Commentary: The Weakness Of ‘Dragon Ball’ Is Also Its Greatest Strength
by Frank Martin
A huge criticism of Dragon Ball and its subsequent follow-ups: it is just too long. Fights can last multiple episodes. In fact, several episodes may just consist of characters powering up in preparation for a fight. This has lead many critics of the show to mock it by showcasing characters screaming for minutes on end as they gather their energy. But there’s also no denying that Dragon Ball has some truly incredible moments and climaxes at the end of these long story arcs; so much so that, as the series tried to address this criticism later on, the shorter story lines lost some of its previous magic.
A great example of this can be seen in the two ways Dragon Ball addresses one of its main protagonists: Frieza (Daman Mills). In the original Dragon Ball Z, Frieza is a powerful villain who destroyed almost all the Saiyans. Disregarding Vegeta (Christopher Sabat) for the moment, it is possible to say that he’s the first true main villain of the series. It took a tremendous amount of episodes to build up to the moment Goku (Sean Schemmel) goes Super Saiyan while fighting Frieza and also the moment he finally destroyed Frieza for good. The iconic villain eventually returns in Dragon Ball Super, and although he appears in many episodes as a new and improved threat for Goku, the length of this new saga is a mere fraction of what it was previously.
It may be a bit of a slog to get through all of the Dragon Ball Z episodes to reach the incredible climax in Frieza’s demise, but it is totally worthy it. This long length of time, something the show is often criticized for, builds up suspense and tension in a way that has a great payoff. In many respects, it’s the show’s greatest strength. When the relatively new Dragon Ball Super tries to address this criticism by shortening the saga greatly, it loses that suspense. It’s still great to see Frieza power up to a higher level and humble Goku, who has achieved the same power level as a god, but Frieza’s demise in Dragon Ball Super is nowhere near as dramatic or profound because of this shorter storyline.
Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super are now streaming on Hulu.
