#the obliterated character tournament

[obliterated-character-tournament]

brant art by @tw-5

death descriptions under the cut

Brant: was burned by his own fire that killed his fiancé, later had his hand burned off by his fiancé’s father when it was revealed that he murdered her, then had his head smashed by a falling rock when he broke out of prison, his brains went everywhere

Poke and Pye: In-game their bodies are intact for gameplay reasons. BUT, I refuse to believe that in-universe they are in one piece. The pair were exploring a comet that had just entered the solar system, they reached its core and found a stone with a massive amount of pressure inside of it, due to a strage gas-like matter inside of the stone. Minutes after they found it, the stone burst with enough force to blanket the entire solar system in the gas. As said, their skeletons are just kinda floating around, but the rock blew up and covered literally everything in this gas, they were fuckin vaporized, man

#kotlc #kotlc brant #outer wilds #obliterated character tournament #the obliterated character tournament #character bracket #poll

[tmf-character-tournament]

#well beth you had a good run #but you’re getting obliterated #tmf #the music freaks #freakblr #tmf character tournament

[myths-tournaments]

some of these MATCHUPS i am WHEEZING. VRISKA VERSUS FUCKING LIGHT YAGAMI. THERE WILL BE BLOOD

IKR rng out here putting finals-level matchups in the first round. at least we're guaranteed a fun show, though, instead of having to hope they both make it to the finals

#myths tournament asks #awful characters tournament #and it put my beloved darling kromie against a star wars character augh #she's going to be obliterated i just know it

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

It's looking increasingly likely that the semifinals will just be sapphic on sapphic violence. By the way, I'm kind of flattered by "This is so hard! That's an evil poll" comments since it just proves my seeding of the tournament wasn't terrible like I was so afraid it'd be.

It's supposed to be hard, guys! I purposefully did my best to put popular media next to popular media so no one gets swept out of the tournament super early by a hugely popular couple.

#mod speaks #there WERE some unexpected sweeps but that just speaks of the fandoms' dedication to their characters! #did Not expect Wenzhou to win against Malec or Vashwood to obliterate Bumbleby #this tournament keeps surprising me every round and that's the great thing about it!

[incorrectbatfam]

You're the only person I've seen mention Duke and Izzy so can we get some hcs for them?

They have an ongoing skeeball feud at the arcade. She usually obliterates him, but will occasionally let him win

Duke was nervous about bringing her to the Manor because he was afraid it'd change things between them, but that went away the instant she met the pets

She has a particularly soft spot for Titus and will sometimes come over even when Duke isn't there

Day patrols keep Duke too busy to join most after-school clubs, but he always makes it to Izzy's tournaments and competitions

He introduced her to Pokémon trading card games and took her to buy her own pack. She immediately pulled a rare one

They fell asleep on the couch during an all-night Tarantino marathon

Since Izzy is fluent in Latin, she helps Duke come up with character and place names for his DnD campaigns

He really likes holding her hand and gets a little sad when he has to let go

They're both the middle kids in their houses, so they can get away with a LOT

We are Robin is proof

But also they use it for mundane things

Like he'll throw paper airplanes at her window to get her to sneak out with him

Sometimes they have corny pickup lines, courtesy of Dick

Or last-minute couplets Duke comes up with

And then they'll run off and do something completely innocuous like get ice cream or watch the local soccer team practice at the park

But going behind their guardians' backs gives them—especially Izzy—the low-stakes thrills they missed from when they were younger

She taught him how to dance. Tim snapped a picture when they thought they were alone

Their friends constantly tease them and have a running joke to see who can come up with the worst ship name. Dax is currently winning with "Thiz"

Duke can keep himself warm with his powers, but he still wears a jacket so he can give it to her in the cheesiest way possible

Of all the bat-partners, Izzy has the most casual introduction to the rest of the batfam. She just appeared one day and everyone was like "cool"

#duke thomas #signal #izzy ortiz #we are robin #batman #batfamily #batfam #batboys #batbros #batkids #batsiblings #duke x izzy #batman family #dc comics #headcanon #long post

[most-hated-blorbo-bracket]

Welcome to the most hated blorbo bracket!

Do you have a blorbo that you absolutely hate?

Is there a character that makes you want to tear your hair out?

Do you want to put them in terrifying situations and study them under a microscope?

If so, this bracket is the one for YOU!

Our mission is to find the absolute most hated character in tumblr history. Will it be someone universally hated? Or someone more niche?

Let’s find out!

Rules

ABSOLUTELY no TERFs, bigots, transphobes, racists, or any sort of shit like that! This is supposed to be a lighthearted tournament, and I will NOT tolerate any fighting.

Your blorbo will be judged mainly upon the propaganda YOU give. I don’t know most media, so please be detailed!

Your blorbo must be hated :)

Characters from controversial media will most likely be accepted. If it’s from something especially controversial, I’ll send out a poll about the media and have the people decide your blorbo’s fate. If anyone is uncomfortable with a certain character after the bracket is revealed, please let me know!

Know that I am running this alone..so expect some silly little things to happen by accident! This is also my first ever bracket :3

Propaganda in asks is always welcome, as well as just silly cat pictures and whatnot.

Aaaand…here is where you can find your submission link!

Tags for exposure + inspo under cut!

@pinkhairswagtourney @canonmisogynyvictimstournament @most-datable-datable-bracket @the-nobody-tournament @dumbass-duo-showdown @dumbass-duels @leastdatablebracket @let-me-date-them-bracket @ultimate-blorbo-bracket @stinky-fuck-swag @action-brodown @pikmintournament @starwarspilotstournament @theater-kid-throwdown @badass-queer-couples-battle @art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament @obliterated-character-tournament @fuckingstupidbracket @generic-man-in-suit-battle

#bracket #tumblr bracket #poll bracket #bracket tournament #most-hated-blorbo-bracket #jinkies I’m so excited

[squimbusfrommypolls]

Does your blorbo keep getting obliterated round one? Are they so obscure they never even MAKE the bracket? Well now they have the chance to shine!

Welcome to the Squimbus from My Polls Bracket, for characters who just can’t win! Nominate you’re Squimbus here!

Inspired by the likes of @gaybadguystournament @autismswagsummit @disability-swag-summit @ultimate-poll-tournament @ultimatepokemontournament @genderfluidfailcompetition and other such blogs

Rules:

It’s a given by now but NO REAL PEOPLE, not even a funny one

Submit as many characters you want but only submit each character once, keep it fair please

No popular characters. This is pretty broad but for a more general definition: if they’ve made it past the second round of another poll, they ain’t gonna make it in this one. I will use my own judgement for some though, so if I know they’re a fandom favorite from a big fandom I won’t let them in either

Not a rule but a statement. I will be including my own Squimbi, nepotism ftw

#tumblr polls #squimbus from my polls #fandom

[grahminradarin]

SPOP And Queer Joy Tw for transphobia, the Daily Wire, and getting kicked in the nuts

I was watching the most recent video from Some More News about a deeply stupid and bad and transphobic film from the daily wire called Ladyballers, and there was a scene they talked about where one of the main characters who was a guy that has been disguised as a woman for a couple weeks in order to win a woman's basketball tournament realizes he might actually be trans, and confesses this to the basketball coach who is his old friend and came up with the idea. The basketball coach then tells the trans character that she doesn't understand her own feelings and that the coach will help her figure it out. When she continues to insist that she's a trans woman, the coach kicks her in the nuts. And this made me realize the whole conservative mindset is based on an authority figure convincing people under them that they don't understand their own feelings and they don't know who they are, but the authority figure does. And the point of it all is to make someone never trust themselves or their own feelings ever.

And then I thought of the ending of She-Ra.

And I finally get why it felt so right and so triumphant and so different. Catra and Adora have been living with Shadow Weaver their whole lives, and Shadow Weaver has constantly been telling them who they're supposed to be, and it hurts both of them so much over the course of the series because Adora keeps trying to fit herself into that mold better (is helped in this endeavor by light hope) while catra is trying to break out of her mold to put herself in Adora's as the golden child

And then hoard Prime shows up as the ultimate example of an authority figure insisting that you don't understand yourself with the chips, which are literally a direct physical implementation of that idea!

And in what both of them think are their final moments alive, they kill the shadow Weaver in their heads, trust themselves to know who they are, and do what they've wanted to do the whole time. Catra stops trying to prove herself and admits that she cares and wants to just be enough without having to try. She stops caring about whether she's weak and says she loves someone. Adora stops trying to be the self-sacrificing hero and acknowledges that she can care about other people differently than just having to save them and she finally takes something she wants without worrying about the consequences.

They both say "screw authority, I know who I am and I'm going to let that out" because they both think they're about to die. And that one tiny moment of rebellion and understanding saves the entire goddamn universe. It terrifies Prime to the point that he can't even comprehend what's happened, and then it obliterates him and frees everyone he's ever hurt. It fixes everything

That one moment of queer Joy, even at the very end of the world, is all that it took.

#SPOP #she ra meta #she ra #SPOP meta #SPOP analysis #She-ra analysis

[chungledown-bimothy]

"That's why I read the character sheets before the episode."

Ally obliterated his entire tournament puzzle with Detect Poison and Disease, and he vowed never again.

#neverafter #a crown of candy #dimension 20 #brennan lee mulligan

[twisted-writing]

Villainess!MC

Prompt: Fem!reader who is a ruthless, wicked villainess <3 

Requested by: No one

Note: Just something self indulgent and letting MC giving the NRC boys a run for their money as treat <3 

Note 2: inspired by my conversations with @simplydlightfuldestiny and the villainess manhwa (Korean Comics) I've been reading 

Characters: Azul (mentioned), Crowley(mentioned), fem!villainess!reader

Warnings: mentions of manipulation, and MC having powerful magic 

•Villainess!MC who uses the fact that most, if not all of NRC sees her as a helpless girl who needs saving to her advantage and using it to get what she wants and is unapologetic about it. 

•Villainess!MC who is so easy at manipulation that she's able to get the student that has been giving Azul the slip for three weeks, into her web by the end of the day.

•Villainess!MC who is able to manipulate Crowley into not just letting her play in the Spell drive tournament but into also letting her have her own dorm room, away from everyone else, and she isn't in any of the seven dorms. 

•Villainess!MC whose magic is so powerful that during the Spell drive tournament, she completely obliterated the opposing team all on her own. 

•Villainess!MC who radiates power and elegance, practically commanding the attention of the room when she steps into it. 

•Villainess!MC who is always ten steps ahead of everyone else. 

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland x reader #reader imagine #twisted wonderland self insert #reader insert #female reader insert #azul ashengrotto #twst dire crowley #villainess!reader

[vyvilha]

belos is so cringefail and people hate him SO much every time he gets put in ANY character tournament ever he's just completely obliterated in the first round. like. even the tournaments about things he objectively doesn't have any competition about. like the worst father figure tournament. he violently murdered like a hundred of his children and then got completely obliterated in the worst father figure tournament. he's so failwoman he just can't have anything

#emperor belos #belosposting

[obliterated-character-tournament]

Whitebeard: Marineford / Summit War - He sustained 267 sword wounds, 152 gunshot wounds, and 46 wounds from cannonballs, and got half of his head blasted off, resulting in 465 injuries in total.

Finnck Odiar: after surviving not one but two hunger games, he goes on a mission to infiltrate the capital, almost makes it to the end but as they are running from man eating mutant murder lizard men he ends up getting caught and torn limb from limb, never getting to meet his son.

#finnick odiar #whitebeard one piece #whitebeard #one peice #the hunger games #the hunger games catching fire #the hunger games mocking jay #obliterated character tournament #the obliterated character tournament #poll #character bracket

[youngersiblingstournament]

Younger Siblings Tournament Bracket Reveal

A few things I want to mention before I reveal the bracket (and make the post really long because all the matchups will be listed in text):

Seeding of fictional characters in tumblr polls is inherently subjective. I did try to make it so that more popular characters/media would (most likely) face off against each other in later rounds, but I may be overestimating or underestimating the popularity of some characters/media, especially ones I'm not familiar with. There are some round 1 matchups that are probably a closer match but none of them are between the strongest candidates... I think.

The more niche characters will probably get obliterated in the first round as per Squimbus' Law. This is a tumblr poll and I do fully expect more popular characters to sweep, but that doesn't mean you can't encourage your friends to give your niche faves a fighting chance.

Also there are some matchups I literally just thought would be funny. Please don't take this too seriously.

I'm sorry BNHA fans.

(Preliminary Patch Notes 3/14: Swapped brackets 2 and 3, and brackets 19 and 21.)

[Image description: A 64-person tournament bracket labeled "younger siblings tournament" with a smiley face. The top-left quarter is labeled "quarter A" and color-coded red, the bottom-left quarter is labeled "quarter B" and color-coded green, the top-right quarter is labeled "quarter C" and color-coded purple, and the bottom-right quarter is labeled "quarter D" and color-coded gold. The starting brackets are labeled 1-32 and are as listed below. End ID]

Quarter A:

Ritsu Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) vs. Ame (Wolf Children)

Malo (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) vs. Cat Valentine (Victorious)

Danny Fenton (Danny Phantom) vs. Fern (Adventure Time)

Skeletor (Masters of the Universe) vs. Shuri (Marvel)

Ryotaro Nogami (Kamen Rider Den-O) vs. Princess Luna (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Lilo Pelekai (Lilo & Stitch) vs. Sir Agravain (Arthurian Legend)

Dewey Wilkerson (Malcolm in the Middle) vs. Siobhan "Shiv" Roy (Succession)

Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto) vs. Razputin Aquato (Psychonauts)

Quarter B:

(9) Maya Fey (Ace Attorney) vs. Louie Duck (DuckTales)

(10) Falin Touden (Dungeon Meshi) vs. Saburo Yamada (Hypnosis Mic)

(11) Noelle Holiday (Deltarune) vs. Krel Tarron (Tales of Arcadia)

(12) Melinoë (Hades) vs. Han Yoohyun (The S-Classes That I Raised)

(13) Abel (The Bible) vs. Hiro Hamada (Big Hero 6)

(14) Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons) vs. Greg (Over the Garden Wall)

(15) Dante (Devil May Cry) vs. Alisaie Leveilleur (Final Fantasy XIV)

(16) Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia) vs. Kofuku (Real Life)

Quarter C:

(17) Luigi (Super Mario) vs. Genji Shimada (Overwatch)

(18) Yukio Okumura (Blue Exorcist) vs. Saki Tenma (Project Sekai)

(19) Fleabag (Fleabag) vs. Emerald Haywood (Nope)

(20) Sam Winchester (Supernatural) vs. Jiang Cheng (The Untamed)

(21) Nico Di Angelo (Percy Jackson) vs. Gaz Membrane (Invader Zim)

(22) Manny Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) vs. Jimmy "Saul Goodman" McGill (Better Call Saul)

(23) Sunny Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events) vs. Sunny (Omori)

(24) Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. Mugman (Cuphead)

Quarter D:

(25) Michelangelo Hamato (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. The Knight (Hollow Knight)

(26) Vash the Stampede (Trigun) vs. Ruby Rose (RWBY)

(27) Sensei Wu (Lego Ninjago) vs. King Clawthorne (The Owl House)

(28) Dawn Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs. Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

(29) Jinx (Arcane) vs. Caduceus Clay (Critical Role)

(30) Damian Wayne (DC) vs. Alluka Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

(31) Hop (Pokémon Sword and Shield) vs. Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto)

(32) Rhyme Bito (The World Ends With You) vs. Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Round 1 is ongoing! Matchups are linked (or if you prefer to scroll through the matchup posts, go to the "younger siblings tournament" tag on my blog)

#i think i like this bracket but if you have constructive criticism its subject to change #which is why round 1's start time hasnt been decided exactly yet #polls #younger siblings tournament #i will do my best to answer legitimate questions #info post

[chaifootsteps]

You know, after seeing the whole disaster that was the characterization of Adam in HH, I really need to take this out of my chest cause I never thought it was going to happen…

So there's this anime called 'Record of ragnarok' where they made a rewrite of Adam, since he is one of the humans that fight against the gods to save humanity from obliteration (the whole manga is about the gods wanting to destroy humans in a tournament)

Adam and Eve, both of them are presented as 'the parents of humanity' and none of them is presented as evil over the apple deal. The snake sets off a trap to acusse Eve of eating it because she escaped his attemp to attack her. Then Adam walks in and starts eating the rest of the apples to show disdain to Eve's accusation and they both leave togheter to start their own world.

He also has one of the most beautifully tragic deaths in anime, as while fighting Zeus (the leader of the gods in this story) he forces himself to the last breath and dies while standing after punching and almost defeating Zeus.

Why do I say all of this context and why I need to take this off my chest? because after I saw that one of the angels was going to be 'Adam' I started to grow affraid that Hazbin toxic side was going to come after ROR. And I was right, there came a bunch of posts and drawings comparing both characters, dumb fights over why the Hazbin Adam was superior to ROR Adam, that H!Adam could have killed his own alternate version and other annoying and disgusting stuff, I can't help it, but after seeing whats both Adam's stories are like, I can't believe this peoples audacity over 'who is better written'.

I'm getting tired of Hazbin toxic fans getting in other fandoms to try and rub in peoples faces that 'their stuff is better and the one you like is inferior and funnier and more mathure'. It already happens to a lot of western indie cartoons, but I never thought I was gonna see it coming to an ANIME fandom, im really tired of it.

Sorry for the long post, but I can't believe this people are so full of their 'demon-swearing-show-better' that they need to spread their toxicity to further fandoms.

Good lord, don't these people have anything better to do? Is their show that unentertaining that they have to walk across the neighborhood to wildly unrelated fandoms and start kicking sand in peoples' faces?

#Anonymous #Vivziepop fandom #viv stuff #actual blog post

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Controversial Character Tournament Round 2: John Gaius from The Locked Tomb vs Dr. Starline from Sonic The Hedgehog

(remember that these characters are fictional and your fellow tumblr users are real. i will block you if you harass others in the notes, please consider sending your unhinged harassment to my inbox instead)

Propaganda under the cut, may contain spoilers:

John Gaius:

LOVE: - "Everyone hates him but really he's just my little evil guy from new zealand." HATE: - "There's a lot of discussion around how well-intentioned he is, I don't think anyone thinks he's blameless but some think he's an evil mastermind manipulator and some think the situation just got a bit out of control. Crucially, though, you can't trust anything he says." BOTH: - "in the authors own words: "what if the magical girl . . . was a guy in his thirties with some very weird friends?" also he ate the sun and killed all of humanity. hes the worstbest guy ever"

Dr. Starline:

LOVE: - "i love him soo much hes so silly and he does have a dedicated following however everyone who DOESN'T seems to think all the fans are super annoying and him by extension + the starline poll bot accusations :( hes so meow meow. horrible pathetic sopping wet platypus man" - "the way people will get so divisive over him is so funny to me. people hate him for the crimes he has done and people love him for just being an interesting character yet most polls and such you see with him in it ive seen people genuinely call others bad people for liking him its wild" HATE: - "obliterate that twink"

#poll #round 2 #3 submissions #john gaius #the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #dr starline #sonic idw #idw sonic

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 60 Review

What does it mean for an abridged series to go even further beyond?

Part I

I started this review series in 2015 because I loved Dragon Ball Z: Abridged, and I needed there to be writing out there that explained why I loved it so much.

It’s a funny thing, re-reading all of my old writing about it. Part of the nature of a weekly review series is that you tend to zoom in on the particulars, as that’s where the meatiest criticism lies. Going over the specifics of the story’s structure, how details in the show add to a greater whole, it’s all part of the process of finding out why something in a show works, or sometimes, doesn’t work.

It’s in those details though, that you come to a greater whole. By recounting the specific ways in which a story is threaded together, week after week, episode after episode, you start to bring forward recurring ideas, and piece together aspects that continually make a show work, and contribute to the greater whole. And when you’re critiquing a masterpiece, a show so lovingly crafted that every single detail lines up perfectly for its conclusion, you eventually are able to tie those thoughts together into what is hopefully a masterful conclusion of your own.

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged is the best possible version of Dragon Ball Z.

This might be the most contentious statement I’ve ever made about this show. It’s a statement I know for a fact the creators disagree with. But it’s a statement I believe wholeheartedly, and I even would go so far as to say that Dragon Ball Z: Abridged is closer to the spirit of the original Dragon Ball than Toriyama managed to pull off himself.

The original Dragon Ball manga is a masterpiece of its own. Akira Toriyama did a phenomenal job weaving together hilarious gags with thrilling martial arts action and compelling character growth, all while centering one of the most lovable, fun, and pure-hearted protagonists to ever be written. There’s a reason that it spawned an entire genre of imitators, and that’s because its blend of action, comedy, and growth were all executed masterfully.

I don’t think that Dragon Ball Z ever manages to capture that magic the way the original does. That’s not to say that Dragon Ball Z is a bad show, but by the time Raditz enters the story, the manga and show both change into something much more akin to a melodramatic soap opera. There’s so much waxing from the characters about how powerful these foes they’re facing are, and there’s very little levity sprinkled throughout these long, drawn-out fights, as the circumstances feel too dire for the characters to make jokes and be silly.

Silly humor was core to Dragon Ball’s charm though. The very first fight in the first World Tournament Arc is a gag about how Krillin is able to beat a martial artist who has never bathed and uses stench as a weapon, because he doesn’t have a nose to smell him with. The best side character in this series goes from being an angry, murderous criminal to being a cheerful, innocent sprite every time she sneezes, and she always sneezes at the worst possible moments for everyone. Hell, the entire Red Ribbon Army Arc is a joke about how Goku completely obliterates a major threat to the world on a whim, because none of them are martial artists, and not a real challenge as a result!

The very magic of Dragon Ball Z: Abridged is that it takes this melodramatic source material and finds the space within it to make jokes again. The Saiyans are a world-dooming threat, but Nappa is hilarious, and I will forever quote everything he said. Freeza is a genocidal tyrant who has taken the galaxy by force, but even when the world around him is unable to laugh, his spoiled, petulant attitude is funny as hell, and full of delightful dark humor. Even the darkest timeline of Trunks’ future is filled with jokes, whether that be the genuinely despicable ramblings of TJ and the Wombat, or a 50-year-old Bulma making a pass at Gohan, perfectly fitting her original boy-crazy characterization.

And phenomenally, Dragon Ball Z: Abridged manages to do everything I just mentioned without sacrificing an ounce of drama. Goku’s battle against Freeza is desperate, and his Spirit Bomb failing rips the ground out from under you. Future Trunks’ battle against the Cyborgs is tense, and his first transformation into a Super Saiyan is gut-wrenching. Even in the first season, before they fully found their feet, Team Four Star managed to make the battle between Goku and Vegeta every bit as tense as it needed to be, while still incorporating a constant stream of jokes.

So where does that leave us with Episode 60?

Part II

What, exactly, is the purpose of an abridged series?

I think it’s fair to say that an abridged series is, at its core, an adaptation of a work of art from one medium to another. This is a statement I’ve made before in these reviews, but I don’t think I’ve ever elaborated on it. It feels rather obvious to me that an abridged series be treated as any other adaptation might, because at the end of the day, that’s what artists like Team Four Star, LittleKuriboh, and Something Witty Entertainment are doing. They are adapting a work from the medium of televised anime to the medium of a comedy YouTube short, and making the same kinds of adaptational decisions in creating these series as a production team turning a book into a movie.

You can see this question of adaptation present itself as far back as some of the earliest abridged series, like Avatar: The Abridged Series. Most of that show intentionally leans into the weakest aspects of Katara’s character, emphasizing her feminity, thirst for cute boys, and quick temper far more than the original show ever did. Yet, in its last episode, Katara undergoes a significant transformation in the face of Paku’s sexism, and is completely reimagined with a new voice actress as she goes on a rant about the sexist ways she’s been written, and her refusals to stand for it anymore. The last episode of this abridged series ever made goes out of its way to critique both itself and its source material in its last episode, and it begs the question of how far an abridged series adaptation can go.

Sword Art Online: Abridged famously goes even further in its critique of its source material. Almost every character is completely rewritten to serve as both a more accurate representation of online culture, and a deconstruction of their original persona, with Kirito in particular standing out as a fantastic depiction of the kind of loneliness and self-isolation that comes with being a try-hard edgelord. It takes an entire season of the show for Kirito to learn to truly connect with other people, and that growth is made all the more satisfying by showing genuinely difficult it is for him to maintain anything resembling a positive friendship with anyone because of those edgelord tendencies.

These shows both have very different purposes, in large part due to the evolving understanding of what an abridged series is capable of between their creations, but they both raise a fairly similar question: what happens when you give everyone with a video editor and internet connection the ability to re-tell someone else’s story?1

The answer here is something I think is quite beautiful. The abridged series thrives outside of the realm of copyright locked down by rent-seeking ideas landlords, and allows individuals, groups, and communities to reimagine their favorite stories. Sometimes, what they imagine is as simple as few extra jokes, or a simple rant about the sexist way a character is written, and sometimes, what they imagine is a completely new version of the story that actually raises interesting questions and showcases compelling characters.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the abridged series found its roots in the copyright-less utopia of early YouTube, when anyone had the freedom to take something they loved or hated, and transform it into something completely different. The rise of Content ID has long since taken away this pure, unadulterated freedom from us, and I truly feel that the internet is worse off for it.

When it comes to Dragon Ball Z: Abridged, the show we are watching is the result of a bunch of people who love Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z more than anything else, asking what they can do to make the show funnier, smarter, and more meaningful. Team Four Star found their footing as writers when they began to focus on the comedy that came from character interaction, as we watched these huge personalities clash, and for every funny joke they were able to draw out of that foundation, they managed to draw even more pathos and catharsis for these characters.

Which is to say, Team Four Star took the idea of an abridged series, and went even further beyond.

Part III

Episode 60 of Dragon Ball Z: Abridged is a massive episode that provides a satisfying resolution to the whole series, and nearly every storyline running within it. It also highlights the relationship between its characters fantastically, placing most of the story’s emotional weight on the fractured dynamic between Gohan and his chronically absent father, Goku.

The entire first part of the episode is focused on the tension between who Gohan fundamentally is, and the man his father expects him to be. Goku has, in a stroke of fighting genius (the only genius he is capable of), perfectly planned out this encounter between Perfect Cell and Gohan. He’s manipulated Cell into hosting a tournament for the fate of the world, and placed his son in the perfect position to take down Cell and ascend to power greater than anyone has ever seen. And it’s all ruined because, as Piccolo perfectly points out, Gohan hates fighting.

The subtext of emotional strain between Goku and Gohan has been running throughout the entire series, but it’s finally brought to the forefront of the text in this moment. We see Gohan wrack himself emotionally and Cell wrack him physically, as he and Cell both try to force himself to fill the role his father has placed him in. Even as Cell violently births his own progeny to wreck Goku and his companions, in a last ditch effort to stir a fire within Gohan, Goku’s son cannot bring himself to be the warrior his father believes him to be.

Android 16’s speech and subsequent death changes all of that for Gohan. In a moment set to a breathtaking cover of Unmei no Hi, Gohan internalizes the lesson passed onto him by Android 16, who thoroughly eviscerated the liberal pacifism Gohan has been trying to embody. And Gohan gets angry. So angry that his power skyrockets, and he becomes a Super Duper Saiyan.

Super Duper Saiyan Gohan is fucking terrifying.

Throughout Dragon Ball Z: Abridged, we’ve come to know Gohan as an incredibly intelligent, exuberant, compassionate bookworm. Even though he doesn’t want his entire life to revolve around education and books, he still revels in knowledge and the opportunity to learn, and some of his cutest moments are when he is allowed to be truly childlike, like when he eagerly investigated Cell’s time travel pod for clues.

Every single ounce of compassion and love for life Gohan had before transforming into a Super Duper Saiyan is replaced with rage. Rage at Cell for destroying Android 16, a beautiful soul who did nothing wrong. Rage at Goku for thrusting him into this fight unprepared, and taking away the only hope he felt by throwing Cell a Senzu. And rage, most of all, at the world, for being so fucked up that he was forced into this situation to begin with.

Gohan’s rage is cold though. There is no righteous fury like Goku, no petulant tantrum like Vegeta, no sorrowful torment like Trunks. This Gohan slowly defines the word “filicide” for Cell as he effortlessly commits it, wiping out all of Cell’s children so quickly even Freeza, the most murderous being we’ve met in this universe, would be impressed.

That very rage drives all of Gohan’s decisions, as he lords his power over Cell and takes every opportunity to torment him. He blows away all of Cell’s limbs with a Kamehameha, and then guts him with his fist so hard that he throws up Android 18, and loses his Perfect form. It’s this blindness by rage that leads to Gohan’s greatest mistake, of not finishing off Cell, who tries to blow himself and the planet up in order to gain some kind of victory.

What’s perfect about this moment though is that while Gohan feels entirely responsible for his mistake, Goku knows better. He recognizes the responsibility he bears for Gohan’s bloodlust, and knows that the only way to make it right is to remove Cell from the equation altogether, teleporting the two of them to King Kai’s planet in bold move to save the earth.

Goku’s decision to sacrifice himself also recalibrates Gohan’s perspective, guiding him away from the rage that filled him before, so that when Cell returns, and murders Vegeta’s baby boy, Gohan doesn’t hesitate to put himself in harms way to protect Vegeta from a deadly blow. It costs him an arm, but his commitment to protecting others, even when it’s stupid, and even when it gets himself hurt, is true to the Gohan we’ve come to know and love. All that’s left for Gohan to do is face off against Cell, one Kamehameha against another, and draw on the strength and fighting spirit of his father to deliver the final blow.

Goku and Gohan aren’t the only two characters whose relationship is deepened in this episode. Vegeta’s enraged cry of “MY BABY BOY!” when Cell kills Trunks shows just how much Vegeta has come to love his own son, despite the airs he puts on to the contrary. Piccolo’s love for Gohan is also expressed incredibly here as he lectures Goku for not paying attention to the needs and wants of his son, who just wanted to receive love and affection from his father.

In fact, the love that these characters have for each other, and the ways they express it, is a theme that runs deep in this episode. Trunks love for all these folks around him is shown as he dutifully delivers them all Senzu Beans, quietly making silly puns to each of them. Krillin’s love for Android 18 is displayed wonderfully, whether through him gaining the strength to stand up to Vegeta because she’s resting in his arms, or through him wishing her and her brother free of the bombs implanted in them. Even Yamcha and Tenshinhan are given a moment of brotherly love, as they express for the first time in words how much they both mean to each other.

That very love is also what drives Goku to refuse to be resurrected at the end of the episode, despite Cell having been defeated. He genuinely loves Gohan, Goten, Chi Chi, and all of his friends, and knows that the best way to show his love, for once, is actually to be away from them, and spend time in heaven with King Kai. He’s not afraid of the great change this will be, both for him, and the people he loves, and is willing to embrace the afterlife if it means safety for his loved ones.

Goku’s speech about embracing change and not being a part of his loved ones’ life anymore is also very easy to read as a coda to Dragon Ball Z: Abridged itself. He, and all the rest of these characters, are saying good-bye to us, the audience that has followed them on their journey for years, and they are all embracing the truth that it is beautiful to let this show end on its own happy terms. It’s ironic that, at the time, Team Four Star announced that they would be trying to continue this series, but it’s clear they grew to see the wisdom in Goku’s words too.

A similar message can be found in Cell’s final moments, as he gives us a beautiful rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way. Team Four Star, just like this villain, has spent nearly a decade re-telling the three sagas of Dragon Ball Z they loved the most, and at every turn, they chose to do it their way. Sometimes, in the early days, that meant reference-based humor that aged like milk, but more often than not, it meant leaning into their strengths as comedic writers, taking creative liberties with the source material, and working to elevate the text of Dragon Ball Z to something even better than the original show.

I don’t know what to call that other than Perfect.

Epilogue

The journey that I’ve been on with Dragon Ball Z: Abridged, both as a viewer and critic, has been an incredible one. It has meant more to me than just about any other show I’ve ever watched, and stands up there with some of the most impactful art that I’ve experienced. It’s a show I’ve watched when I was suicidally depressed to find some sort of levity, a show I found enough depth in to meticulously critique every episode, and a show I’ve gotten even my shounen-indifferent partner to get extremely hype about, as I showed them the entire show in the lead-up to its fantastic finale.

What Team Four Star managed to create in Dragon Ball Z: Abridged is something genuinely special. It’s a show that makes me laugh harder than just about anything. It’s a show that’s made me cry more times than I can count too, as I was tearing up multiple times while re-watching the finale for this review. It’s even a show that I get to cringe at sometimes, when I think of the early seasons, but that cringing makes it all the more impressive how much Team Four Star improved as storytellers, and elevated their craft to tell their version of Dragon Ball Z better than anyone else could.

I love Dragon Ball Z: Abridged. I will always love Dragon Ball Z: Abridged. And even though it’s over, I know it will always be there for me, waiting for me to tag along with Goku, Krillin, Vegeta, and Gohan, as they power up and save the world.

Rating: 5/5

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Stray Observations

1This question, you might notice, is exactly the same question raised by the existence of fan-fiction, and this is because abridged series are, at their core, no different from any other form of fan-fiction. An abridged series does, by its nature, require more work and expertise than a piece of prose on Archive of Our Own, but all it achieves, in the end, is a greater level of accessibility, like the difference between a written article and a video essay.

I genuinely adore that in this episode, when Piccolo goes to yell at Gohan to dodge, he’s already dodging Cell perfectly. What a great ending to a running gag.

Yamcha’s every line in this episode is great too. He just wants to be included, whether that’s in Team Three Star, or Cell’s plans for tournament entertainment, and I love him for that.

Super Duper Saiyan is also, just, fucking brilliant. Like, what a great way to use Goku’s silliness to get around the awkwardness of these forms being called Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3. Vegeta calling the next form Super-Dee-Duper Saiyan just sells the joke even further. If the show had continued for another season, I genuinely would have loved the comedy of these characters shouting about being “Super-Duper Saiyan” or “Super-Dee-Duper Saiyan,” and would love to see a mock-up of Goku’s “even further beyond” speech with these terms in Team Four Star’s style.

Krillin Owned Count: 0. And as a huge fan of Krillin, yeah, this makes me real fuckin’ happy J

Also holy shit, did Krillin cum 39 times??? That’s super impressive for a cis dude, mad props.

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