Considering the question I’m asking right now, I can’t really say that this isn’t a “Power Scaling” thing. But I can assure you that there will be NO MATH involved in this post. I feel like that’s where Power Scalers go wrong; they forget how much everyone HATED Math in school!! I ALREADY GRADUATED, why am I still learning about NUMBERS still?!! I watch Power Scaling videos and wonder where the actual f*ck all these “multipliers” and “amps” come from. So I will be doing none of that. But I will be asking a question that’s been on my mind for a minute now. And a type of post that I’ve been wanting to do.
As you can probably tell: Youtubers have influenced a lot of how this blog is written. My main inspirations would be Geekdom101, Tekking101, MasakoX, Joyboy Theories, and some others. But this one is more modelled after some of the videos from Laughingstock Media; ever since he returned to Youtube, he hasn’t been focusing on “Super” as much. Mostly because the Moro arc was such a betrayal of expectations that it ITSELF raised; it got us all excited for an epic, thought-out, excellently based battle with high stakes(for an arc that still set before the End Of Z)- only to become a carbon copy of a better arc, and take a sh!t on that content. That’s probably how Mike felt. So ever since he came back, he’s just been making smaller scale videos just asking miscellaneous questions about the original manga penned by Toriyama. I don’t often get the chance to watch them all, but I’ll watch a lot of them. I like the style; it’s pretty calming after a stressful day.
I say this because I don’t know if he’s already asked and answered this question or not(he probably has, in which case- link to his video); I’m just gonna throw my little 2 cents into the equation. The Question I Seek To Answer: Was Perfect Cell Stronger Than Super Saiyan 2 Teen Gohan? You’re probably thinking I’m stupid for even asking this question, but I think there’s some merit to the question.
Evidence
We’re goin’ ALL THE WAY back to the Android Saga- the Cell portion, in specific. Perfect Cell is born; having absorbed Androids 17 and 18, Cell has achieved his Perfect form- as he was programmed to do by the Late, Great Dr Gero. The first thing he does is rock Krillin and Vegeta’s sh!t. Well, Krillin is the first to get his sh!t rocked; Cell f*cks with Vegeta like Vegeta did to him not but moments prior. Rocking his sh!t all the same, but slowly. And Vegeta- being Vegeta– throws a tantrum and tries to goad Cell into taking his attack head on. And to his credit- It Worked; he managed to blow part of Cell’s body away. I feel like Cell probably tried to dodge last minute when he realized that that sh!t could have actually been the end of it. In fact, I know we’re kind of off on a tangent right now, but- SIDE THEORY: Trunks implies that Vegeta could use the Grade 3/ Ultra Super Saiyan form, but chose not to because he already knew the kinks in the form(logic you could probably apply to Super Saiyan 3, based on how both forms are written). But he was stationary in that scene.
It’s a lot more prominent in the anime because it’s in motion, but you see him……. shake violently while charging the Final Flash. I think that Vegeta- while charging that attack- momentarily used Grade 3’s power to make sure the attack had that much more “oomph” to it. And Cell could sense that coming; it was stronger than he had expected. But he realized it a little too late, and lost a chunk of himself when he didn’t have to. You could always make the argument that he got a Zenkai Boost from regenerating, but clearly he wasn’t that close to death here. But THEN he rocks Vegeta’s sh!t, and Trunks decides to step up to the challenge. And after displaying his use of Grade 3, even the High And Mighty Perfect Cell admits that Trunks’ power eclipses his own- by a decent bit, in his own words. But as he and Goku demonstrate to Trunks and Gohan respectively, the form has 2 Major Downsides: 1)The Added Bulk makes the body slower, making any speed boost you get from this form mute and 2)It takes up a LOT of stamina just to hold the form- the transformation and added strain of battle probably wipe you the moment you start moving.
But here’s where things get interesting. Cell admits that Trunks was indeed stronger than himself- only to reveal his own Bulked Up Form. And you start to get a picture: Trunks may have been stronger than Perfect Cell, but it meant little since Cell was so much faster. But it’s not as if he was “outclassed;” he could have done the same thing. But the fact that Trunks couldn’t touch him- not to mention Trunks losing stamina with every wasted attack- made it a battle of “Attrition-” NOT Physical Might. Which he had more of, anyway. He could have hulked out and we could have watched 2 Juggernauts ram into each other(PAUSE), but Cell chose to see how this would play out.
My Main Point is that Cell could still become stronger through bulking up- something he would only do one other time in his fight with Gohan. And in comparing both states, the form he took against Gohan following that initial Kamehameha battle actually looks Bigger- much more Brutish than what he did against Trunks. Does that mean that that state was stronger than the one he used against Trunks? I’ll leave THAT to you guys, and simply say that Cell was stronger in this scene than in his regular perfect form(plausibly even MORE so than what I’m thinking because of the Zenkai boost he would have gotten from surviving that blast). Trunks even says that Cell “transformed to Maximize power- and lost speed!” “Reaching,” yes. But I think it’s worth noting the comparison.
Was Cell Stronger Than Gohan?
I’ve laid out some evidence. And looking at it- doesn’t hold up as much as I thought when I started. It’s not like this was meant to be a serious post, anyway; I just made this post for fun and gauge people’s reactions- in case I want to do more posts like these. Plus, I wanted to talk about “Dragon ball” in a positive light for the first time in a long time. But I still have to give you guys an answer to the question I asked. In my mind: Yes; Cell Was Stronger Than Gohan, but Gohan was just too quick and utilized his power better than Cell. Because another thing about that Bulked Up State: It Consumes A Loooo~~~~~t of stamina. So while Cell was “maximizing” his power output, he was also running out of stamina to move- which was slower as it stood. Those 2 together just meant that Gohan had to avoid Cell until the moment he sensed Cell running out of steam- and then he struck. And 18 was spat out. Very simple answer.
Conclusion
……………… This post was both shorter than I had been expecting- but took much longer to make. Though that’s more due to the gap in time between when I started, stopped, and picked up the post again. Finishing this around 10:21 pm, May 28, 2023, Sunday Night. I just wanted to talk about “Dragon ball” in a good light again. “Super’s” been……….. draining on me recently. It’s getting harder and harder for me to comfortably say “I support this portion of the franchise.” Because while the Movies are largely the best parts of the current era of “Dragon ball;” it feels like literally Everything Else That Comes Out KILLS IT a little more each time. I’m told this is called “The Law of Diminishing Returns.” And BOY are those returns sucking. I don’t even buy the “Super” volumes anymore; I refuse to support the stupid sh!t they spit out and think they’ll make money off of just because it’s “Dragon Ball!!” If they won’t listen to a Vocal internet fanbase, then maybe…….. maybe they’ll listen to a paying customer who’s dissatisfied with the product he’s consuming. Christ, now I just sound like some Old Guy who goes into a store and thinks he’s entitled to everything because he’s a paying customer. Personal Experience.
Um……………. Not much to say on this subject, I guess; not, uh…………. yeah, not much more I can say. If this does well, then we’ll be doing more of these, and I’ll certainly get better at talking about this kind of thing. Until then, guys; have a Magically Wonderful Day. Laters!!!
