for a Final First Hug, before Goku has to go back to the other world. The anime, on the other hand, changes Goten into an extroverted kid, who is a little shy when he sees Goku for the first time, but quickly gets over it and the two end up bonding very quickly. Their Final First Hug is changed into a Final hug instead.
- And the Adventure Continues: The series ends with Goku taking Uub to go train and... well that's pretty much it.
- Animation Bump: The quality of the animation increased dramatically with this arc, due to a number of renowned animators and studios taking on larger roles in production.
- Anyone Can Die: Yes, this arc is not shy about offing the main cast. Though of course, they come back to life later. Only Mr. Satan, Fortuneteller Baba, the Supreme Kai, and Dende manage to get through the arc alive. Goku, meanwhile, never actually gets killed in the arc...he was already dead at the start of it and gets revived later on, and stays that way.
- Ascended Extra: Mr. Satan/Hercule, initially a joke character in the Cell Games. In this arc, he manages to legitimately save the world by befriending Fat Buu (a shame that Van Zant and Smitty happened before it really stuck), and is pivotal in the battle against Kid Buu.
- Awesome, but Impractical: This arc introduces Super Saiyan 3 and the Fusion Dance, both of which have their success, but have significant drawbacks to prevent them from being useful in the end.
- The Fusion Dance is a combination of the powers of two warriors to create one powerful fighter, but it is only a Timed Power-Up that expires after thirty minutes, and it takes an whole hour to be able to re-fuse.
- Super Saiyan 3 is the newest hot transformation that Goku discovered while in the Other World. It is the single most powerful Saiyan transformation seen in the show yet, but its main drawback is that it burns up a lot of energy. Goku didn't really realize this drawback until he tried to use Super Saiyan 3 while alive. The transformation puts a significant strain on his body that causes him to tire out quickly against Kid Buu.
- Babies Ever After: Gohan and Videl have a daughter named Pan and Bulma and Vegeta have a daughter named Bulla.
- Back for the Finale: Several characters from past arcs (such as Mechanical Man No. 8 (Eighter), Upa and Bora from the Red Ribbon saga, and No. 17 from the previous arc) are seen again to give energy to the Spirit Bomb. The anime goes one step further and shows others, like Baba's fighters, and Launch, who was basically forgotten about after the Saiyan arc.
- Back from the Dead: Goku and later Vegeta. Heck, even the whole Earth near the end of the saga.
- The Berserker: In the final battle, Buu has been stripped of all of his absorbed victims, significantly cutting his power, and transforming him into the small Kid Buu, Goku and Vegeta decide to forget fusion and fight Buu one-on-one and it seems to be a much simpler fight-except in this state, Buu is free from all restraint and sanity and is a pure, feral, relentless and unpredictable killing machine, actually making him more dangerous than ever before. Goku learns this the hard way, as Super Saiyan 3 is unable to beat Kid Buu, when earlier in the arc, he mopped the floor with Fat Buu as a Super Saiyan 3.
- Beyond the Impossible:
- Goku's transformation as a Super Saiyan 3. Not only did he reach then unheard-of new level of Super Saiyan, he gave off so much ki that Gohan (read:not a Kai) who was training in the Sacred World of the Kais could sense it. Repeat: a mortal was so strong that his power could be felt in a world that was virtually unreachable in the cosmos, and was practically part of the Other World.
- Super Buu is trapped in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, along with Piccolo and Gotenks. When he's told that there's no candy in the Chamber, he screams loud enough to tear a hole between dimensions. Deconstructed in that it's discovered that if Buu could break out of the Time Chamber like that, then someone of similar power could also achieve it. And Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks does just that.
- Vegito is so powerful that Super Buu turning him into a jawbreaker does nothing to stop him. If anything, this is where Super Buu receives his worst beating.
- The seemingly inexhaustible Majin Buu with his endless regeneration abilities has a moment during his fight with Vegito where his regeneration starts to fail him. This speaks to how utterly one-sided the fight was, and the extent of the damage he's been dealt.
- Big Bad: Majin Buu is one in three parts: Fat Buu is befriended halfway through by Mr. Satan, then Van Zant triggers the creation of Evil Buu, who then turns into Super Buu, his most powerful form- but after all the people he's absorbed are extracted (including Fat Buu), he returns to being Kid Buu, Buu's original form and the Final Boss.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Done somewhat frequently in this arc, especially in the manga. Falls in line with the general Reverse Cerebus Syndrome.
- In the Saiyaman portion, when Gohan stops a random mugger, they ask who he is, whereupon Gohan replies "That, I'll reveal in the next chapter!". Sure enough, he does.
- When Gohan goes over to meet Krillin, Gohan does an Aside Comment about how he hadn't shaved his hair since the fight with Cell.
- After Trunks and Goten keep failing to fuse, Krillin calls out Toriyama for re-using the same panels over and over, saying they must be photocopies. Toriyama's Author Avatar then pops up to say that the editor doesn't need to pay for them.
- Call-Back: When faced with an ornery, Dirty Old Man like the Old Kai, Goku falls back on the persuasion methods he used on Roshi: Offering dirty mags and then actual women. And it works.
- Chronic Villainy: Vegeta resented his Heel–Face Turn, believing it resulted in a
Badass Decay, and allowed Babidi to restore him to his evil ways. Subverted, in that despite his best efforts, he can't shake his love for his family, and when he realizes the magnitude of his selfishness, he resolves to set things right by any means necessary. - Cruel and Unusual Death: Buu hands these out like candy (pun sort of intended). Aside from turning people into various sweets and then eating them (which gets turned back on him), he also punches Babidi's head clean off, and Super Buu kills Smitty by flying inside him and causing his body to expand until it burst. Kid Buu doesn't do it as much, preferring to just blow up his enemies and the planet they're standing on.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Zigzagged. Super Buu is no match for Ultimate Gohan, until he absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo, then he promptly reverses the situation by destroying Gohan, both mentally and physically.
- Vegeta relentlessly attacks Super Buu when he returns from the Other World. Goku desperately tries to talk him out of it, but to no avail. It takes little time at all for Vegeta to realize what a bad idea that is. Super Buu proceeds to kick the crap out of both Saiyans.
- Once Goku and Vegeta fuse though, the above situation reverses and then some. Vegito is able to casually go toe-to-toe with Buu in his base form. Once he bothers going Super Sayain the fight is so comically one-sided that Vegito is curb-stomping Buu without even bothering to put in any effort. Their "fight" is just a prolonged series of Buu trying every single technique in rapid succession as Vegito No Sells each one, including attacks that had previously been one-hit-kills.
- Death from Above: Super Buu's "Human Extinction Attack". All the more menacing since he did it from Kami's Lookout - likely the highest known point a structure is on Earth, unleashes the attack to rain down on unsuspecting humans...some of which thought they were fireworks until they literally hit them.
- Dénouement: This arc has one for Vegeta's Character Development, where the Saiyan Prince finally gets over his series-long resentment for Goku and completes his Heel–Face Turn, which is further confirmed when he's revived along with everyone who aren't evil.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- When Vegeta is turned against Goku, Gohan and the Supreme Kai, and insists on fighting the former, Goku agrees to settle the score between them, and even insists to the Supreme Kai not to interfere. The Supreme Kai concedes and adjusts his plan to partner with Gohan to attack Babidi and Dabura and prevent Majin Buu's revival that way. Unfortunately, by the time the confrontation happens, the intensity of Goku's battle with Vegeta meant that the energy Goku used up ended up reviving Majin Buu anyway. Of course, Vegeta was insistent to the point of killing bystanders to fight Goku, but the latter seemed to acknowledge his screw-up, as did Vegeta eventually.
- Gotenks - the new merger of Goten and Trunks, immediately heads off to fight Buu and "bring back his corpse", despite Piccolo's warnings that the monster is still out of his league. It ends as well as you'd expect. That Gotenks even survived the encounter is a miracle in itself.
- The Dreaded: Majin Buu is this to Supreme Kai because of his fabled destructive power, despite being a colossal Manchild. While Super Buu is more malicious, he pales in comparison to Buu's purest, and more familiar, "Kid" form.
- Dub-Induced Plot Hole: Vegeta specifically asked Dende to revive everyone who was killed since Majin Buu was awakened, except the really bad ones, so that people killed by Vegeta himself (as a Majin) will be revived and bad guys like Babidi and Dabura won't come Back from the Dead. In the English dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai, despite Vegeta's explanation, Dende still asks Porunga to revive everyone who was killed by Majin Buu and Babidi, except for the evil guys, instead. The result: Old Kai and Vegeta are also resurrected, despite the fact that they were never killed by either of the two.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: The first thing Kid Buu does is blow up the Earth just for kicks and giggles. Goku, Vegeta, Bee, Dende and Mr. Satan manage to survive by warping to the Sacred World of the Kais but Kid Buu even follows them there.
- Enemy Without: After turning good, Fat Buu encounters the crazed gunman Van Zant, who shoots Mr. Satan. In a desperate attempt to restrain himself from rage, Buu expels smoke from his body, which takes the form of Evil Buu, a personification of all the evil that was inside of him.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite spending the majority of the series hating Vegeta's guts, Piccolo and Krillin are mournful when the Saiyan Prince sacrifices himself to destroy Fat Buu, with Krillin even screaming Vegeta's name. The anime also adds Piccolo attempting to fly back to get Vegeta to stop, only for Krillin to stop him by grabbing his cape.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Dabura attacks Majin Buu because he realizes that Buu is too powerful and unpredictable, and won't stay loyal to Babidi for long. But Babidi is drunk on the prospect of Buu's power, and allows Buu to kill Dabura. Let's just say he really should have listened to that warning, should definitely not rely on one measure to control Buu (re-sealing him), and most certainly should not have been a Bad Boss to Buu.
- Exact Words: In trying to deal with an impatient Super Buu in Kami's Lookout wanting to fight the "strong fighter" Goku promised, Piccolo suggests that he passes the time by killing off the remaining humans on Earth. And that's exactly what Super Buu does. In one attack. Every last single one of them. Without moving an inch out of Kami's Hideout.
- Extremely Short Time Span: The time between the World Martial Arts Tournament to Goku's defeat of Kid Buu takes place between three very, very busy days.
- Face–Heel Turn: Vegeta freely lets Babidi give him the power of the Majin so that he may be on part to fight Goku and finally prove which one is stronger. Not even caring at the time that the energy from their fight will revive Buu.
- "Fantastic Voyage" Plot: Vegito deliberately lets himself become absorbed by Super Buu, so Goku and Vegeta are able to travel inside of Super Buu and free his captured victims, namely Piccolo, Goten, Trunks, Gohan, and even Fat Buu.
- Fauxshadow: One of the most infamous examples in the franchise. The arc begins with Gohan adopting a superhero identity, hinting at his role as Earth's savior. Then it's revealed that his power has decreased dramatically during the Time Skip, and as a result he spends the rest of the arc getting his strength back to face Buu. By the end of his training he is the most powerful character in the series, and it seems like he is finally ready both physically and emotionally to take his father's place.... and it all culminates in him immediately being turned into a powerup for Buu, forcing Goku to save the day.
- From Bad to Worse: Pretty much everything after Evil Buu appears.
- Fusion Dance: The Trope Namer makes its debut in this arc. Despite the concept of fusion first being introduced all the way back in the Namek arc, it only becomes prominent during this one.
- Godzilla Threshold: Vegeta getting his body back and being sent back to Earth to continue the fight against Buu. King Yemma admits it's practically unheard of (especially for someone with Vegeta's record), but the situation is so dire that he has to bend the rules.
- Grand Finale: Manga-wise, it's this to the Dragon Ball series as a whole. Anime-wise, it was followed by GT and later (canonically) Super.
- Heel–Face Turn:
- Mr. Satan manages to befriend Buu and get him to turn over a new leaf midway through the arc.
- Vegeta completes it with his Heroic Sacrifice to protect his family and is solidified later by getting wished back to life along with everyone on Earth who aren't evil.
- Henshin Hero: Gohan becomes one when he masquerades as the Great Saiyaman to combat crime in Satan City.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Vegeta does this in trying to stop Buu. As is often the case in this series, it doesn't work and ends up being a Senseless Sacrifice instead.
- Krillin performs one to buy everyone on the Lookout time to run from Super Buu. But, like with Vegeta above, it mostly proves to be a Senseless Sacrifice, as Buu immediately turns Krillin's wife and daughter into chocolate after finishing him off, and proceeds to eat the rest of the main cast anyway (sans Dende, who was saved because Mr. Popo threw him off the Lookout around the time the carnage started).
- Old Kai sacrifices his life to allow Goku to live. Given how the afterlife works in this series, it basically amounts to him having a halo over his head and not much else. And Porunga restores him to life later, anyway.
- Heroes' Frontier Step: Vegeta crosses it first with his Heroic Sacrifice early in the saga, then again with his selfless effort during the struggle to defeat Kid Buu. Its even lampshaded with Dende's wish to restore Planet Earth, with the added stipulation of minus the evil people. Vegeta was one of the people wished back to life, solidifying the Saiyan Prince's development from selfish Anti-Hero to a true hero. He's not too thrilled to hear that, though.
- He's All Grown Up: Son Gohan is now a teenager, and later a young adult by the end.
- Home Field Advantage: On the verge of losing the fight, Pui Pui tries to make use of this by changing the environment to that of his home planet, which is ten times Earth's gravity. This fails spectacularly because Vegeta also came from a planet with similar gravity and regularly trains in substantially higher levels than that.
- Hope Spot: Anytime it seems that Buu’s terror would stop at some point, something happens that causes the problem to come back:
- Mr. Satan manages to convince Buu to stop his reign of terror. But then two hunters kill the dog Buu and Satan befriended, and then Mr. Satan himself gets shot and this unleashes the evil side of Buu who takes over as the main antagonist for the arc.
- When Gohan arrives to fight Super Buu, he dominates the fight handily (without even needing to use ki blasts of any form). It's the first time that someone has seriously outclassed Buu at any point in the series, and it makes the heroes incredibly excited. Then, Buu absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo, and everything goes to hell again.
- Honor Before Reason:
- This is the reason why Goku and Vegeta fought each other again, once Vegeta became a Majin. Supreme Kai calls them out on it. Goku seemed to run with it, when it became clear that this is the only thing Vegeta cares about anymore and will stop at nothing for it to happen again. It just so happens that Majin Buu was eventually revived thanks to their decision to prioritize their fight over stopping Babidi, and the world was all the more worse off for it.
- Vegeta does it again when Buu is revived as a result of his battle with Goku, and he catches the latter off-guard and knocks him out to fight Buu alone, to pay Goku back for the Cell situation, that led to Goku's death. The thing is, Goku didn't just have a new technique that could've stopped Buu - like Fusion for example, but he had another transformation that had Goku got serious may have killed Buu. Vegeta is not happy that he threw his life away for nothing, and blames Goku for it.
- Goku calls Vegeta out on this mindset when the latter seems to be going out on a Last Stand against Buu over fusion, saying that this attitude isn't helping him avenge his family who was absorbed/eaten by the monster.. If he really wants to defeat Buu, then merging with Goku is the best chance to do it.
- How Much More Can He Take?: Vegeta gives a spirited effort to hold off Kid Buu to buy Goku some time, still managing to stand back up after Buu's merciless attacks, and actually scares Kid Buu enough to make him step back in fear.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: Son Gohan spouts a flimsy excuse to leave class, change into the Great Saiyaman and track Videl down before she engages some bank robbers.
- Informed Ability: Super Saiyan Gotenks. Goku predicts that the fused boys would defeat (fat) Majin Buu, but this is never actually put to the test, as Gotenks only faces him in his base form (out of sheer arrogance) and is thoroughly defeated. By the time Gotenks actually uses Super Saiyan in battle, Buu has evolved into Super Buu, who was definitely not a factor in Goku's original prediction. Trying to determine how strong the untested Super Saiyan Gotenks is can often lead to some colorful discussions.
- Jerk Jock:
- Sharpner is a muscular jock who makes fun of Gohan for being a skinny nerd. The anime adds some filler scenes where he tries to harass his Superhero alter ego too. Downplayed in the manga where he genuinely seems to be impressed by Gohan’s strength.
- The two kids who try to bully Trunks and Goten in the tournament. Trunks himself might qualify too, due to his grumpy, bratty persona like his father and his penchant for showing off.
- Kill All Humans: Buu unleashes the "Human Extinction Attack" on the Earth, finally completing his eradication of the human race. Only those on the Lookout, Tenshihan and Chaotzu who were skilled enough to avoid the attack, and Mr. Satan, out of Buu's ingrained sense of mercy and the friendship they had, survive note . Then Buu blows up the Earth. And only Dende, Goku, Vegeta and Mr. Satan, with Kibitoshin's help, escape with their lives.note
- Knight of Cerebus: While still a major threat, Fat Buu's innocence and childlike demeanor kind of offset his malice a bit. He was even close to pulling a Heel–Face Turn before things went south. When Super Buu shows up, however, things get dark really fast and a lot more people start dying, up to and including the main cast. In fact, by the time Kid Buu shows up, the entire human race barring, Mr. Satan, has been wiped out!
- Spopovitch marks the transition from what was a straightforward comedy to very brutal story arc.
- Last of His Kind: Mr. Satan/Hercule of all people is the only human left alive after Buu's rampage, and before the Dragon Balls fix things.
- Licked by the Dog: Buu is puzzled as to why a dog didn't run away from him, and Mr. Satan points out the little guy has a busted leg. Buu heals the dog so it'll run away in terror, but the dog appreciates what he did and wants to play. Buu indulges this and starts enjoying himself, which gives Mr. Satan the opportunity to talk to him about how he doesn't have to kill and destroy. It doesn't last, until after Kid Buu is killed.
- My God, What Have I Done?: To buy time for Gotenks to be ready, Piccolo suggests Super Buu go back down to Earth and kill the remaining humans. He hates the idea, but he figures it's a good stall and that they can wish people back with the Dragon Balls later. Then Super Buu casually kills the rest of humanity (save Tien and Chiaotzu, who are able to dodge the blasts, and Mr. Satan, who Buu deliberately avoids) with a single attack from the Lookout. A devastated Piccolo falls to his knees and can only promise all the deceased Earthlings that he'll ensure they are revived with the Dragon Balls.
- Vegeta is quietly devastated when he realizes his selfishness has killed Gohan (as far as he knew) and likely doomed the Earth, so much so that he immediately resolves to sacrifice his life and be sent to Hell.
- Near-Villain Victory:
- Probably the closest example in the whole series save for King Piccolo. After enacting Plan B and taking Gohan off-guard to absorb him, Buu has basically won. Every member of the cast is either dead or absorbed, except Goku, who is completely incapable of opposing Buu in any way, and is so desperate that he considers fusing with Mr. Satan, even though he knows it would be pointless and Buu would still be capable of killing him in one punch. On top of that, he goes straight for the kill, which Goku can only slightly delay by teleporting to the other side of the planet. Luckily for the universe, King Yemma brought back Vegeta, giving Goku some fusion fodder, triggering the series of events that led to Super Buu's reversion into Kid Buu. But if Vegeta hadn't been sent back or, hell, had even been five seconds late, the series would have ended on a very depressing note.
- Take further in the final battle against Kid Buu. Kid Buu, thanks to his full relentless evil and crazy stamina and regeneration ability, outlasts and defeats Super Saiyan 3 Goku, and wallops Vegeta and Fat Buu. The good guys use the Super Spirit Bomb (provided by the entirety of Planet Earth no less) as a last desperate effort, but even that isn't enough to stop Kid Buu, as he is strong enough to catch and actually push the Spirit Bomb back at Goku, who was too weak and exhausted from the fight before. If it weren't for Dende's wish to Porunga to restore Goku's strength, the fight would've ended right there. Of all the near villain victories in the series, Buu came dangerously close.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Because of Vegeta's anger and pride, he allows Babidi to control him and uses the power boost to goad Goku into a fight. Their battle ultimately waking up Buu and leading to everything that happened in the saga when the goal was to destory Buu before he woke up.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: After he's done holding back during their match, Spopovitch subjects Videl to a truly brutal one. In the anime version, he even keeps her from ringing out just so he can keep it up, and it's implied he's doing this as Revenge by Proxy for Mr. Satan defeating him in the previous tournament.
- Not Just a Tournament: The 25th World Tournament is host for a scheme to revive an ancient monster - one so powerful and evil, that God himself descends to the lower realm in an attempt to thwart it. The bad guys' plan works, and drastic measures are used by the side of good, both mortal and divine to stop the chaos.
- Not Quite Dead: Gohan is thought dead by much of the cast after his fight with Buu, but he narrowly survived and was taken away by Supreme Kai to recover.
- Now You Tell Me: Old Kai only says that the Potara fusion is permanent after the Supreme Kai and Kibito have demonstrated it.Kibito Kai: You mean I'm stuck this way?! note
- Obliviously Evil: If anything, this is the most disturbing aspect of Fat Buu: While he does have a mean streak, he acts more like a naughty child, and somehow managed to wipe out 4/5ths of the Earth's population before someone had the courage and initiative to explain to him that killing people is wrong. All he knew before then was what Bibidi and Babidi told him to do, which being scumbag wizards wouldn't exactly tell him to bake cakes across the universe or something. Once it was pointed out to him that those two are dead and that he doesn't have to listen to their orders, Buu immediately swears off killing. Subverted, with his later forms, which were either too evil and/or insane to care about people suffering and killed anyway.
- Oh, Crap!: Supreme Kai recognizing Kid Buu.
- Only Sane Man: Both Kaioshin's offers of more pragmatic methods are constantly being dismissed by the Saiyans' pride.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Between Gohan's supposed demise and the carnage that's likely to follow, Piccolo tries to kill Babidi. Though Babidi protests that only he can keep Buu from running wild, Piccolo is well-aware the monster has little regard for the wizard and will wreak havoc, regardless. Piccolo soon slices Babidi into pieces and leaves him for dead; it's only because of Buu's healing powers that he ultimately survives the experience.
- Pet the Dog: Fat Buu heals a blind boy's eyes, and later a dog named Bee. He's actually surprised that they feel grateful and are not scared of him, and it helps catalyze his Heel–Face Turn.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse:
- Goten and Trunks, both kid Super Saiyans (younger than even Gohan was when they first achieved it!). Naturally, when they fuse into Gotenks, he becomes a truly stand-out example, going toe-to-toe with a transformed Buu.
- Buu himself eventually becomes this as Kid Buu. May not be his strongest form, but between his lack of restraint and unpredictability, it's more than enough to overwhelm Goku and beat seven shades of crap out of Vegeta without showing any signs of slowing down.
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Vegeta's first order of business when he returns from the Other World is to relentlessly attack Buu, who has since transformed into Super Buu and absorbed Piccolo, Gotenks, and Ultimate Gohan. He quickly learns what a bad idea that is.
- Redemption Earns Life: After his Heroic Sacrifice, Vegeta earns a second chance at life thanks to Namek's wishing dragon Porunga.
- Reverse Cerebus Syndrome: There is noticeably more comic relief here than the previous sagas, from Gohan's disguise to Buu's general immaturity.
- Say My Name: Krillin screams Vegeta's name as he and Piccolo witnesses the Saiyan Prince sacrifice himself to destroy Majin Buu.
- Shipper on Deck: Krillin sometimes playfully teases Gohan when he notices him spending time with Videl.
- Skewed Priorities: Played for Drama: Vegeta succumbs to Babidi's magic, then demands to fight Goku, despite their battle to prevent Majin Buu's resurrection. The heroes assume it is because he turned evil again that Vegeta is doing this, but he even ignores Babidi's orders to kill the Supreme Kai (Babidi himself thinks this is a case of this). Goku decides to take up the challenge and fight Vegeta, while the others stop Babidi. Vegeta later reveals he was Not Brainwashed and only used Babidi to bring back his darker edge to become strong enough to battle Goku evenly, reasoning that Goku only has a day back on the living world for him to settle their rivalry. To no-one's surprise, this helped revive Majin Buu, and a set of Disaster Dominoes along the way.
- In a different like, this is pretty much Gotenks' entire MO. He doesn't really fight to save the universe from Majin Buu. He just fights to show off his amazing power and abilities. Gotenks spends the majority of the fight toying with Super Buu despite the latter still getting in powerful hits. What's even more absurd is that, at one point in the fight, Gotenks says that he doesn't have any more techniques that could defeat Super Buu and Piccolo was forced to make the decision to destroy the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, trapping all three of them in it forever. However, Gotenks then reveals he actually did have a super secret technique (Super Saiyan 3) but was waiting for the "right moment" to bring it out. Piccolo understandably chews out Gotenks for putting the entire world at stake just to make himself look cool as this extreme case of showing off ultimately leads to the rest of the surviving cast still on the Lookout to become Buu's buffet, including Bulma (Trunks' mom).
- So Last Season: First part of the season. The Supreme Kai waxes at length about how fearsome the warriors Babidi has under his control. The three Saiyans - Goku, Vegeta and Gohan practically laugh at them, and (with the exception of Gohan), easily beat them. Goku points out to the Supreme Kai that because they dealt with Cell seven years prior, Babidi's henchmen don't seem like much in comparison, save for Dabura - and even then, both Goku and Vegeta could have taken him on with marginally more effort than it took to beat the others. On the flipside, users relying on Super Saiyan 2 get worfed easily: Gohan uses it in his demonstration against Kibito and it only serves to have his power drained by Spopovich and Yamu note , Vegeta falls to Buu after his revival, and notably Goku doesn't even bother fighting Buu in the form, opting to take it a step further, with a new transformation and fusion alternatively when the options presented themselvesnote .
- Superpowered Evil Side: Evil Buu proves to be this once he is expelled from Fat Buu. Not only is Evil Buu a personification of the evil that was inside Fat Buu, he is also a source of his strength, as he dominates Fat Buu in a fight and proceeds to absorb him.
- Superpowerful Genetics: Similar to Gohan, Goten and Trunks inherits their Saiyan abilities from their fathers Goku and Vegeta, respectively. Unlike Gohan, who had to train to properly harness Super Saiyan, they are able to transform and harness this faster and more naturally than him. Gohan himself is surprised while Vegeta is a bit disappointed.
- Surprisingly Super-Tough Thing: The legendary power of the Z Sword is tested against a brick of Katchin, the densest metal in the universe. Everyone thinks it will be short work because not only is it a legendary sword, but everything in the universe is Made of Plasticine around the ridiculous power of the heroes. They all get a nasty surprise, though, when it breaks the sword.Goku: I guess it's not called "the hardest metal in the universe" for nothing...
- Sweet Tooth: The one thing that seems to be constant in all of Majin Buu's forms (except Kid Buu) is his love of sweets.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Goku and Vegeta in the Super Buu and Kid Buu Sagas.
- Throwing the Fight: A part in the tournament arc had 18 doing this against Mr. Satan to let him win and keep his fame and reputation. In exchange, he has to surrender his cash prize winnings.
- This Cannot Be!: Goku's talk of having reached a level beyond Super Saiyan 2 is questioned by his friends, being thought of as a mere head game to keep Buu off balance. Then they start to sense the increasing power, so they have this reaction.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Upon witnessing Goku transforming into Super Saiyan against Yakon, Babidi has one of his servants bring him a device which measures Power Levels and realizes that Goku's new form has a power level almost 4 times that of his minion. Babidi knew then his lackey was dead.
- Time Skip: The most notable of the series. Gohan is now a teenager, Chi-Chi has another son; Goten, Krillin has regrown his hair (to the surprise of the audience) and has a daughter, Marron, with 18 and present Trunks is now eight years old. Additionally, Dende appears to look much more like a teenager/young adult.
- Tournament Arc: An early part of the arc focuses on this.
- Trash the Set: During Gotenks' fight with Super Buu, the Lookout is completely demolished, something which Piccolo doesn't take well. Fortunately, it's restored when Earth is wished back.
- Weak Boss, Strong Underlings: While Babidi is very weak, what makes him a threat is that he can easily mind-control very powerful fighters, which he ends up doing to Vegeta. He also used to command the all-powerful Majin Buu, who could and did easily destroy him.
- Wham Episode: The wham changes keep going in this arc, and some of them completely own the Dragon Ball Universe forever.
- Notably, after being repeatedly threatened since Vegeta's attempted Rage Quit back in the Saiyan Saga, this is the first time the Earth has been destroyed completely.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The Z-Fighters get chewed out a few occasions:
- When Trunks is flying to Capsule Corp to retrieve the Dragon Radar, he stops to watch Goku's forthcoming battle with Majin Buu (via a spell Babidi was using that allowed every human on Earth to see them). Goku looks Trunks in the eye and yells at him to stop wasting time.
- Bulma calls the remaining Z-Fighters out after it seems that Goten and Trunks have been killed by Buu and Piccolo had destroyed the door to the Time Chamber to stop him escaping, trapping them in there forever. When Krillin cheerily states that Piccolo can just kill them and himself, then bring them back to life with the Dragon Balls, Bulma goes ballistic, and tears the rest of the Z-Fighters a new one, saying: "Are you even listening to yourself?! Relax, because they're trapped with a monster that could kill them!? They were children! They should have never been made to fight! You grown men left the fate of the Earth in their hands! I hope you're ashamed!" The original version of that speech is even more brutal. Bulma pulls no punches and flat out calls the rest of the Z-Fighters cowards!
- After Gotenks got absolutely pummeled by Majin Buu and returns to Kami's Lookout, Piccolo chews the hell out of Gotenks for charging at Majin Buu without coming up with a proper strategy or at least listening to his suggestions. Then when Piccolo destroyed the only exit to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gotenks goes nuts at Piccolo for doing so as he claims he still had a secret technique that could have killed Majin Buu even though he previously stated he had no strength left and his powers reached his limits. Piccolo then yells back at him for putting the world at risk just to put on more of a spectacle of a battle. This entire act kills off the rest of the surviving main cast still on the Lookout (except for Dende), including Bulma when Majin Buu escapes.
- Similarly, Vegito (Goku + Vegeta fused with the Potara earrings) is so busy toying with Buu that the latter gets the drop on him and turns him into a coffee candy ball. Old Kai berates him for this as it now seems Earth's last hope is about to be eaten. Fortunately, the attack backfires on Buu as Vegito retains all of his powers and speed and becomes a nearly impossible target for Buu to land a hit on, forcing Buu to transform him back into human form.
- When Kid Buu blows up the Earth, Vegeta chews out Goku for making a split second decision to save Mr. Satan, Dende and the dog Bee instead of Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo. For a more comedic version, Vegeta yells at Goku when he finds out Goku bribed Old Kai by saying he could cop a fell out of Bulma.
- The Worf Effect: All over the arc:
- Android 18 who felled Super Saiyan Vegeta in the Android Saga, and fought against Goten and Trunks disguised as Mighty Mask early on in the Tournament, is easily killed by Majin Buu (alongside her daughter) when he turns them into chocolate and she doesn't get a chance to fight him at all, with Krillin fighting the Majin in her place. note
- Kibito, who felt confident enough to goad Gohan into transforming into a Super Saiyan, is easily killed by Dabura. Piccolo and Krillin are also dispatched easily once he turns them into stone, Krillin later gets worfed again when going up against Majin Buu on the Lookout that results in him getting turned into a chocolate bar and eaten sending him into the Otherworld when he gets worfed a third time by Kid Buu who quickly smashes him into the ground and nearly kills him (and Yamcha) forever when the monster almost destroys the Grand Kai planet, which would have killed off everyone that died beforehand permanently.
- Dabura himself is worfed, as though he was evenly matched with Gohan, the recently revived Buu takes him out in two hits. Once Dabura recovers, and comes back for more, Buu turned him into a cookie and eats him.
- Gohan and the Supreme Kai together couldn't stop Buu. Made worse since even Piccolo didn't feel confident enough in fighting the Supreme Kai, and Gohan defeated Cell in the previous arc, albeit neglecting his training in the years that followed.
- Vegeta is likewise worfed as well, conclusively proving even the Super Saiyan 2 state is laughably outclassed by Buu. Seeing Buu's regeneration abilities, Vegeta opts to Superpower Meltdown, to blow Buu apart so completely that Buu can't come back from. But Buu even regenerates from that.
- The newly-merged Gotenks immediately heads off to challenge Buu, and gets his ass kicked easily, despite him being apparently ridiculously powerful, and Goku claiming that fusion would be the key to beat Buu. Although even Piccolo believed that they should fuse at full power (Super Saiyan) before confronting Buu, and Goku would've likely concurred.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Babidi does this constantly through the arc. Ironically, he had it happen to him by Buu himself.
