Highlights
- The Buu Saga, the final arc of Dragon Ball Z, is considered the weakest in the series by many fans, but it still played a significant role in the franchise’s success.
- The Buu Saga introduced new characters like Spopovich, Yamu, and Majin Vegeta, and showcased the fusion technique with Goten and Trunks.
- The arc concluded with the destruction of Kid Buu, saving the universe and marking the end of the Dragon Ball Z series.
While the original Dragon Ball had already made a name for itself as a well-loved series, the franchise really took off with the introduction of Dragon Ball Z. Each arc of Z was some of the best and most memorable content that fans have ever gotten from the property, and it proved to be so popular that the series reached international fame, making it one of the highest-grossing and successful anime franchises ever.
The final arc of Dragon Ball Z was the Buu Saga. While still loved and remembered fondly, many fans of the series speak about this arc as the weakest in all of Z, owing to several factors. However, the Buu Saga stood on its own two feet and was worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the other arc of Z, so let’s break down the arc and see why it was so important.
A Peaceful World and a New Threat
Earth Heals After the Destruction of Cell
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Arc Start |
Dragon Ball Z, Episode 195, “Warriors of the Dead” |
|---|---|
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Time Passed After Cell Saga |
7 Years |
After the defeat of Cell at the hands of Super Saiyan 2 Gohan, the world is now at peace. Gohan himself has grown up and is studying at high school, though he still fights for justice under the guise of ‘The Great Saiyaman’ since there had not been another major threat since the defeat of the Android. On that front, things are relatively quiet, leading to there not even being a need for the Z-Fighters.
Due to this, many of the Z-Fighters take part in the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. However, unbeknownst to them, Goku returns from the Otherworld to briefly spend time with his friends and family, as well as participate in the tournament. However, it is here that he and the remaining Z-Fighters find something amiss about the whole thing after seeing 2 fighters with the letter ‘M’ written on their foreheads.
These fighters are revealed to be Spopovich and Yamu, formidable fighters who caught the attention of Shin and Kibito. Prior to the latter’s on Earth, these 2 had been worried about the evil wizard Babidi reawakening an ancient evil by the name of Majin Buu, so to counter this, they travel to Earth to enlist Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta to help prevent this from ever happening. However, to their worries, 2 people had already fallen under Babidi’s control.
Spopovich and Yamu take Gohan by surprise and absorb his energy, making a run for it soon after, prompting some of the heroes to chase them in order to locate Babidi’s ship. There, the heroes come across Babidi and Dabura, where a fight breaks out after Babidi steals Gohan’s energy, killing the two fighters that brought it to him. Here, Dabura easily turns Krillin and Piccolo to stone.
The Awakening of Majin Buu
The Ancient Evil Emerges
It is later revealed to the heroes that in order to save Krillin and Piccolo, they must defeat Dabura. After following him to Babidi’s ship, Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan are all beset by fighters whom they are forced to battle, with Gohan pitted to face off against Dabura himself. Despite Goku and Vegeta easily killing their foes, Gohan’s hesitation leads to his opponent’s escape.
Following this, Babidi begins to speak to Vegeta telepathically, coercing him to become his recruit and is successful in doing so, birthing the legendary Majin Vegeta and transporting everyone back to the World Tournament stage. Here, Vegeta reveals his new power up and proceeds to destroy the stands and kill hundreds of civilians to show Goku and the others that he is, in fact, back to his ruthless self. This sets the stage for the most anticipated rematch in the series.
Spend most of your life ruled by another. Watch your race dwindle to a handful. And then, tell me what has more meaning than your own strength!
Goku and Vegeta then go to a canyon and begin their fight, where Majin Vegeta fights equally with Super Saiyan 2 Goku. The scale of this fight tipped both ways multiple times since the two warriors were evenly matched. However, the fight ends abruptly when the Saiyans are made aware of the fact that Majin Buu has awoken and that Gohan’s efforts in trying to prevent the birth of the monster are unsuccessful, especially since Buu proceeds to almost kill the young Saiyan.
Following this, Goku and Vegeta agree to put their battle on hold and unite to defeat the monster. However, Vegeta takes this opportunity of Goku turning his back to get a cheap shot in, knocking his rival out in the process. This is because Vegeta realizes that letting Buu out was his fault alone, so he decides to atone for his actions by sacrificing himself. After landing in front of Buu, Vegeta lets out all of his energy to reduce Majin Buu to nothingness, taking himself out in the process.
Majin Buu’s Rampage
Buu Shows Why He’s Such a Threat
After Vegeta’s demise, Gohan is found and brought to the Sacred World of the Kais, where he begins to train with the fabled Z Sword. On Earth, Goku teaches Goten and Trunks about the fusion technique, which he believes will make them powerful enough to stop Buu.
In an effort to find Goten, Piccolo, and Trunks, Babidi shows the people of Earth Buu’s power as the monster begins to turn entire populations of cities into food and eat them. Here, Trunks is required to find the Dragon Radar and, to buy him some time to do this and stop Buu’s rampage, Goku approaches Babidi and Buu and shows his incredible new Super Saiyan 3 transformation that shakes the entire universe. Goku then proceeds to fight the monster, completely outclassing him.
Due to his efforts, he is able to buy everyone 2 days after promising Buu that Goten and Trunks would be ready to fight him. Babidi strictly advises against this, which prompts the demon to kill him. Buu proceeds to spend the next few days roaming around, eventually coming across Mr. Satan and various other characters that show him in a more positive and heroic light.
He eventually befriends Mr. Satan and a dog named Bee. However, these two are later shot, causing Buu to become angrier than he has ever been before. To keep his composure, Buu uses fission to separate all his anger and negative thoughts from himself, forming a new and far more terrifying version of himself. This skinny and grey-colored version of Buu proves to be even stronger and is the real threat to the world.
Fusions Make Their Debut
Brand-New Warriors Stronger Than All Others
In the meantime, Trunks and Goten perfect their fusion dance as Super Buu is born after the villain transforms the good version into chocolate and eats him. This new and even more powerful version of the character is now able to sense Ki, which leads him to the lookout where his eventual battle with Gotenks takes place. The fight here is incredible, where the villain fights against the fusion.
In this fight, Gotenks proves his strength by going Super Saiyan 3 and unleashing devastating attacks to put the villain down for good, which he is very successful in doing for the most part. Even Gohan makes his return to the arena in his Ultimate form, showing what all his training was really for. Proving himself superior to even Super Saiyan 3 Goku and Gotenks, Gohan greatly harms Super Buu.
Fight you? No, I want to kill you.
However, sneakily, Buu absorbs Piccolo and Gotenks, becoming far stronger than Gohan. Due to this, he beats the Saiyan and absorbs him as well, becoming the strongest version of Buu; Ultimate Buu. Since no one can stand up to him, Goku arrives and Vegeta is brought back, which prompts them to fuse into Vegito, the single most powerful character in all of Dragon Ball up until that point.
Vegito embarrasses Ultimate Buu, straight up bullying the villain for quite some time, since his might is the merger of both Goku and Vegeta’s powers. However, he too gets absorbed and defuses back into the Saiyans. Here, Goku and Vegeta are able to save everyone trapped within the villain, including the good version of the character. In doing so, Evil Buu’s body begins to break down, revealing one final transformation.
The End of the Arc
The Final Battle
Kid Buu is the original form of the monster and, while not the strongest, is easily the most dangerous version of the character. Upon his birth, he proceeds to destroy the entire planet and Kibito is only able to save Goku, Vegeta, Dende, Mr. Satan, and Bee with his transportation ability, bringing them onto the world of the Kais. However, Kid Buu follows them here.
The ensuing battles henceforth show the heroes making one final stand against this maniacal monster, with Vegeta eventually taking him on alone to buy Goku enough time to charge up his finishing move; the Spirit Bomb. After gathering energy from living things across the universe, Goku fires off his Super Spirit Bomb and obliterates Kid Buu, saving the universe in the process.
Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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