The Majin Rebellion arc

Seems like I'll be the first to give my piece on the Majin Rebellion Arc. Here goes...

It started off great, and a refreshing change of pace from the Tournament which was admittedly starting to get repetitive, especially since the last two fights (Bra vs Cold/Ginyu, Gast vs Raichi/Hatchiyack) were controversial or disappointing. We get to see characters who didn't get to partake in the tournament a chance to shine, Piccolo and the U19 warriors being the prime examples. A lot of the fights were great (Piccolo vs the Frost Demons, Gohan vs Cell), and Asura's fantastic art makes it even better. His art adds a lot of oomph in the characters' attacks, of how brutal, deadly and creative their attacks are. I'd say that it matches some of Toriyama and Toyotaro's best.

And to be honest, I actually didn't know how the story would go. While it's clear that the rebellion would be put down, we don't know who or how it would end. And that was great to keep the readers on their toes and keep guessing as the pages roll. 

Then we have the endgame: Majin Bra. I honestly did not have a lot of problems with the first chapter when she comes in. It addresses a lot of the issues that Bra has, like how she was not so heroic after all. It also makes her character a lot more enjoyable in a Love to Hate way, because she's so unapologetically evil in contrast to being the jerkass c*** we were supposed to root for. And the remaining fighters, because they're much weaker than her, have to work together both smartly and creatively in order to beat her. 

Then, it goes downhill during the last two chapters. Suddenly, all the remaining fighters took a massive dose of the dumb-dumb juice, thinking that it's a bright idea to take on someone many times stronger than each of them one-by-one. The worst part is that they even lampshade it, but none of them do anything about it. But the moment that things started to suck was the senzu bean moment. Remember that moment during the Bra vs Cold fight that caused it to turn from one of the best to one of the worst? Let's do it again! Except this time it's the villain! Who's much stronger than all of them! Sure! WHY NOT UNDO ALL OUR HEROES' EFFORTS THAT MADE AN ENTIRE CHAPTER BEFORE POINTLESS!?

Next chapter is even worse, characters start dropping like flies, the heroes are absolute morons in standing still as Bra picks them off one by one. And it turns out all their efforts are pointless because Majin Bra wins anyway, only getting talked out of it by U18 Bra for the dumbest reasons. It feels rushed, it feels unearned, and worst of all it wastes two whole chapters which were nothing more than to drag out the fight when we could have just skipped straight ahead to this moment. It wouldn't be so bad, if not for the goddamn minicomics in-between without any warning, which hurts the pacing of the story and tests our patience.

Ok, now for my Top 5 best and worst characters of this arc.

Best:
1.) Cell. He's the one who really carried this arc and was one of the few that made the abominable endgame more tolerable. His fight scenes with Gohan was awesome, and shows how much he improved since the Cell Games. I like how he planned everything out, controlling events from behind the scenes so that Babidi would lose. And it really sucks because all of that amounted to NOTHING. He could have been killed by Gohan, and the story wouldn't have changed.
2.) Phipsil. Despite this being the first time we see her, I already like her. Cute and attractive design, yet also badass to boot. She's also one of the few characters to not suffer the Idiot Ball, working together with Gohan to take down Bra and even sacrificing her life to weaken Bra to allow Gohan to have a chance. Sadly, like Cell, it amounted to NOTHING. 
3.) Gohan. Both of them. We finally get to see how terrifying he can be when pissed off, mopping up Kakarot, Ginyu and even Cell like they were nothing. It's refreshing after seeing him in Super where he's mostly treated as a joke. I'm one of the few people who actually liked Super, but Gohan is where they really did him dirty. 
4.) Piccolo. Similar case with Gohan, it's refreshing to see them do shit after we see them mainly stand on the sidelines since the Buu arc. His fight with Freeza's family was one of the highlights of the arc, and shows that while he may be outclassed by the Saiyans at this point, it doesn't mean that he's still a force to be reckoned with. 
5.) U18 Bra. While I hated how the arc ended, it's still satisfying to see her take her counterpart down a peg. Even before this arc, I actually like her character from what we see of her. By virtue of not being Son Bra. She may be a bit bratty, she's not malicious. Her treatment of Goten and Trunks mostly amounted to sibling teasing. Not abuse and MURDER from what we saw last special.

Worst:
1.) Son Bra/Majin Bra. I think my review above speaks for itself. But the reason why she stays at the top spot despite me initially enjoying her character was because of that. It just made it even more insulting. Because of her stupid Plot Armour because Salagir couldn't tolerate the idea of his waifu fantasy losing, even if she's the one we're supposed to root against, she turned from entertaining into insufferable and clearly overstayed her welcome. Her "defeat" just rubs salt to the wound, because it was a moment while satisfying felt completely unearned. I hate Son Bra because she embodies the worst things of a Creator's Pet (a character where the writer/author practices favouritism when writing said character), and she is the one who hurts the arc the most.
2.) Grand Supreme Kai. This dumb fuck was useless throughout the arc. He doesn't do anything, doesn't lift a finger to help the others, and instead wastes his time trying to call Buu for help even when he makes it clear that he doesn't want to. It's especially jarring because conversely in Super's manga, he's shown to be badass and recently played a part in defeating Moro. Here? He's an absolute joke, and that stupid smiling face of his made me cheer for once when Bra stomps his face in. That moment actually made me root for her because of how satisfying it was.
3.) Majin Buu. Good lord, did he contribute nothing! He was a wasted character. He can regenerate from damage, has magic, can heal people, yet none of those were taken advantage of. He only stands around uselessly as everyone else gets slaughtered, and when he finally jumps in, it amounts to NOTHING. 
4.) Mary Sue. What a waste of a page.
5.) U9. The only reason why I put them on the list was I actually ran out of people that I hated in this arc, and the fact that they ultimately contributed nothing. They beat the Cell Jr. but that's about it. It would have been interesting for them to join in the fight, and show that just because they're the weakest of the remaining heroes doesn't mean that they're a joke. Their skills and techniques could have been useful in defeating someone who cannot be beaten by raw power. But no, they're put on a bus because Salagir doesn't know what to do with them. Not to mention the fact that some of my bitterness is directed at their horribly wasted special. 

If I were to change things, here's how I would play it out.

I would follow Acardy Picardy's draft in the minicomic. Because we see our heroes actually fighting smart, using their numbers, abilities and clever tactics to hold out against Majin Bra instead of holding the Idiot Ball of trying to fight her one-on-one. While Bra clearly has the upper hand in raw power, she can't keep up with so many fighters who overwhelm her with clever strategies. But maybe to make it less one-sided, have her use her own techniques like the one she used to take out Cell. As a result, some of the fighters like Piccolo get taken out. She might even kill U16 Gohan in a fit of rage.

Maybe we can throw some of the U9 warriors into the mix. Maybe Tien tries to seal her with the Mafuba. It fails, maybe due to the sheer gap between Tien and Bra (it worked for Buu because Buu was clearly toying with Tien and holding back his power). Eventually, Majin Bra starts getting worn out. Maybe it's because she's inexperienced with the Super Saiyan 2 form, because Reality Ensues: her lack of experienced fighting with the transformation or being unable to control her energy output starts turning against her. Or maybe the frustration of being unable to beat those much weaker than her causes her to have a massive breakdown that inadvertently burns up her energy. But in the end she burns out of her Super Saiyan 2 form into normal Super Saiyan or base form. She goes into an angry rant, asking how even with all the power she is able to now control, was unable to beat people much weaker than her. Her frustration that even though she could finally control her Super Saiyan 2 form, she still can't win. 

It's then at that moment Bra Briefs steps in, finally fed up with her counterpart's bullshit, and we have that Talk No Jutsu moment. I know a lot of people hated TNJ, but it's mainly because in Naruto it gets overdone. But at least in Naruto it feels earned because the heroes have to first take the villain down before getting it into their head. By beating them, it proves the weakness of their ideology, because their weakening conviction was what opened them up to defeat. The same thing here with Son Bra. U18 Bra points out that the reason she lost was because she was never in control. She was nothing more than Babidi's lackey. And so the scene plays out exactly the same, except for her final speech:

"I may not know what issues you have to turn into the screw-up that you are, but so what? All I see is an arrogant, self-centred monster who's using her power to bully those weaker than her. A monster who killed her own brother in cold blood, with a smile on her face! My mom told me about what my dad was like before I was even born. He was just like you: all he cared about was becoming the strongest, and he never gave a damn about the people around him, including my mom and brother. But he learned. And he grew. He got beaten down many times by those stronger than even him, but he became a better person from it. So if you want to be Number One in the Universe, then grow the hell up! Don't let your issues, no matter how unfair they seem to be in your head, get to you! If you can't, you're not even close to being Number One! Do you know why? It's not that you're weak... it's because you are a COWARD!" 

And it's that moment Son Bra realises that is all that she is. A coward who is simply using her power to hide her own personal issues, to appear strong. Someone spineless who let her issues and others like Babidi who take advantage of said issues to lead her along. That breaks her and she collapses as she let the full weight of her crimes that she committed out of hiding her own personal issues come crashing down on her. The Majin seal still stays, but the damage is done.

I've actually been working on a post that tries to explain literally every failure of this arc. Until then I will do a short list here:



Pros:

- Good artwork
- Cell

Cons: 

- Plot Induced Stupidity
- Bra
- Power Levels Are Bullshit
- Sudden "endings" (I'll explain more some other time)



Best:

1. Cell
2. Piccolo
3. U18 Gohan
4. Phipsil
5. The Mini-Jrs

Worst:

1. Bra
2. Babadi
3. Fat Buu
4. Frieza/Cooler
5. Everyone who got teleported



Best:

1. Cell
2. Coldyu
3. Jeice
4. Sauza
5. King Piccolo

Worst: 

1. Bra
2. Babadi
3. Android 17
4. Frieza/Cooler
5. Nappa



Best:

1. Cell
2. Piccolo
3. U18 Gohan
4. Phipsil
5. The Mini-Jrs

Worst:

1. Fat Buu 
2. U16 Gohan
3. All 3 Videls
4. U18 Bra for saying "Passive"
5. Whoever the other Helior is since I can't even think of another character



More clear goals, less dumb fights, either Bra stomps everyone almost effortlessly or teamwork finds a way to beat her.

I think it’s wasted potential. This was the time to fix many peoples' complaints about DBM or at least put some fears to rest, but it ended up confirming many of them.

Much of what I would say has already been covered by thebritwriter, another1bitesdadusto, and Axalon, so I'll see if I can contribute anything else of value.

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The greatest singular issue is that Salagir doesn't plan as well as he should.

The Majin Rebellion is where this long-standing problem becomes most drastic. Salagir has no complete script for his story, and he's rarely even a chapter ahead of release. (This latest chapter wasn’t yet finished before Salagir released it.) Salagir is a concept guy: he has an idea, then decides he’ll develop it later, when he has to. Among other things, this is why U16 Bra had no formal introduction and no hints she was highly dysfunctional, why U19 wasn’t finalized until 2017 (and their introduction gives no indication of their motives), and why Kakarot changes from Nappa 2.0 to rapist to cannibal to immortal.

Looking through DBM I see that classic giveaway of the first draft: a smattering of scenes which sound cool, welded together, instead of a natural or logical progression. This often forces Salagir into situations where he needs a quick fix in order to get to the next scene. Alternatively, sometimes Salagir just doesn’t want to spend the time on a situation which it deserves: a comment from Chapter 44 of the Hanasia novelization is telling, where Salagir acknowledges a character’s death was anticlimactic but “we have to move on.” In his mind, Salagir probably thought both Ginyu and Gast vs. Raichi were C-tier subplots, which is why he dealt with both so quickly and unsatisfactorily. It’s things like this which gives DBM the weird distinction of being both frustratingly slow and agonizingly fast-paced.

There’s one other problem: Salagir loves surprises. Sometimes, a little too much. I’d rather take something predictable which makes sense in hindsight, then something surprising which is stupid in hindsight.

Like many first drafts, there are good ideas and some genuinely great moments in DBM, but at the end of the day, we’re still reading a first draft. This wasn't as big a deal before because DBM is a tournament arc, one of the simplest plot structures out there, but with the Majin Rebellion the flaws start showing up. A lot of things don't make sense; its flow, pacing, and tone is uneven; much of what happens, does so inexplicably; there is lots of motion, but not so much progress.

With all this in mind—lack of planning; concept first, details later; linking scenes together instead of characters making decisions; and wanting to surprise—that explains just about everything that went wrong with the MR.

---

Question: Why does Piccolo struggle against the Frost Demons, yet kills 17 in a few panels, especially when Salagir later confirmed 17 is stronger than the FDs?
Answer: Well, because Salagir thought it’d look cool for Piccolo to do an SBC cage.

Q: Why does Videl, who struggled against 3rd form Cold, suddenly have the power to handily beat a Cell Jr?
A: Well, because Salagir thought it’d look cool. Also, Asura likes drawing ladies with six-packs.

Q: Why does Ginyu switch off-screen with a random Frieza soldier we’ve never even seen before in order to survive North Kai?
A: Because Salagir wanted Ginyu to win and had to think up a way to do that.

Q: Why does the mini Jr. float off of Gohan’s head for no reason right before Bra bisects him?
A: Because then Bra couldn’t kill both of them in one slice.

Q: Why does Gohan abruptly go down the checklist killing all the remaining Majins after fighting Cell?
A: Because Salagir wanted to move on to the next scene.

Q: Why does Bra abruptly go down the checklist killing all the remaining heroes after U16 Gohan dies?
A: Because Salagir wanted to move on to the next scene.

Q: Why do the heroes fighting Majin Bra all act like complete morons, allowing Bra to kill basically all of them? (My personal favorite example: why do the Heliotes miss a shot against a stationary target with the element of surprise?)
A: Because Salagir decided he wanted Bra to win, regardless of whether or not she should’ve.

Q: Why does Fat Kai just stand there uselessly for all seven chapters of the Rebellion?
A: Because he was already there and Salagir didn’t know what to do with him.

Q: If Babidi really did Majinize Bra before the Rebellion began, why did he keep her in reserve the entire time, even though he makes such a blatant show of force at the start?
A: Because the actual circumstances of Bra’s Majinization are unimportant to Salagir; all that matters is that Bra gets Majinized.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of all the Rebellion’s many, many moments of contrived or poorly-planned writing, but it’s hopefully a reflective sample.

It’s important to note Toriyama himself wasn’t a huge planner... yet even so, the only really stupid moment I can think of in his entire Dragon Ball manga run is Cell not dying to Goku’s Kamehameha. The man wasn’t a complex storyteller, but he definitely wasn’t a contrived one. Take a look at the comparison thread and it becomes clear he’s not rushing things, he’s not breaking continuity as much as we might think, and generally results happen according to things that have already been established, not things suddenly being pulled out of thin air—or conveniently forgotten.

---

To completely rewrite the Majin Rebellion is quite the task, and in some respects it’d require going back to the very beginning of DBM.

First the question needs to be asked: what’s the purpose of this arc? To give the side characters something to do? To have action outside the tournament context? I think Salagir would say “To give Bra character development.” In that case... well, I wouldn’t have a Majin Rebellion arc at all: I’d just have Bra’s character development happen during the fight with Cold and save us four years. Even something like “making Goten and U18 Bra realize they need to stop screwing around with their lives”, or “showing that heroes, working as a team, can overcome massive odds” is better than another spotlight for U16 Bra.

Knowing the purpose of the arc also helps ensure that it’s not filler: something which the Majin Arc basically is. In writing, when you don't know where you're going or what you're doing, it's very easily for where you go or what you do to not actually mean anything.

Second: who wins? How's it going to end? There are signs that Majin Bra was not in the cards at the early stages of the rebellion (among others, the Babidi-show-of-force question), and that Cell would've been the final boss. If you're going for Majin Bra, everything needs to lead up to that in hindsight. The question of who wins is also especially relevant to the Majin Bra fight. In my opinion, in most cases if the bad guy wins, it should be gotten over with quickly: this establishes the villain as a threat (they don’t have to struggle to win), and makes sure the heroes’ grief isn’t too prolonged. For some reason Salagir seems intensely fond of stories where we just watch the heroes get slaughtered (Cell special, Bojack special, final U8 special), but these kinds of things get pretty unbearable for readers. Why put the heroes through three chapters’ worth of agony if Bra just wins anyway?

Third: what are people’s objectives? What tools for winning does everyone have at their disposal? How do we account for these? I 100% believe the good guys could’ve pulled out a convincing victory against Bra, even with her power advantage and various abilities. Yet during the Majin Rebellion, if these things come up in a way that might interfere with the scenes Salagir has in mind, they’re flat-out ignored instead of Salagir working around them. Babidi’s goal makes no sense, and his strategy for winning is nonsensical. There’s no obvious way for the heroes to win besides “kill Babidi” and once Bra takes Babidi out of the equation (surprisingly, one of the few logical things anyone does in this arc, and a massive tension-killer), their only objective is to survive. With no possible hope for rescue, what follows is essentially a gratuitous gore-fest: we are watching Salagir indulge himself in the terror and desperation of the heroes as they slowly get slaughtered one by one.

Perhaps the sorest thing of all is that ultimately teamwork was worthless, on both sides of the rebellion: all the stranded contestants working together utterly failed to find the arena in time to rescue any of their friends, and all the people left behind utterly failed to defeat the rebellion. What a great arc, huh?

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Again, rewriting the rebellion would take a whole thread to itself. But without retconning huge parts of DBM to make a few scenes work better (like the U18/U16 Bra conversation), here are some ideas:
-- Have Babidi use the control tower (remember that evil Vargas who ended up doing nothing?) to send back all the contestants to their universes, then attempt to seize the Vargas ships to escape to other universes (secretly). This prevents the pointless filler scenes of the contestants trying to find the arena. It gives Babidi an objective, and something for the heroes to fight him over, therefore providing a more clear “win” condition and thus more tension.

-- Let the heroes in the arena be aware of the stranded contestants, or know how long it will take for them to return. This way, instead of “I guess we try to survive against Bra for as long as possible before she kills us,” it would be more like “We just need to fend her off for three minutes!” Again, this adds more tension while simultaneously making things less bleak for the heroes.

-- Eliminate senzu beans. Okay, we can give Bra regrowing her arm, but other than that they should’ve been left out; they are a reset button and thus create motion without progress. Having her slowly get worn down through the work and sacrifice of others would’ve been a great message that even “worthless” people can succeed if they’re willing to fight (and die) for others’ sake—a lesson Bra has not learned. Have Bra lose, for the first time in her life, when she is at her strongest and has sold her soul for power. That will teach her things which “passive” wouldn’t.

These are all things I came up with in a few minutes. Had Salagir put some more planning into this--gone through a few more drafts, not been so committed to one particular outcome, sort of thing--things would've gone better in the long run. Don't rush things; let things play out to their resolution; don't force characters to serve the needs of the plot. As it stands, this arc will always be wasted potential for me. Even if DBM’s writing makes the most glorious comeback in the history of anything ever, I will still think the Majin Rebellion was whiffed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many fans from here on out will feel the same.

With C18 I realized that error later when doing another re-read but never got round to making the correction, which was sloppy of me all thing considering how many days Ihad to make that correction.

As for the majin bra regeneration, I do stand by that argument, I would be splitting hairs in arguing the difference between reacting to a cut limb and a broken neck but Spopovich does have a reaction to his injury, a shock and a fall. He's down for 30-40 seconds of the video, and when he is getting up he isn't happy about it, exerting some effort in responding/undoing the injury.

Even that kind of resilience is freakish compared to the other majin's (vegeta, dabura, pui pui and that one nobody ever cared about) who never displayed that trait of extreme resilience. In contrast Bra takes that freakish one-off to a point where an injury like a limb loss results in her being immediately indifferent about it. I don't think it was a good choice to have her do that.