Dragon Ball 5 Arcs That Are Better In The Anime (& 5 Better In The Manga)

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is a beast of its own in print, masterfully making use of the manga medium– something the anime expertly recognized.

When it comes to Dragon Ball, it’s important to recognize that the original manga and subsequent anime adaptation ultimately offer very different interpretations of the same story. Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is a beast of its own in print, masterfully making use of the manga medium– something the anime recognized and adapted around for the most part.

There’s also something to be said for the sheer high quality presentation of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Both series have an all-star cast in Japanese along with presentation that often brings out the best of the series. As the anime aired while the manga was running, however, it wasn’t unusual for Dragon Ball to fall back on filler. The best arcs understand that concessions must be made for different mediums, while the worst fail to capture the brilliance of their source material.

10 Anime: Hunt For The Dragon Balls

Akira Toriyama’s commitment to visual detail at the start of the series is truly incredible, but it’s clear that Dragon Ball is still finding its voice & identity as both a manga and a story. Adapting the series after it had already gained its legs, the Dragon Ball anime opens with a very clear voice. There’s a mysticism at the heart of the series with a clear respect for the martial arts.

The early anime’s direction is also downright masterful, arguably elevating the material with now iconic voice acting and a legendary score by Shunsuke Kikuchi. The anime also uses filler remarkably well early on, fleshing out beats the manga rushed over in order to better define the cast.

9 Manga: Red Ribbon Army

For as strong as the anime starts, it begins running into trouble around the Red Ribbon Army arc where a copious amount of filler weighs down an already lengthy saga. Any pacing issues the arc might have are completely absent in the manga, where Goku’s war against the Red Ribbon Army keeps picking up the pace as it plows along.

No section outstays its welcome, Tao Pai Pai redefines drama in Dragon Ball, and Uranai Baba’s Tournament lends Goku one of his most emotional moments in the series. The anime drags the plot out too much to appreciate everything the arc has to offer– a pity considering the perfect blend of adventure & action in the manga.

8 Anime: Demon King Piccolo

The Dragon Ball manga’s fast pace doesn’t always benefit the story and the Demon King Piccolo arc is arguably hit the worst by Akira Toriyama’s pacing. Every major beat moves at a breakneck pace, from Goku’s defeat at the hands of Piccolo to the mass death surrounding the Demon King’s wish. It makes for an exciting, downright thrilling read for a first go, but the story isn’t as tightly put together under scrutiny.

The anime helps soften the arc’s edges by not only giving Tenshinhan a more substantial role in the finale, but by dedicating time to the arc’s finer details. Roshi’s Dragon Ball hunt with Ten & Chaozu is now shown, as are more consequences to Piccolo taking over the world and a longer training session for Goku heading into the final battle.

7 Manga: 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai

Although Dragon Ball Z formally began with the Saiyan arc, the staff who would lead the charge on DBZ started spearheading the anime with the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. The tournament isn’t as slow paced as the sequel anime would become, but episodes now center too intimately around certain beats without bringing anything substantial to the table. It ends up holding back an otherwise fantastic story arc.

Without the anime’s hang ups, the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai is a non-stop thrill ride in the manga. Goku’s fight with Piccolo was the single longest battle Dragon Ball had seen at that point, but the choreography is so tight and the pacing so smooth, it hardly feels like the tournament’s final match covers nearly two volumes worth of material. Presentation is the key to good storytelling.

6 Anime: Saiyan

It’s worth pointing out that the Saiyan arc is the peak of both the manga and the anime when it comes to Dragon Ball. The former is Akira Toriyama mastering the medium and his craft to offer what is arguably the single best story in Dragon Ball. The anime, however, is a near perfect adaptation that does an excellent job at expanding Gohan’s character (with a shocking amount of foresight) and featuring movie quality animation & direction for all the key moments.

The anime deserves particular mention over the manga for handling Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu’s deaths with greater emotional weight. In the manga, their deaths are shocking but not all that sad. Not so in the anime where viewers will have spent a considerable amount of filler time with the Earthlings. It lends to an adaptation that respects & even elevates its source material.

5 Manga: Frieza

Dragon Ball Z’s outstanding head start falls flat on its face by the time the main characters are fighting Frieza on Namek. By this point in the series, the anime had caught up too close to the manga and had no choice but to force in filler. Tragically, this coincided with the final fight against Frieza, destroying the base of the arc’s most important fight.

While Goku’s final battle against Frieza is still quite long in the manga, it’s the perfect length for the fight. Each chapter is dedicated to a proper beat that moves the story along and the action is excellently drawn from start to finish. Watching Goku defeat Frieza so expertly is also especially cathartic in the manga.

4 Anime: Majin Buu

For as creative and eclectic as the Majin Buu arc is, it’s also clear that Akira Toriyama was losing interest in Dragon Ball. One only needs to look at the fight choreography to see that in spades. Battles are still wonderfully drawn and crisp, but they’re also much shorter & often lack the discernable arcs that once defined the action.

The anime’s interpretation of the Buu arc is still quite hit or miss– mostly on account of filler introducing some nasty plot holes– but the presentation manages to pick up for the grand finale and spending more time with the cast is actually welcome considering this is the end of DBZ.

3 Manga: Cell

The anime’s adaptation of the Cell arc is ultimately better than the anime’s Namek arc, but it pales in comparison to the manga. To its credit, the anime’s Cell arc features some decent filler leading into the Cell Games, but everything falls apart during the actual tournament. Mr. Satan ends up taking up a host of screen time with anime-exclusive characters, undercutting the arc’s drama.

The manga version of the Cell arc doesn’t have this problem, moving at a much brisker pace overall. The anime does admittedly have the better Super Saiyan 2 transformation, but the manga tells a better story with tighter pacing in the grand scheme of things.

2 Anime: Universe Survival

Dragon Ball Super’s monthly schedule as a manga has never done the series any favors, but the consequences of the serialization weren’t truly felt until the end of the Universe Survival arc. In the anime, the Tournament of Power’s ending is given a considerable amount of focus & care– fitting considering the whole arc centered around it.

In the manga, the Tournament of Power and Universe Survival arc end mid-chapter. Worse, the story doesn’t transition into Broly, but instead skips over it, beginning the Moro arc right away. It frankly takes the wind out of the tournament’s sails.

1 Manga: Goku Black

The anime’s adaption of the Goku Black arc ultimately makes better use of Future Trunks than the manga, but the manga is the better story. Zamasu & Goku Black’s characterization are more consistent, Trunks’ role in the story still makes sense, and Goku is written much, much better than he was in the manga.

The manga’s version of the Goku Black arc simply features better action as well. While Vegetto’s fight is admittedly better in the anime, virtually every other major encounter is far superior in print. Goku’s final battle with Merged Zamasu deserves particular praise. It may replace Trunks’ final showdown, but it’s one of the best battles in DBS.