Why I Like That The Other Z Fighters Attacked Cell Before Vegeta - A DBZ Video Essay

Gohan defeating Perfect Cell with a kamehameha is one of the greatest moments in all of anime, let alone in Dragon Ball Z. And it's a moment that couldn't have happened if Vegeta hadn't fired an energy blast at Cell that threw off his aura and gave Gohan the opportunity to overpower him. But in the anime, it also couldn't have happened had Krillin, Piccolo, Tien and Yamcha not attacked Cell first and inspired Vegeta to do it too. It's an aspect of the climactic showdown that only occurs in the anime (in the manga it's only Vegeta who helps out Gohan during the big beam struggle), and in this video essay, I argue that the change that was made for the anime was a great one - that there are five reasons, off the top of my head, why the other Z Fighters helping out Gohan in "Save the World" made that moment and that episode better than it would've been otherwise.
This is a video essay I initially came up with just days after Akira Toriyama passed away in 2024. The plan was to get it out right away, as kind of a tribute to someone who meant a lot to me, but health issues kept me from being able to do so, or to get any videos made for a bit. All the same, I finally buckled down and finished it and decided to release it on July 5, 2024 but it marks the 10-year anniversary of the launch of my KZbin channel.
If you enjoyed this video, you are more than welcome to press that big ole SUBCRIBE button if you feel like it. But hey, that's up to you :)
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00:00 - intro
03:15​ - Reason #1: It makes it so that everyone there helped out
05:41​ - Reason #2: It makes Vegeta's actions deeper
08:54​ - Reason #3: It makes Vegeta's attack a bit less redundant
11:19​ - Reason #4: It makes Cell even more imposing as a villain
13:45 - Reason #5: It makes the final showdown longer and more epic
Music courtesy of: Rukunetsu ( / @rukunetsu )

[@Nyrkvennasogur]

Based filler enjoyer

[@no-ic5gw]

I never really got the filler hate with dragonball. It adds so much to thw world and characters

[@liamdean9410]

@@no-ic5gwdrivers test filler was essential to building goku and piccolos characters

[@no-ic5gw]

@@liamdean9410 100%

[@orlandoacosta2631]

This scene hits so much harder when you watch the show from the beggining of Dragonball all the way to this point in Z. It highlights just how much Goku has influenced his friends to to the point they're willing to put down their lives for his son. Moments like this is why the Androids saga as a whole is my favorite arc on Dragonball. It really felt like all the Z fighters worked as a team and weren't relying on Goku the entire time

[@garywillig5143]

The main reason I like all the Z-fighters attacking Cell is because it allows them to essentially leave the franchise on a high note. By the time the Buu saga begins, all of them become useless side characters, with the biggest contribution anyone has being Piccolo's role as main cheerleader for Gotenks, who ended up being a largely irrelevant character himself. They do no more to defeat Buu than any random human who raised their hands for the spirit bomb. They become a bunch of master Roshis, a group of has-beens who stand on the sidelines doing nothing while the saiyans do all the fighting. By adding their attack on Cell, the anime gives them one last hurrah, and their reflecting on their character growth as they get back up after being repeatedly knocked down is the perfect capstone to their stories and allows them to essentially retire from the franchise gracefully and lessen the sting of them being discarded by the franchise for the crime of not being named Goku or Vegeta after this.

[@nora-yc6fi]

I like this change because it's one of a few bones thrown to Yamcha He's my fave character

[@Oyflim_Captain_of_Bobs_army]

Stand proud, you've cooked

[@velodus]

haha, thanks!

[@velodus]

Thanks for watching for all these years!

[@odeball22]

Watch ippo my boy

[@surgeongeneralx6655]

I love the lines he says before he decides to join in the anime, it shows his struggle with his own pride.

[@kaseyines]

"It's not fear that's holding me back it's just ... it's just" 😮‍💨

[@mAcChaosCh]

@@kaseyines its just fear lmao

[@GmKaiser]

A lot of good points I never thought of. I always saw it as it made the rest of the Z Fighters look even more useless that they couldn't even touch Cell due to crazy power scaling.

[@FFgamesftw]

See I liked it because it showed that regardless of how weak the other Z-Fighters were and how little it might do they weren't going to just let Gohan lose and the earth be destroyed laying down. They were going to help in whatever way they could. I don't necessarily think that they did it with the intention of "convincing Vegeta" but seeing them all abandon their pride for the sake of a common goal convinced Vegeta to do the same.

[@kaseyines]

Great analysis! This is the scene I chose to highlight when Toriyama passed to put an emphasis on how great the story of DBZ is. Though he claimed to have never actually watched the show in full, he laid the foundation for a character like Vegeta to have this kind of development. Anime pioneering moment.

[@velodus]

Thanks!, and I totally agree.

[@takahashishouko]

Actually Vegeta's development to good was very bad in the manga

[@Morhamms357]

I can't believe you didn't mention the best part of this segment. The one that baffles my mind as to why people say this scene shouldn't've been added. The thematic aspect to Cell, an amalgamation of the Earth's greatest fighters, being defeated by all of the people who shaped him into who he became. It just doesn't make sense to me that people genuinely think Cell being defeated by a bunch of Saiyans with the same abilities is genuinely better than him being defeated by everyone, especially since his Namekian Regeneration was arguably one of his scariest abilities. Even the only valid argument, that it emphasizes Vegeta having to put down Cell after he built him up by letting him take 18, is flimsy. Not only do people forget that Krillin was *also* to blame for that, so him fighting Cell helps wrap that arc, but as you mention in the video, Vegeta being completely humiliated by his own failures is actually strengthened in the anime version.

[@guyverjay1289]

Yeah but the others attacks didn't actually do anything, those guys were all too weak

[@Morhamms357]

@guyverjay1289 well of course they don't, in the story they were too weak at the time. That was Toriyama's fault and they couldn't really change that without possibly fucking up the powerscaling. If anything what they did was definitely the best case outcome. They made these characters still useful and relevant even if their power had long been eclipsed, and it STILL doesn't steal the spotlight from Gohan. Also, as said in the video, in his last moments it just makes Cell even more formidable.

[@Chriso22]

Ah dbz at its peak back when the z fighters where relevant

[@jasonone8726]

This was definitely one of the best scenes added in the anime that wasn't in the manga that outdid it. But that being said, it caused some confusion for me, even as a kid watching it. Everyone the whole time is trying to blast Cell and does nothing to him, he eaily pushes them away, then here comes Vegeta who throws a blast at Cell and manages to distract him and is somehow surprised at Vegeta, right after everyone else did that same thing. It's another one of those filler scenes that doesn't mesh well with the manga adapted stuff. I also wish the anime didn't show the part of Vegeta getting ready to join the battle because his appearance was supposed to be a surprise for the audience. Aside from those little issues, this episode is one of my favorites.

[@d1zzaster393]

This pops up while I'm watching the lost series you made haha Good stuff, keep it up

[@velodus]

Thanks man, will do!

[@VileVeilt]

​@@velodushonestly I kind of like how TFS actually explained how in their version of Dragon Ball Z how the scene actually played out does let's be real if the other characters were doing their ultimate attacks on cell during that moment he would have been killed just like it was when Vegeta helped Gohan out in the manga. not to discredit your opinion rating yes I do like the fact that they did help in the manga though.

[@Crow_Rising]

My perspective on the issue of canon vs filler is this: If it's not in the original manga, it didn't happen in the story and counts as filler. However, just because something is filler doesn't mean it doesn't enhance the story being told. There can be such a thing as good filler and bad filler. Take the Super Saiyan transformation scene when Goku transforms for the first time on Namek for example; in the manga the transformation is very quick and to the point. In the anime, the scene gets a bit drawn out to really put emphasis on and focus on Goku's emotional turmoil and Freeza's shock and horror at what he knows he's witnessing Goku turning into. It did not happen that way canonically in the story, but I still prefer it. It's way better that way, and helps cement that scene was way more iconic than it ever could have been if they had remained perfectly faithful to the manga. Basically what I'm saying is just because something is or isn't canon doesn't mean it is or isn't quality. Canon only means that it's what officially happened in the narrative, it doesn't mean that another interpretation couldn't be an improvement despite not being canon.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

Back in 2001/2002 The end of the Cell saga was peak for me too, everything that came after that was just chasing that high point.

[@JadeDragonMeli]

I've watched the anime front to back probably 6 times, but I'm not a Manga reader. Today I learned that people don't like the Z Fighters attacking Cell! Lol. It does answer the question of why so many Cell vs Gohan beam struggle vids on KZbin cut those parts out and edit to make it seem like only Vegeta attacks Cell. This scene is my top scene in the entire show as well. I can't imagine it happening any other way than Z Fighters trying, failing, and Vegeta slowly putting his pride aside after seeing them get thrown aside by Cells' power. I've enjoyed other anime, and other scenes certainly make me hype, but I still get goosebumps still to this day when I even think about this episode of DBZ. Even when Krillin asks where Piccolo's mind went, thinking he could do anything to Cell, and Tien says "He didn't think he could, buy he tried to anyway." as his energy starts swirling around him and you know that Tien has already made up his mind that he's going to try as well. So, so, so good. "Now's your chance!" "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

[@velodus]

I'm total agreement. It would just feel weird if they never did anything - especially Piccolo. Like Piccolo was ready to go down and fight Cell when Cell was squeezing Gohan, it'd just feel really inconsistent to me if he just sat back and didn't do anything the whole time the beam struggle was happening.

[@grog3514]

Where can I watch the version with falconer music? I want my kids to experience what I did with DBZ.

[@velodus]

If you look for any big torrents of the show from big anime torrent sites, they'll pretty much all come with the Faulconer score as one of the audio tracks (as well as usually the english dub w/ the Japanese score too). It's a shame it's not on some of the newer Funi releases or on Crunchy Roll, but fans are very good about including the Faulconer score in them.

[@aliesterus1.023]

TFS posits the argument that it takes away from Vegeta's development, and I can sorta agree. @Velodus argues that Vegeta's pride was broken when Cell knocked him down, but that's not true, his pride had been _consistently_ taking a beating throughout this entire saga. He _starts_ the saga low, and rides an extreme high when he comes back with Super Saiyan. After this, every minor victory he achieves is followed with a crippling loss. He takes down 19, then he gets knocked down several pegs when 18 wore him down then broke his arm. Then he tears apart Second Stage Cell, but is convinced to let him become Perfect Cell, who then proceeds to completely dismantle Ascended Vegeta. At this point, you can argue that Vegeta's pride is already completely dead. If he still had his pride, he'd have entirely been all for challenging Perfect Cell again at the Cell Games, but no, he actually waits for Goku. The scene at the end completely flips that script. When he attacks Cell again, it was his _first_ selfless(relatively) action made not out of pride, he did it because Trunks died and he felt rage for someone not himself for the first time(at least, in a long time). Then when he attacked when Cell had his back turned, that was his first actual, _tangible_ victory this entire saga. The third time is a crippling loss followed by a critical victory. We can't even say it came out of nowhere, Vegeta was already set up for it when Trunks died, he completely threw away his personal pride when he attacked somebody for someone else's sake for the first time ever. And, if there's _one_ thing we can say Vegeta is consistently throughout the entirety of DBZ, it's that he's stubborn. He's not going to let the his failure to avenge his son deter him, he's already committed himself to this path. And that's before even considering other factors that would aid in pushing him into making this decision. Honestly, I personally believe it depends on what you value in a narrative, but not all fans or enjoyers of the material simply hate all additions as filler. I don't necessarily dislike this scene, but I do think that the Vegeta only version is ultimately better for his development.

[@welshlout3400]

@@aliesterus1.023You make some great points. I would say the filler does somewhat detract from Vegeta’s moment of individual development in this scene, but given his trajectory in the early Buu saga, it’s an entirely valid inclusion. As it turns out, this wasn’t *supposed* to be Vegeta’s defining moment of selflessness. He really doesn’t reach it until the final battle against Kid Buu in the manga. The filler then serves as an elegant bridging moment that qualifies Vegeta’s actions here. Vegeta, having developed a connection with his son too late, now sees the rest of the dragon crew give everything they have for the sake of Gohan. He doesn’t yet connect with them on a personal basis, but he *does* connect with their actions, and this is what moves him to make the conscious choice to help.

[@Starsoulklr]

A good amount of hatred towards changes and filler is from other series that either ended prior to the source material's conclusion or buying time and make seasons of filler that amount to nothing of note. Another good addition to the Android and Cell Saga they did was show Goku and Gohan's training in the Time Chamber.

[@vincentshadetree]

It was their planet before it was Vegeta's. Vegeta wasn't fully an Earth protector at that point, he was still doing right things for the wrong reasons or doing things for his ego sake. I agree that the moment was made better by everyone attacking Cell. I've always liked the other team members because I watched OG Dragonball when I was younger, so I'm partial to the others 😊

[@nathanielbennett2950]

Great analysis I never thought of this!

[@BM-sg1sl]

Glad you made this. This is hands down better

[@velodus]

Hey thanks!

[@guyverjay1289]

The issue is the same studio put filler in that showed that the z fighters attacks were so insigficant to normal perfect cell that he didn't even notice when they attacked him. They had Krillin and Trunks wail on him with repeated attacks and a destructo disc only for him to literally ignore them whilst he admired his new body. So in keeping in line with that SUPER perfect cell should have been able to just stand there beam battling with Gohan they whilst they all blasted him and he shouldn't have even reacted let alone blasted them away (which should have killed everyone barring Picollo anyway as Cell can one shot them all easily)

[@Luke973T]

I made a similar comment. This was my first thought as well

[@descendantofartorias2067]

The only problem I have with the scene is that them all attacking makes it harder to believe that vegeta caught Cell off guard but aside from that detail I agree that it's better

[@resean2727]

How so? Cell knocked them all out, and he assumed Vegeta's pride wouldn't let him do anything. Plus the fact that Cell kicked his ass minutes prior.

[@gerudoking3180]

It is so funny that you uploaded this today. I was rewatching your Lost series when you did! I'm not as big of a DB fan, but a great friend of mine is and I'm happy to share it with him. I haven't seen this video yet but I have to be honest; your attention to critical details, structure and prose, has been as influential to me in a nonfiction sense as something like Battlestar or Breaking Bad is in a fictional sense. You really took a show I enjoyed, like Lost, and applied critical thinking that I hadn't been really "taught" yet. I was in high school when you were uploading it for the first time, so it ended up teaching me WAY more about how to write and how to coherently organize a massive amount of information while remaining engaging. I know it's probably weird to hear some random guy on the internet tell you just how much of a profound impact you had on their early growth, so I won't drone on forever, but I do want to say: THANK you. It's helped me practically, with my own writing, and in finding my own speaking voice, but it also really helped me swiftly analyze newer shows (it's almost like a superpower - I can see when a show is going to pull a Lost WAY earlier than most, now, and I'm right about 80% of the time, haha.) It saves me a TON of time on all accounts and frees me up for other projects, and other people. Thank you for your efforts, and I'm always interested in the other content you put out (like your video on Dune, for example, or the Batman v Superman analysis.) Grace and peace, good sir!

[@velodus]

Awe, thanks man!

[@WorldsGr8est12]

I liked the fact the other fighters helped too. Tien has always jumped in when needed so he should have been in it at the very least. I think that its kinda disrespectful that he wasn't in the manga for this. The man has confronted King Piccolo, the first to damage Nappa, held down Semi Perfect Cell, he followed Piccolo to help Gohan with Cell with no hesitation, he even confronted Buu when he realized he was the only person left that could even try. Then they shit on him in Super. Dude has a Dojo continuing marital arts while Krillin stops training and becomes a cop and somehow is the strongest human and give him several wins t the TOP and make Tien have to eliminate himself to get one elimination. That was just a little rant, but my point is, if Cell is about to defeat Gohan, there is no way Piccolo at the very least would sit back and just watch Gohan get overpowered and neither would Tien. Yamcha and Krllin not helping would be totally understandable, but Tien and Piccolo? The disrespect.

[@velodus]

Not only that, but that episode where you find out about his dojo in Super is like... the worst episode of that show by far. It's so bad and all the Roshi stuff in it is creepy and uncomfortable. Plus, I've always seen Tien as a guy who'd just live in total isolation with Chiaotzu if there was never any threat to earth, so seeing him as a teacher was kind weird to me.

[@WorldsGr8est12]

@@velodus It was weird. Tien, Roshi, and Goku Its like the new writers watched DBZA and thought Goku was actually braindead and continued writing their characters that way lol.

[@k1ngan1m3tr011]

This was an amazing video theres one point you forgot to mention, didn't Kai actually keep the good filler you mentioned as an example? Like this scene?

[@velodus]

Hey thanks! It did, although I guess one could hypothetically argue that some of it was kept in because it was so intertwined w the anime that it was inexorable - like Gregory for instance, who's another anime-exclusive addition I liked.

[@brandonking5111]

I don’t get the hate for the Garlic Jr saga. it gives the distract the villain until Goku arrives team, the main character role for a change.

[@freezasama5802]

I loved it because the Z fighters wouldn't stand there and let Gohan die after they saw Goku die they would try their hardest rather than just standing there letting Gohan take the full brunt of the attack

[@awesomereviews1561]

Different eyeballs were also on the manga. Torishima ( Toriyama’s editor) was the main reason why Dragonball makes somehow sense. He left after the Cell saga and it shows in the Buu saga since the narrative arc made no sense.

[@mattanatior3484]

Was not expecting the video to be THIS GOOD. Also, hell yeah, filler is cool

[@velodus]

Hey thanks, and I agree!

[@Lugiamasterbrony]

Great video.

[@velodus]

Hey thanks!

[@Lugiamasterbrony]

@@velodus you’re welcome ^w^

[@LiamRproductions]

Great video! I enjoy hearing you talk about DBZ and shows you're passionate about.

[@velodus]

Thanks! I should absolutely make more anime videos

[@spiderzilla7o7]

Beutiful art

[@jordanglasper1064]

Exceptionally Great Vid. Very inspirational. I’m sure u know. All filler in Kai is Canon, synonymous to the manga. Just subscribed notifications bell on!!!

[@velodus]

Awe thanks! That's awesome of ya!

[@Wilson_Smash_Family]

Great video my man. I make smash brothers content if your interested

[@StarKaiser2]

Honestly my problem with Kai....the acting

[@ChaosAttorney]

the voice acting, atleast with Funimation, is undeniably better there are so many OG Z moments in the dub that just feel so cringey or cheesy to listen to, that was reduced massively in the Kai dub

[@voiceunderthecovers]

@@ChaosAttorney”your shoes are untied..” “Nice try, but I’m not even wearing laces.” “Perhaps I underestimated you.”

[@ChaosAttorney]

@@voiceunderthecovers IS THAT ACTUALLY AN INTERACTION..?

[@ChaosAttorney]

@@voiceunderthecovers NO WAY, IT'S ACTUALLY REAL kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJ_VmpR7gdCSptksi=fLirS_IL5mVlWPRo

[@takahashishouko]

the video is literally, "why I like fillers"

[@Don-fw3nv]

To a moron that can't think critically, sure.

[@thomasbane0]

​@@Don-fw3nv ​13:45 "reason #5 why this change was good: is that it makes the episode longer" Time-stamped so even you can find it.

[@voiceunderthecovers]

@@thomasbane0That doesn’t invalidate anything he said at all?

[@Luke973T]

Bad filler. In the earlier filler...not even trunks could make cell budge while him and krillin attacked him. In this filler...somehow they were able to distract cell despite the even larger power gap at this point. They wouldnt be able to tickle cell.

[@EWOODJ]

I don’t care what anyone says. Anything that put the humans in a well deserved good light is always good.

[@Luke973T]

@EWOODJ "I don't care what anyone says"...well I'm not going to debate someone else's emotions because that's pointless. The humans are tested and proven already and don't need filler scenes to get their respect.

[@boredomkiller99]

One filler being bad doesn't mean the other filler isn't good the real issue is that they spoil the surprise of Vegeta's attack

[@Luke973T]

@boredomkiller99 filler is filler. Most of the "the writing is bad/power levels don't make sense" arguments stem from filler.

[@thomasbane0]

"padding out a scene is good" the video.

[@playstationarusu]

That is beyond reductive. Utterly useless comment.

[@thomasbane0]

@@playstationarusu did you even watch the last quarter of the video? He knows that that's exactly what he's saying. Maybe consider lobotomy.

[@Don-fw3nv]

​@@playstationarusu Truly

[@thomasbane0]

@@playstationarusu ​13:45 "reason #5 why this change was good: is that it makes the episode longer" Time-stamped so even you can find it.

[@playstationarusu]

@@thomasbane0 So you're saying that a point made 13 minutes in is basically the whole video and you don't see how that's reductive?