Dragon Blog Z #37: What If The Buu Saga Never Happened?

Article by Sean Wilkinson,

a.k.a. A MasakoX Fan

This was kind of a spur of the moment thing that I came up with while scrolling through YouTube in 2023, and I came across a poll that asked when Dragon Ball Z should have ended, giving the Cell Saga and the Buu Saga as its options. I wasn't able to find the poll recently, as it is too old, but I started writing this the same week the poll was posted, so I know that the majority of voters said that the Cell Saga was the better ending point, so I thought about what the series would have been like if we went from the Cell Saga into Super, and here we go:

The most obvious thing to do would be to cover some adaptation of the post-Cell movies, starting with Bojack Unbound. Future Trunks would have gone back to his timeline after the Cell Games and used his newly gained strength to wipe out the Androids and Cell, but not returned to participate in X.S. Cash's "Intergalactic" Tournament (because that was stupid in the movie), giving Yamcha a chance to do something besides lay around on his ass, waiting to get eliminated as a joke. Again. Instead, he faces off against Krillin while Tien and Gohan fight and Piccolo stands around, no-selling hordes of jobbers...until a terrifying encounter with a white-haired, red-skinned man in fancy robes causes him to forfeit. Yamcha still loses, but both he and Krillin get to keep their dignity for now, and Tien does his best against Gohan, kind of mirroring his original fights with Goku in Dragon Ball, but it ends as it did in the movie, with Tien taking an L when his half-Saiyan opponent transforms and knocks him into the water. Also, Doskoi is there because things that happen later need to happen.

Elsewhere, Vegeta is watching the Tournament on TV and feeling aimless without Goku to rival him, Goku and King Kai are watching on a TV in Otherworld, Bulma (with baby Trunks) and Tights are watching from the crowd because they haven't hung out for the length of an entire shōnen manga and Tights wants to use the Tournament as inspiration for a new novel she's writing. Chi-Chi, 18 (with Marron), Puar, and the perverted duo of Roshi and Oolong are also there to cheer on their friends and family (and in the case of the latter two, also peep the crowd for hot chicks). Also, the usual gimmick ensues where Mr. Satan has Cell Games flashbacks and tries to fake a stomach ache, but his fans, the media, and in this version, a teenaged Videl, keep him...inspired to not escape.

We also get a backstage conversation between Piccolo and Shin that is similar to the one from the Buu Saga, but instead relates to the inadvertent release of Bojack and crew from King Kai's planet.

As expected, when Gohan, Krillin, Doskoi, and Kibito are the last four standing, Cash introduces the "alien" fighters (which Tights calls immediate B.S. on because it's easy to see that they're just humans in facepaint and bad 80s wrestler costumes, and she's friends with at least one actual alien) and shuttles everyone to the second arena, where the Galaxy Soldiers immediately annihilate the fakes.

Things progress pretty similar to the movie, but we have to shuffle some things around because Future Trunks isn't there. Krillin doesn't get owned by his own horniness here because 18 steps in to handle Zangya (giving Krillin a brief tsundere glare as she does so). Piccolo returns to action with the help of Shin, and they join Kibito against Gokua (with the Kai and his assistant using ki blades similar to what Zamasu would in Super to trade strikes with the hulking swordsman). Gohan and Krillin have a sweet Namek callback as they team up against Bujin and Bido. But then the Galaxy Soldiers break out their Psycho Threads and Full Power transformations, and not even the extra help from the eliminated Z-Fighters or Gohan going Super-Saiyan are enough to stop them from choking Doskoi to death and curb-stomping everyone else.

That is, until Mr. Satan crashes the party! This breaks Bujin's focus and allows Krillin and Gohan to vaporize him with a double Kamehameha before knocking Bido out of commission. This leaves Gokua and Bojack, the latter of whom is stronger than the rest and hasn't engaged in combat yet, and Bido could become a factor again at any time. So Gohan and Krillin get stomped, prompting Goku to break Otherworld rules and the laws of good storytelling, land an Instant Transmission punch on Bojack's schnoz, and leave Gohan with a few inspiring words. Things follow the movie to its conclusion, with Gohan inspired to go Super-Saiyan 2 for the second time, make his dramatic, badass walk through the Psycho Threads, dust Bojack's underlings, and end him with a Kamehameha-Ken through the chest, with the only difference being that because 18 killed Zangya earlier, Bojack doesn't get the opportunity to show what a piece of shit he truly is.

When everyone gets back to the main arena to collect their prizes, Mr. Satan is cheered as a hero again, but because she's a smart, tough, rebellious teenager, Videl knows empirical evidence when she sees it, and chooses to approach Gohan (comedically ignoring her father's play for more hype), thanking him for saving her Dad and planting a flush-faced kiss on his cheek. So, yeah; Gohan and Videl meet at a much younger age here, and she knows he's the one who really defeated Cell the year before.

But things won't go that smoothly for him or Goku because contrary to what the series usually shows, huge battles have consequences for those who saved the day (Gohan is granted training with Shin and Kibito for his victory over Bojack), and for those who broke cosmic rules (for releasing Bojack in the first place, and defying the rules of the Otherworld, Goku is sentenced to see that King Kai's planet is restored, and he is denied resurrection for ten thousand years as he serves in the Grand Kai's training program). Unbeknownst to Universe Seven, who haven't been exposed to the Dragon Ball Multiverse yet, Goku's meddling in the higher realms has ignited the ire of a certain apprentice Kai from another Universe....

But within the scope of Universe Seven, this means that we still get a time skip where Gohan grows up, here training with the Z Sword and learning Kai techniques (eventually breaking the sword and getting Ultimate from the Old Kai, as well), and the Otherworld Tournament Filler happens.

As a result of Goku being in Otherworld on a relatively permanent basis, there is no Goten here, leaving Trunks to grow up without a sidekick, but he does have an anime-style childhood friendship with Marron (continuing my nigh-Freudian impulse to ship Trunks with an Android). Gohan's training has gotten Vegeta back into fighting spirit, and since it worked for him prior to the Androids Saga, he had decided to go out into space to work on achieving and surpassing Super-Saiyan 2. This annoys Bulma, but she ultimately lets him go and seeks out Piccolo to continue Trunks' and Marron's training in his absence. As the years pass with no one really finding a challenge in the Tenkaichi Budokai, Mr. Satan goes on a winning streak until we get to Age 774, when Gohan completes his training and returns to Earth as a young adult, catching up with his friends, and rescuing an unusual young woman from a bank robbery. They blush at each other's physical contact and she compliments his strength, suggesting that he compete in the upcoming Budokai.

So when the day comes, Marron, Trunks, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, 18, and Gohan arrive at the Tournament grounds, the latter aping his father in a turban and sunglasses combo. Vegeta isn't here yet, so the strength machine gets to live, as all of the Z-Fighters pull their punches to avoid unwanted attention. Oh, and speaking of unwanted attention, Jaco's here, too. Something about rogue Galactic Patrol technology? We'll figure it out later....

Only the announcer really recognizes the returning competitors after their long absences.

Gohan's demeanor completely changes, however, when the young woman from the bank incident steps up as a competitor, and the announcer reads off her name. If you haven't guessed by now, it's Videl.

And she's been trying to surpass her father and give their family name some legitimacy for the past several years (inspired, unbeknownst to her, by the blushing, contorted goof in a turban and sunglasses who's trying to sneak away in the crowd), so as far as non-ki-users go, she's peak human in terms of strength by now, second only to Satan himself (so don't expect her to get squashed by Spopovich here, who doesn't have magical enhancements because there isn't a Buu Saga).

Trunks and Marron are disappointed that they must fight in the Junior Division, but they easily make it to the final round, where Trunks wins (he knows Super-Saiyan, but doesn't use it to avoid giving people Cell Games PTSD) despite Marron knowing his fighting style and throwing him off balance with some Ranfan tactics. Note that the Infinity Engine isn't genetic, so she'd just be at peak human level for a ki-user of her age. The bonus fight with Mr. Satan goes the same as it did originally.

Now, the Kais themselves have no reason to crash the Budokai, so the matches in the adult division go as follows:

Round 1

Videl (W) vs. Spopovich

Yamu vs. Piccolo (W)

Mr. Satan (W) vs. Jaco

Krillin (W) vs. Pintar

Killa vs. Chiaotzu (W)

Tien (W) vs. Yamcha

18 (W) vs. Jewel

Mighty Mask vs. Gohan (W)

Most of these victories are clear differences in strength and skill, with the biggest upset being Mr. Satan's victory over Jaco. Mr. Satan takes an opportunity to score a ring-out on Jaco, who may be physically stronger and more agile, but his ego is enough of an opening for Satan to capitalize. The Tien vs. Yamcha fight is the most spectacular qualifier, and the rest are basically one-hit squash matches.

Round 2:

Krillin (W) vs. Chiaotzu

Tien vs. Piccolo (W)

Gohan (W) vs. 18

Videl (W) vs. Mr. Satan

The Krillin/Chiaotzu fight is a nostalgia rematch with greater spectacle and skill and a more serious tone than their first fight, but ends similarly. Videl's win over her father is a battle of generations and wills: her desire to know who the guy in the turban is and fight him, versus Mr. Satan's overprotective, fatherly nature, with his questionable credibility fueling their dynamics as well. Ultimately, he recognizes her passion and superior skill (despite her being slightly weaker than him), and concedes, abandoning his winning streak but gaining fan cred as an honorable warrior and cool father. The Tien/Piccolo fight is even kind of close and has some flash to it before the Special Beam Cannon pierces Tien's "Neo Tribeam" and pushes him out of bounds. But Gohan's Kai training makes his fight with 18 a squash match.

Round 3:

Gohan (W) vs. Videl

Krillin vs. Piccolo (W)

Both are throwbacks to the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. The identity reveal, romantic tension, and mentor dynamics play out in real time here, similar to his original self pre-tournament and his father's match against [name witheld], a.k.a Chi-Chi in the 23rd. He pretty much treats the fight casually, critiques her fighting style, and teaches her how to use ki for flight and physical enhancement before giving her a gentle ring-out.

Krillin vs. Piccolo is a proving ground for Earth's Strongest Human, but the power gap is real, and Piccolo has some proving of his own to do against Gohan later.

The Finals: Gohan vs. Piccolo.

Unfortunately, we don't get to see how this goes because no sooner do they exchange words and get in their stances than a familiar but twisted and cold ki draws their attention to the sky above, where a large object descends, eclipsing the arena in its shadow.

If you'd like to see where this goes in a future part, please let me know down in the comments, and remember to give me your energy and grant my wish by clicking the Follow button to Become A Ticketholder for real, helping out my ad revenue as you read so I can keep my eye on the ball, and following me on BlueSky, Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest news on my content.

Animeister,

MasakoX Fan,

Out.