TheDragon Ballfranchise has been captivating fans and influencing its medium for nearly 40 years now, which makes it fairly awe-inspiring thatDragon Ball Superis as well-liked and successful as it is. Some might argue that it’s not quite as spectacular as its predecessors, but then again others hold that it’s actually the best of them all.
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The show has been on hiatus since 2019, but it’s due to resume in 2023, which means that any fans looking to brush up on the ongoing story might want to check in with some of the best episodes in each of the previous sagas. While what the “best” episodes are might be a bit subjective, IMDB ratings do offer a fair amount of insight into what the general consensus among fans is.
6God Of Destruction Beerus Saga: “Let’s Keep Going Lord Beerus! The Battle Of The Gods” And “This Is All The Power I’ve Got! A Settlement Between Gods” (7.7)
The race for the first saga’s best episode comes down to a tie, both of which involve the battle between Goku and God of Destruction, Beerus. The first episode shows just how powerful Beerus is and the second reconfirms that fact in his rather shocking defeat of Goku.
The first villain to take the stage inDragon Ball Superis an intriguing and at-times humorous bipedal feline whose connection to the franchise’s universe sort of extends all the way back to creator Akira Toriyama’s original manga,Dr. Slump. That makes this battle a fairly interesting one. Combine that with the fact that this first saga was still shaking the dust off of the franchise and it only makes sense that the big battle episodes were considered the best.
5Golden Frieza Saga: “The Earth Explodes?! A Decisive Kamehameha!” (8.1)
An argument can be made that the primary villain in all of theDragon Balluniverse is the Red Ribbon Army, but anyone trying to make that argument will first have to find a compelling way to explain why it’s not actually Frieza. The alien emperor just won’t ever seem to tap out no matter how many times he and his many minions are eviscerated by Goku and friends.
The Golden Frieza Saga sees thereturn of the reviled villainonce more for another showdown against the man he inadvertently taught how to turn Super Saiyan. This one does involve the destruction of a planet but thankfully it compacts that into a single episoderather than 10.
4Universe 6 Saga: “A Developed ‘Time Skip’ Counterstrike? Here Come’s Goku’s New Move!” (9.1)
The martial arts tournament is a tremendous part of theDragon Ballfranchise, but when it came toDragon Ball Superthe Tenkaichi Budokai must have seemed a little too rinky dink for Akira Toriyama because he brought both the stakes and the combatant pool up several notches with the Tournament of Destroyers. Not only did it involve fighters from across multiple universes and control over the fate of both planet Earth and the Super Dragon Balls as a prize, it required a written exam just to get in.
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This episode does not reveal the winner of the tournament, but it does contain some of its most exciting moments. The battle between Hit and Goku stands as one ofthe coolest inDragon Balltournament history, and Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken stands as one the most mind-warpingly powerful abilities to date.
3Copy-Vegeta Saga: “A Chaotic Victory Party! Showdown At Last?! Monaka vs. Goku!” And “Goku Vs. The Duplicate Vegeta! Which One is Going to Win?!” (7.1)
Filler arcs often dwell at the bottom of the barrel in any anime (but not always), but when it comes to theDragon Ballfranchise they tend to at least avoid sticking out like a sore thumb in terms of quality.
These episodes in the Copy-Vegeta Saga have enough humor and action to keep the story afloat while the manga takes its time to make things fully canon once again. And, hey, it may not be therealVegeta that Goku is fighting, but it’s always fun (and weirdly rare) to see these two (sort of) throw down.
2Future Trunks Saga: “Showdown! The Miraculous Power Of Unyielding Warriors” (8.8)
Two of the things getDragon Ballfans the most hyped are anawesome transformationand the successfulfusion of two of their favorite characters. This penultimate (non-filler) episode on the Future Trunks Saga combines both of those things, with Vegito making his first appearance since the end ofDragon Ball Zand then going Super Saiyan Blue to take on Fused Zamasu.
Fans also absolutely loved the time that Future Trunks appeared out of nowhere to dice Frieza up like a red onion inDragon Ball Z,so it only makes sense that they loved his return to form against Fused Zamasu in this episode, too.
1Universe Survival Saga: “Goku Enkindled! The Awakened One’s New Ultra Instinct!!” (9.6)
The most recentDragon Ball Supersaga is also the one with the highest fan approval, according to IMDB, at least. The Universe Survival Saga boasts several of the highest rated episodes in the series thus far, including the top four. This episode’s near-perfect 9.6 is not only the highest rating in all ofDragon Ball Super, it’s the highest rating in the entireDragon Ballfranchise.
What’s amazing is that this episode is nowhere near the conclusion of the sagaandit includes Goku losing a fight. Of course, it also includes him going Ultra Instinct Sign, which must be why fans weren’t all that bothered by their hero’s defeat. And after all, any longtime viewer can assume that Jiren won’t get away with beating on Goku for long.
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