The Dragon Ball franchise is home to many of the most beloved fights in all of anime. However, in their efforts to praise their favorite anime, fans can sometimes get a little overzealous. In the process, they can wind up heaping praise upon fights that are underwhelming both compared to the battles around them, and when taken on their own.
There are plenty of fights in DBZ and Dragon Ball Super that don’t deserve any of the praise they get. Often, this is a result of fans valuing cool moments and spectacle over the qualities that actually make for a legendary fight, such as the narrative within them, their choreography, their animation, and how they contribute to the series as a whole. None of these brawls are terrible, but they’re definitely overrated, and not worth the hype.
The Z-Fighters vs Frieza is Fun and Exciting, But Pointless
Piccolo blocks a kick from Frieza in Dragon Ball Z.Image via Toei Animation
The Z-Fighters fighting an enemy they stand no chance against while buying time for Goku to arrive is a recurring element throughout Dragon Ball Z. Compared to the heroes’ struggles against Nappa and Recoome, though, Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo’s group effort against Frieza falls flat. While there are some fun moments, and Krillin and Vegeta get to display some solid strategy, the overwhelming gap in power between Frieza and his opponents makes the entire battle feel like padding.
There is absolutely no reason why any of the Z-Fighters should be able to stand against Frieza as long as they do, and the fact that, by the time Goku arrives, only Vegeta is on his deathbed is preposterous. When Nappa and Recoome fought the Z-Fighters, they were just as sadistic and eager to play with their food as Frieza, but they were far more efficient in brutalizing and dismantling their enemies, and that was without having the free-access transformations that Frieza does. This is without even mentioning how absolutely unnecessary Piccolo’s involvement, and Frieza’s second and third forms are, and how all of them could be removed from the arc, just by having Goku arrive sooner.
Vegeta vs Future Trunks vs Cell is a Series of Boring Beatdowns
Vegeta powers up his Final Flash in Dragon Ball ZImage via Toei Animation
The three-way fight between Vegeta, Future Trunks, and Semi-Perfect Cell is dramatic and flashy, but not especially well-written. The transition from Vegeta dominating Cell to being manipulated into helping him is handled brilliantly, and Future Trunks’ absolute failure against Perfect Cell is a great demonstration of what makes Goku and Vegeta smarter fighters than him, and how power isn’t everything. Everything before and after these moments, however, is a mixed bag.
The battle occurs at a poor time, directly after multiple other fights against Cell, with no time to breathe. There’s no quality fight choreography, and there’s nothing interesting about watching Vegeta easily beats up Cell, before Cell powers up and easily beats up Vegeta and Future Trunks. Some fans will point to the Final Flash as a crowning moment for the Saiyan Prince, but the fact it achieves nothing just makes it laughable.
Gohan vs Cell is a 10/10 Moment, But a Lackluster Fight
Gohan moments before transforming into Super Saiyan 2 in Dragon Ball Z.Image via Toei Animation
Gohan’s entire battle against Perfect Cell makes for one of the best-written series of episodes in the entire franchise. Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate to it being a good fight, let alone the best in DBZ, as it’s often hailed as. The contradiction comes down to the fact that nothing about what makes this sequence so outstanding has to do with the fighting within it.
Gohan vs Cell is a series of back-and-forth beatdowns, with Cell initially dominating the fight, before Gohan turns the table, only for Cell to take control back before the final beam struggle between the two warriors. There’s no back-and-forth and, especially compared to the previous fight between Goku and Cell, the choreography is lacking. Ironically, this is a case where making the fight better could have actually been worse for the story, as the entire run of episodes is perfect the way it is.
Goku vs Majin Vegeta Being Shown in Full Defeats the Point of the Fight
Goku and Majin Vegeta punch each other in the face in Dragon Ball Z.Image via Toei Animation
In the Dragon Ball manga, the fight between Goku and Majin Vegeta takes place almost entirely off-panel. While it’s impossible to say if this was done for narrative reasons intentionally, it definitely works in that capacity. Just as Vegeta is denied the satisfaction he craved from his selfishly-attained rematch with Goku, so too are fans denied the chance to witness a battle they’d long desired to see.
In Dragon Ball Z, Goku vs Majin Vegeta is shown in full and, to its credit, it’s one of the best-animated and best-choreographed fights in the series. However, it does miss out on the meta narrative that the manga beautifully weaved, and the portrayal of Vegeta, especially in the English Dub, misses the point of what Akira Toriyama was going for in the scene entirely. Vegeta is meant to be at his most pathetic and laughable during his temper-tantrum turn to darkness, but DBZ makes Majin Vegeta come off as cool and empathetic to many fans instead.
Gohan vs Super Buu is the Worst Fight in Dragon Ball Z
Gohan punches Super Buu in the stomach in Dragon Ball Z.Image via Toei Animation
The Buu Saga is often cited as the low-point of DBZ, and Gohan vs Super Buu is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the Buu Saga. This fight pits the least interesting version of Gohan, one who acts nothing like his normal self, against the most boring version of Buu, and the result is as sleep-inducing as one could predict. Even the action is bland, especially compared to Buu’s previous fight against Gotenks, and his subsequent fight against Vegito.
That anyone finds Ultimate Gohan awesome at all is a head-scratcher, when nothing about Gohan’s appeal has to do with him being a cocky, trash-takling muscle head. That Gohan spends much of the arc absent after initially being set up as its protagonist, only to come back as a completely different person, but one who still makes the same mistakes he did as a child, is just sad. Gohan goes down in a downright embarrassing way and, with this being his final major fight of DBZ, it’s a tragic way for him to go out.
Every Single Fight Against Goku Black and Zamasu is a Disaster
The Future Trunks Saga of Dragon Ball Super is primarily composed of a series of fights between Goku, Vegeta, and Future Trunks, and Goku Black and Zamasu. Visually, these fights are inconsistent, with some mediocre, others being some of the most gorgeously animated in the franchise, and a handful possessing downright inspired choreography. Across the board, the issues have to do with the writing.
The Saiyans’ inability to ever finish their plentiful fights against the gods makes things repetitive and frustrating, and it isn’t as if each battle is strong narratively in its own right. Rarely anything is ever achieved, it’s impossible to ever actually tell how much danger a character is in with how little a fighter “running out of energy” ever means, and fan-service moments like the return of Vegito wind up being entirely pointless. Both of Future Trunks’ power-ups, Super Saiyan Rage and the Sword of Hope, also come out of nowhere, and the aftermath of his victory over Fused Zamasu is the most out-of-place, overly bleak moment in the franchise.
Master Roshi’s Tournament of Power Run Undercuts the Stakes and His Own Character Arc
One of the most praised aspects of the Tournament of Power is Master Roshi’s return to action, and his superb performance in the competition. While it’s understandable why some fans would enjoy this, they clearly don’t care how much this goes against the story of the original Dragon Ball. Master Roshi’s retirement, his passing of the torch to Goku and Tien, and his failed sacrifice against King Piccolo were all beautiful moments that perfectly wrapped up his character arc, and having him not only fight again, but seemingly appear stronger than Tien ruins that.
While it’s true that the Universe Survival Saga wasn’t the first time Master Roshi fought in modern times, his role in the Resurrection ‘F’ Saga could easily be written off as some quick fan-service, and his role was limited to beating up Frieza Force grunts. He certainly wasn’t standing his ground against Frost, decimating Team Universe 4 or, in the manga, going toe-to-toe with Jiren. Roshi doing all of this just makes the stakes feel smaller, and that’s without getting into how unlikable he’s made out to be just before the ToP begins.
Vegeta vs Top Ruins its Great Premise With a Lazy Finale
God of Destruction Top looms over the competition in Dragon Ball SuperImage via Toei Animation
Vegeta vs Top is the Saiyan Prince’s biggest one-on-one fight in all of Dragon Ball Super. It’s also a fight with a fantastic concept as, after being worn down by multiple former and current villains from Universe 7, Universe 11’s ultimate hero of justice is left with no choice but to let him be corrupted by godhood in order to keep up. Tragically, Dragon Ball Super chooses to do nothing interesting with this premise, in favor of cashing in on nostalgia.
Like nearly all Vegeta fights, the actual combat in this battle is sub-par. That’s much less of an issue than the fact that, after Top’s transformation, any and all meaningful drama vanishes, and no character development occurs on Vegeta’s side of things. The fight finishing with a Final Explosion that doesn’t even kill Vegeta is cheap and unsatisfying, and this clearly should have been the moment he unlocked Super Saiyan Blue Evolution instead.
Goku and Vegeta vs Granolah vs Gas is a Slog From Start to Finish
Ultra Ego Vegeta headbutts Granolah in Dragon Ball Super mangaImage via Shueisha
The majority of the issues with the brawl between Goku, Vegeta, Granolah, and Gas all come from the pacing of the Granolah the Survivor Saga. Every bit of interesting story and plot in the arc is crammed into its first half. This leaves the back-half of the arc to be composed of the most mindless fighting the franchise has ever seen.
With zero interesting powers between them, Goku, Vegeta, Granolah, and Gas all just keep punching each other, as they fight to see who’s the strongest in the universe. True Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego do debut here as power-ups, but they also achieve nothing and mean nothing. Gas and Granolah’s characters also don’t help, with them being two of Toyotarou’s least interesting creations.
Gohan and Piccolo vs Cell Max is a Boring Rehash of the Cell Saga’s Finale
The most recent fight in the Dragon Ball Super anime is one of the flashiest in the franchise, and also one of the most underwhelming. From the jump, Cell Max just being a mindless kaiju is a waste, but it’s a choice that could have made sense considering Piccolo, the protagonist of the Super Hero movie, has the power to grow to giant-size. It’s thus a shame that Piccolo winds up side-lined at the climax of his own film, in favor of Gohan.
The events of the fight against Cell Max largely just copy from Gohan’s original fight against Cell. The Z-Fighters are presented as useless, and a close friend of Gohan being seemingly killed allows him to ascend to a new form which can easily overpower the ultimate android. Gohan Beast is a weak design, the choreography of the battle is lame, and Gohan getting a bit of character development and finally mastering his rage doesn’t make up for any of the fight’s issues.