Is DBZ the best 2nd part of a Shonen?

[Captain Cadaver]

Not counting JoJo due to it's numerous parts, not to mention it'd be pretty unfair.

From both a critical and entertainment perspective, would it be right to say that DBZ's quality remained far more consistent than other Shonen after their timeskip? Whilst many would say that Z went downhill compared to DB, myself included, it never really seemed to go down as badly as many others of it's type (take Naruto, for example). At least up until the end of the Freeza Arc, it maintained a similar quality to it's first part in both creativity and semi-consistent writing.

Even though there's many Shonen I'd place above Dragon Ball in quality overall, none of them really seemed to maintain a similar quality to their first and second parts for as long as it. Hokuto no Ken's 2nd part featured a mediocre first arc and it's second arc was filled with more plot holes and retcons than the Boo Arc. One Piece, whilst having it's highlights in Part 2, suffered from the tonal whiplash of everything essentially repeating itself, making the story developments of Marineford seem to not matter as much. Death Note is notable for falling apart after the L Arc, made even worse by there being enough to work with to have potentially crafted a very good ending if many plot points were changed. Kinnikuman did improve it's sequel to a greater degree, but Nisei was published as a Seinen.

That being said, to those that agree, what would you say are the main reasons as to why Dragon Ball had less problems with it's 2nd part than most similar series? Some possibilities I could think of would include the gradual tonal change, as the way DB slowly went from an action/adventure comedy into a battle series more and more with each arc made the tonal shift seem far more natural than in most others. Simplicity would also be another major factor, as whilst not necessarily a positive trait in writing, a show with a more average writing quality is still more preferable than a flashy or pretentious trainwreck. Though such could be said about the Cell and Boo Arcs, the overall comedic and gag manga element that was there since the beginning slightly excuses it from feeling as much of a drop in quality as many others.

So, thoughts on such? Do you agree, or have anything more to add on the last paragraph?

 

[Boo Brand Milk]

:rape :1down

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Yeah, probably. I can't think of any series actually ever being as good as it was at the beginning, unless it started really slow (for some).

 

[Let's Go Fearless!]

I don't watch any series except Hokuto No Ken which was really terrible in its 2nd season.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

I don't watch any series except Hokuto No Ken which was really terrible in its 2nd season.

You're so kewl.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Yeah, probably. I can't think of any series actually ever being as good as it was at the beginning, unless it started really slow (for some).

I'd say there are plenty of series that become both more enjoyable and better written than at the start without sacrificing pacing. For instance, FMA keeps both a steady pace and consistently high quality. There's also many short series that can still be very well written and therefore, don't have such an issue, such as The Tatami Galaxy. This only seems to be a constant problem amongst perpetual series, of which most battle Shonen are.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Yeah, probably. I can't think of any series actually ever being as good as it was at the beginning, unless it started really slow (for some).

I'd say there are plenty of series that become both more enjoyable and better written than at the start without sacrificing pacing. For instance, FMA keeps both a steady pace and consistently high quality. There's also many short series that can still be very well written and therefore, don't have such an issue, such as The Tatami Galaxy. This only seems to be a constant problem amongst perpetual series, of which most battle Shonen are.

Yeah, that's what I meant, even when thinking of other stuff not long anime/manga series, like Harry Potter. I always liked the first half of the series more than the latter half.

 

[ahill1]

I agree that it's the best 2nd part of a Shonen. Heck, it's even more known and revered than its 1st part. I think the change from a serie filled with gags to a more serious endeavor, but maintaining the fights as simple as possible were the main factors, whilst most of the series that had its 2nd part worse still kept the overall tone, which ended up turning repetitive (One Piece as an example) or just worse. Pretty much what you said



On a side note, I don't think mangas like Death Note fell apart in its second part; inferior sure, but it still had the potential to keep my interest and the final was also really good, with a really well thought plan in both parts (Light's and Near's). Near's perspective of Light, changing from a total incompetent (due to not discovering anything as an L's successor) to someone who outsmarted L and, therefore, possibly the smartest of the world was also very well constructed, imo.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

On a side note, I don't think mangas like Death Note fell apart in its second part; inferior sure, but it still had the potential to keep my interest and the final was also really good, with a really well thought plan in both parts (Light's and Near's). Near's perspective of Light, changing from a total incompetent (due to not discovering anything as an L's successor) to someone who outsmarted L and, therefore, possibly the smartest of the world was also very well constructed, imo.

If anything, that shows that it fell apart, as Near blatantly admitted he wasn't as smart as L, not to mention Light making out of character dumb decisions during the last volume. What's more, the finale could've been a whole lot better if the ingredients for the plot that were provided were used differently. Had it been written that Mellow and Near put aside their differences and form a pincer movement against an unsuspecting Light, the manga's second part would've been just as good as the first.

 

[KyuubiAhri]

PArt 1 naruto was the best.Half episodes were filler

 

[Captain Cadaver]

PArt 1 naruto was the best.Half episodes were filler

Even though it's an inferior version of Hunter X Hunter?

We're not talking about Part 1s here, anyway.

 

[ahill1]

On a side note, I don't think mangas like Death Note fell apart in its second part; inferior sure, but it still had the potential to keep my interest and the final was also really good, with a really well thought plan in both parts (Light's and Near's). Near's perspective of Light, changing from a total incompetent (due to not discovering anything as an L's successor) to someone who outsmarted L and, therefore, possibly the smartest of the world was also very well constructed, imo.

If anything, that shows that it fell apart, as Near blatantly admitted he wasn't as smart as L, not to mention Light making out of character dumb decisions during the last volume. What's more, the finale could've been a whole lot better if the ingredients for the plot that were provided were used differently. Had it been written that Mellow and Near put aside their differences and form a pincer movement against an unsuspecting Light, the manga's second part would've been just as good as the first.

Whether Near is above or below L is debatable as Light said, during a conversation with Near, that he is even worse than L (and the worse means smarter in that case). It at least shows Near is better as far as debating goes, as Light constantly didn't know what to say back to Near when the two would be speaking with each other.

Which characters dumb decisions? The only thing Light could have done is predict Mello's plan and advise Mikami to not use the Death Note, but that in itself isn't quite classified as a mistake, which lies more on Mikami imo.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

His decision at the end to reveal himself as Kira was ooc, seeing as how he had such a no stone left unturned personality beforehand that he wouldn't have been so arrogant and assured as to openly reveal everything even during his supposed victory.