Dragon Ball Multiverse Specials: Breakdown and Tier List
Dec 9, 2021 12:51:58 GMT
Post by jbame on Dec 9, 2021 12:51:58 GMT
You know it all about specials, probably the most controversial part of Multiverse (with the only rival being U16 Bra and the Minicomics). With their varying art styles (some of which aren't even trying to stay close to Dragon Ball's), iffy plot lines, and questionable pacing, it's easy to see why not everyone is happy with them.
But are all specials really that bad? Let's break them down. I'm going to be ranking them based on 5 factors, ranked from 1 to 5:
Plot: Does the special have an interesting and engaging plot, that leaves you wanting to see more ? Or is it a boring story with nothing interesting to see and/or wasted potential everywhere?
Characterization: Does the special tackle some interesting character development plot? Do underused characters get a chance to shine? Or do the protagonists act so out of character that they don't feel like themselves, combined with some characters being completely wasted?
Visuals: How good does the special look? Does it try to stick true to the Dragon Ball artstyle? If not, is it pleasing to look at regardless?
Entertainment: Does the special have an entertaining plot that keeps you hooked in every page? Does it drag on for too long, making you lose interest quickly? Are there interesting fight scenes or whole new concepts?
Importance: Does the special tie into the tournament in any meaningful way? Does it tell an interesting story that you may not want to miss out on? Or is it nothing more than a uninteresting filler special?
We will be ranking them in chronological order, and to save some time I'm going to assume that anyone reading this post has already read the special beforehand, and is up to date with the Comic. Without further ado, let's begin.
Special 1: The First Meeting with the Legendary Super Saiyan!
Basically a retelling of Broly's first movie, but with edits by Salagir to make it fit in the main continuity.
Plot: 3/5. Basically every plot hole in the Broly movie has been resolved. Gohan and Goku are in the Mastered Super Saiyan State at all times. Vegeta doesn't just accept to become a King and ignore all his development. Cell's threat is still acknowledged, and he is even compared to Broly at the end. Instead of Goku weirdly absorbing everyone's powers, he does a Genkidama, which is a more sensical way of tackling the same idea. However despite fixing all the superficial flaws, it's still a Broly movie, so it's stuck with a main antagonist who has no real motivations, and despite fitting better in the main continuity, this special adds literally nothing new to make it more interesting.Characterization: 3/5. Gohan gets a chance to shine at the end, which impresses Vegeta to the point where even he contributes to the Spirit Bomb. There are also no side characters here, Krillin and even fucking Oolong join the fight. Points taken off for Broly, who despite being the main antagonist, he is still just a mindless brute with no motivations.
Visuals: 4/5. Some drawings look traced or offmodel, and the Genkidama is weirdly small, but nothing is offputting and the special ends up being quite nice to look at. The coloring certainly helps, too.
Entertainment: 4/5. Short and straight to the point, this is simply meant to retell Broly's story. Some added scenes are memorable, such as Gohan holding off Broly by himself and Oolong's short scene that made for a simple gag.
Importance: 2/5. You may be interested in Salagir's edits to it, but this story still doesn't add anything to the main story and can be skipped without much consequence. Despite its flaws, the first Broly Movie will give you the exact same idea of who the character is and what's his story.
Overall: 16/25
Special 2: Trunks' New Friend, Created By His Most Hated Enemy!
Future Trunks, right after killing the Androids in his timeline, goes back to Gero's Lab to recover Android 16 and use his help to rebuild their world.
Plot: 1/5. The introduction says it all, there really isn't much to see here.Characterization: 4/5. Trunks acts like a total badass, and we see that Android 16 was in fact always a benevolent Android. The special is too short to see much more of anything.
Visuals: 2/5. The drawings are traced and clearly scaled up and/or stretched to fit in the panels, it stands out a lot, but as a whole isn't that bad.
Entertainment: 2/5. The whole special is one short conversation between Android 16 and Future Trunks. Only saving grace is Trunks showing off his power to threaten Android 16... but besides that, nothing new happens.
Importance: 1/5. This whole special could be replaced with one or two speech bubbles in the comic.
Overall: 10/25
Special 3: The Return of The Legendary Saiyan!!
Broly's second movie, almost completely rewritten to fit better in the main continuity of Dragon Ball Multiverse.
Plot: 1/5. Broly surviving in a deserted planet for years, with no company, food or anything, and then flying halfway across space with no spaceship, is extemely far-fetched. So is Goten and Trunks "accidentally" waking him up by pure coincidence. After that, the fight against Broly is pretty straight forward.
Characterization: 4/5. The reaction to Broly reappearing out of nowhere and attacking the kids is pretty realistic. Gohan gets to be himself from the Cell Saga again (something even pointed out in the special), Piccolo is the strategist and buys them some time to charge up an attack, and Goku's intervention and his subtle fuckery with otherwordly rules are nice to see. This is the first time that the whole cast recognize something is a threat and immediately act on it as fast as possible. Still not a 5, though. Broly is an extremely flat antagonist, even is his normal form where he is supposed to have some intelligence.[/span]
Visuals: 4/5. Pretty well drawn, and consistent to the Dragon Ball's art style.
Entertainment: 3/5. The rematch against Broly is short, but entertaining. Gohan kicking Broly's ass and then a triple beam attack to send him to the sun are very fun to watch. The first half, with the cast slowly arriving to join the fight is refreshing from the "the cast all arrives at the same time... but only one guy fights while the rest watches" we are used to.
Importance: 1/5. Doesn't explain anything new about Broly or how he made it into the tournament, and is instead just a different version of the same movie to fit better into the main timeline. This special is arguably completely unnecessary; it could have just been said that Broly died in the comet at the end of the first movie, with the exception of some universes where he miraculously survived, leading to the events of the third special.
Overall: 13/25
Special 4: Vegetto's Heiresses
The first of many U16 specials about Bra, and one of the most controversial due to how far it strives from anything commonly seen in Dragon Ball, both visually and in its story.
Plot: 1/5. Its whole purpose is to be a small gag chapter, so it's just a bunch of disconnected gag scenes with no story to be told inbetween. The only reason this even has a point, is that it gives a small amount of worldbuilding in Universe 16, and how the universe exists with Vegetto in it. Just a bit.
Characterization: 2/5. Everyone acts as exaggerated versions of themselves for the sake of comedy. Despite that, we see a lot of characters interacting with Vegetto and slowly getting used to having him in their lives in place of Goku and Vegeta, which I think it's the most interesting part of his character.
Visuals: 1/5. By far the most controversial part of the chapter, since the art style barely looks like anything seen in Dragon Ball. I'm guessing it's intentional, much like the chapter's tone, but even with that in mind, the art style is very distracting and some drawings just look completely off.
Entertainment: 1/5. Whether the gags are funny is subjective... but this special goes on, and on, and on. It's the longest out of all the specials so far, and that's saying something despite it being the least serious of the bunch. The fact that all the gags are disconnected from one another, and the whole "monster under the bed" gag that drags on for five whole pages doesn't help.
Importance: 0/5. You can skip this with no consequence.
Overall: 5/25
Special 5: Cell's Fearful Victory.
The story of how Universe 17 Cell won the beam struggle against Gohan, and then killed all the Z fighters.
Plot: 1/5. The whole plot of this special is implied the moment you hear about a Cell that managed to beat Gohan. There are no surprises here, nor anything about what Cell did afterwards.
Characterization: 2/5. A rare instance of the cast completely admitting defeat, with only some fighters remaining optimistic... until the strongest of them get immediately picked off, that is.
Visuals: 3/5. A lot of the time the characters are poorly drawn, and the action just looks stiff. The one saving grace of this special is the colored pages, which are actually pretty well made.
Entertainment: 2/5. The beginning with Cell admitting the fighters have a small chance may give you a sliver of hope, and this massacre-style specials may be entertaining to some. Not for me, though.
Importance: 0/5. You can already assume U17 Cell won the Cell Games from the moment you see him. Not everything needs to be shown.
Overall: 8/25
Special 6: Bojack Gang's Victory
An alternative version of the Bojack Movie, with Bojack and his gang actually defeating the Z fighters. This has become one of the most popular Dragon Ball Multiverse specials for its... different execution.
Plot: 1/5. Murder festival much like the one above, with nothing more to see.
Characterization: 1/5. The characters all feel off, and it's not just their faces. Piccolo is uncharacteristically reckless and hotblooded (his "son" was murdered in cold blood... but still), and the rest do nothing more than stand around, power up uselessly and then get killed with little opposition. Even cell's special did a better job at making them fight.
Visuals: 0/5. Poor Berrizo is never going to catch a break for this, is he?
Entertainment: 2/5. The art style is so bad, that it's good. This makes it fun to read in its own way.
Importance: 1/5. From a meta standpoint this would be another 5/5. However from a story perspective this is only important to see why Bido isn't in Bojack's universe, though I personally never noticed that.
Overall: 5/25
Special 7-8: Visions of the future/The Saiyan's rebellion
An alternative take on Bardock's special, this time with him using his visions MUCH more inteligently (though sadly retconned out of the main timeline). This is two specials, but they are the same plot and artist, so I'll treat them as one.
Plot: 5/5. This is the single best way to handle Bardock's visions, by actually using them to change the future for the greater good, and not having them as a cheap tease for what's to come. An Oozaru army against Frieza, King Bardock, and even side stories such as how the 4 saiyans survived and how Broly was spared in Universe 3. Definitely one of the most creative specials around.
Characterization: 4/5. Bardock as a smart but stoic strategist, Frieza's army being too confident for its own good, Frieza unceremoniously killing anyone at any slight disobedience no matter who they are, and great characterization from all the side saiyans, such as Bardock's partner having some crush on Fasha, and Gerkin's loyalty to Vegeta amongst others. One slight critique, is that Bardock becomes accepted as King a little bit too easily, especially by someone as prideful as Vegeta, but things like that would've just drawn out the special for no good reason.
Visuals: 3/5. It's imperfect, especially during the fight scenes that look stiff and underwhelming at times. However it's far from being distracting.
Entertainment: 3/5. You could say it drags on for too long, especially if you had to read it as each page was released, and there is also a lot of dialogue without much action inbetween.
Importance: 5/5. Pretty much every special about Universe 3 is important, and this is the first chapter of U3 Bardock's story.
Overall: 20/25
Special 9: The Last Namekian
The first chapter in Gast Carcolh's story, showing his birth and how he killed Frieza.
Plot: 3/5. Simple and straight to the point, this special shows Gast Carlcolh's birth.
Characterization: 5/5. Gast Carcolh is always a win.
Visuals: 2/5. Imperfect, with wonky faces and fight scenes that are sometimes hard to read properly.
Entertainment: 3/5. Gast is a badass, but otherwise the special is very linear and predictable.
Importance: 3/5. Somewhat necessary to understand the next Gast specials and to sympathize with Gast better, but otherwise skippable as Gast's origins are already explained in the comic.
Overall: 16/25
Special 10: Deus Ex Machina.
U1 and U10's Kaioshins decide to stop Bibidi's plans before he can complete the creature that would eventually kill them, and then decide to kill all problematic beings in the universe by themselves.
Plot: 2/5. Short and effective, though it has one plot hole: How did they find out about Bibidi's experiments on Majin Buu, and what exactly caused them to act here and not in other universes?
Characterization: 2/5. All the gods are flat and one-dimensional, there isn't much to see here. Few bonus points for tackling the issue of murdering a newborn baby in front of his father, and giving some character to Bibidi.
Visuals: 5/5. Very good art style, with very detailed characters and backgrounds.
Entertainment: 3/5. Rare instance of the Kaioshins being badass gods and not powercrept by Goku and co.
Importance: 1/5. One of those specials that could simply be told in one or two lines of dialogue, without expanding on their lore much if at all.
Overall: 14/25
Special 11: The End of Humanity.
Raditz goes to Earth to pick up his brother, Kakarot, but finds out that there are still some warriors on the planet.
Plot: 3/5. The premise is simple, so this special is more about characterization and worldbuilding. We get to see how Kakarot became this world's equivalent of Future Trunks' Androids, down to the nonstop massacres and the murder of almost every competent fighter.
Characterization: 3/5. A badass Raditz, and some Tenshinhan and Yamcha action, something very rare to see nowadays.
Visuals: 3/5. Imperfect and not all that detailed, but far from being bad.
Entertainment: 4/5. Actually an entertaining fight, and we even get some Kakarot action at the end (though it doesn't last)
Importance: 2/5. Chapter 1 of the Super Saiyan's story, but also skippable since it's already implied Raditz just went to Earth and picked him up. You also get to know what Kakarot's relationship was with Tien and Yamcha... but that's not important.
Overall: 15/25
Special 12/13: Two Great Heroes/Monster against Warriors, fight of Puppets.
A desperate Hoi goes to get Dr Raichi's help to get him to open Tapion's Music Box. However, the cultist's intentions are not as pure as they seemed.
Plot: 3/5. Manages to work out a pairing as random as Dr Raichi and Hildegarn, and gives some more backstory to Hoi. Pretty simple after that, though.
Characterization: 5/5. Dr Raichi and Tapion bond in a very organic way, and we get to see that Multiverse Dr Raichi is just a misguided Anti Hero instead of a fullblown villain like he is officially.
Visuals: 4/5. May not be the best, nor the most fitting of Dragon Ball's style, but it's pleasing to read.
Entertainment: 2/5. The fight of the Ghosts vs Hildegarn is boring and just keeps dragging on and on. This could have been condensed into one special if they had tried.
Importance: 5/5. Basically every U3 special is important. This one more so, as it ties into the fight that jappens right after
Overall: 19/25
Special 14: Future Majin Attack
Answers a somewhat interesting question: What happened to Babidi in Future Gohan's time?
Plot: 1/5. Sorry, but there is no way Future Gohan can defeat Dabra. Obviously they were aware of this, which is why Babidi is an idiot and sends him off to give out most of his energy. It would've been much more interesting if Gohan had lured the Androids into the ship, leading to a much more interesting three-way fight (that Dabra still has no logical reason to lose... but we can still improvise)
Characterization: 3/5. Deals with Future Gohan, one of the most underused characters in Dragon Ball as a whole. Babidi is too much of an idiot, and while that's a bit on character, it goes too far.
Visuals: 3/5. "Not bad but also not remarkably good" rank.
Entertainment: 4/5. The plot may be silly, but it does lead to entertaining scenes.
Importance: 0/5. Doesn't tie to the tournament in any way.
Overall: 11/25
Special 15: The Birth of Vegetto
Shows us how U16 Vegetto killed Majin Buu and went on to become the universe's strongest warrior.
Plot: 2/5. Pretty simple all the way through. This special is clearly just an excuse to play around with Vegetto's character.
Characterization: 4/5. Back when Vegetto was a solid and entertaining character, and we finally get to see Goku and Vegeta's family reaction to his existence, something that sadly we will never seem to get officially.
Visuals: 4/5. Well drawn in a style similar to Toriyama's.
Entertainment: 2/5. Vegetto being overpowered is nothing new, and while him trying to fit in the family is entertaining, the special doesn't spend enough time with that.
Importance: 1/5. By the time you get to this special, you know all there is to know about Vegetto's birth just from dialogue in the comic.
Overall: 13/25
Specials 16/17: Vegeta's Absence in Namek/Let's Recover the Dragon Balls
An Universe 8 special, though it's actually closer to a separate What-If story altogether.
Plot: 5/5. All, the consequences of Vegeta's Absence are addressed, and all the characters act in a smart way. Bonus point for the ending, which leaves you feeling awful about the Z Warriors, and curious about another universe where they DID manage to get their wish.
Characterization: 5/5. Nail, Zarbon, Krillin and Gohan action, with the latter three putting up a good fight for a change, and finally Bulma's role as the strategist of the group.
Visuals: 3/5. It's imperfect, ESPECIALLY with Gohan and Frieza, but it's good enough to secure a 3 and not lower.
Entertainment: 4/5. Zarbon's fight is intense, and the events play out differently enough that it almost feels like a different saga.
Importance: 1/5. We KNOW that Frieza wins in this universe, and this special doesn't adress the bigger question about this universe(what happened to Ginyu, and why was he executed in the first place?)
Overall: 18/25
Special 18: The Fall of An Empire
Gast Carcolh explores the universe in search for a way to bring back his people. He comes across a Civilization with the wisdom of thousands, but he finds that it's about to be taken over by the Frost Demon Empire.
Plot: 4/5. Rather basic, but helps you sympathize with Gast even more. We also see that his power didn't come all at once, as he's visibly tired after killing Cold, an opponent that he should VERY easily be able to take down in the tournament. As a nice bonus, it tells you the story of this Universe's Vegeta, who has a mental breakdown when he realizes that the Legendary Super Saiyan he has always looked up to is a mere weakling compared to what he's seen.
Characterization: 5/5. Gast Carcolh is always a win. Namek saga Vegeta is always a win.
Visuals: 5/5. Arcady Picardi's art style may be jarring at first, but god damn is it awesome.
Entertainment: 5/5. Lots of fresh ideas, such as Vegeta and Kiwi having to work together to survive, an insane Frost Demon trying his hardest to control his full power in a desperate situation, Thorn, a child companion who is surprisingly knowledgeable, and of course, Gast Carcolh is always a win.
Importance: 3/5. Gast doesn't have much of a story to tell outside of his introduction. The moment you learn that he's the fusion of all namekians, and that he's there to bring his people back, is the moment you've learned everything about him. That all being said, there ARE stories coming for Gast in the future, and they should all lead themselves off of this chapter, so it gets a pair of extra points.
Overall: 22/25
Special 19: Experiment Subject Bojack
A special exploring the origins of Bojack and his Gang. A bit.
Plot: 0/5. We now know that Bojack's Gang's strength came from a bunch of experiments performed on him, with the objective of making them stronger than the Frost Demons. Now... what was so special about Bojack that he became so strong? How did they all go from Frieza First form level to Android-Cell level? Did they ever fight Cold, Snower and Blizzard? What did they do that the Kais sealed them? All these interesting plot points... and we just get a fight against a random OC instead.
Characterization: 1/5. Bojack is not an interesting characer, this does not attempt to make him an interesting character. All the characters introduced are forgettable. This has ONE point, because it's the introduction of Bujin's character arcwhich leads nowhere but shh
Visuals: 2/5. Very basic shapes, stiff fight scenes, and a general lack of detail everywhere.
Entertainment: 1/5. The special is basically one boring fight and then almost everyone there agreeing to follow Bojack
Importance: 1/5. Nope. Only even has a point, because one later special has Bojack's race as the antagonists, and these experiments are mentioned.
Overall: 4/25
Special 20: Majin Buu's Rebirth
Shows us how U4's Buu won against the Z fighters, and became fan favourite Zen Buu.
Plot: 3/5. Basic premise of "story but the villain wins", but actually focuses more on what Buu did afterwards, unlike others of its kind.
Characterization: 4/5. Not just Super Buu, but also Goku get the spotlight, with the latter being confirmed to be able to destroy the Solar System if he unleashes enough energy. We also get to see Buu gradually turning from Chaotic Evil to Chaotic Neutral as he absorbs more and more of the good guys.
Visuals: 4/5. Very close to Toriyama's style, and the colored pages for dramatic moments are a nice touch.
Entertainment: 4/5. The fight against Buu-Vegeta is written in a way that you are still cheering for Goku and Kibitoshin despite knowing they'll lose, and afterwards... well Zen Buu is always a win.
Importance: 1/5. Zen Buu is one of those characters whose backstory explains itself.
Overall: 16/25
Special 21: Universe 13 Origins: The Friend
Shows us one of the darkest moments in Kakarot's life: befriending Krillin, then realizing that his "saiyan programming" will force him to kill him.
Plot: 1/5. Wasted potential. Kakarot realizes Krillin and Roshi are humans before anything interesting can happen between them, and after that, we don't see anything that we'd like to see from Child Kakarot's story. How did he become the strongest on Earth? When and how did he learn about the Dragon Balls and became immortal? What was it like when he killed Krillin, something he STILL feels bad about nowadays? Instead, much like Bojack special, it's just one drawn out fight.
Characterization: 3/5. Kakarot befriends Krillin in a silly, Dragon Ball way (he thinks he is some sort of turtle because of Roshi's shell), but he is not that stupid, and has doubts all the way up to the realization. We also see Roshi as a smart and responsible man instead of just a flanderized pervert, who sadly wasn't strong enough to save Kakarot from himself.
Visuals: 2/5. The artist tries to stay close to Dragon Ball style but fails, so we get a bunch of weird looking bodies for the children on backgrounds without that much detail
Entertainment: 2/5. Starts off interesting but becomes one boring fight against Roshi before anything more can happen.
Importance: 2/5. Well, now we know HOW Kakarot befriended Krillin, but whether that friendship was an important part of his life as it was foreshadowed in Pan's fight, we don't know.
Overall: 10/25
Special 22: Cooler, The Last Frost Demon
A return to "Movie Rewritten" Specials, this time, Cooler's.
Plot: 3/5. Most plot complaints about the original movie are addressed: Goku can transform into Super Saiyan with no problem, Cooler can hold his own against him even before his transformation, Vegeta, Gohan and Krillin all get a fight, and Cooler addresses that his father should've been stronger than him. However, Cooler is defeated way too easily; Goku just powers up again and dominates the fight. Makes his transformation feel like a minor power boost despite the opposite being stated. We also get a fight between Frieza and Cooler at the beginning... I wonder what the point of that was.
Characterization: 2/5. The full Namek team fights, but they don't do much in the end. Cooler gets respected, including a powerup to Super Saiyan level, but even then he is too weak to feel like he was a real threat.
Visuals: 5/5. It's drawn by Asura.
Entertainment: 4/5. Sometimes, Goku kicking ass just makes your day.
Importance: 0/5. This is basically the same as the movie except with a stronger Cooler and Vegeta having a minor role, nothing special to see here that ties into the tournament.
Overall: 14/25
Special 23: Two Brothers
The first special about the Super Saiyan's stories, this time focusing on Goku and Raditz, and their rapid growth as brothers and saiyans.
Plot: 5/5. Lots of things going on, this special doesn't waste a single page. Kakarotto and Raditz quickly bond, and as a twist, they even go off to attack a powerful planet by themselves. We get to see them both training and studying for this attack, and as a bonus we see where the idea for the Oozaru lamps came from.
Characterization: 5/5. Kakarot is insane but not stupid. He is shown motivating Raditz to improve (and damn they do, they are both as strong as Nappa now), he can teach his brothers his techniques from Earth, and HE is the one that comes up with the Microscopic Lamps. Now, for Raditz. He is shown to truly care about his brother, so much that he prioritizes him over the mission's success, and also a good mentor that helps him growas a fighter.
Visuals: 4/5. Each half is drawn by a different artist. Johann Dark's part looks great, his art style is close enough to Toriyama, with the only imperfection being Kakarot's face. Ouv's art is jarring at first, but once you get used to it you'll find it a refreshing change in looks.
Entertainment: 4/5. Falls off by the second half, Feyn's fight is boring and the bickering between Raditz and Kakarot, while entertaining, doesn't last long.
Importance: 3/5. It's important for the rest of U13's specials, but by itself it doesn't add much to the Tournament beyond introducing the Oozaru lamps.
Overall: 21/25
Special 24: Dumb And Dumber
The continuation of Raditz and Kakarot's attack on Helior. Though, not everything goes as planned.
Plot: 3/5. Their attack doesn't go as planned, and in the end, they mess up and have to ruin the planet to survive. This attack doesn't go unpunished, and this will be shown... next special. Here, it's just the fight.
Characterization: 5/5. We continue seeing more of Raditz and Kakarot's relationship, and the first appearance of Emperor Vegeta, who is PISSED. Also, first appearance of a DBM Saibaiman.
Visuals: 5/5. It's a different art style and once you are used to it, the colored pages are really attractive.
Entertainment: 4/5. It's an interesting fight, that teases you with Kakarot's death until you realize he survivedand then you learn he couldn't die anyway
Importance: 3/5. Much like the previous special, this is a self-contained story that isn't tied to the tournament yet.
Overall: 20/25
Special 25: Son Bra's Problem
Noticing her anger issues, Gohan and Vegetto need to put Bra under control, not just for their sake, but also the fate of the Earth.
Plot: 3/5. Simple, but effective. The special ends with Bra learning how to control her anger in the Super Saiyan form. Strangely, this anger control was temporary.
Characterization: 4/5. Gohan is the best dad. Pan is adorable, and Gotenks used as "test your anger against the most irritable opponent" was a genius idea. Points off, because Bra's character development here doesn't go anywhere.
Visuals: 5/5. All the pages are pretty well drawn, and the coloring makes them look wonderful.
Entertainment: 4/5. A slice of life special, with just enough action to not get boring. Gohan can give you a few parenting lessons.
Importance: 0/5. This special is about the Son family teaching Bra how to control her anger issues, and supposedly fixing them. Fast forwards a few specials later, Bra ends up destroying a whole solar system due to her anger issues, and then in the tournament these issues are the foundation of her character, and cause of DBM's biggest controversy. So... this may as well have never happened.
Overall: 16/25
Special 26/27: The Two Last Survivors/Let's Stop The Tyrant Freezer!
Goku and Nail go off to get revenge on Frieza, for killing all their friends and family.
Plot: 4/5. Pretty simple and straightforward, this special is mostly about fighting. However, the fight has lasting consequences on Frieza's empire that lead to him mastering his true form and Ginyu going into hiding.
Characterization: 5/5. Goku and Nail action! Frieza learning something from this experience! And of course, the Ginyu Force is always a win.
Visuals: 5/5. Astounding. Everything is very well drawn and detailed, there are loads of memorable shots (The start of the battle, Frieza's first transformation, Ginyu vs Nail while Goku and Frieza are going ham in the distance). The coloring makes me want to break my own rules and give this a 6.
Entertainment: 5/5. The ginyu force makes for some hilarious moments, but this special is home to some interesting What-If fights, such as Nail vs the Ginyu Force and Goku without his Zenkai vs Frieza. And as a bonus, we get Ginyu's story told in a concise but clear way.
Importance: 4/5. The only part truly important is the last few pages, focusing on how and why Ginyu took Cold's body.
Overall: 23/25
Special 28/29: The Attack of the Androids... without Cell!/The Android's Authentic Face
Self-explanatory, isn't it?
Plot: 2/5. For a whole special, it sure wastes a lot of time. We see some events retold, only with minor differences (such as Krillin and Trunks destroying Gero's lab again), and the biggest differences (Kami is reluctant to fuse and use the Hyperbolic time chamber this time around) could've been told in a pair of changes. This didn't need to be a two parter.
Characterization: 3/5. We see Kami taking his job seriously, and the Androids becoming good guys in a natural way. but besides that, there isn't much new here.
Visuals: 1/5. It's a different art style but that's not the problem. Bodies and especially shapes are horribly deformed at times (WE ARE NOT FRIENDS! panel being a notoriously bad example), and the way 18 is drawn is laughablebut hot. Fight scenes are nothing special, either. Second half is drawn by a different artist, and it improves to a 3/5, averaging 2/5.
Entertainment: 2/5. The differences are minor enough that it's not an interesting read, and the fight doesn't get interesting untiil the second part. After that, seeing the Androids live together with the Z fighters is a refreshing sight.
Importance: 0/5. This is U11's story, so we know that eventually all these guys get killed by Babidi. Even then... there are 100 ways in which Babidi could have won (easiest one being, Fat Buu killed everyone) this special is not important.
Overall: 9/25
Special 30/31: The Era of the Saiyans/The Only Legendary Super Saiyan
The direct sequel to Frieza's Rebellion.
Plot: 2/5. Part 1 is world-building to its finest. We get to see how the Frost Demon's empire slowly falls apart and becomes the brutal Saiyan Empire. Part 2 is about how Broly was defeated in this universe, which is once again, done with a clever use of Bardock's visions. That being said, the special is drawn out with unnecessary side stories: did Hanasia's coronation fight really need that many pages? what was the point of the Ginyu Force vs Cooler Squad, which only left Salza's fate undecided? what about that whole scene with the Saiyans talking about Nameks' destruction?.
Characterization: 4/5. Namek Saga Vegeta and Bardock using his visions in a smart way are always a win. We also see a rare instance of Broly with a personality, and just how barbarian most saiyans can be.
Visuals: 3/5. Once again, not the best out there, but also not bad at all.
Entertainment: 3/5. As said above, it drags on with unnecessary side stories and the few fight scenes aren't all that interesting.
Importance: 2/5. We get a few details about U3 saiyans: where their new armors came from, why Raichi has a SSJ Vegeta, and how he eventually killed the Saiyans.
Overall: 14/25
Special 32: Make a Wish
We get a piece of what Buu has been up to since his victory. He is now granting wishes to any person who dares visit him, so long as he approves of what they are asking for. Hoi takes notice of this, and decides to take a visit himself.
Plot: 1/5. There really isn't much of anything going on, except for a different take on Hoi's story, and a universe in which Tapion got a happy ending.
Characterization: 5/5. Zen Buu is always a win.
Visuals: 3/5. Pretty close to the style of Dragon Ball, but the action poses are too stiff to deserve a Higher rank.
Entertainment: 2/5. The scenes leading up to Hoi's wish can take a chuckle or two out of you, but after that it's pretty boring.
Importance: 1/5. If you read this, you'll probably find it less surprising that Zen Buu could bring everyone in the Tournament back to life. Besides that, this is as skippable as it gets.
Overall: 12/25
Special 33: Universe 9, The Earth Without Goku.
After so many years, FINALLY we get a special about Universe 9! Surely we will get a really interesting story that will answer most of our doubts, right? Right?
Plot: 1/5. First, we see that the difference that caused it all, was that Cooler's ship killed Baby Goku, and then Cooler killed Frieza himself, leaving the Earth to fend itself off from Cooler afterwards, we see that the adventure began with Grandpa Gohan and Bulma, and that up until getting all the Dragon Balls there was no significant difference in this universe. Then it all goes downhill. Did you want to see what Cooler's empire was like? How the first encounter with the Saiyans went? How the humans managed to overcome the massive gap between them and Cooler? What in the hell happened to Yamcha that he became an Android, and who the equivalent of 18 was, and what happened to her? Well... instead we get some messing around with two nameless kids before the Humans leave for the tournament. What a waste.
Characterization: 1/5. Spoiled Frieza and some characterization to Grandpa Gohan are fresh ideas, but none of these characters are onscreen for long enough to get you invested on any of them. Instead we get the two random kids that nobody cares about.
Visuals: 3/5. The art style changes a lot, ranging from bad to good. Fortunately the latter is more common than the former.
Entertainment: 1/5. The special is basically 4 disconnected side stories stitched together to give us some backstory to U9. They don't last long enough to get you invested into any of them before being taken to something almost completely unrelated.
Importance: 1/5. Cooler's Empire and Gohan's involvement are crucial for where the U9's story will be headed next. That being said, this doesnt tie into the tournament at all.
Overall: 7/25
Special 34: Mirai Universes: The Original Timeline
How did the Z Fighters handle Mecha Frieza and Cold without Trunks? Read this special to find out.
Plot: 1/5. It's just not an interesting premise for a special. Normally you just assume "Goku arrived in time, turned Super Saiyan, and killed them both". In this... it's the same with some complications inbetween. I respect the attempt of making Cold transform and put up a fight, but the way he is defeated is hilariously anticlimatic (So, you saw Piccolo charging up, you realized that the Z Fighters are buying time for him, you point this out to their faces... and you do nothing about it?).
Characterization: 2/5. Goku and Piccolo team up, like old times! Vegeta is still an asshole doing whatever he wants. Cold is an idiot by the end of his fight, though... and the most of the cast doesn't do anything important, despite this special being an attempt to make them fight.
Visuals: 3/5. Cold's third form doesn't look right, and it's very distracting, but this is more than compensated by the colored art.
Entertainment: 2/5. It could be cool to see the Z fighters show off against random unnamed soldiers, but at this point in the timeline, the Z Fighters are too weak to be fun to fight. The only reason Frieza doesn't deathbeam all of them at once is because the plot demands otherwise.
Importance: 0/5. This is not tied to the tournament, or any universe for that matter.
Overall: 8/25
Special 35: Universe 13 Origins, The Father.
Old Grandpa Gohan finds Baby Kakarot in the forest, and attempts to raise him on his own. However, this kid won't be nearly as docile as Goku was.
Plot: 0/5. I mean... did we really need to see this? It literally ends the exact same way it does in the original timeline, with Gohan being killed by the Oozaru. Tthere is nothing new to see here. This special's existence brings up a plot hole in "The Friend". If Roshi was told that Gohan found an "extremely violent kid with a Monkey's tail, that wants to kill humans", and then he never hears of him again, shouldn't he immediately connect the dots when he sees that a Beast with a tail is killing humans?
Characterization: 2/5. Baby Kakarot is adorable, and we get a bit more of Gohan action. And we also see a bit more of insane Kakarot... that's a nice sight, but nothing new.
Visuals: 2/5. Good enough, at least.
Entertainment: 1/5. You go in expecting a boring special about Grandpa Gohan being killed by Kakarot as an Oozaru. Before anything can change your mind, Kakarot kills Gohan as an Oozaru.
Importance: 0/5. Another special about Kid Kakarot that doesn't tell anything interesting about what we know happened to Kid Kakarot. Also completely untied to the tournament, as you'd expect.
Overall: 5/25
Special 36: Public Enemies Number 1.
After Raditz and Kakarotto's big fuckup, the Saiyans realize that they are on Frieza's kill list. Their objective now: stay out of Frieza's radar, and become immortal before Frieza can find them.
Plot: 2/5. Develoips naturally, with Vegeta realizing it's better to become immortal with his team, than try to kill them and remain a pawn of Frieza. Lord Slug's appeareance is as out-of-nowhere as it is important, that's how Frieza finds out about their whereabouts. But it has issues, starting from the second half: Why would Lord Slug leave four dangerous prisoners completely unguarded? Do the Saiyans really not know how to fly a ship, so that they need that slave's help... which causes that plot hole in the first place? Also, in the middle of the special we get an official power levels list. Kakarotto is listed at 8k, Angila at 20k, and once again it's stated that the Oozaru form only doubles your power level. Five pages after the fact, Oozaru Kakarotto kills Angila in one hit, something that would only make sense if Oozaru was any multiplier higher than 2x. Nice job, dude.
Characterization: 4/5. Kakarotto steals the show, dude does whatever the hell he wants. Vegeta is shown as a responsible leader... but deep down he still only cares about himself. Nappa and Raditz comparatively fall flat, but hey, random Lord Slug!
Visuals: 5/5. Ouv returns with his visually pleasing art style, complete with colored pages.
Entertainment: 4/5. I don't know if it's just me, but I always find this group of Saiyans to be really fun to watch, and I can't wait to see more of their story in the future. The special itself is paced pretty well, with lots of action balanced out with important plot development that keeps you invested, and you'll probably by intrigued to know what the hell Lord Slug's role will be.
Importance: 4/5. The first step before the group gets to Namek. It shows us how they learned of the Dragon Balls, and introduces Lord Slug, wondering if he'll make another appearance. More imporatantly, it confirms that Kakarotto is indeed immortal, and not just strangely tenacious.
Overall: 19/25
Special 37/38: Quadruple Mission/Son Bra Unbound
Vegetto is sent on a mission to stop a sudden, extremely powerful Warrior. To do this, he must group up four people, who must find them and then relay the message to the others. This will lead to Bra's group finding the Warriors, and awakening her berserk Super Saiyan two in the process.
Plot: 2/5. The characterization isn't perfect, but the point is made clear. Bra is pushed to her limits, then goes beyond them by unlocking Super Saiyan 2. However she COMPLETELY loses control of herself in this form, causing Vegetto to threaten her to control herself. Until it gets to this point, though... well it's a bunch of minor fights and little gags. Sure, gag specials aren't always a bad thing, but they are not the point of the special here, are they? Finally, this special does a better job at explaining Bojack's origins, than the special made specficially for that. Funny.
Characterization: 2/5. Goten Action! Gags! And Vegetto being a responsible dad. You know, for a special meant for us to symphatize with Bra... she is still being a piece of shit who doesnt care about the consequences of her actions. I could go more in detail about this... but I'm pretty sure we've heard enough about this topic during the last two years so let's not.
Visuals: 3/5. Has three artists. Mathieu's art style is not only different from Dragon Ball's, it also has a lot of problems with character proportions, so 2/5. dsp27's is very acceptable, so 3/5 for him. And Asura is just Asura, 5/5. Averages out to 3/5.
Entertainment: 4/5. The gag scenes cannot be everyone's cup of tea, but the fight against the Jaykals has a lot to show.
Importance: 2/5. We already knew Bra couldn't control herself in Super Saiyan 2. That specifc part, about Bra needing to control her power or else Vegetto will be forced to kill her, we had seen a flashback of. And the first part is completely skippable except the first few pages. Once again, I'll stop here to not start yet another Bra discussion.
Overall: 13/25
Special 39: The Power Of My Elders.
Little Pan gets invited to one of Goku and Vegeta's training sessions. Poor thing could not even have imagined how brutal they can be.
Plot: 2/5. On one hand, we get to see some more events from Pan's perspective. Her first sight at what a real fight was like, and her thoughts on Pan dying at Bojack's hands. On the other hand, there really isn't much going on.
Characterization: 5/5. Not just Pan. Vegeta and Goku have a fallout due to SSJ3's drawbacks, and their stagnating progress. Gohan threatens Vegeta, and once again shows himself to be the best dad.
Visuals: 5/5. Hot damn Arcady Picardi is awesome. I don't think even Asura could have shown this fight as brutally as he did, and it makes sense; it's supposed to be looked at from the perspective of a five year old.
Entertainment: 3/5. Makes you feel sorry for little Pan.
Importance: 0/5. Nope, sorry.
Overall: 15/25
Special 40/41: The End of The Universe/The Alliance of The Strongest Fighters
The third, and final encounter against Broly.
Plot: 3/5. Sometimes, a simple plot about an extremely powerful dude coming out of nowhere and wrecking havoc, with the heroes being forced to stop him. is not all that bad. But c'mon, he survived a Black Hole just by being too strong? Dude needs to have some limits, man.
Characterization: 4/5. Broly still has no personality, but it's refreshing to see someone take an opponent seriously right from the start. If anything, I can complain about Ultra Buu deciding to waste time punching Broly, instead of teleporting him to a star straight away. Uub doesn't do anything, as much as you want to believe he does.
Visuals: 4/5. Basic, but the fight scenes, and the Planet's destruction around it, are very well made. Too bad that Videl's memetic face at the beginning turned some people the wrong way.
Entertainment: 5/5. NO ONE is fucking around. Everyone is pissed, and they are going at full power from the start. You dont see this every day, so you better enjoy it. Also, Broly nuked the fucking planet. That's badass.
Importance: 1/5. We all knew that in universe 20, Broly won. This doesn't show anything new. Not even where the water came from. Come on.
Overall: 17/25
Special 42: How It All Began.
A parody of Ducktales, showing us when the Technology that the Vargas use was created.
Plot: 1/5. It's mostly gags.
Characterization: 1/5. The Gods are here! They have shown themselves to play it very safe when it comes to universal and multiversal threats, so what causes them to want to start a multiversal tournament? They make a joke about it.
Visuals: 3/5. Works very well for what this special is supposed to be, but nothing remarkable.
Entertainment: 3/5. This is more subjective, but the gags weren't very funny to me. That can't be true for everyone, though.
Importance: 0/5. Everything that could tie to the tournament is played for laughs, so you can very safely skip this one.
Overall: 9/25
Special 43: Back Home
Berrizo returns, and with him, the fate of Bojack and the Girls! What will this encounter be like?
Plot: 2/5. Bojack is pretty easily killed off, and the girls don't get all that deep of a backstory. Just when it sounds like this special is going to have something else to it... it doesn't.
Characterization: 1/5. Before this, I didn't care about Bojack's gang, and I didn't care about these girls. After this, I don't care about Bojack, and I don't care about these girls. But wait! Looks like little Bujin is getting his foreshadowed redemption arc! Will he finally get the peace he dese- oh nevermind he is unceremoniously killed off.
Visuals: 2/5. That cover gave a very bad first impression, and proportions/faces are wonky all throughout, but Berrizo's noticeably improved.
Entertainment: 1/5. Nah, all three of them are pretty easily killed off.
Importance: 3/5. We get confirmation of what Syd's mysterious power was, whether they could kill Bojack or not in their return, and the conclusions of Bujin's character arc. Not like these things are particularly important to the overall story, though.
Overall: 9/25
And that's the last one at the time this was written.
To summarize, let's rank them all in a traditional Tier List format:
S (Overall: 22+)
Special 26/27: The Two Last Survivors/Let's Stop the Tyrant Freezer! (23/25)
Special 18: The Fall of An Empire (22/25)
A (Overall: 18 to 21)
Special 23: Two Brothers (21/25)
Special 24: Dumb and Dumber (20/25)
Special 36: Public Enemies Number 1 (20/25)
Special 7/8: Visions of the Future/The Saiyan's Rebellion (20/25)
Special 12/13: Two Great Heroes/Monsters versus Warriors, Fight of Puppets (19/25)
Special 16/17: Vegeta's Abscence in Namek/Let's Recover the Dragon Balls! (18/25)
B (Overall: 14 to 17)
Special 40/41: The End of The Universe/The Alliance of The Strongest Fighters (17/25)
Special 9: The Last Namekian (16/25)
Special 25: Son Bra's Problem (16/25)
Special 1: First Encounter with the Legendary Saiyan! (16/25)
Special 20: Majin Buu's Rebirth (16/25)
Special 11: The End of Humanity (15/25)
Special 39: The Power Of My Elders (15/25)
Special 30/31: The Era of the Saiyans/The Only Legendary Super Saiyan (14/25)
Special 10: Deus Ex Machina (14/25)
Special 22: Cooler, the Last Frost Demon (14/25)
C (Overall: 10 to 13)
Special 3: The Return of the Legendary Saiyan! (13/25)
Special 37/38: Quadruple Mission/Son Bra Unbound (13/25)
Special 15: The Birth of Vegetto (13/25)
Special 32: Make a Wish (12/25)
Special 14: Future Majin Attack (11/25)
Special 2: Trunks' new friend, created by his biggest enemy! (10/25)
Special 21: Universe 13 Origins, The Friend (10/25)
D (Overall: 6 to 9)
Special 43: Back Home (9/25)
Special 42: How It All Began. (9/25)
Special 28/29: The Attack of the Androids... without Cell!/The Android's Authentic Face (9/25)
Special 34: Mirai Universes: The Original Timeline (8/25)
Special 5: Cell's Fearful Victory (8/25)
Special 33: Universe 9, The Earth Without Goku. (7/25)
F (Overall: 0 to 5)
Special 35: Universe 13 Origins, The Father (5/25)
Special 4: Vegetto's Heiresses (5/25)
Special 6: Bojack Gang's Victory (5/25)
Special 19: Experiment Subject Bojack (4/25)
But are all specials really that bad? Let's break them down. I'm going to be ranking them based on 5 factors, ranked from 1 to 5:
Plot: Does the special have an interesting and engaging plot, that leaves you wanting to see more ? Or is it a boring story with nothing interesting to see and/or wasted potential everywhere?
Characterization: Does the special tackle some interesting character development plot? Do underused characters get a chance to shine? Or do the protagonists act so out of character that they don't feel like themselves, combined with some characters being completely wasted?
Visuals: How good does the special look? Does it try to stick true to the Dragon Ball artstyle? If not, is it pleasing to look at regardless?
Entertainment: Does the special have an entertaining plot that keeps you hooked in every page? Does it drag on for too long, making you lose interest quickly? Are there interesting fight scenes or whole new concepts?
Importance: Does the special tie into the tournament in any meaningful way? Does it tell an interesting story that you may not want to miss out on? Or is it nothing more than a uninteresting filler special?
We will be ranking them in chronological order, and to save some time I'm going to assume that anyone reading this post has already read the special beforehand, and is up to date with the Comic. Without further ado, let's begin.
Special 1: The First Meeting with the Legendary Super Saiyan!
Basically a retelling of Broly's first movie, but with edits by Salagir to make it fit in the main continuity.
Plot: 3/5. Basically every plot hole in the Broly movie has been resolved. Gohan and Goku are in the Mastered Super Saiyan State at all times. Vegeta doesn't just accept to become a King and ignore all his development. Cell's threat is still acknowledged, and he is even compared to Broly at the end. Instead of Goku weirdly absorbing everyone's powers, he does a Genkidama, which is a more sensical way of tackling the same idea. However despite fixing all the superficial flaws, it's still a Broly movie, so it's stuck with a main antagonist who has no real motivations, and despite fitting better in the main continuity, this special adds literally nothing new to make it more interesting.Characterization: 3/5. Gohan gets a chance to shine at the end, which impresses Vegeta to the point where even he contributes to the Spirit Bomb. There are also no side characters here, Krillin and even fucking Oolong join the fight. Points taken off for Broly, who despite being the main antagonist, he is still just a mindless brute with no motivations.
Visuals: 4/5. Some drawings look traced or offmodel, and the Genkidama is weirdly small, but nothing is offputting and the special ends up being quite nice to look at. The coloring certainly helps, too.
Entertainment: 4/5. Short and straight to the point, this is simply meant to retell Broly's story. Some added scenes are memorable, such as Gohan holding off Broly by himself and Oolong's short scene that made for a simple gag.
Importance: 2/5. You may be interested in Salagir's edits to it, but this story still doesn't add anything to the main story and can be skipped without much consequence. Despite its flaws, the first Broly Movie will give you the exact same idea of who the character is and what's his story.
Overall: 16/25
Special 2: Trunks' New Friend, Created By His Most Hated Enemy!
Future Trunks, right after killing the Androids in his timeline, goes back to Gero's Lab to recover Android 16 and use his help to rebuild their world.
Plot: 1/5. The introduction says it all, there really isn't much to see here.Characterization: 4/5. Trunks acts like a total badass, and we see that Android 16 was in fact always a benevolent Android. The special is too short to see much more of anything.
Visuals: 2/5. The drawings are traced and clearly scaled up and/or stretched to fit in the panels, it stands out a lot, but as a whole isn't that bad.
Entertainment: 2/5. The whole special is one short conversation between Android 16 and Future Trunks. Only saving grace is Trunks showing off his power to threaten Android 16... but besides that, nothing new happens.
Importance: 1/5. This whole special could be replaced with one or two speech bubbles in the comic.
Overall: 10/25
Special 3: The Return of The Legendary Saiyan!!
Broly's second movie, almost completely rewritten to fit better in the main continuity of Dragon Ball Multiverse.
Plot: 1/5. Broly surviving in a deserted planet for years, with no company, food or anything, and then flying halfway across space with no spaceship, is extemely far-fetched. So is Goten and Trunks "accidentally" waking him up by pure coincidence. After that, the fight against Broly is pretty straight forward.
Characterization: 4/5. The reaction to Broly reappearing out of nowhere and attacking the kids is pretty realistic. Gohan gets to be himself from the Cell Saga again (something even pointed out in the special), Piccolo is the strategist and buys them some time to charge up an attack, and Goku's intervention and his subtle fuckery with otherwordly rules are nice to see. This is the first time that the whole cast recognize something is a threat and immediately act on it as fast as possible. Still not a 5, though. Broly is an extremely flat antagonist, even is his normal form where he is supposed to have some intelligence.[/span]
Visuals: 4/5. Pretty well drawn, and consistent to the Dragon Ball's art style.
Entertainment: 3/5. The rematch against Broly is short, but entertaining. Gohan kicking Broly's ass and then a triple beam attack to send him to the sun are very fun to watch. The first half, with the cast slowly arriving to join the fight is refreshing from the "the cast all arrives at the same time... but only one guy fights while the rest watches" we are used to.
Importance: 1/5. Doesn't explain anything new about Broly or how he made it into the tournament, and is instead just a different version of the same movie to fit better into the main timeline. This special is arguably completely unnecessary; it could have just been said that Broly died in the comet at the end of the first movie, with the exception of some universes where he miraculously survived, leading to the events of the third special.
Overall: 13/25
Special 4: Vegetto's Heiresses
The first of many U16 specials about Bra, and one of the most controversial due to how far it strives from anything commonly seen in Dragon Ball, both visually and in its story.
Plot: 1/5. Its whole purpose is to be a small gag chapter, so it's just a bunch of disconnected gag scenes with no story to be told inbetween. The only reason this even has a point, is that it gives a small amount of worldbuilding in Universe 16, and how the universe exists with Vegetto in it. Just a bit.
Characterization: 2/5. Everyone acts as exaggerated versions of themselves for the sake of comedy. Despite that, we see a lot of characters interacting with Vegetto and slowly getting used to having him in their lives in place of Goku and Vegeta, which I think it's the most interesting part of his character.
Visuals: 1/5. By far the most controversial part of the chapter, since the art style barely looks like anything seen in Dragon Ball. I'm guessing it's intentional, much like the chapter's tone, but even with that in mind, the art style is very distracting and some drawings just look completely off.
Entertainment: 1/5. Whether the gags are funny is subjective... but this special goes on, and on, and on. It's the longest out of all the specials so far, and that's saying something despite it being the least serious of the bunch. The fact that all the gags are disconnected from one another, and the whole "monster under the bed" gag that drags on for five whole pages doesn't help.
Importance: 0/5. You can skip this with no consequence.
Overall: 5/25
Special 5: Cell's Fearful Victory.
The story of how Universe 17 Cell won the beam struggle against Gohan, and then killed all the Z fighters.
Plot: 1/5. The whole plot of this special is implied the moment you hear about a Cell that managed to beat Gohan. There are no surprises here, nor anything about what Cell did afterwards.
Characterization: 2/5. A rare instance of the cast completely admitting defeat, with only some fighters remaining optimistic... until the strongest of them get immediately picked off, that is.
Visuals: 3/5. A lot of the time the characters are poorly drawn, and the action just looks stiff. The one saving grace of this special is the colored pages, which are actually pretty well made.
Entertainment: 2/5. The beginning with Cell admitting the fighters have a small chance may give you a sliver of hope, and this massacre-style specials may be entertaining to some. Not for me, though.
Importance: 0/5. You can already assume U17 Cell won the Cell Games from the moment you see him. Not everything needs to be shown.
Overall: 8/25
Special 6: Bojack Gang's Victory
An alternative version of the Bojack Movie, with Bojack and his gang actually defeating the Z fighters. This has become one of the most popular Dragon Ball Multiverse specials for its... different execution.
Plot: 1/5. Murder festival much like the one above, with nothing more to see.
Characterization: 1/5. The characters all feel off, and it's not just their faces. Piccolo is uncharacteristically reckless and hotblooded (his "son" was murdered in cold blood... but still), and the rest do nothing more than stand around, power up uselessly and then get killed with little opposition. Even cell's special did a better job at making them fight.
Visuals: 0/5. Poor Berrizo is never going to catch a break for this, is he?
Entertainment: 2/5. The art style is so bad, that it's good. This makes it fun to read in its own way.
Importance: 1/5. From a meta standpoint this would be another 5/5. However from a story perspective this is only important to see why Bido isn't in Bojack's universe, though I personally never noticed that.
Overall: 5/25
Special 7-8: Visions of the future/The Saiyan's rebellion
An alternative take on Bardock's special, this time with him using his visions MUCH more inteligently (though sadly retconned out of the main timeline). This is two specials, but they are the same plot and artist, so I'll treat them as one.
Plot: 5/5. This is the single best way to handle Bardock's visions, by actually using them to change the future for the greater good, and not having them as a cheap tease for what's to come. An Oozaru army against Frieza, King Bardock, and even side stories such as how the 4 saiyans survived and how Broly was spared in Universe 3. Definitely one of the most creative specials around.
Characterization: 4/5. Bardock as a smart but stoic strategist, Frieza's army being too confident for its own good, Frieza unceremoniously killing anyone at any slight disobedience no matter who they are, and great characterization from all the side saiyans, such as Bardock's partner having some crush on Fasha, and Gerkin's loyalty to Vegeta amongst others. One slight critique, is that Bardock becomes accepted as King a little bit too easily, especially by someone as prideful as Vegeta, but things like that would've just drawn out the special for no good reason.
Visuals: 3/5. It's imperfect, especially during the fight scenes that look stiff and underwhelming at times. However it's far from being distracting.
Entertainment: 3/5. You could say it drags on for too long, especially if you had to read it as each page was released, and there is also a lot of dialogue without much action inbetween.
Importance: 5/5. Pretty much every special about Universe 3 is important, and this is the first chapter of U3 Bardock's story.
Overall: 20/25
Special 9: The Last Namekian
The first chapter in Gast Carcolh's story, showing his birth and how he killed Frieza.
Plot: 3/5. Simple and straight to the point, this special shows Gast Carlcolh's birth.
Characterization: 5/5. Gast Carcolh is always a win.
Visuals: 2/5. Imperfect, with wonky faces and fight scenes that are sometimes hard to read properly.
Entertainment: 3/5. Gast is a badass, but otherwise the special is very linear and predictable.
Importance: 3/5. Somewhat necessary to understand the next Gast specials and to sympathize with Gast better, but otherwise skippable as Gast's origins are already explained in the comic.
Overall: 16/25
Special 10: Deus Ex Machina.
U1 and U10's Kaioshins decide to stop Bibidi's plans before he can complete the creature that would eventually kill them, and then decide to kill all problematic beings in the universe by themselves.
Plot: 2/5. Short and effective, though it has one plot hole: How did they find out about Bibidi's experiments on Majin Buu, and what exactly caused them to act here and not in other universes?
Characterization: 2/5. All the gods are flat and one-dimensional, there isn't much to see here. Few bonus points for tackling the issue of murdering a newborn baby in front of his father, and giving some character to Bibidi.
Visuals: 5/5. Very good art style, with very detailed characters and backgrounds.
Entertainment: 3/5. Rare instance of the Kaioshins being badass gods and not powercrept by Goku and co.
Importance: 1/5. One of those specials that could simply be told in one or two lines of dialogue, without expanding on their lore much if at all.
Overall: 14/25
Special 11: The End of Humanity.
Raditz goes to Earth to pick up his brother, Kakarot, but finds out that there are still some warriors on the planet.
Plot: 3/5. The premise is simple, so this special is more about characterization and worldbuilding. We get to see how Kakarot became this world's equivalent of Future Trunks' Androids, down to the nonstop massacres and the murder of almost every competent fighter.
Characterization: 3/5. A badass Raditz, and some Tenshinhan and Yamcha action, something very rare to see nowadays.
Visuals: 3/5. Imperfect and not all that detailed, but far from being bad.
Entertainment: 4/5. Actually an entertaining fight, and we even get some Kakarot action at the end (though it doesn't last)
Importance: 2/5. Chapter 1 of the Super Saiyan's story, but also skippable since it's already implied Raditz just went to Earth and picked him up. You also get to know what Kakarot's relationship was with Tien and Yamcha... but that's not important.
Overall: 15/25
Special 12/13: Two Great Heroes/Monster against Warriors, fight of Puppets.
A desperate Hoi goes to get Dr Raichi's help to get him to open Tapion's Music Box. However, the cultist's intentions are not as pure as they seemed.
Plot: 3/5. Manages to work out a pairing as random as Dr Raichi and Hildegarn, and gives some more backstory to Hoi. Pretty simple after that, though.
Characterization: 5/5. Dr Raichi and Tapion bond in a very organic way, and we get to see that Multiverse Dr Raichi is just a misguided Anti Hero instead of a fullblown villain like he is officially.
Visuals: 4/5. May not be the best, nor the most fitting of Dragon Ball's style, but it's pleasing to read.
Entertainment: 2/5. The fight of the Ghosts vs Hildegarn is boring and just keeps dragging on and on. This could have been condensed into one special if they had tried.
Importance: 5/5. Basically every U3 special is important. This one more so, as it ties into the fight that jappens right after
Overall: 19/25
Special 14: Future Majin Attack
Answers a somewhat interesting question: What happened to Babidi in Future Gohan's time?
Plot: 1/5. Sorry, but there is no way Future Gohan can defeat Dabra. Obviously they were aware of this, which is why Babidi is an idiot and sends him off to give out most of his energy. It would've been much more interesting if Gohan had lured the Androids into the ship, leading to a much more interesting three-way fight (that Dabra still has no logical reason to lose... but we can still improvise)
Characterization: 3/5. Deals with Future Gohan, one of the most underused characters in Dragon Ball as a whole. Babidi is too much of an idiot, and while that's a bit on character, it goes too far.
Visuals: 3/5. "Not bad but also not remarkably good" rank.
Entertainment: 4/5. The plot may be silly, but it does lead to entertaining scenes.
Importance: 0/5. Doesn't tie to the tournament in any way.
Overall: 11/25
Special 15: The Birth of Vegetto
Shows us how U16 Vegetto killed Majin Buu and went on to become the universe's strongest warrior.
Plot: 2/5. Pretty simple all the way through. This special is clearly just an excuse to play around with Vegetto's character.
Characterization: 4/5. Back when Vegetto was a solid and entertaining character, and we finally get to see Goku and Vegeta's family reaction to his existence, something that sadly we will never seem to get officially.
Visuals: 4/5. Well drawn in a style similar to Toriyama's.
Entertainment: 2/5. Vegetto being overpowered is nothing new, and while him trying to fit in the family is entertaining, the special doesn't spend enough time with that.
Importance: 1/5. By the time you get to this special, you know all there is to know about Vegetto's birth just from dialogue in the comic.
Overall: 13/25
Specials 16/17: Vegeta's Absence in Namek/Let's Recover the Dragon Balls
An Universe 8 special, though it's actually closer to a separate What-If story altogether.
Plot: 5/5. All, the consequences of Vegeta's Absence are addressed, and all the characters act in a smart way. Bonus point for the ending, which leaves you feeling awful about the Z Warriors, and curious about another universe where they DID manage to get their wish.
Characterization: 5/5. Nail, Zarbon, Krillin and Gohan action, with the latter three putting up a good fight for a change, and finally Bulma's role as the strategist of the group.
Visuals: 3/5. It's imperfect, ESPECIALLY with Gohan and Frieza, but it's good enough to secure a 3 and not lower.
Entertainment: 4/5. Zarbon's fight is intense, and the events play out differently enough that it almost feels like a different saga.
Importance: 1/5. We KNOW that Frieza wins in this universe, and this special doesn't adress the bigger question about this universe(what happened to Ginyu, and why was he executed in the first place?)
Overall: 18/25
Special 18: The Fall of An Empire
Gast Carcolh explores the universe in search for a way to bring back his people. He comes across a Civilization with the wisdom of thousands, but he finds that it's about to be taken over by the Frost Demon Empire.
Plot: 4/5. Rather basic, but helps you sympathize with Gast even more. We also see that his power didn't come all at once, as he's visibly tired after killing Cold, an opponent that he should VERY easily be able to take down in the tournament. As a nice bonus, it tells you the story of this Universe's Vegeta, who has a mental breakdown when he realizes that the Legendary Super Saiyan he has always looked up to is a mere weakling compared to what he's seen.
Characterization: 5/5. Gast Carcolh is always a win. Namek saga Vegeta is always a win.
Visuals: 5/5. Arcady Picardi's art style may be jarring at first, but god damn is it awesome.
Entertainment: 5/5. Lots of fresh ideas, such as Vegeta and Kiwi having to work together to survive, an insane Frost Demon trying his hardest to control his full power in a desperate situation, Thorn, a child companion who is surprisingly knowledgeable, and of course, Gast Carcolh is always a win.
Importance: 3/5. Gast doesn't have much of a story to tell outside of his introduction. The moment you learn that he's the fusion of all namekians, and that he's there to bring his people back, is the moment you've learned everything about him. That all being said, there ARE stories coming for Gast in the future, and they should all lead themselves off of this chapter, so it gets a pair of extra points.
Overall: 22/25
Special 19: Experiment Subject Bojack
A special exploring the origins of Bojack and his Gang. A bit.
Plot: 0/5. We now know that Bojack's Gang's strength came from a bunch of experiments performed on him, with the objective of making them stronger than the Frost Demons. Now... what was so special about Bojack that he became so strong? How did they all go from Frieza First form level to Android-Cell level? Did they ever fight Cold, Snower and Blizzard? What did they do that the Kais sealed them? All these interesting plot points... and we just get a fight against a random OC instead.
Characterization: 1/5. Bojack is not an interesting characer, this does not attempt to make him an interesting character. All the characters introduced are forgettable. This has ONE point, because it's the introduction of Bujin's character arc
Visuals: 2/5. Very basic shapes, stiff fight scenes, and a general lack of detail everywhere.
Entertainment: 1/5. The special is basically one boring fight and then almost everyone there agreeing to follow Bojack
Importance: 1/5. Nope. Only even has a point, because one later special has Bojack's race as the antagonists, and these experiments are mentioned.
Overall: 4/25
Special 20: Majin Buu's Rebirth
Shows us how U4's Buu won against the Z fighters, and became fan favourite Zen Buu.
Plot: 3/5. Basic premise of "story but the villain wins", but actually focuses more on what Buu did afterwards, unlike others of its kind.
Characterization: 4/5. Not just Super Buu, but also Goku get the spotlight, with the latter being confirmed to be able to destroy the Solar System if he unleashes enough energy. We also get to see Buu gradually turning from Chaotic Evil to Chaotic Neutral as he absorbs more and more of the good guys.
Visuals: 4/5. Very close to Toriyama's style, and the colored pages for dramatic moments are a nice touch.
Entertainment: 4/5. The fight against Buu-Vegeta is written in a way that you are still cheering for Goku and Kibitoshin despite knowing they'll lose, and afterwards... well Zen Buu is always a win.
Importance: 1/5. Zen Buu is one of those characters whose backstory explains itself.
Overall: 16/25
Special 21: Universe 13 Origins: The Friend
Shows us one of the darkest moments in Kakarot's life: befriending Krillin, then realizing that his "saiyan programming" will force him to kill him.
Plot: 1/5. Wasted potential. Kakarot realizes Krillin and Roshi are humans before anything interesting can happen between them, and after that, we don't see anything that we'd like to see from Child Kakarot's story. How did he become the strongest on Earth? When and how did he learn about the Dragon Balls and became immortal? What was it like when he killed Krillin, something he STILL feels bad about nowadays? Instead, much like Bojack special, it's just one drawn out fight.
Characterization: 3/5. Kakarot befriends Krillin in a silly, Dragon Ball way (he thinks he is some sort of turtle because of Roshi's shell), but he is not that stupid, and has doubts all the way up to the realization. We also see Roshi as a smart and responsible man instead of just a flanderized pervert, who sadly wasn't strong enough to save Kakarot from himself.
Visuals: 2/5. The artist tries to stay close to Dragon Ball style but fails, so we get a bunch of weird looking bodies for the children on backgrounds without that much detail
Entertainment: 2/5. Starts off interesting but becomes one boring fight against Roshi before anything more can happen.
Importance: 2/5. Well, now we know HOW Kakarot befriended Krillin, but whether that friendship was an important part of his life as it was foreshadowed in Pan's fight, we don't know.
Overall: 10/25
Special 22: Cooler, The Last Frost Demon
A return to "Movie Rewritten" Specials, this time, Cooler's.
Plot: 3/5. Most plot complaints about the original movie are addressed: Goku can transform into Super Saiyan with no problem, Cooler can hold his own against him even before his transformation, Vegeta, Gohan and Krillin all get a fight, and Cooler addresses that his father should've been stronger than him. However, Cooler is defeated way too easily; Goku just powers up again and dominates the fight. Makes his transformation feel like a minor power boost despite the opposite being stated. We also get a fight between Frieza and Cooler at the beginning... I wonder what the point of that was.
Characterization: 2/5. The full Namek team fights, but they don't do much in the end. Cooler gets respected, including a powerup to Super Saiyan level, but even then he is too weak to feel like he was a real threat.
Visuals: 5/5. It's drawn by Asura.
Entertainment: 4/5. Sometimes, Goku kicking ass just makes your day.
Importance: 0/5. This is basically the same as the movie except with a stronger Cooler and Vegeta having a minor role, nothing special to see here that ties into the tournament.
Overall: 14/25
Special 23: Two Brothers
The first special about the Super Saiyan's stories, this time focusing on Goku and Raditz, and their rapid growth as brothers and saiyans.
Plot: 5/5. Lots of things going on, this special doesn't waste a single page. Kakarotto and Raditz quickly bond, and as a twist, they even go off to attack a powerful planet by themselves. We get to see them both training and studying for this attack, and as a bonus we see where the idea for the Oozaru lamps came from.
Characterization: 5/5. Kakarot is insane but not stupid. He is shown motivating Raditz to improve (and damn they do, they are both as strong as Nappa now), he can teach his brothers his techniques from Earth, and HE is the one that comes up with the Microscopic Lamps. Now, for Raditz. He is shown to truly care about his brother, so much that he prioritizes him over the mission's success, and also a good mentor that helps him growas a fighter.
Visuals: 4/5. Each half is drawn by a different artist. Johann Dark's part looks great, his art style is close enough to Toriyama, with the only imperfection being Kakarot's face. Ouv's art is jarring at first, but once you get used to it you'll find it a refreshing change in looks.
Entertainment: 4/5. Falls off by the second half, Feyn's fight is boring and the bickering between Raditz and Kakarot, while entertaining, doesn't last long.
Importance: 3/5. It's important for the rest of U13's specials, but by itself it doesn't add much to the Tournament beyond introducing the Oozaru lamps.
Overall: 21/25
Special 24: Dumb And Dumber
The continuation of Raditz and Kakarot's attack on Helior. Though, not everything goes as planned.
Plot: 3/5. Their attack doesn't go as planned, and in the end, they mess up and have to ruin the planet to survive. This attack doesn't go unpunished, and this will be shown... next special. Here, it's just the fight.
Characterization: 5/5. We continue seeing more of Raditz and Kakarot's relationship, and the first appearance of Emperor Vegeta, who is PISSED. Also, first appearance of a DBM Saibaiman.
Visuals: 5/5. It's a different art style and once you are used to it, the colored pages are really attractive.
Entertainment: 4/5. It's an interesting fight, that teases you with Kakarot's death until you realize he survived
Importance: 3/5. Much like the previous special, this is a self-contained story that isn't tied to the tournament yet.
Overall: 20/25
Special 25: Son Bra's Problem
Noticing her anger issues, Gohan and Vegetto need to put Bra under control, not just for their sake, but also the fate of the Earth.
Plot: 3/5. Simple, but effective. The special ends with Bra learning how to control her anger in the Super Saiyan form. Strangely, this anger control was temporary.
Characterization: 4/5. Gohan is the best dad. Pan is adorable, and Gotenks used as "test your anger against the most irritable opponent" was a genius idea. Points off, because Bra's character development here doesn't go anywhere.
Visuals: 5/5. All the pages are pretty well drawn, and the coloring makes them look wonderful.
Entertainment: 4/5. A slice of life special, with just enough action to not get boring. Gohan can give you a few parenting lessons.
Importance: 0/5. This special is about the Son family teaching Bra how to control her anger issues, and supposedly fixing them. Fast forwards a few specials later, Bra ends up destroying a whole solar system due to her anger issues, and then in the tournament these issues are the foundation of her character, and cause of DBM's biggest controversy. So... this may as well have never happened.
Overall: 16/25
Special 26/27: The Two Last Survivors/Let's Stop The Tyrant Freezer!
Goku and Nail go off to get revenge on Frieza, for killing all their friends and family.
Plot: 4/5. Pretty simple and straightforward, this special is mostly about fighting. However, the fight has lasting consequences on Frieza's empire that lead to him mastering his true form and Ginyu going into hiding.
Characterization: 5/5. Goku and Nail action! Frieza learning something from this experience! And of course, the Ginyu Force is always a win.
Visuals: 5/5. Astounding. Everything is very well drawn and detailed, there are loads of memorable shots (The start of the battle, Frieza's first transformation, Ginyu vs Nail while Goku and Frieza are going ham in the distance). The coloring makes me want to break my own rules and give this a 6.
Entertainment: 5/5. The ginyu force makes for some hilarious moments, but this special is home to some interesting What-If fights, such as Nail vs the Ginyu Force and Goku without his Zenkai vs Frieza. And as a bonus, we get Ginyu's story told in a concise but clear way.
Importance: 4/5. The only part truly important is the last few pages, focusing on how and why Ginyu took Cold's body.
Overall: 23/25
Special 28/29: The Attack of the Androids... without Cell!/The Android's Authentic Face
Self-explanatory, isn't it?
Plot: 2/5. For a whole special, it sure wastes a lot of time. We see some events retold, only with minor differences (such as Krillin and Trunks destroying Gero's lab again), and the biggest differences (Kami is reluctant to fuse and use the Hyperbolic time chamber this time around) could've been told in a pair of changes. This didn't need to be a two parter.
Characterization: 3/5. We see Kami taking his job seriously, and the Androids becoming good guys in a natural way. but besides that, there isn't much new here.
Visuals: 1/5. It's a different art style but that's not the problem. Bodies and especially shapes are horribly deformed at times (WE ARE NOT FRIENDS! panel being a notoriously bad example), and the way 18 is drawn is laughable
Entertainment: 2/5. The differences are minor enough that it's not an interesting read, and the fight doesn't get interesting untiil the second part. After that, seeing the Androids live together with the Z fighters is a refreshing sight.
Importance: 0/5. This is U11's story, so we know that eventually all these guys get killed by Babidi. Even then... there are 100 ways in which Babidi could have won (easiest one being, Fat Buu killed everyone) this special is not important.
Overall: 9/25
Special 30/31: The Era of the Saiyans/The Only Legendary Super Saiyan
The direct sequel to Frieza's Rebellion.
Plot: 2/5. Part 1 is world-building to its finest. We get to see how the Frost Demon's empire slowly falls apart and becomes the brutal Saiyan Empire. Part 2 is about how Broly was defeated in this universe, which is once again, done with a clever use of Bardock's visions. That being said, the special is drawn out with unnecessary side stories: did Hanasia's coronation fight really need that many pages? what was the point of the Ginyu Force vs Cooler Squad, which only left Salza's fate undecided? what about that whole scene with the Saiyans talking about Nameks' destruction?.
Characterization: 4/5. Namek Saga Vegeta and Bardock using his visions in a smart way are always a win. We also see a rare instance of Broly with a personality, and just how barbarian most saiyans can be.
Visuals: 3/5. Once again, not the best out there, but also not bad at all.
Entertainment: 3/5. As said above, it drags on with unnecessary side stories and the few fight scenes aren't all that interesting.
Importance: 2/5. We get a few details about U3 saiyans: where their new armors came from, why Raichi has a SSJ Vegeta, and how he eventually killed the Saiyans.
Overall: 14/25
Special 32: Make a Wish
We get a piece of what Buu has been up to since his victory. He is now granting wishes to any person who dares visit him, so long as he approves of what they are asking for. Hoi takes notice of this, and decides to take a visit himself.
Plot: 1/5. There really isn't much of anything going on, except for a different take on Hoi's story, and a universe in which Tapion got a happy ending.
Characterization: 5/5. Zen Buu is always a win.
Visuals: 3/5. Pretty close to the style of Dragon Ball, but the action poses are too stiff to deserve a Higher rank.
Entertainment: 2/5. The scenes leading up to Hoi's wish can take a chuckle or two out of you, but after that it's pretty boring.
Importance: 1/5. If you read this, you'll probably find it less surprising that Zen Buu could bring everyone in the Tournament back to life. Besides that, this is as skippable as it gets.
Overall: 12/25
Special 33: Universe 9, The Earth Without Goku.
After so many years, FINALLY we get a special about Universe 9! Surely we will get a really interesting story that will answer most of our doubts, right? Right?
Plot: 1/5. First, we see that the difference that caused it all, was that Cooler's ship killed Baby Goku, and then Cooler killed Frieza himself, leaving the Earth to fend itself off from Cooler afterwards, we see that the adventure began with Grandpa Gohan and Bulma, and that up until getting all the Dragon Balls there was no significant difference in this universe. Then it all goes downhill. Did you want to see what Cooler's empire was like? How the first encounter with the Saiyans went? How the humans managed to overcome the massive gap between them and Cooler? What in the hell happened to Yamcha that he became an Android, and who the equivalent of 18 was, and what happened to her? Well... instead we get some messing around with two nameless kids before the Humans leave for the tournament. What a waste.
Characterization: 1/5. Spoiled Frieza and some characterization to Grandpa Gohan are fresh ideas, but none of these characters are onscreen for long enough to get you invested on any of them. Instead we get the two random kids that nobody cares about.
Visuals: 3/5. The art style changes a lot, ranging from bad to good. Fortunately the latter is more common than the former.
Entertainment: 1/5. The special is basically 4 disconnected side stories stitched together to give us some backstory to U9. They don't last long enough to get you invested into any of them before being taken to something almost completely unrelated.
Importance: 1/5. Cooler's Empire and Gohan's involvement are crucial for where the U9's story will be headed next. That being said, this doesnt tie into the tournament at all.
Overall: 7/25
Special 34: Mirai Universes: The Original Timeline
How did the Z Fighters handle Mecha Frieza and Cold without Trunks? Read this special to find out.
Plot: 1/5. It's just not an interesting premise for a special. Normally you just assume "Goku arrived in time, turned Super Saiyan, and killed them both". In this... it's the same with some complications inbetween. I respect the attempt of making Cold transform and put up a fight, but the way he is defeated is hilariously anticlimatic (So, you saw Piccolo charging up, you realized that the Z Fighters are buying time for him, you point this out to their faces... and you do nothing about it?).
Characterization: 2/5. Goku and Piccolo team up, like old times! Vegeta is still an asshole doing whatever he wants. Cold is an idiot by the end of his fight, though... and the most of the cast doesn't do anything important, despite this special being an attempt to make them fight.
Visuals: 3/5. Cold's third form doesn't look right, and it's very distracting, but this is more than compensated by the colored art.
Entertainment: 2/5. It could be cool to see the Z fighters show off against random unnamed soldiers, but at this point in the timeline, the Z Fighters are too weak to be fun to fight. The only reason Frieza doesn't deathbeam all of them at once is because the plot demands otherwise.
Importance: 0/5. This is not tied to the tournament, or any universe for that matter.
Overall: 8/25
Special 35: Universe 13 Origins, The Father.
Old Grandpa Gohan finds Baby Kakarot in the forest, and attempts to raise him on his own. However, this kid won't be nearly as docile as Goku was.
Plot: 0/5. I mean... did we really need to see this? It literally ends the exact same way it does in the original timeline, with Gohan being killed by the Oozaru. Tthere is nothing new to see here. This special's existence brings up a plot hole in "The Friend". If Roshi was told that Gohan found an "extremely violent kid with a Monkey's tail, that wants to kill humans", and then he never hears of him again, shouldn't he immediately connect the dots when he sees that a Beast with a tail is killing humans?
Characterization: 2/5. Baby Kakarot is adorable, and we get a bit more of Gohan action. And we also see a bit more of insane Kakarot... that's a nice sight, but nothing new.
Visuals: 2/5. Good enough, at least.
Entertainment: 1/5. You go in expecting a boring special about Grandpa Gohan being killed by Kakarot as an Oozaru. Before anything can change your mind, Kakarot kills Gohan as an Oozaru.
Importance: 0/5. Another special about Kid Kakarot that doesn't tell anything interesting about what we know happened to Kid Kakarot. Also completely untied to the tournament, as you'd expect.
Overall: 5/25
Special 36: Public Enemies Number 1.
After Raditz and Kakarotto's big fuckup, the Saiyans realize that they are on Frieza's kill list. Their objective now: stay out of Frieza's radar, and become immortal before Frieza can find them.
Plot: 2/5. Develoips naturally, with Vegeta realizing it's better to become immortal with his team, than try to kill them and remain a pawn of Frieza. Lord Slug's appeareance is as out-of-nowhere as it is important, that's how Frieza finds out about their whereabouts. But it has issues, starting from the second half: Why would Lord Slug leave four dangerous prisoners completely unguarded? Do the Saiyans really not know how to fly a ship, so that they need that slave's help... which causes that plot hole in the first place? Also, in the middle of the special we get an official power levels list. Kakarotto is listed at 8k, Angila at 20k, and once again it's stated that the Oozaru form only doubles your power level. Five pages after the fact, Oozaru Kakarotto kills Angila in one hit, something that would only make sense if Oozaru was any multiplier higher than 2x. Nice job, dude.
Characterization: 4/5. Kakarotto steals the show, dude does whatever the hell he wants. Vegeta is shown as a responsible leader... but deep down he still only cares about himself. Nappa and Raditz comparatively fall flat, but hey, random Lord Slug!
Visuals: 5/5. Ouv returns with his visually pleasing art style, complete with colored pages.
Entertainment: 4/5. I don't know if it's just me, but I always find this group of Saiyans to be really fun to watch, and I can't wait to see more of their story in the future. The special itself is paced pretty well, with lots of action balanced out with important plot development that keeps you invested, and you'll probably by intrigued to know what the hell Lord Slug's role will be.
Importance: 4/5. The first step before the group gets to Namek. It shows us how they learned of the Dragon Balls, and introduces Lord Slug, wondering if he'll make another appearance. More imporatantly, it confirms that Kakarotto is indeed immortal, and not just strangely tenacious.
Overall: 19/25
Special 37/38: Quadruple Mission/Son Bra Unbound
Vegetto is sent on a mission to stop a sudden, extremely powerful Warrior. To do this, he must group up four people, who must find them and then relay the message to the others. This will lead to Bra's group finding the Warriors, and awakening her berserk Super Saiyan two in the process.
Plot: 2/5. The characterization isn't perfect, but the point is made clear. Bra is pushed to her limits, then goes beyond them by unlocking Super Saiyan 2. However she COMPLETELY loses control of herself in this form, causing Vegetto to threaten her to control herself. Until it gets to this point, though... well it's a bunch of minor fights and little gags. Sure, gag specials aren't always a bad thing, but they are not the point of the special here, are they? Finally, this special does a better job at explaining Bojack's origins, than the special made specficially for that. Funny.
Characterization: 2/5. Goten Action! Gags! And Vegetto being a responsible dad. You know, for a special meant for us to symphatize with Bra... she is still being a piece of shit who doesnt care about the consequences of her actions. I could go more in detail about this... but I'm pretty sure we've heard enough about this topic during the last two years so let's not.
Visuals: 3/5. Has three artists. Mathieu's art style is not only different from Dragon Ball's, it also has a lot of problems with character proportions, so 2/5. dsp27's is very acceptable, so 3/5 for him. And Asura is just Asura, 5/5. Averages out to 3/5.
Entertainment: 4/5. The gag scenes cannot be everyone's cup of tea, but the fight against the Jaykals has a lot to show.
Importance: 2/5. We already knew Bra couldn't control herself in Super Saiyan 2. That specifc part, about Bra needing to control her power or else Vegetto will be forced to kill her, we had seen a flashback of. And the first part is completely skippable except the first few pages. Once again, I'll stop here to not start yet another Bra discussion.
Overall: 13/25
Special 39: The Power Of My Elders.
Little Pan gets invited to one of Goku and Vegeta's training sessions. Poor thing could not even have imagined how brutal they can be.
Plot: 2/5. On one hand, we get to see some more events from Pan's perspective. Her first sight at what a real fight was like, and her thoughts on Pan dying at Bojack's hands. On the other hand, there really isn't much going on.
Characterization: 5/5. Not just Pan. Vegeta and Goku have a fallout due to SSJ3's drawbacks, and their stagnating progress. Gohan threatens Vegeta, and once again shows himself to be the best dad.
Visuals: 5/5. Hot damn Arcady Picardi is awesome. I don't think even Asura could have shown this fight as brutally as he did, and it makes sense; it's supposed to be looked at from the perspective of a five year old.
Entertainment: 3/5. Makes you feel sorry for little Pan.
Importance: 0/5. Nope, sorry.
Overall: 15/25
Special 40/41: The End of The Universe/The Alliance of The Strongest Fighters
The third, and final encounter against Broly.
Plot: 3/5. Sometimes, a simple plot about an extremely powerful dude coming out of nowhere and wrecking havoc, with the heroes being forced to stop him. is not all that bad. But c'mon, he survived a Black Hole just by being too strong? Dude needs to have some limits, man.
Characterization: 4/5. Broly still has no personality, but it's refreshing to see someone take an opponent seriously right from the start. If anything, I can complain about Ultra Buu deciding to waste time punching Broly, instead of teleporting him to a star straight away. Uub doesn't do anything, as much as you want to believe he does.
Visuals: 4/5. Basic, but the fight scenes, and the Planet's destruction around it, are very well made. Too bad that Videl's memetic face at the beginning turned some people the wrong way.
Entertainment: 5/5. NO ONE is fucking around. Everyone is pissed, and they are going at full power from the start. You dont see this every day, so you better enjoy it. Also, Broly nuked the fucking planet. That's badass.
Importance: 1/5. We all knew that in universe 20, Broly won. This doesn't show anything new. Not even where the water came from. Come on.
Overall: 17/25
Special 42: How It All Began.
A parody of Ducktales, showing us when the Technology that the Vargas use was created.
Plot: 1/5. It's mostly gags.
Characterization: 1/5. The Gods are here! They have shown themselves to play it very safe when it comes to universal and multiversal threats, so what causes them to want to start a multiversal tournament? They make a joke about it.
Visuals: 3/5. Works very well for what this special is supposed to be, but nothing remarkable.
Entertainment: 3/5. This is more subjective, but the gags weren't very funny to me. That can't be true for everyone, though.
Importance: 0/5. Everything that could tie to the tournament is played for laughs, so you can very safely skip this one.
Overall: 9/25
Special 43: Back Home
Berrizo returns, and with him, the fate of Bojack and the Girls! What will this encounter be like?
Plot: 2/5. Bojack is pretty easily killed off, and the girls don't get all that deep of a backstory. Just when it sounds like this special is going to have something else to it... it doesn't.
Characterization: 1/5. Before this, I didn't care about Bojack's gang, and I didn't care about these girls. After this, I don't care about Bojack, and I don't care about these girls. But wait! Looks like little Bujin is getting his foreshadowed redemption arc! Will he finally get the peace he dese- oh nevermind he is unceremoniously killed off.
Visuals: 2/5. That cover gave a very bad first impression, and proportions/faces are wonky all throughout, but Berrizo's noticeably improved.
Entertainment: 1/5. Nah, all three of them are pretty easily killed off.
Importance: 3/5. We get confirmation of what Syd's mysterious power was, whether they could kill Bojack or not in their return, and the conclusions of Bujin's character arc. Not like these things are particularly important to the overall story, though.
Overall: 9/25
And that's the last one at the time this was written.
To summarize, let's rank them all in a traditional Tier List format:
S (Overall: 22+)
Special 26/27: The Two Last Survivors/Let's Stop the Tyrant Freezer! (23/25)
Special 18: The Fall of An Empire (22/25)
A (Overall: 18 to 21)
Special 23: Two Brothers (21/25)
Special 24: Dumb and Dumber (20/25)
Special 36: Public Enemies Number 1 (20/25)
Special 7/8: Visions of the Future/The Saiyan's Rebellion (20/25)
Special 12/13: Two Great Heroes/Monsters versus Warriors, Fight of Puppets (19/25)
Special 16/17: Vegeta's Abscence in Namek/Let's Recover the Dragon Balls! (18/25)
B (Overall: 14 to 17)
Special 40/41: The End of The Universe/The Alliance of The Strongest Fighters (17/25)
Special 9: The Last Namekian (16/25)
Special 25: Son Bra's Problem (16/25)
Special 1: First Encounter with the Legendary Saiyan! (16/25)
Special 20: Majin Buu's Rebirth (16/25)
Special 11: The End of Humanity (15/25)
Special 39: The Power Of My Elders (15/25)
Special 30/31: The Era of the Saiyans/The Only Legendary Super Saiyan (14/25)
Special 10: Deus Ex Machina (14/25)
Special 22: Cooler, the Last Frost Demon (14/25)
C (Overall: 10 to 13)
Special 3: The Return of the Legendary Saiyan! (13/25)
Special 37/38: Quadruple Mission/Son Bra Unbound (13/25)
Special 15: The Birth of Vegetto (13/25)
Special 32: Make a Wish (12/25)
Special 14: Future Majin Attack (11/25)
Special 2: Trunks' new friend, created by his biggest enemy! (10/25)
Special 21: Universe 13 Origins, The Friend (10/25)
D (Overall: 6 to 9)
Special 43: Back Home (9/25)
Special 42: How It All Began. (9/25)
Special 28/29: The Attack of the Androids... without Cell!/The Android's Authentic Face (9/25)
Special 34: Mirai Universes: The Original Timeline (8/25)
Special 5: Cell's Fearful Victory (8/25)
Special 33: Universe 9, The Earth Without Goku. (7/25)
F (Overall: 0 to 5)
Special 35: Universe 13 Origins, The Father (5/25)
Special 4: Vegetto's Heiresses (5/25)
Special 6: Bojack Gang's Victory (5/25)
Special 19: Experiment Subject Bojack (4/25)
