Hello, all. Man, it’s just now hitting me that losing all those posts when the site went down also erased 2 of the 3 “Short Reviews” I’ve made. And just when it was looking to be it’s own category, too. Aw, well; I plan to redo a “Short Review” I did, anyway. And come to think of it; I also need to do a “Short Review” for another chapter. All of that in its own time. For right now, I gotta do this. You’re probably asking me why I’m still talking about this manga when I clearly am not invested in what’s going on currently. There are 2 reasons for that:
- It’s giving me a chance to talk about stuff that I didn’t talk about in the original review– things that I can give more attention to.
- This is still my favorite franchise ever- even if it’s being………… dragged to death. Like you can actually SEE IT rotting the longer it goes. So if I CAN- then I will.
This should be a kind of quick, but……. you know me. This could also take a minute. I hope you enjoy it. Dragon Ball Super Chapter 96: “Saiyamen, On The Scene!” Let’s start with……….
Cell Max
I like this creature. It’s not a “Character;” it’s a Weapon gone out of control. I don’t know what the plan was for when he’s “perfected-” what his character would be like in relation to his original template- but I can tell you already that I don’t think he’d be the “Regal, Strong, And Tall” Cell we all know and love(10 Billion points to whoever comprehends that reference). Cell max out-of-story is a reference to Toriyama’s favorite Android– Semi Perfect Cell. I believe it’s because he’s a bit more “Brutish” than the Calculating Imperfect or the laid back Perfect. But when Toei and Shueisha came to Toriyama to ask him to make a story featuring a new version of Cell, he probably saw the chance to bring back his favorite Android- probably the version that he wanted back when he was making those chapters weekly. His former editor didn’t like a lot of what he was doing during the Android saga; what with 19 and 20, then 17 and 18, and Imperfect and Semi Perfect Cell all being rejected by a former editor, and Toriyama changing the story constantly out of respect. Clearly, it was for the better, considering the Fan Consensus of that arc.
I feel like Cell Max is a rejected design for Perfect Cell back then- one that he held onto and found while writing the outline of the movie and coming up with the character designs. And he USED IT here because he KNEW it would be used. Toriyama’s not a moron; a moron would be able to make one of the greatest arcs in anime history while changing the story 3 different times because a former editor told him “You Can Do Better.” He knows they just want his name on the product; using his name on the product is proven to make money. So they’re going to use WHATEVER character design he gives them, just so they can say “Toriyama Original.” He gets his favorite Android in the end, anyway. At least that’s how I see it.
The IN-Story reason is a little bit “Meta” I’d venture to guess. Dr Hedo wants to make New Androids- better than those that came before. Magenta and the Red Ribbon Army wanted Cell Max- a carbon copy of the organizations “Greatest Creation.” Hedo didn’t want to make that thing, so he made it the monster we see in the movie. Toriyama could probably come up with a new idea if he wanted, but Toei and Shueisha come to him asking him to revamp characters like Broly and Cell. In that way, I guess the 2 are “inversions” of each other; Broly was a monster Toriyama made into a character- Cell was a character Toriyama made a Monster. Cell Max is kind of the embodiement of what “Super” is: A Cheap Copy. Look no further than the Moro and Granolah arcs for that; Moro’s arc was an amalgamation of arcs from before(an outer representation of Cell, who Moro ended up becoming anyway), and Granolah’s arc became more about Bardock than it was about………. Anything else.
I don’t know how the man himself feels about this portion of his franchise, but……… I personally wouldn’t be too happy about it. Then again, he’s 68 still making money off of his name being printed on something- maybe that’s enough.
The Movie Tie In Stuff
“Lot’s Of Potential- Total Let Down-” the motto of “Super-” and Goku and Vegeta’s kids. At least Gohan, Goten, and Present Trunks. Future Trunks is always a win, and Bulla hasn’t gotten the chance to do much of anything. And this applies to the Super Hero prequel they did leading up to the Movie Retelling. I talked about it a lot in regards to Beta No 1, and, you know- it was fine. But it was too short with very little connectivity– it’s almost as if it doesn’t matter to what’s going on right now. It’s no different then them adding all these extra scenes to explain how all the character’s present in the finale ended up getting wrapped up in this plot. And now we’re just seeing them in their costumes going into the battler with Cell Max- something that won’t matter when they form Gotenks. Probably not gonna be a regular fusion; we’re still getting that Fat guy because adding in a character that can go Super Saiyan 3 might make fighting him easier.
I……… I don’t even care enough to get mad about this. I’m not sure what the goal is with these 2, but……… it’s SOMETHING for them to do. Though how we get from these 2 playing “Super Hero” to them going out on dates or whatever come the End of Z is……….. a thing. Whatever.
Conclusion
I could talk about Hedo’s skin and how he may have tried to be a Super hero now that he can take some pain, and I can talk about the Gamma’s character change throughout the movie. But those are reaching for things to talk about. At which point, I should just end it before it gets too long. I…….. This was a chapter. We probably won’t make it out of this year with this arc. Next month will be: Saiyamen and stuff vs Cell Max; Gotenks; Cell max Weak point reveal; Gamma 2 charge up. Something like that. Let me know what you guys think in the comments, and ’til then, folks; Stay Safe, Stay Golden, and have a Magical Wonderful Day. See ya around………
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