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The Dragon Ball series has a huge array of story arcs, among which Cell Saga is one of the most popular. This story arc featured a villain that most fans loved unanimously. Cell was a villain who was eloquent, menacing, powerful, and had a strong screen presence. It was this character that made the arc so popular and loved among Dragon Ball fans.
However, the likes of Goku, Vegeta, and Krillin also had an impact on the arc’s popularity, but not for the right reasons. These characters made grave errors which led to Cell achieving his perfect form, making him an incredibly tough opponent to beat.
Some of these mistakes are still discussed today, nearly 10 years after it first aired on television.
Dragon Ball: Fans continue to discuss Goku, Krillin, and Vegeta’s mistakes in Cell Saga
There was one main requirement for Cell to achieve his perfect form, and it was to consume and absorb all the Androids. Among them was Android 18, whom Krillin sympathized with. His job was to deactivate Android 18, which meant that Cell would no longer be able to absorb her and achieve his perfect form.
However, Krillin not only sympathized with Android 18 but also had romantic feelings for her. Therefore, he spared her and let her live. This eventually led to Cell absorbing Android 18 and managed to achieve his perfect form. He was incredibly tough to beat as it is, and his perfect form made him near-indestructible. Fans pointed out Krillin's mistake for sparing Android 18.
Then, we had another set of Dragon Ball fans who blamed Vegeta. His ego knew no bounds, which was quite evident in Cell Saga. He had the opportunity to defeat Cell, but chose not to, because Vegeta wanted to beat him at his best.
He allowed Cell to recover, which ultimately ended in Vegeta being defeated. The entire fanbase collectively ridiculed the Prince of Saiyans when it first happened, and fans continue to do so even 10 years later.
Dragon Ball fans have a mixed reaction towards Goku's actions in the aforementioned story arc. There is no doubt that Gohan possessed the highest combat potential among the characters mentioned so far.
This meant that he was the only one who could surpass his own limits and defeat Cell in his perfect form. Goku knew that Cell used up a good chunk of his energy and proceeded to give his opponent a Senzu bean just before Gohan stepped in.
This led to fans calling Goku a bad father, but plenty of fans understood the reason for his actions. They knew that this was the only way for Gohan to push his limits and achieve Super Saiyan 2. Gohan managed to defeat Cell eventually by destroying his nucleus.
Final thoughts
It is quite clear that plenty of Dragon Ball characters had the opportunity to defeat Cell without taking the damage that they did. The mistakes were horrendous, but it made for top-tier entertainment. Furthermore, fans loved watching their favorite villain take on some of the strongest fighters and make easy work of them.
This was an important juncture for Gohan as well, since he pushed his limits and achieved a new form for the first time. Despite their mistakes, it led to an interesting string of events that altered the course of the story.
Stay tuned for more Dragon Ball anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.
