Moving into the Saiyan arc was when Toriyama actually thought the series might end (that's why he gave the 'Z' title to Toei, to respresent it ending soon).
Without the explosive popularity of the Saiyan arc, the series could very well have just ended not long after that rebranding, because that's what Toriyama expected.
It's actually fascinating reading about DB's history and finding out that despite being popular enough to last 16 volumes and have a long running anime, the series wasn't actually that popular by current standards.
So...how often have characters in Dragonball won fights through methods beyond being stronger than the other guy?
I mean, there's Goku killing Buyon by breaking a wall, freezing him solid, and then kicking him to pieces.
There's Upa and Puar beating Muay Thai Vampire man by making him eat Porcupine quills, standing the shape of a cross, and breathing garlic on him.
Technically the final fight with Vegeta was won via team work, with everyone (who was still alive) pitching in in some way: Goku did the bulk of the heavy lifting and damaged Vegeta with the Kaioken; Yajirobe cut off his tail, Gohan distracted him while Krillin fired off the Spirit bomb, and then of course, there's the Monkey Body Slam.
Oh right: I suppose the final fight with Buu counts as well. It was the strength of everyone on earth that won them that fight, with other characters once again pitching in to make it possible.
Anyone have some other examples?
One Strip! One Strip!I wonder how that meeting would have gone
And whether Cell would have been another of his creations to turn on him
edited 16th Feb '18 2:48:33 PM by Bocaj
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
<Shakes fist at Bocaj>
Damn you for pushing the thread to the next page. Now I gotta repost this:
I mean, there's Goku killing Buyon by breaking a wall, freezing him solid, and then kicking him to pieces.
There's Upa and Puar beating Muay Thai Vampire man by making him eat Porcupine quills, standing the shape of a cross, and breathing garlic on him.
Technically the final fight with Vegeta was won via team work, with everyone (who was still alive) pitching in in some way: Goku did the bulk of the heavy lifting and damaged Vegeta with the Kaioken; Yajirobe cut off his tail, Gohan distracted him while Krillin fired off the Spirit bomb, and then of course, there's the Monkey Body Slam.
Oh right: I suppose the final fight with Buu counts as well. It was the strength of everyone on earth that won them that fight, with other characters once again pitching in to make it possible.
Anyone have some other examples?
edited 16th Feb '18 2:50:29 PM by HandsomeRob
One Strip! One Strip!I thought he got his ass kicked, got shoved into the... POD, got a zenkai boost to be stronger than Zarbon
Forever liveblogging the AvengersHe got stronger, but didn't reveal that until he'd already weakened Zarbon enough for his power-up to be enough to finish it.
He says to himself, Zarbon's power has now fallen enough for Vegeta to finish off. It also shows how ki blast spam ISN'T useless like the fandom thinks, because that allowed Vegeta to overcome a more powerful opponent.
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That's not true at all. He punched Zarbon in the back, then pelted Zarbon with many blasts until he was weak enough to do the gut punch-ki blast finisher.
Most uses of it in the manga have had it be effective.
Vegeta uses it to overwhelm Gohan (admittedly, he has a power advantage there), he heavily damages Zarbon, Goku tries to block his own but is overwhelmed, Goku is able to hurt the stronger Perfect Cell and force him to expend a lot of energy on a barrier, Vegeta is able to pressure Super Perfect Cell until Vegeta runs out of energy and when using it against Pure Boo he's able to keep him pinned until Pure Boo breaks off and regenerates behind Vegeta to escape the blasts.
edited 16th Feb '18 3:18:01 PM by Saiga
Me thinks someone only remembers the abridged cut...
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.Here's Tenkaichi 4 (Super)
Some of da new models ain't so positive, and it gets pretty unorganized near the end.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.@ Bojac: I think the program-driven Imperfect Cell would be loyal. When he becomes perfect he wouldn't go out of his way to kill Gero, but if he does interfere his creator's life is forfeit. At the very least he wouldn't be sadistic about it. I think one of the reasons why he'd want to interact with Dr Gero is ask what his purpose is meant to be after he's perfect. I say this because in canon he has a moment where he wonders what he should do after becoming Perfect, settling on the Cell Games and killing everyone afterwards for something to entertain him
It's already been pointed out that that's not what happened so it's fine.
Yes. Vegeta notes that Zarbon's power fell a lot, and Zarbon says he's still stronger than Vegeta. '"Then'' Vegeta reveals his Zenkai has made him stronger, and they trade blows until he manages to pierce Zarbon's gut.
So the weakened Zarbon is still able to trade blows with Vegeta, who doesn't just instantly gut punch him.
edited 16th Feb '18 5:10:50 PM by Saiga
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- Cell: What is my purpose?
- Gero: You passed butter.
- Cell: Oh my Kami.
edited 16th Feb '18 5:10:22 PM by Cross

You mean the cast that was constantly expanding?