DBZ’s Worst-Written Saga is Better Than Dragon Ball Super’s Absolute Best

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Over time, the Dragon Ball series hasn’t consistently lived up to the high standards that made it so popular. While Akira Toriyama’s original Dragon Ball manga is consistently excellent, later installments have been uneven in quality. Dragon Ball Super is a good example – even at its best, it doesn’t quite reach the level of Dragon Ball Z.

Watching Dragon Ball Super, I often felt like it just didn’t quite reach the heights of the original DBZ. To illustrate this, even the strongest story arc in Super – the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga – doesn’t measure up to what I consider the weakest arc in DBZ, the Buu Saga. In almost every aspect, the Buu Saga is better written, and while the Galactic Patrol Saga has a few strengths, they don’t really compensate for its overall weaknesses.

Dragon Ball Z’s Buu Saga is a Sloppy, But Wonderful Send-Off to Goku & His Friends

Both the Cell Saga and the Buu Saga have flaws, but the Buu Saga is generally considered weaker from a storytelling perspective. It struggles with a clear focus, constantly changing its central conflict and main character. The saga introduces too many unnecessary characters and concepts, its themes are muddled, the pacing is very slow, and the primary villain isn’t very compelling. Despite these issues, Akira Toriyama managed to make the Buu Saga successful.

The Buu Saga successfully mixes the intense action and drama of Dragon Ball Z with the playful, sometimes silly humor of the original Dragon Ball. This creates an arc filled with powerful emotional moments – like the satisfying conclusion to Vegeta’s story – and well-developed storylines for newer characters like Mr. Satan. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, often playfully referencing DBZ‘s quirks. While the saga occasionally lacks a clear focus, it more than makes up for it in entertainment value. From the antics of the Great Saiyaman to the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament and the different forms of Buu, each part is genuinely fun. Even the sections that seem like detours, like focusing on Gohan and Gotenks, feel purposeful in the end, contributing to the saga’s perfect climax. Despite any flaws, the arc is consistently charming and features incredible fights, such as Goku versus Majin Vegeta and Gotenks versus Super Buu.

Dragon Ball Super’s Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga is Only a Great Dragon Ball Story On Paper

The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga is easily the strongest story arc in Dragon Ball Super. Unlike many of the other arcs – which either retell movies or focus on tournaments, similar to the Future Trunks and Granolah the Survivor Sagas – this saga, originally published in manga, feels most like the classic Dragon Ball adventures. While it’s a good story and successfully captures the feel of Dragon Ball Z, it doesn’t quite reach the epic heights of the Saiyan, Frieza, Cell, and Buu Sagas that made those arcs so memorable.

The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga boasts a truly unique villain and storyline, packed with exciting battles and a stunning finale. It also expands the Dragon Ball universe with compelling new background information and surprising twists, all while giving meaningful moments to almost every character fans love. Despite these strengths, the arc falls a bit flat emotionally – it feels like something is missing at its core, and several issues hold it back from being truly great.

Dragon Ball Z’s best storylines focus on the characters themselves, not just the big battles. We connect with the Z-Fighters because of their personal growth, even in flawed sagas like the Buu arc, which explores themes of human nature, what we leave behind, and even critiques the series itself. The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga attempts this same approach, but fails because Goku and Vegeta have already reached their character limits. The emotional burden falls on Merus, who isn’t compelling enough to carry the story. This saga feels empty in other ways too – most of the Z-Fighters could be removed without impacting the plot, and the villain, Moro, is a weak character, lacking originality and feeling too similar to previous antagonists like Perfect Cell and Super Buu.

The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga of Dragon Ball Super is decent, but it’s just a slightly better-than-average action story. Without the Dragon Ball name, it wouldn’t be mentioned alongside the best in the genre. In comparison, while the Buu Saga is a bit chaotic, it’s still widely talked about and remains visually memorable even now.

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2025-11-08 20:39