9 Dragon Ball characters with the most earned power-ups

In a franchise with power expansion features such as: dragon ballIt's not uncommon for characters to get power boosts that frankly aren't justified by the narrative. text dragon ball and early DBZ It's not all that bad in this respect, generally following a consistent thread of escalation, but with the introduction of Power Levels things get out of control and become somewhat irredeemable once Frieza is converted.

until the end Dragon Ball Z And for almost all the time dragon ball superYour character becomes stronger through power-ups that defy internal logic. modern dragon ball Basically, fans are asked to suspend disbelief and pretend that power scaling in the series has always been a nightmare, making heads or tails of new variants and power boosts.

9

Gotenks learned how to turn Super Saiyan 3 just by looking at Goku

Goku spent seven years training tirelessly in this world to learn Super Saiyan 3. After surviving for only a few days, Gotenks sensed that Goku was able to break the transformation while fighting Fat Buu. To Gotenks' credit, being a fusion and gag character can make the lock on Super Saiyan 3 less severe than other unobtainable power-ups.

Likewise, Gotenks immediately makes Goku's Super Saiayn 3 version look like a joke. Gotenks was already stronger than SSJ3 Goku in his normal Super Saiyan form, and after turning into Super Saiyan 3, he far surpassed him. What's worse is that Super Saiyan 3 accomplishes absolutely nothing because it toys with Super Buu for too long, dispersing him before he can kill him.

8

Piccolo went from being weaker than Nappa to being stronger than Frieza, Namek's second form.

Thematically, the merger of Piccolo and Nail on Namek is a powerful moment that reflects Goku's embrace of his Saiyan heritage. This is Piccolo finally understanding where he's coming from, symbolically accepting the plight of his people, and giving Frieza a cathartic beating. Unfortunately, Piccolo's power boost is meaningless from a power scaling perspective.

Piccolo was weaker than Nappa when he died, and spends all his time meditating on King Kai's planet. That means he couldn't have become much stronger on his own. When combined with Nail, Piccolo's power level skyrockets from 3,500 to a whopping 1,000,000. This is an increase of 28,471%, except Piccolo assimilates entire people to himself instead of training them. At least Goku and Vegeta's Zenkais were the result of hard work.

7

At the beginning of the Cell Saga, Super Saiyan Vegeta was stronger than Goku.

When Vegeta shows up to fight Android 19 at the beginning of the Cell Saga, he is actually stronger than Super Saiyan Goku and the Heart Virus has nothing to do with it. Despite training with Gohan and Piccolo during a three-year gap, Vegeta trains on his own and surpasses Goku simply by wanting to be a Super Saiyan bad enough.

This is despite Goku ever existing. far Stronger than Vegeta was at the end of the Namek Saga and when Mecha Frieza came to Earth. Vegeta should never have been able to catch up, but he used those three years to surpass his rival. Unfortunately for Vegeta, Goku would outsmart him for the rest of the year. Dragon Ball Z After training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

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6

Ultimate Gohan is worthless in Dragon Ball Z.

Gohan had greater potential than any other character. Dragon Ball ZSo while his ultimate form isn't all that surprising in the grand scheme of things, it's still pretty disappointing. Aside from some brief training before the Z-Sword breaks, Gohan sits on his ass for the better part of a day, allowing the Old Kai to draw out his latent power, unlocking his ultimate form.

This is an unsatisfactory method DBZThe most powerful character to unlock what was at the time the most powerful transformation. What's worse is that Ultimate Gohan accomplishes absolutely nothing. In the comics, he fights Super Buu for a few panels, then is slaughtered and absorbed by the Buutenks, killing him.

5

Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta from Dragon Ball DAIMA trivializes SSJ3.

Dragon Ball Daima There is a real problem with the conversion. It was just as exciting to see Vegeta finally unlock Super Saiyan 3. Daima not compatible at all dragon ball super Along the way) This is another case of Vegeta training so hard off-screen that he unlocks a whole new form.

Even worse, Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta has a minor worse form than Gotenks. doesn't exist The problem of stamina consumption that Super Saiyan 3 Goku did last time. Dragon Ball Z. Dragon Ball Daima You want the audience to accept that Vegeta is made differently. At least his original Super Saiyan debut was quickly humbled by Android 18. DBZBut Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta Daima It feels like we're faced with a power scaling of the series for the sake of fan service.

4

Super Saiyan Rage Future Trunks comes out of nowhere.

Future Trunks unlocks Super Saiyan Rage at the end. dragon ball super Needless to say, there are a lot of problems with the Goku Black Saga in the anime. Firstly, the format is not as much as mentioned in the series. It's not set, there's no foreshadowing, and the audience is left to assume that Trunks absorbed God Ki through his training with Vegeta. Second, it makes absolutely no sense. Super Saiyan Rage may have been a god form, but Future Trunks was not. that strong. He shouldn't be able to get a power boost that could split the fused Zamasu in two.

Lastly, Super Saiyan Rage Future Trunks fails to beat Zamasu. Instead, he ruins the timeline as Zamasu merges with the fabric of the multiverse, forcing Zeno to erase everything. Future Trunks is much weaker. dragon ball super Although it's a comic, he at least plays a major supporting role in the final battle without splitting the series' power scaling in two. That's a much more dignified thing to do than giving Trunks a cheap new form that accomplishes nothing and is never appreciated again.

3

Orange Piccolo is just shameless fan service.

Piccolo might be the king of power-ups without honestly trying hard enough. dragon ball. He spends almost all his money dragon ball supervisor Since he is seriously lagging compared to the Saiyans and new characters, Shenron must make a wish on the Dragon Balls to help him become stronger. Nonetheless, Shenron decided to add a little bonus: Orange Piccolo.

Orange Piccolo was not acquired with any abilities and exists because Akira Toriyama wanted Piccolo to finally compete with Goku and Vegeta after suffering for years at the bottom of the power expansion ladder. Despite the power-ups, Orange Piccolo ends up playing second fiddle to Gohan Beast. Dragon Ball Super: Super HeroesIt's basically a climax that repeats his defeat against Frieza on Namek.

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2

Gohansu is just a poor man's ultimate Gohan.

Ultimate Gohan at least forced Gohan to endure a ritual to unlock the form (including training with the Z sword beforehand). Gohan Beast, on the other hand, really comes out of nowhere. It doesn't help that Gohan unlocks the Beast after thinking Piccolo is dead. In Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, Gohan fails to unlock his new form when Moro nearly kills him. real father.

Before unlocking his Beast form, Gohan was weaker than Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and Jiren in the Tournament of Power. After unlocking the transformation, Gohan Beast once again became the most powerful Z-Fighter in the series. Currently, the only mortal more powerful than Gohan Beast is Black Frieza, who has at least put in the effort to get a power-up.

1

I'm not satisfied with Dragon Ball DAIMA's Goku unlocking Super Saiyan 4.

ever since Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Goku has confirmed that he has unlocked Super Saiyan 4 thanks to Neva's intervention, but honestly, the transformation is much less impressive. that Dragon Ball Daima In the anime, it appears that Goku has at least unlocked the form through training, but the problem is that this is still a form that Goku learned off-screen and held back until he needed to stake it.

part of what makes Dragon Ball DaimaSuper Saiyan 4's version feels so sterile and underwhelming, and it shows how satisfying this form's debut was. Dragon Ball GT. Goku unlocks Super Saiyan 4. Dragon Ball GT It took a lot of hard work and effort, and thematically connected to the Earthlings' roots and deep connection to Pan, making it one of the most moving moments of animation. super saiyan 4 son goku Daima It's nothing more than shallow hype and aura.

Posted by:

Akira Toriyama

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First broadcast date

February 26, 1986

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