Gear 5 vs Super Saiyan: One Piece & Dragon Ball fandom clashes in search of the superior powerup

As with every anime transformation sequence, Gear 5 Luffy from the latest chapters of One Piece is being contrasted with the Super Saiyan transformation from Dragon Ball Z. Several people have put the Gear 5 above the Super Saiyan already, in a rather trollish manner. This has resulted in some fans not embracing it well.

quick facts #ONEPIECE https://t.co/sIBtjwMpfG

This is an understatement, as Twitter tends to explode when things like this happen. With many fans mocking the statement as absurd, some have started descending into insults.

This all stemmed from one tweet expressing an opinion on One Piece and Dragon Ball Z. As always, this was followed by backlash after backlash. Some posit iconography made the Super Saiyan better, others share Gear 5 is better written.

even when Toei animates it, it won’t NEARLY have the same impact or popularity of Super Saiyan upon its release. twitter.com/geo_aw/status/…

Note: This article contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Z and One Piece. A content warning for the language at the outset, as angry fans and Twitter are a bad combination.

One Piece Gear 5 tweet sends Dragon Ball fans into a frenzy

The tweet in question was part of a thread of four tweets, which on the fourth the original poster stated they were muting replies. Today, the original tweet has well over 580 replies, over 10k likes, and over 1,000 retweets. The original commentator in question even stated it as a fact. They also added that they're not taking questions or nuanced discussions.

anyways replies muted, I didn’t tweet this for a nuanced discussion this is just a matter of fact

This hasn't gone over well with the Dragon Ball community, and some One Piece fans are even wondering what possessed the original poster to post this. Dragon Ball fans argued that the Super Saiyan transformation has more power behind it, and had more hype when it was finally revealed.

They also added that it is one of the most influential transformations next to Super Sentai and Sailor Moon. Every transformation that surfaced after Dragon Ball's Super Saiyan in shonen anime is inevitably compared or contrasted with it. It has a long legacy since its first appearance 31 years ago in 1991, including references, becoming iconic, and parodies.

I’m older than the Super Saiyan transformation rip 🪦 #DragonBall https://t.co/gLvcwrOF4n

@UllrMain So luffy can destroy planets now?

@UllrMain Super Saiyan is extremely influential lol. https://t.co/aGXQltdUnP

@UllrMain Super Saiyan is the trendsetter for transformations. There's a reason when a Shonen MC goes through dramatic power up people say "He just went Super Saiyan!" https://t.co/YeIbjCrf6U

One Piece fans, however, contest all of this. According to them, Gear 5 had more buildup in the story, with at least hundreds of chapters. They are of the opinion that Gear 5 makes Luffy's powers much more than just a rubber body. Many are also saying One Piece is the new innovator.

Many One Piece fans are also adding that the ani-manga deserves its place as one of the legendary anime alongside Bleach, Naruto, and even Dragon Ball. They say it’s more than deserved after outperforming other shonen series'.

@YeremyDa @Geo_AW Super Saiyan: yelling bum turning into glowing Pikachu.Gear 5: Drums of Liberation beatin.Luffy turning into a God who embodies freedom and almost every single thing in One Piece. A power which no one could awaken in 800 years.+ 100s of chap buildup and anticipation. https://t.co/HKav6D65wF

@Geo_AW Honest to god Gear 5th is over super sayian purely because of how creative it is. Super sayian is definitely iconic but gear 5th for me is a different level. Not only because over time the super sayian form became useless in its own series but Gear 5th is luffy’s peak

@Geo_AW SS is iconic, but that doesn't mean it's the best. It's hype but nothing beyond that which is fine. and krillin came back, G5 tho is the culmination of hundreds of chapters built up. It's narratively far more impactful to the story especially when SSJ was handed to every saiyan

@Geo_AW The moment Goku went SS the 1st time was mindblowing for me as a kid. As an adult now, I dunno if G5 will have the same effect once animated.BUT it's very obvious that G5>SS in terms of story, theme, creativity... Toriyama is a legend, but Oda is factually the better writer.

Then there are those who are simply stirring up a hornet's nest. Some are fans of both that are already over this debate. Some just wanted to poke fun at it by comparing Gear 5 to Karma from Boruto or even some of Naruto's transformations.

Others may genuinely prefer one to the other. Many people, at this juncture, asked the eternal question of "why not both?"

@Geo_AW Listen, I love OP and greatly prefer it to DB, but G5 on Onigashima is literally just the Super Saiyan prophecy on Namek, but not quite as good. The whole progression is very similar. Video going in depth about how good Super Saiyan's first appearance is:youtu.be/H0AGjuuX1q8

@Geo_AW Super Sayian: The despair and rage in Goku's heart after losing his best friend erupting into a power not awakened in thousands of yearsGear 5: https://t.co/0S12LjQ6dS

@Geo_AW Quick reminder: https://t.co/L0E80IQqdz

@Geo_AW I don't see any superior to the other, I just see two legends 🤝🏽 https://t.co/UDqSu5RtJO

There are certainly arguments to be made over which shonen action series did their transformations better. There are several arguments in favor of both sides, as well as numerous arguments in opposition.

It can get excessively annoying when a fan overhypes a series. But it's worse when fans overhype a series while bashing another series.

@Geo_AW Man, One Piece looks really interesting but i can't stand that fanbase comparing OP to EVERYTHING... like, they have the need to show 80% of the time that One Piece is better than the rest of the stuff, it really makes me not wanna watch it...Obviously it's not the whole fanbase.

Perhaps if some fans just calmed down, they wouldn't get so worked up about transformations. On the other hand, there will always be those who do that.

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Poll : Super Saiyan or Gear 5?

Super Saiyan

Gear 5

71 votes

Edited by Babylona Bora

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