Why Cell Is THE BEST VILLAIN In Dragon Ball Z

In this video ‪@LSMMIKE‬ explains Why Cell Is THE BEST VILLAIN In Dragon Ball Z.
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[@LSMMIKE]

Cell > Your favorite villain. 😉

[@karnage2948]

Jokes on u, Cell is my favourite villain😎

[@amphilochusofmallus5070]

So Cell is greater than Cell? Damn, I thought math was tough before

[@GiggyWiggy2086]

My favorite villain is dbs goku

[@joshualowe959]

My favorite villain is Zamasu. Cell succeeded in destroying Goku, but failed to destroy earth. Zamasu succeeded in TAKING OVER THE BODY of Goku thanks to the Super Dragon Balls AND succeeded in destroying the future earth, universe & timeline

[@MasteredDemiNova]

They original cell it's still far better then cell max because how he's backstory it's more understanding plot then cellmax not ready to if he was completed we would be stronger then broly

[@GeteMachine]

1. He actually has a backstory and a reason to be evil. 2. He had to work for his transformations. 3. His power made sense and scalled logically. 4. He lost in the same way he mocked Vegeta, ironically. 5. His comeback as Super perfect Cell felt like an actual threat. 6. He dies in an epic beam clash. 7. His various dub voices fit his appearance. 8. His first form was his smartest and most intimidating. 9. He was a rare villain that fought the other antagonists. 10. First villain with copy attacks, and his made sense (Morro is a lame clone of him.)

[@DevilMarioProductions]

All of cell's form was smart.

[@lordapex5288]

I wouldn’t say that Imperfect Cell was smarter, just far more pragmatic. That probably came from King Cold since he initially suggested blowing up earth to get it over with. Though Piccolo would make sense too.

[@pn2294]

Is this a joke?

[@pn2294]

@@DevilMarioProductions well I didn’t see any intelligence in his Perfect Form.

[@serge263]

The one with the Bruce Faulconer tracks. Cell's theme was flawless. Cell had the best DBZ villain theme from Bruce Faulconer.

[@bitterthenu7278]

Cell literally tells Vegeta that he understands that the stronger the opponent the greater the joy and wouldn't you love to fight me at my best. Then after he becomes perfect he completely follows this ideology himself, he is part saiyan after all. He wants to fight strong opponents and loves to fight like saiyans, and then he says he wants to spread terror and enjoys the suffering of others just like frieza. What a perfect character, and people say he is boring lmao. They just not intelligent enough to understand the story I guess

[@StardustSaiyan13]

Among the major villains, Frieza has the most history and personal connection to Goku and Vegeta. It’s almost poetic how he pushed Goku to become a Super Saiyan. His story with them has evolved even after the original run of the series. He’s the most iconic villain. Majin Buu succeeded in killing almost all of the Z fighters and everyone on Earth, and then blew it up. That can’t be understated because every other week there was a villain trying to blow up the planet but Majin Buu actually did it. Cell hit the Z Fighters in a way they weren’t prepared for though. He was strong, but also a perfect (pun intended) psychological foil to everyone, and his origins with Dr. Gero and the Red Ribbon Army can be traced back to the original series Dragon Ball. He was outright stronger than Goku, made him quit during their battle, and succeeded in killing him. He targeted Vegeta’s ego, tricked him into letting him become perfect, humiliated him in battle, and killed his son in front of him. He was able to outmaneuver Piccolo multiple times in his encounters using the intelligence he probably got from him. He is literally Trunks’ worst nightmare: a threat even worse than the androids that killed him in an alternate timeline, stole his Time Machine, killed him again in the main timeline, and almost succeeded in killing his mentor like the androids in his timeline did. Not to mention he was a catalyst for huge character development among everyone. Goku passing the torch. Vegeta actually apologized to Gohan and showed strong emotion towards Trunks in what he believed would be their final moments. Piccolo put aside his personal feelings to merge with Kami and become a full being again. And he outright pushed Gohan to become what everyone was waiting for him to be: the ultimate warrior and outright strongest member of the Z Fighters at that time. And the only one capable of defeating Cell. Cell had DNA from the strongest fighters around at that time, but it was nothing compared to Gohan’s hidden potential. Kinda poetic and ironic that the one fighter Cell, Dr. Gero, and most of the Z fighters overlooked was the one that killed Cell and saved everyone. With that said, he’s also the only major villain that got killed by Krillin, so idk lol *Sorry this is so long lmao

[@divineeternity7268]

Krillin??? When was this???🤔

[@StardustSaiyan13]

@@divineeternity7268 during the main timeline, Krillin and Trunks found Gero’s basement and he killed Cell before he could fully develop. Kinda funny when you think about it

[@divineeternity7268]

@@StardustSaiyan13 Oh yeah!!!😂😂😂

[@roxasbaker]

No that’s a lie at least about trunks the worst Nightmare for trunks always been the androids then black Goku comes after them Cell was sneaking around absorbing the few that was alive because the androids killed most of the earthlings. He almost forgot about the Cell in his timeline til he noticed Cell watching him from the corner

[@markhargreaves1069]

The original timeline cell died by Krillin not the one that came from the future trunks alternate timeline 😂 not giving baldy that W!

[@ak47dragunov]

I've always preferred Cell to the other villains. He never had any ulterior motives or grand schemes like Frieza, he wasn't a mad beast like Buu. He didn't even truly hate our heroes, even letting Goku step away alive after surrendering and just treating his fights as fair clashes of strength. He was a cold, intelligent engine of destruction who loved to kill and inflict terror just for the joy of it. I think that makes him very compelling and cool.

[@Rude_Boi]

Yeah, and adding on to what you said. Cell's motives changed with each form. Imperfect Cell wanted to absorb #17.. Semi Perfect Cell wanted #18. Perfect Cell just wanted to fight strong fighters to prove himself the strongest, then after he could prove that, then he would blow up the Earth and search for stronger fighters to challenge him while inflicting terror over the universe, akin to Frieza.

[@th3azscorpio]

Cell had a degree of honor most villains didnt have. He was evil, but not a complete monster.

[@FEdelasJONS]

@@th3azscorpio What honor????

[@DoesntHurtYet]

Cell was... Dignified. And that comes rare in a villain. Didn't persue trunks when he was no longer a threat, and fed vegeta back his hubris only to the extent of incapacitating him. Didn't even kill Krillin though he surely could have killed him easily rather than just disable him. It wasn't until the final showdown and 16 tried to self destruct with cell that Cell's composure started to break, 16 violating the basic rules of their competition in a way, a breach of etiquette.

[@bitterthenu7278]

Not manga related but another thing to add is that he is voiced by arguably the single greatest villain voice actor of all time Norio Wakamoto

[@JTIZZLE561]

​@DeeCee I love sub and dub but some anime sound better as sub or dub. And Dragon since the beginning in dub It feels more intense when they power up or when they use their signature moves like Kamehameha. The transformations give you a chill also. Dragon Ball overall always sound better dub.

[@JTIZZLE561]

​@DeeCee Sub the voice I just don't feel the same or when they use signature moves. Bruce Falconer better music for me it was perfect.

[@somatacoma]

@Jack The Drought seriously goku sounds kinda whiny in the Japanese audio tbh. "Waaaaa" And Sabat is so good.

[@Speleomimus]

Oh, i didnt know Takahata101s real name. Thanks!

[@somatacoma]

@DeeCee lol dubbie. You're acting like they change the entire script and rewrite the plot. Tbh hating on anime dub watchers is what pretentious newbies do.

[@juanky619]

To me cell was the perfect villian bringing back the red ribbon army story having cells from previous fighters. To me the Cell saga was the peak of dbz

[@tyrannotherium7873]

Cell is also my favorite villain because he is so different. He was created by a mad scientist. His backstory is pretty interesting, and has more higher potential, then all the other villains, and even characters in general.

[@bitterthenu7278]

I also like how he doesn't throw temper tantrums every 5 seconds like Frieza or Buu, the only time Cell gets incredibly angry is when someone is about to kill him

[@devonkieft1534]

Just re-watched the Cell arc and I'd forgotten how good it is. From his introduction, to Perfect Cell, particularly Dameon Clarke's voice acting, one of the best for sure.

[@bitterthenu7278]

And then for some reason Dameon clarkes cell becomes pretty bad in kai and the newer games. Dont know why he changed it, same with most of the dub characters tho unfortunately

[@schemar17]

@@bitterthenu7278 in kai it wasn't Damien it was travis, anyways the voice actors are getting older

[@bitterthenu7278]

@schemar17 it was dameon in kai, do your research

[@schemar17]

@@bitterthenu7278 no it wasn't

[@ling8956]

@@bitterthenu7278 The voice of Dameon was being imitated because ge was busy at the time. If you want to start nitpicky arguments, do research. Or look foolish

[@LealFireball]

I've heard this theory before that cell's regeneration is so powerful because not just is the best combination from the namekian and saiyan biologies, but also freeza's. I'm not sure it has ever been outright confirmed but Freeza seems to be able to survive *any* injury. When he's cut in half horizontally he survives, when he's cut in half vertically he's still alive, when a planet explodes around him he survives, even when he's resurrected as a bunch of disconnected pieces, all the pieces are alive. The theory is that it's freeza's dna that keeps cell alive when he loses large portions of his body, piccolo's dna allow him to regenerate from it and saiyan dna gets him stronger after it instead of tired.

[@ivanthehighman177]

Makes a lot of sense.

[@aceclover758]

Yea I always saw it as Cell perfecting the abilities he has when he reached his perfect form. Perfect wasn’t name alone. He fixes the “flaws” that make his borrowed abilities and perks imperfect This can lead to why his regeneration surpasses Namekians and he can receive Zenkais from self injury unlike Sayians so in theory, he can revive and power up indefinitely Thank goodness he was killed Cell’s concept of the ultimate biological being is what makes Gohan’s level of power and potential that more impressive since this hybrid surpassed the ultimate biological being.

[@Insert_Bland_Name_Here]

This is my headcanon too. Piccolo dies from getting a beam through the chest. Frieza survives getting cut into pieces. Clearly, Cell's ability to survive and regenerate even after getting most of his body destroyed must have come from Frieza's insane durability.

[@NotMyRealName6]

Imperfect Cell is by far his best form. He nearly completely genre-shifted Dragon Ball into a horror manga through his nature and actions. And I will say Damian Clarke added to that by giving each form of Cell a unique voice unlike the original. The raspy voice of Imperfect Cell matches the design, dare I say perfectly, as does Faulconer's theme.

[@aceclover758]

And the fact he originally was suppose to stay in that form

[@ZeroOmega-vg8nq]

Falconer music is still superior despite how much of a purist TFS is. Day of fate is ok but gohans anger theme is so damn epic and not one lyric

[@TheSacredCowtipper88]

Bingo, as a kid I was on the edge of my seat every Saturday when the next one came out during that saga.

[@FEdelasJONS]

​@@ZeroOmega-vg8nqDay of fate better

[@tthheettrraasshhppiitt]

I agree 100%, I'm so glad to see Cell get the recognition he deserves...I love Frieza and Buu and all the others, but to me no one will EVER feel like as big a deal as Cell was

[@noblue72]

He fits so well thematically with all the concepts of time that you you almost feel like Toriyama wasn't just writing week to week with this. Cell coming from a future future flips the script from the beginning of the arc of Trunks coming from the future to prepare the dragon team. Instead, it's the main villain coming from another future to be the one ambush an unprepared group.

[@joshualowe959]

Cell was a very creepy, menacing, powerful, smart, cunning, manipulative & ruthless villain.

[@sirsir9665]

Imagine if he had Buu levels of regeneration lol.

[@joshualowe959]

@@sirsir9665 He did have regeneration from Piccolos DNA.😁

[@joshualowe959]

@@sirsir9665 An Android with Buu's regeneration & powers were made in the form of Android 21😁😁

[@garywillig5143]

One thing that I've always appreciated about Cell is that he actually remained a serious threat instead of turning into a joke the instant he had to fight someone stronger than him, which is very rare for Dragonball. During his introduction, he was weaker than Piccolo, and was still so intimidating and disturbing despite that power disadvantage. That's something very different from the usual villains who have to be stronger than the hero from the word go if they're to be taken seriously at all. He showed off how intelligent he was by being able to dominate Trunks despite Trunks reaching a much higher power level. Granted, he did lose his dignity during his beatdowns by 'Super Vegeta' and SSJ2 Gohan, but he's still the only villain who was just as menacing when he wasn't stronger than the hero other than maybe Fat Buu's fight with SSJ3 Goku, and he's definitely the only villain who was able to do it twice.

[@rideflyer]

Couldn't Agree More. Cell Truly is the perfect villain and he forced every character to break through their limits as in a weird way they had to overcome themselves which none of them were successful in doing. The two people who took out cell weren't even part of his design which is kinda funny to think about.

[@billymadison713]

There's a possibility he had Future Gohan's DNA.

[@DavidLucian]

In my eyes Cell it's one of the best Villans of the DBZ Series, and he's my personal favourite Villan. Cell was arguably the Z-Warrior's most difficult opponent and not just because he was strong but also because he was strategic (a rare trait for a Dragon Ball villain). He has the cells of all the Z-Warriors and their enemies (most predominantly Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Frieza) which he can use to his advantage both in fighting abilities and psychologically. Previous and following villains were quickly surpassed in the arcs that succeeded them but in the Majin Buu Saga no one matched let alone surpassed Cell till Majin Buu himself came. He even not only made Goku give up but is the only villain to successfully kill him. Cell is easily one of the more iconic Dragon Ball villains and his influence reflects that. Despite bein alive for only a couple years he led way for the Saiyans to surpass the SSJ wall and allowed Piccolo to become one with Kami. His defeat also allowed Mr. Satan to go from world champion to world's savior who later went from one-note gag to a greedy yet decent goofball (legit) hero. Dragon Ball is often perceived as super simplistic never taking any risks with it's story and characters but Cell is a surprisingly complex character. As already mentioned, he has the cells of all the Z-Warriors and as such he shows numerous personality traits of them such as Vegeta's ego, Piccolo's cunning, Frieza's faux politeness (without the sarcasm), Daimao's sadism, and the Saiyan's lust for a challenge. This also ends up being his downfall as he makes the same mistakes he criticized the Z-Warriors for making. ☯️✌️

[@perfectcell8030]

why thank you im flattered

[@Jeviok]

Cell knew Piccolo could regenerate, he just didn't expect him to rip his own arm off to do so.

[@SuperHns]

yeah cell literally thought Picollo was too weak, usually he would take longer to re-generate but now no.

[@cnh2132]

Norio Wakamoto voicing him added even more epicness to the already perfect Cell.

[@2centswanted113]

Yes! Thank you. Even with Frieza getting more content in Super, Cell is a complete character with flaws despite being "Perfect"

[@happsider]

Frieza was the enemy that came from the present time. Cell was the villain that came from the future to attain perfection. Buu was an ancient malevolence that was dormant for countless eons. I love the contrast of all three, as they become increasingly in-human. From desiring total control, to desiring to display one's power, to finally wanting nothing but destruction.

[@John_R_Jackson_III]

Hey Mike not sure if you are told this often but I really appreciate what you do for the community. I drive Semi Trucks across the United States for a living and I’ve listened to all your videos. Your channel helps me get through these long drives so much. Thanks Mike!

[@LSMMIKE]

Thank you. I appreciate you watching and commenting on my videos.

[@ZhunterPLUR]

Trucker love here brotha. Nothing beats going over laughing stock to get through the long nights . Truckers are the blood in the veins of the body that is America.

[@John_R_Jackson_III]

@@ZhunterPLUR thank you brother really appreciate the kind words! Very true we are the backbone of the country, I just wish more people appreciated what we do everyday. Stay safe brother

[@alatusedits]

True

[@kcmalikai]

He also had some sick music for his imperfect stage💯💯💯

[@liltwistedgamer]

Saiyan saga and Namak sage were great, but I still think to this day Cell saga was highest point of the Dragon ball z. Cell felt and should have been the final villain, he had dna from other fighters and Frieza dna. Even in his imperfect form he brought fear to not just the characters but the audience as well. When reaching his semi and perfect form. Cell doesn’t just use power and skills to overpower the fighters but also uses intelligence to overcome them, pushing not just Goku but the other fighters to their limits. Finally Goku passing the torch to Gohan.

[@KingLeo7]

This honestly would've been the best ending and left a great legacy for goku and vegeta. the past protected by the son of goku, the future protected by the son of vegeta

[@poncho828]

Imperfect Cell was far more interesting than his other transformations.

[@bobopatchnosuke229]

Not for me. Design Wise, Perfect Cell, Character peaked at Perfect Cell imo. He just got better and better.

[@him4427]

@BoBoPatchNosuke some would say he's the Perfect character

[@l0rf]

He has the battle aptitude and Zenkai of the Sayians and the incredible regeneration of the Namekians, an attitude that rivals that of Frieza without coming across as just plain evil but a little more nuanced and the abilities of some of the most veteran and experienced fighters of Earth. He was simply ... perfect.

[@Insert_Bland_Name_Here]

He most likely also had Frieza's durability. Piccolo dies from taking a beam to the chest, while Frieza can survive literally getting cut in half. Without Frieza's durability, Goku's Warp Kamehameha would have killed Cell on the spot.

[@justinspike1669]

They need to bring him Back….with his brain like actually bring him back. He could easily ramp up to UI levels.

[@ChrisFord420]

No, that’s what made Frieza kinda lame. Frieza was great on namek but if you keep bringing back the same villains the story would become stale. Just my opinion but I’d rather they make a new villain then recycle old ones.

[@alatusedits]

​@@ChrisFord420real

[@trentonbates3114]

1. I personally liked the saga because of the other fighters actually get something to do 2. Had to work for his reputation, aquire his power he's not like beerus who we are supposed to fear cause he's just sooo strong. We actually get to see it happen

[@Rude_Boi]

Perfect Cell has always been my favorite villain in DB.

[@christopherdavis5214]

Imagine if the brought this Cell back. He wouldn't be a threat at the moment but given time I think he could rise up to their level.

[@XtianJovic]

Agreed. And the Android/Cell arc is probably my favorite because of all the super saiyans introduced.

[@DanTheMeek]

I always felt like Cell could have been a great villian, but Toriyama didn't really utilize him in interesting ways. Having access to everyones techniques had the potential for a lot of interesting combinations, and to allow him to bridge the gap in power as Goku and others once had while he worked to achieve his perfect form. Yet outside of a solar flare to run away, the only other techniques he really uses, are beam attacks, none of which he uses in particularly interesting ways. Like can you imagine how shocking it'd have been if, instead of appealing to Vegeta's pride, he'd acknowledge he was out matched, only to use solar flare in combination with a destructo disk to cut vegeta, who at that moment was too cocky to consider any attack from Cell could have hurt him even when he was blinded, in half. Maybe he uses Chao-tsu's ability to hold an opponent stationary while charging up a special beam cannon powerful enough to wipe out trunks next. Then there's his perfect form. Nothing about it felt... unique? It looked cool, but we were never really told what about him had changed, it just seemed like it was a poorly quantified amount stronger/faster then it was before. What if he told us straight out that now he didn't just have access to their genes, but they were all improved on, instead of just regenerating limbs like a namekian, he could regenerate any body part, instead of just getting zenkais up to friezas power level like a saiyan, there was no limit to how strong he could get from brushes with death, and now instead of just being able to breath in space like freeza and the ability to transform to surpress his power, he had the ability to transform to increase it, and now just like earthlings he still had the ability to increase his power from anger, but now could increase his raw power from any strong emotion. Those are just random off the top of my head ideas, the point is, cell didn't feel "perfect", he just felt like he got stat boost, and I wish that wasn't the case, I wish he was made to feel like the perfect being of destruction. I'd also have loved to see some more complexity to his personality and motivations, I'd have loved to see him struggle internally with the parts of himself that came from the good guys and the parts that came from the bad guys. It seemed like his personality was largely dominated by the aspects of the villians whose genes he inherited, but it would have been cool to see more duality. Maybe he wants to be the strongest, and to conquerer earth, but he also wants to protect earth too, like he's over protective of it even. Maybe he wants those he beats in the cell games to agree to bend the knee to him as the ruler of the galaxy, rather then to kill them out right. Lots of ways a combination of all of those personalities could have gone. The closest to "good guy" stuff we see out of him is the filler where he blows up the meteor heading toward earth, but he seemed primarily motivated by just proving he was as perfect as he thought he was, which was fine to be clear, just less interesting then it could have been.

[@zemox2534]

That's a good idea.

[@ndrhcm8817]

Interesting

[@bobopatchnosuke229]

Good idea but cell ended up being a great villain anyway.

[@jamainegardner4193]

Not only is Cell the greatest villain, he's also the one with the most ways of turning good. I personally would like to see YOUR take on the Cell we know turning good based off him winning the Kamehameha Clash but sparing Gohan and the Z-Fighters, possibly in a collab with Qaaman.

[@th3azscorpio]

Cell indeed has the most potential for turning good, or at least a less evil rival, and anti hero.

[@quickup7530]

I dont know about Cell turning good. He has no motivations or goals besides attacking and fighting

[@th3azscorpio]

@@quickup7530 Which is why he has the most potential for redemption. Cell, and at least from my perspective, was never all that truly evil-namely once he reached his second and final form. He just wants a good fight and a good challenge; which would make him a perfect dark anti hero to both Goku and Gohan. Id love to see him return in that form.

[@RoosterCogburnPhD]

I kind of like the concept of Buu being entirely outside of the backstories of any of the characters, and as a result became a scrambling team effort. Like, "OK, you all had your fun little arcs, now here's an unstoppable force of nature, sink or swim." It obviously could have been done way better, but I think there was a method to the madness of that arc.

[@SuperHns]

I just never understood Dr Gero's plan with Cell, if the world was already damaged etc, what would it matter if Cell was released.

[@quickup7530]

More destruction. Either way, Cell probably would not obey Dr Gero jist like Android 17 and 18 didn't.

[@blessedxxiii8908]

dr gero made the androids to kill goku and wreak havoc across the world he made cell as a backup plan cause he knew the androids were gonna kill him at some point so yeah he specifically created cell for that purpose to carry out his will then eventually have him reach perfection then after that explore the universe displaying his perfection

[@isctaylor109]

Frieza kickstarted SO much. The destruction of Planet Vegeta. The subjugation of an entire race of people on a galactic level. Pushing Goku to the brink more than any other villain. Frieza was a much tougher opponent for Goku at that time than any other villains of their times. Frieza's family became EXTREMELY rich from taking over planets and selling them. Frieza made Vegeta a cold-hearted, ruthless killer. Cell and Buu just don't compare.

[@Zhane-xs5sj]

You forgot one some thing it was actually Lord Beerus who ordered Frieza to destroy the sayains

[@kitkat7074]

Frieza is a Saturday morning cartoon villain. Cell is an actual character

[@asssassyn]

Nah you just obsessed with saiyan lore. Dragonball is about everyone and Cell is a combination of the karma that all the warriors created.

[@gamercentral2417]

@@asssassyn if you aren’t goku/vegeta you aren’t anyone

[@asssassyn]

@@gamercentral2417 yeah the young raging fanboys who demand the show focus on them truly believe that. To the point it actually effected the authors decisions.

[@AndrewAce.]

13:15 - What's ironic about Cell and his 'victory lap' is that Cell consciously exploited that same mentality in Vegeta by drawing on those same qualities within him - It was the only reason he even got so far, yet he immediately went on to make the very same error. And that's not because Cell was stupid or hypocritical, it's because he was _Perfect,_ or so be believed. He didn't actually reject or look down upon Vegeta's conduct or motivations, he embraced them. He didn't believe that Vegeta failed because he made an error, he believed Vegeta failed because he wasn't Cell, he wasn't Perfect. Cell saw himself as the Perfect incarnation of the universe's best fighters, and as a result, the perfect vehicle for them to live on within. He saw himself as the correct vehicle for Vegeta's motivations - to test himself, to prove himself, and to dominate. Which is why he knowingly did the same thing Vegeta did which allowed Cell to even become perfect in the first place - because he didn't believe that he could ever possibly fail, like Vegeta did.

[@LSMMIKE]

Great comment.

[@AndrewAce.]

@@LSMMIKE 😏 Well shucks...

[@Rude_Boi]

​@@AndrewAce.Yeah, that comment was very well put.

[@quickup7530]

@@AndrewAce. Well, what goals and motives did Cell have other than fighting? Thats likely why he behaved that way

[@AndrewAce.]

@@quickup7530 Yes, we know that he did it because he wanted to fight. The thing that I'm actually pointing out here is that he manipulated Vegeta's character defects in order to defeat him, and then was defeated by those same character defects later despite seemingly being smarter than that. It's Ironic, but not inconsistent or contradictory to his character...

[@VictoryReviews]

I really hope the manga or anime version brings evolves Cell Max into Perfect Cell Max. It could be possible that he'd have a back up of his memories via Geros research that Hedo borrowed from. Probably unlikely but it'd be coo

[@steveyj3002]

I know Frieza has his moments but cell only had the cell games to showcase himself and I feel of he would get more chances to return he may climb even more in villain rankings

[@bobopatchnosuke229]

Least favourite in Z, I can't stand Frieza. I even enjoyed saiyan arc Vegeta more.

[@rrose9161]

I believe that not only did gohan get a rage boost that unlocked ssj2 as a side effect but I also believe that gohan's ssj2 effectively was ssj3 without the stamina is just as a multiplier of course

[@infernpheni2672]

Cell also had the best theme music out of all the villains

[@kenja0685]

Cell taunted Piccolo by telling him his backstory, didn't think about the regeneration ability Piccolo has and got cornered, and then ran away. Krillin then proceeds to kill baby Cell in the tube because of that blunder. Semi-Perfect Cell gets slowed down by Tien, then wrecked by Vegeta, begging Vegeta to let him become Perfect. Trunks tried to intervene but had Vegeta take care of his own son. Yadayadayada, then Perfect Cell tells Trunks how he got to this timeline, allowing Trunks to kill Cell in his future timeline. Perfect Cell was smug and wanted to show off to the world and host the Cell games. Perfect Cell, after eating a Senzu Bean, gets wrecked by Gohan and throws away his entire vibrato and tries to self-destruct because he lost. Super Perfect Cell hits Gohan trying to protect a defenseless Vegeta and then decides now that he doesn't care about a fair challenge anymore and goes straight for the kill. Loses because he didn't take care of everyone else around him first (like Frieza did/tried to do after the Spirit Bomb or Buu who did kill just about everyone). Cell is a bitch, stupid to the point of getting himself killed THREE TIMES by 3 different people. He's overconfident in his abilities as the PERFECT BEING, who can't compare to a Super Saiyan 2 of an alien's cells he already has inside of him. He's absolutely pathetic and a whiny loser when he's on the losing side. He wanted to show off in front of the world and test his strength, but then throws that idea out of the window when he's back on top after injuring Gohan after a long streak of being bitched by Gohan. He's wishiwashy and changes his mind frequently based on how assured he is at winning. He is also the only main villian to not have blown up a planet (nonetheless Earth) and his only kill was against Trunks. Frieza in his debut arc tried to play his cards as smart as he could. He killed all the Saiyans because of the legends, he didn't give out intel to his opponents that would help them, tortured his enemies himself, and killed them outright as soon as he figured out who was healing everyone. He fought Goku, and despite putting Namek on a timer because he was losing, he powered up to full and tried to kill Goku, even after Goku tried to give up the fight. Frieza did beg Goku for mercy, but outright taunted him afterwards anyway, and decided he wanted to kill Goku and not let Namek do it for him. Frieza is clearly the better villian by a mile. Cell is literally carried by the circumstance and storytelling of the arc, but he is by no means the best villian due to his numerous and inconsistent character flaws. At least Frieza was more consistent despite his flaws and ultimately dies by his flaw of trying to kill Goku even when he's outclassed. And when they brought back Frieza, he learned his lesson and is planning his victory against the Saiyans and knows when to back down or work together with them. Cell gets "brought back" as a stupid OP monster, which is fitting for his original character. Buu is Buu. Not necessarily motivated nor has anything interesting making his character deep. But... Buu has a great kill count and blew up numerous planets without needing to show off. Buu was a force of nature. And Buu's absorption and regeneration abilities are considerably more perfect than Cell could ever be.

[@uchihabomber1296]

Cell was related to the red ribbon army and his existence is only because of Goku killing the entire army when he was a kid and he has everybody’s powers so it made him a good “Final” villain if they wanted to end it there for them

[@ihateanimebutonlywhenitiso7227]

Everything you said in this video just makes it that much harder to stomach the Buu Saga because they really threw out all the nuance of the narrative that we got from the Cell arc

[@kursedmilk]

yess. he is the best no contest even though his goal was so one dimensional he instilled this sense of terror in his complete devotion in his quest for. perfection. he was like a force of nature. Also the body horror one thing I love about Toriyama is how he use to convey transformations. it was like watching this unspeakable horror take place before your very eyes. even the way he gains power by absorbing people.

[@animefan77]

Yeah Freeza essentially waited until the last fight- while iconic- to do anything major himself only after everyone’s else is dead and he gets easily outwitted the moment the story focuses away from surpassing him and to getting the wish- the main reason why they’re there in the first place. And for Buu, it’s better to ask which Buu as even the final form of Buu fought is technically not the same character as his reintroduction as he splits himself again just in time for his death. He’s more of a boss melee than his own distinct character. Cell has a consistent arc he desires to complete- which ends up being completed at the midpoint, consistent personality even with subtle or noticeable changes, has involvement with every major character, and gives the most satisfying conclusion to a villain as Kid Buu was essentially spared from more dangerous fighters one-shotting him and Freeza died without dignity

[@joshualowe959]

DR GERO: ultimate creation Cell DR MYUU: ultimate creation Baby

[@ivanthehighman177]

Myuu was baby kind of sort of...

[@TheRealDyscyples]

King FREEZA will always be.

[@Rude_Boi]

Imagine if he had the cells of Majin Buu; he would be what Android 21 is now.

[@mrm64]

YES. Cell has always been my favorite antagonist in all of Dragon Ball. When folk just say he's a Freeza copy, I fucking cringe. Couldn't be more wrong. Thank you for this.

[@MOMO-m0m0]

It could have been a lot better but overall it is still my favorite arc in the series as well.

[@FullMetalHans]

I’ve been saying this for a long time. Also, thematically it works perfectly, cell is the ultimate menace bringing everything together from the start in Dragon Ball (with Doctor Gero being part of the Red Ribbon) to the high point of Z with Frieza! Also, cel has that perfect villain personality, boastful, proud, but also not Agra I’d to run hahaha is beautiful

[@BelartWright]

Great work, Mike! This was really insightful. I never thought of Gohan literally fighting the past as represented by Cell. Brilliant!

[@banshotenin1178]

I think Cell is a great villain, but I think the reason Frieza will always be the best out of the 3 main villains in DBZ (and maybe the entire show) was because of how evil, violent, scary and sadistic he was. Since the show was mainly about the Saiyans and Frieza: 1. Wiped out the Saiyans along with their entire planet 2. Killed the King of All saiyans with one punch 3. Is the reason behind the trauma that made Vegeta end up the way he was 4. Violently and sadistically beat up his victims like Nail, Krillin & Vegeta. I remember the episode where he mercilessly beats up vegeta couldn't even be aired in my country. 5. Was the first villain with a power level so ridiculously high compared to anyone else in the show at the time that literally no one stood a chance against him. 6. Had goals of destruction and domination that were his own choice (Cell and the Androids made decisions based on the programming of a super computer and Dr Gero, Buu was an evil majic creature created to just be a destroyer so all of those other villains had no real choice for their actions.) 7. The only villain in the show whose name struck fear into the Z Fighters outside of Goku (who would be too naive to fear anyway) 8. The first super resiliant character introduced who could breathe in Space 9. Every other villain after (Cell & Buu) were Frieza-esk, in that Frieza was the first villain in Z we saw with multiple transformations (as well as such massive boosts in power). And he actually had some creepy transformations. 10. The only villain in the show I geniunely loved to hate. Like I loved him as a villain but REALLY wanted Vegeta to get revenge against him for all the sick shiz he'd done. Kinda like Sasuke against Itachi in Part 1 and the first half of Shippuuden... it's the reason to this day Frieza is still the most Iconic DBZ villain. So yes Cell is great and Buu has his high points, but ultimately as var as villains go, Frieza is still the best villain.

[@theworldisimmense]

Nice vid , miss the times from the all of you dragón ball creators back in 2016 when you used to do a review of each super episode weekly

[@LSMMIKE]

That was a fun time for all of us.

[@KenkukunGames]

To me I like Frieza as the best. He seemed terrifying at the time. Commanding armies and conquering planets. A wall that seemed impossible to overcome as each fighter struggled for their lives against him. He represented a villain in my eyes. After First form cell he just seemed more of the Antagonist than the villain. That's the best way I can explain it. Enjoyed your thoughts on this though.

[@OtherL]

You could argue him wanting the tourney is Goku's cells as well as Frieza influencing him. He got the Piccolo update whenever Vegeta let him reach final evolution. That and he'd seen Piccolo regenerate. Curious if he had Nappas cells when Gohan had him shook when he couldn't win.

[@silvertongue.242_99]

A great video add more depth to the cell arc and cell goals in this arc. I wish Gohan actually got to be the main protagonist going forward would have been a really good change. Still have Goku even coming back after awhile

[@sirsir9665]

Remember how Cell can regenerate with a single cell? Even he didn't realize it was so great. What if it was improved after he ate a Senzu bean? He was able to asorb Goku's Instant transmission perhaps his biology figured out a way to replicate the senzu bean's effect into his regeneration making it even more potent.

[@UnwantedGhost1]

What many people don't realize is that the Cell saga was an essential part for the Buu Arc & everything after to be possible at all.

[@UnwantedGhost1]

Good Buu & Uub wouldn't be possible without the genetic monster nearly defeating Gohan in a Kamehameha struggle.

[@ivanthehighman177]

21:12 the only other villain that did basically what cell did would be Baby, but in my opinion Baby did more as he basically owned earth, made a whole new planet, had all the old cast in his palm, defeated Goku and made him break his limits, and more. Still, Cell just hit harder.

[@adammaxwell8897]

Cell is my all time favorite Villain and was disappointed with Cell Max not how I thought he would return.

[@902645]

Frieza made Vegeta cry and beg Goku to avenge him. That makes you the greatest villain to me

[@SerpentineDeity]

It all went downhill from there. Thematically PERFECT.

[@alejandronunez1114]

Love the page. Caught one video and now I’m back to watching dbz 😮‍💨🙌🏻

[@lsixty30]

You make a great case. This and frieza have so many overlooked moments.

[@darthmorgoththesecond9990]

It’s Mr Perfect Cell

[@LSMMIKE]

No need for the Mr.

[@impackmusiq5236]

I actually love all the villains tbh

[@bodiesbydefinition]

Cell was... indeed...the perfect villain (of most any anime, or American cartoon). Dragon Ball Z should've ended with those two amazing endings (Gohan and Trunks defeating him, in two different timelines); but, fans just raged out, to force Akira to keep producing (which is exactly when the quality of Dragon Ball started to take a hit).

[@clark987878]

100% agree Cell is the perfect villain. Infact him not being brought back instead of frieza really made me sad

[@spoogtastic]

I love the cell games so much. It has everything.

[@napdragon94]

I love the android saga up that point the z fighters at least had a fighting chance but the androids roll up and curb stomped them flat that was wild back in the day and the mysterious introduction of Cell and them investigating was very intriguing flawlessly done and Toriyama’s best writing. Cell is definitely the best dbz villain! 🙌🙌🙌 I wanted Cell in the universal tournament arc instead of Frieza and Buu should’ve been allowed seeing Cell interact with Buu would be funny xD

[@eatme7659]

Thank you! Bro I always tell people, Cell was Peak!

[@juanvega9084]

And to think that Toriyama created this story on the fly. Talk about good improv.

[@joshoconnor9666]

Couldn't agree more. My favorite villain.

[@donathan2933]

I think most people love Cell. He’s a great villain

[@RarePotions]

This makes me wish so much in Super Hero Cell actually came back with all his memories from the Cell Saga to have a proper rematch against Gohan. Instead they just brought him back as a raging beast monster that only had the appearance of Cell :( Huge missed opportunity IMO.

[@joshualowe959]

Frieza is still the most iconic villain. Frieza is the catalyst of the Dragon Ball franchise. He had a major arc in Z, briefly came back until he got destroyed by Future Trunks, appeared in filler episodes in the post Buu saga & during the fight between Goku & Kid Buu, appeared in the DBZ movies Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans & Fusion Reborn, appeared in GT episode right before Super 17 was born, had a major arc in Dragon Ball Super AND played a big role in the Tournament of Power saga. He appeared in the Broly movie, AND is still alive right now! He recently got a new form by getting 10 years worth of training on the Hyperbolic Time Chamber

[@p.fish_63]

Cell was the perfect villian, with the perfect ending. Cell might be my favorite antagonist ever.

[@cosmosofinfinity]

I think there is also some interesting philosophy and symbolism there if you dig deep that Cell became perfect by taking on the characteristics of both man and woman. Truly the perfect being, above species, above time and space, above material needs, and above even the gender duality

[@emmanuelmondesir8677]

Cell is a meta commentary on the entirety of Dragonball. Cell perfectly contract the idea of being the strongest as while he doesn’t get his growth through training, he does get it from defeating others. Cell is the perfect antagonist to Gohan, someone who fight for others but doesn’t understand why people love fighting.

[@re11o]

He was simply…..Perfection.

[@classicsagat]

I love how Cell as a insect based/looking villain is soooooo similar to Lavos, the big bad from the future from Chrono Trigger, kinda like his videogame counterpart.

[@intuitivelymagician2076]

My dad and I were hooked on the cell saga. He even watched the frieza saga as well with me back than

[@cixiavolts2901]

Cell is my favorite because he's willing to forget about the Cell Games just to play DS games with Goku before calling him a b

[@HunterX05]

Cell is Doctor Gero's custom character/CaC, change my mind

[@Tr1cst4r]

For me cell is the best villain in many ways. But what stands out for me the most is the writing of villains in Dragon ball. Like, before Cell came Frieza. A Villain we all just hated in the beginning. Not because he was bad, but because he was just pure evil, taking no prisoners and was just cold. And here comes cell after that. How do you trump someone like Frieza. With cell. A Villain that was not triggered by his emotions or his pride. Vegeta allows you to power up, yes, you go for it. Goku gives you a senzu, yeah, I'm taking it. Not feeling any kind of remorse. He had his eyes set on Goku and succeeded. He told them how he survived but still no feelings whatsoever. And after cell came boo. And buu was not written as well, I think it wasn't a very good act at that. But you send a successor to Frieza that was better than him, and better than the aftermath Majin Buu. Frieza returns in Super with first his golden and after that his black form. Cell returns, and 50% of him had to be taken out of the picture(brain) just so anyone would stand a chance. I was hoping for him to be in the tournament of power. Imagine it comes how it was supposed to be, and Goku cell and Android against Jiren. Cell would just outsmart everyone, and win to wish himself the most powerful being in all universes just to annihilat Zemo the grand priest etc. That would have been what? Yeah. Perfection

[@s.m.drecords238]

Haven't watched the Cell saga since I was a kid but I do remember Cell being quite funny.😅

[@ArkansasGamer]

This is awesome! Thank you so much 🙏

[@Rude_Boi]

Cell is the ONLY villain that Goku legit gave up against. Some argue that Goku could have beaten Cell, but that was proven untrue. Goku stated that Cell was stronger, Korin had saw that Cell was stronger, and Cell was later shown to be holding back a lot when he later powered up to max power against SSJ2 Gohan, before Goku's death.

[@adamweisshaup]

I personally think that this arc, which landed when I was a teen was DB at it's peak. Though it might just look special because of the mess that was the Buu saga.

[@patriciolorefice9703]

Really liking the length of these two last videos!

[@spiceyseason981]

Goku: I can't beat you but my son will Cell: that's gotta be the funniest sh I've ever heard 💀

[@ryanhiggins8869]

🎶 When the fighting day is done Cell just wants to have fun Oh, Cell just wants to have fun 🎶

[@IronReef77]

I see Frieza as the ultimate villaon but I do like Cell alot. Very very well done saga even after an already peak hit from the Frieza saga.

[@oz88og40]

Cell is my favorite villain of the Dragonball series and Frieza as well.

[@tquinnhunsaker4344]

What makes Cell such a great villain is that he's not just the culmination of all of the powers and skills of the Z-Fighters but also the culmination of all of their flaws too He pushes gohan to transform just like Vegeta allowed him to he allows Vegeta and Trunks to escape so he can fight them again later like Goku and his sadistic tendencies pushed gohan over the edge just like frieza did to Goku

[@godofthisshit]

As time gone on, I have more of an appreciation for Buu and Freiza.