Dragon Ball as a franchise has never had consistent pacing. The manga is actually fairly consistently paced from start to finish. It’s fast, Toriyama uses every panel to its fullest, and no time is wasted– but it also goes by fast and certain story beats don’t have time to breathe. The anime, on the other hand, slows things down– sometimes to a crawl.
Then there’s Dragon Ball Super which ebbs and flows between taking its sweet time and rushing through all its content. There’s also no clear consensus among fans which pacing works best. The slower pace really does help the story breathe, but Dragon Ball is just more engaging at a faster pace. When it comes down to it, though, good pacing isn’t about speed. It’s about how well a story flows from beat to beat while offering information.
10 Best: Freeza (Manga)
In the case of Dragon Ball, good pacing also stems directly from good action. The Freeza arc is notorious for dragging in the anime, but that is not the case with the manga version of the arc. While the back-half is more or less dedicated exclusively to fighting Freeza, each chapter meaningfully moves the battle along while also showcasing how the main characters have grown.
To say nothing of the excellently paced first half, which jumps back & forth between Gohan and Vegeta both trying to get around Freeza’s army while hunting for the Dragon Balls. It’s a change of pace for the series, but one that really works considering how shaken the foundation was by Raditz’s introduction.
9 Worst: 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai (Anime)
Although Dragon Ball Z formally starts with the Saiyan arc, the DBZ staff actually began working on the series in earnest at the tail end of the original Dragon Ball anime adaptation with the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc– and it shows. While the original anime isn’t a perfect adaptation, it only really had pacing issues in the Red Ribbon Army arc.
The 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai essentially introduces everything that’ll plague Dragon Ball Z’s anime: long charge ups, slow panning, adapting chapters at a snail’s place. But, and this is a but that really only applies for this arc, because this is the introduction of these concepts, they’re not exactly unwelcome and offer an interesting interpretation of the tournament– albeit worse.
8 Best: 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai
The 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai’s story is told almost exclusively through the action– to the point where one could mistake the tournament for lacking a conventional narrative. But that isn’t the case whatsoever. At the core of the arc is a tale of two martial artists’ philosophies being challenged and embraced by a new generation of warriors.
Each match moves fast, wasting no time. Each match is also significant, giving weight to the tournament and gradually building up not only to an epic match between Goku and Tenshinhan, but the latter’s redemption as a martial artist. The anime adds in some filler to space the matches out a bit, but it’s a hit or miss endeavor.
7 Worst: Red Ribbon Army (Anime)
The Red Ribbon Army arc is already quite long in the manga, but outside of General Blue, nothing really outstays its welcome. Not the case with the anime adaptation with gruelingly drags out every single story beat in the Red Ribbon Army arc. Colonel Silver is expanded, Jingle Village is expanded, Goku’s time in West City is expanded… It’s all too much.
By the time General Blue shows up, the arc has worn its welcome. Worse yet, the anime butchers Goku’s rematch with Tao Pai Pai by featuring an intermission halfway through. It completely and utterly kills the pacing of the match. At least everything with Uranai Baba moves swift enough.
6 Best: 21st Tenkaichi Budokai
The 21st Tenkaichi Budokai earns serious points for dedicating its first third to actually building up the Tenkaichi Budokai– something no other tournament in the original series does. Audiences are given time to get to know Goku better while also learning more about Krillin, Roshi, and Lunch.
By the time the tournament begins, the matches feel like a breath of fresh air in a series that had yet to really indulge in martial arts. What’s better is the sun slowly setting over the course of the tournament, giving a very real impression that time is passing. It makes Goku and Jackie Chun’s sundown showdown all the more impactful.
5 Worst: Resurrection F
Whether it’s the substanceless movie, the promo tie-in manga that stops instead of ends, or the anime adaptation that frankly goes on for way too long and nearly ruined Dragon Ball Super before it began, Resurrection F is a true and utter disaster in every sense of the word. It may not be the worst paced story arc in Dragon Ball, but it’s the worst story overall.
It follows a basic, easy to follow, three-act structure, but doesn’t fill a single act with anything meaningful. The most the arc gives audiences is Whis’ “foreshadowing” for Ultra Instinct. Other than that, Resurrection F is a poorly paced mess that doesn’t know where to put fights, when to introduce characters, and how to weave a story.
4 Best: Saiyan
The Saiyan arc perhaps could have benefitted from spending some more time on the characters trying (more in the manga than anything,) but not doing so allows the story to move very naturally from Raditz’s introduction to training to the Saiyans arriving. The Saiyan arc very carefully builds up tension and unloads it before it can become too much or lose its potency.
Immediately killing off most of the supporting cast once the Saiyans land is an especially inspired move on Toriyama’s part that keeps the end of the arc considerably less cluttered than previous finales. More importantly, this allows the Saiyan saga to focus on the arcs and themes that really matter– ultimately resulting in a stronger story.
3 Worst: Freeza (Anime)
Of course, the anime’s Freeza arc would be featured here after what it did to audiences everywhere. Goku’s final fight with Freeza should have been the peak of Dragon Ball Z. It should have been the anime flexing as much as possible, but it couldn’t be. Because the anime was catching up to the manga.
As a result, Dragon Ball Z has to stall for time at the worst possible moment, resulting in a fight that moves at a snail’s pace and isn’t consistent enough visually to be all that engaging in Kai. This isn’t even taking into account the Freeza arc’s miserable filler both pre-Namek and on Namek.
2 Best: Hunt For The Dragon Balls
The Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc is rarely anyone’s favorite, but it’s the best structured and paced story arc in the series. Every single character plays a clear role and develops; not a single chapter is wasted on minimal plot development, the story always moving forward; and the hunt itself isn’t structured linearly, allowing the story to move organically.
At less than 30 chapters, this story arc is a breeze to read through. At the start of the series, the arc has some oddities, but it’s interesting to note how Toriyama’s style evolved after the first story arc. It seems he’s far more careful about his storytelling here, trying to actively ensure the plot moves in a manner that’s both logical and entertaining. Which it is!
1 Worst: Universe Survival
It doesn’t matter if it’s the anime or the manga, the Universe Survival arc is a total mess. Really, it’s the Tournament of Power’s fault more than anything. Everything before the tournament is quite good (especially in the manga.) The tournament itself is a wash, though, with the anime and manga offering two very extreme takes on it.
The anime is too slow, dedicating far too many episodes to a tournament with little to no depth or development. The anime is too fast, essentially ensuring there can be no depth or development. It’s a massive disappointment, especially since the Tournament of Power was teased so early in Dragon Ball Super’s run.