Dragon Ball has been around for almost 40 years now, and it’s amassed a large number of story arcs. Most of them, of course, were part of the original anime and manga, but as the franchise has evolved, its canon has started to include movies and even new anime and manga content from Akira Toriyama and other talented creators.

There are over a dozen story arcs within Dragon Ball’s canon, and some are naturally better than others. While each fan will always have a subjective opinion and their favorite arcs, factors like story content, how the characters involved in each arc are utilized, and the entertainment value of the fights, there’s a hierarchy at play with Dragon Ball’s story arcs and plenty of merit to ranking them.

Non-canon stories like Dragon Ball GT and the original movies won’t be included, nor will one-off stories like Dragon Ball Minus and The History of Trunks. Also, every ranking is subjective, so a story arc’s placement shouldn’t be seen as a definitive statement of its quality for anyone who might think differently.

19. Golden Frieza Saga

Of all of Dragon Ball’s arcs, the one that stands out as the worst is the Golden Frieza Saga. Whether it’s the movie or the anime, the story is filled with senseless padding and questionable art and animation, so it quickly becomes tiresome to sit through. What’s worse is that despite the story being Frieza’s big return to the franchise, he’s largely treated as a joke by the narrative, and his unceremonious defeat has the biggest contrivances and anticlimax of the entire franchise. Everything that should have made the Golden Frieza Saga work fails from its terrible execution, and as such, it’s easily the worst arc in the franchise.

18. Emperor Pilaf Saga

The Emperor Pilaf Saga’s placement, along with other Dragon Ball-era arcs, is less because it’s a bad story and more because of what it’s lacking. As the very first story arc in Dragon Ball, the Emperor Pilaf Saga is, naturally, much rougher than the arcs that would follow in terms of action, comedy, characterization, and overall writing. That isn’t to say it’s not entertaining, as it’s still a great introduction to Dragon Ball, but it’s clear that Akira Toriyama still needed time to figure out how things were going to work, so it’s hard to justify putting it ahead of the arcs where the writing was far more concrete.

17. World Tournament Saga

Dragon Ball’s second story arc, the World Tournament Saga, is a definite step above the Emperor Pilaf Saga, but it’s still not without its flaws. With the World Martial Arts Tournament, Dragon Ball started better developing the martial arts elements that would define the franchise, and the fights are appropriately entertaining, especially Goku and Master Roshi’s. However, the fights still lack the polish that later ones would have, and while the comedy and overall writing are good, there are still numerous moments where it feels noticeably weak. All of it results in a story arc that doesn’t rank very highly but is still a step in the right direction.

16. Red Ribbon Army Saga

The Red Ribbon Army Saga, while still being weak, is another step above its predecessors. While the writing still needed polishing at this point, it does a much better job of establishing how the characters and the world would behave, especially Goku. The addition of the titular Red Ribbon Army also worked well to show how varied Dragon Ball could be with its stories and the action that accompanies them, and as such, the inventive ways with which Goku deals with every enemy adds a lot of life to the story. The Red Ribbon Army Saga still doesn’t hit the franchise’s highs, but it has plenty to offer, nonetheless.

15. Tien Saga

The Tien Saga is where Dragon Ball truly began to find its footing. While it still had trouble with pacing and anti-climax, the more serious tone of the saga still lent itself to both great fights and stellar character moments. Tien’s character arc of abandoning his villainous ways is especially good for how well-executed it is from start to finish, something that would undoubtedly play a big part in his character still being held in such high regard after so many years. The roots of what sort of writing would define Dragon Ball are especially apparent in the Tien Saga, and as such, it ends up deserving plenty of praise.

14. Saiyan Saga

The Saiyan Saga was the first story arc of Dragon Ball Z, and its quality is appropriately mixed. The increased intensity of the action and stakes perfectly set things apart from the original Dragon Ball era, and there is never truly a dull moment to be found. However, most characters who are not Goku end up contributing very little to the plot, and similar to the Emperor Pilaf Saga, it’s clear that Akira Toriyama still needed time to work out how everything would work going forward. There are plenty of rough patches to be found, but even so, the Saiyan Saga is a great start to Dragon Ball Z.

13. Piccolo Jr. Saga

The Piccolo Jr. Saga was the grand finale of Dragon Ball, and there’s a lot to praise for it. The action is some of the best-choreographed in the entire franchise, and it provides a great bridge between the differing styles of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. The story, however, is very simplistic and largely an extension of the King Piccolo Saga, with Piccolo mostly being a copy of King Piccolo at this point, so a lot of the dramatics have trouble landing. Even so, between Goku’s becoming a champion and marrying Chi-Chi, it still did an excellent job of closing out Dragon Ball and setting up Dragon Ball Z.

12. Future Trunks Saga

The Future Trunks Saga had an incredible start, but it ultimately failed to live up to any of it. In addition to bringing back a fan-favorite like Future Trunks, the mystery of Goku Black presented an engaging conflict for the series, and the lengths Goku and Vegeta had to go to deal with him did a lot to add genuine weight to the story. Unfortunately, the ending of the story is filled with terrible contrivances that not only ruin the goodwill of what came before it, but everything Future Trunks has ever done, and that brings what could have been an amazing story down to a far more middling ranking.

11. Universe 6 Saga

The Universe 6 Saga was the first wholly original story arc of Dragon Ball Super, and it has a lot going for it. On the negative side, it’s one of the most egregious examples of Goku and Vegeta hogging the spotlight, as the story seems to deliberately go out of its way to keep everyone other than them on the sidelines. That being said, the story still does a good job of introducing Super’s multiverse gimmick, and the fights are all fun to watch, especially Goku and Hit’s, so while it might be a weaker arc, the Universe 6 Saga still has plenty of merit.

10. King Piccolo Saga

While the King Piccolo Saga is one of the earliest sagas in the franchise, it easily stands out as one of the best. The dark tone of the story made for an arc that worked well to push Goku to his physical and emotional limits, and King Piccolo, despite the lack of depth for him and the story surrounding him, is an appropriately menacing villain who perfectly exemplifies how serious the story was starting to become. Add in some incredible action that gave a good preview of what the combat would start to evolve towards, and the King Piccolo Saga is easily the peak of the Dragon Ball-era stories.

9. Granolah The Survivor Saga

The Granolah the Survivor Saga of the manga is a markedly different story than what Dragon Ball is known for. The main focus is on the character writing for Goku, Vegeta, and the titular Granolah, and the development they receive does a lot to give the story a different feel from its predecessors. Unfortunately, the action ends up suffering as a result of that, as Gas and the Heeters end up being little more than vehicles for everyone’s development and very quickly bring the story to a crawl. Even so, the Granolah the Survivor Saga adds a lot to the franchise, and its ending, with the terrifying debut of Frieza Black, perfectly sets up something even better for the future.

8. Buu Saga

As the original finale to Dragon Ball, there’s plenty to discuss about the Buu Saga, both positively and negatively. Vegeta’s character arc is brought to a close in as satisfying a way as possible, and Majin Buu is an excellent blend of goofiness and menace who adds a lot of creativity to every fight. Unfortunately, the story is one of Dragon Ball Z’s weaker ones; in addition to lacking a clear direction until Babidi appears, the way it makes Goku the hero again is disappointing for anyone who wanted something different, especially after Gohan was teased as the new protagonist. The Buu Saga has a lot to offer, but it’s no wonder why it’s still seen as so divisive.

7. Battle Of Gods Saga

The Battle of Gods Saga was the first story of Dragon Ball Super, and there’s a lot to praise it for. While Beerus can be something of a grating character in his introduction, especially with all the way he retcons the franchise, he’s a great antagonist whose fight with Goku perfectly shows off just how far Goku still needs to go in the series. Said fight is also beautifully animated and choreographed, and while the Super Saiyan God transformation doesn’t live up to its hype in its initial appearance, it’s still a sight to behold, and the story surrounding it does wonders to set up Dragon Ball’s new status quo.

6. Universe Survival Saga

As the grand finale of the Dragon Ball Super anime, the Universe Survival Saga, also known as the Tournament of Power, has a lot to offer. The story is very simplistic, and with how long it is, it definitely drags for a lot of its run and can get overly repetitive, but it does a great job of giving characters other than Goku and Vegeta something to do for the most part, especially Frieza. The art and animation are also consistently great, with Ultra Instinct, in particular, looking incredible whenever it appears, and it all comes together to make for a story that perfectly captures the spirit of Dragon Ball.

5. Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga

The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga was the first manga-original story of Dragon Ball Super, and it’s of appropriately high quality. Moro stands out as a unique adversary for Goku and Vegeta, and while his character devolves into unfortunately familiar archetypes, the fights surrounding him are still great. Additionally, Vegeta’s character arc of wanting to atone for his past gives him the most depth he’s had for years, as does Goku’s friendship with Merus and how it fleshes out both characters, and it all provides a welcome change of pace for the franchise. All in all, despite its flaws, the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga is easily one of the franchise’s best.

4. Broly Saga

The Broly Saga, better known as Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is easily one of Dragon Ball’s best stories, despite its lack of depth. The story offers very little and is essentially just one long fight with the bare minimum of setup, but the fight is so beautifully animated that it ends up not mattering in the slightest. Even with that, however, Broly does get plenty of character work that both sets him apart from the original version and finally makes him an endearing character in his own right. As a movie made to bring into canon two fan-favorite characters, Broly and Gogeta, the Broly Saga exemplifies what the Dragon Ball franchise is all about: giving fans what they want.

3. Super Hero Saga

The Super Hero Saga, developed in the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and then in the Dragon Ball Super manga, is very antithetical to the Broly Saga before it. While the Broly Saga focused largely on fighting, the Super Hero Saga focused largely on story and characters, and the execution is surprisingly great for giving old and new characters alike plenty of depth, especially Piccolo, who’s essentially the main character. Even with that, of course, the fighting is still plenty great, and the CGI animation allowed for some of the franchise’s most inventive choreography yet. It all makes for a very unique story for Dragon Ball and a perfect showing of how creative the series can still be.

2. Android Saga

The Android Saga is one of the most iconic stories in the series, and unsurprisingly, it’s one of the franchise’s best. The Androids and Cell are easily some of the best antagonists in the series, and every fight with them stands out tremendously thanks to the choreography and overall scale. The story is also great, as not only did it brilliantly subvert the formula surrounding Goku, but it brought Gohan’s ongoing arc to a conclusion in an incredibly dramatic fashion. That, of course, is brought down by how Gohan has been handled in the years since, but on its own, it still makes the Android Saga one of the franchise’s best.

1. Namek Saga

Of all of Dragon Ball’s stories, the one that stands out as the best is the Namek Saga. The Namek Saga greatly built off the Saiyan Saga with more dramatic stakes and appropriately dangerous villains, especially Frieza, whose despicable actions would make him the most iconic villain of the franchise. Goku’s fight with Frieza is also one of Dragon Ball’s best, and the moment where he became a Super Saiyan was a perfect cap off to the original myth arc of Dragon Ball Z. All in all, it’s easy to see why the Namek Saga is still held in high regard after so many decades.

As simplistic as Dragon Ball might seem, there’s actually a great variety to its story arcs and the events that transpire within them. From the largely simple comedic stories of Dragon Ball to the bombastic battles and sci-fi leanings of Dragon Ball Z and beyond, each story arc does a lot to mix up genres and themes, so they never truly repeat themselves. Comparing them comes down primarily to execution, which some arcs definitely do better than others. The result is a varied experience for anyone who engages with Dragon Ball’s story arcs, and it’s something perfectly befitting the longevity of the franchise.

Source: Screenrant.com