My Thoughts on the Buu Saga…
Article at a glance:
- A blast of nostalgia, but the critic brain kicks in. Rewatching DBZ Kai was a great time, even if some plot choices don’t hold up when you think about them.
- The Buu Saga is fun, but messy. It’s chaotic, tonally inconsistent, and far less tightly written than the Cell Saga—yet still enjoyable despite its flaws.
- Great character moments can’t fully save pacing and tone issues. Vegeta’s development shines, but the arc would’ve benefited from better focus and less tonal whiplash.
Right, so I recently finished rewatching DBZ Kai. And man, what a blast of Notalgia that was. I haven’t watched DBZ properly in like 10 years. Goes without saying that I thoroughly enjoyed myself; it basically turned me into a little kid again. But you know, I can’t turn off this critic brain at this point, and yeah, some things are downright stupid when you think about it. Like Goku randomly getting sick in the middle of the Android invasion, even though he had Trunks’ medicine. And well, then there’s the Buu Saga.
What can I say about the Buu Saga that hasn’t been said already? I understand now why people are so divided on it. But the truth is, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed it. Sure, much like Cell himself, the Cell Saga was perfect. And much like Buu himself, this arc was chaotic with the tone all over the place between existential dread and comedy. So here are my thoughts on it.
Look, I liked the Buu Saga BUT…
The tonal whiplash hits hard. It is SUCH a switch-up from the tightly written narrative structure of the Cell Saga. Cell legit feels like a horror movie villain at times, and that’s what makes his arc work so well. Now, yeah, Buu can be scary because he’s this fickle-minded being with insane power, and he’s immortal. But here’s the thing, Fat Buu doubling as a comic relief doesn’t help his case. Like if we had Kid Buu, the pure evil version for longer, I think the arc would’ve been a LOT better.
Even with the faster pacing of DBZ Kai, some parts feel needlessly long. So, I can only imagine how bad it must have been for people watching the OG DBZ anime weekly. And if I am not mistaken, the OG DBZ anime also has one or two filler arcs between the Buu Saga episodes. The whole tournament thing feels a little unnecessary. I get why it’s there and all, I get why all the stuff with Videl is important. But I think we could’ve gotten away with toning it down further so that we get to the Buu stuff faster.
Now, introducing magic and demons and all that Dragon Ball… think of what you will, I don’t really care about it that much. This isn’t the first time it has happened anyway. Also, there are some very blaring plot contrivances, but, again, all that is relatively minor compared to the tonal and pacing issues of this arc. I liked this arc; Vegeta’s character development was one of the best parts of it. The arc fits Buu as a character perfectly; it’s chaotic and whimsical just like him. I just think it could’ve been quite a bit better.
That is all for now
But yeah, enough yapping. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. Onto Dragon Ball Super now. And yeah, this is going to be one hell of a trip. I know how people feel about Super, and I am excited to lay down my own thoughts on it. With that said, I will take my leave here. See ya!
Also, check out my One Punch Man Season 3 review here!
