Geekdom101 Plus Makes the Case for Why Dragon Ball Z's Fake Namek Arc Isn't as Bad as Fans Remember

Fake Namek is one of the most disliked portions of Dragon Ball Z, one of the most disliked mini filler arcs by a lot of the fandom, and with good reason. It kind of feels like a waste of time. They go on fake Namek, they get the Dragon Balls, it turns out to be fake, then they hit the reset button and go to real Namek. This arc is filler and was not in the original manga. But there are certain aspects of it I find interesting now, especially after rewatching the series time and time again, and I want to give a bit of a defense for fake Namek.

I'm not saying that I like it, but on my recent rewatch of Dragon Ball Z I appreciate it more than I used to.

What the Fake Namek arc actually is: Dragon Ball Z episodes 40 to 44

There are some fans who have never seen Dragon Ball Z and only watched Dragon Ball Kai's version. Fake Namek was a very short filler arc in the Dragon Ball Z adaptation of the manga, and it was not in the original manga at all. If you want to go back and watch it, it runs from Dragon Ball Z episodes 40 to 44.

The criticisms of this arc are valid. I do agree that it was a waste of time and that it was unnecessary. The whole purpose behind this filler was that the anime was catching up to the manga, and the production had to give Akira Toriyama and Jump magazine more time to put out more chapters before jumping right into Frieza. At some point in the future I would like to do an in-depth video on filler in Dragon Ball and how it actually worked, but that's a discussion for another time.

Krillin, Gohan and Bulma are tricked by Raichi and Zaacro on a planet that isn't Namek

The Fake Namek arc features Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma landing on a planet they thought, they presumed, was planet Namek. If you were watching the series for the very first time, had never read the manga, and went in ignorant of what happens, you would also think it was the real planet Namek. That's exactly what happened to me watching it as a kid.

They meet two Namekians named Raichi and Zaacro, who as it turns out were actually posing as kind-hearted aliens and were, in fact, not that. They weren't even Namekians. By the end of the mini arc we find out these two were masters of illusions who were tricking Gohan, Bulma, and Krillin into thinking they were going on a Dragon Ball hunt, when all they really wanted was to steal their ship to get off the planet because they were stranded there.

The Star Trek comparison that makes the arc click for me

Yes, this is a waste of time. Dragon Ball fans have said it for 20 years or more, and yes, it does not further the plot. But one thing I did like about it is that, as someone who loves Star Trek, this whole mini arc felt like something out of that franchise. There are so many Star Trek episodes, both in the classic series and Next Generation, where you have aliens who seem like good guys but have sinister motives, trying to trick Picard or Captain Kirk and get on the ship.

It's a recurring plot device that Star Trek uses, and seeing that in Dragon Ball was cool to me, though I acknowledge that's just my own taste talking.

Krillin and Gohan get a mini adventure of their own

The other thing I like about this arc is that it gives Krillin and Gohan a bit more time to use techniques like the Masenko, and gives them their own little mini adventure. That's always a pleasure for me, because I try to look at the positives when it comes to seeing the characters interacting together and building up the friendship they would have for the rest of their lives.

Why Fake Namek feels like a throwback to the original Pilaf arc

The biggest reason I'm defending this arc a little bit, even though I'm not a huge fan of it, is that it feels like Dragon Ball. In a weird way it kind of hits the reset button, because it feels like the first arc of Dragon Ball, the Pilaf arc. There's an adventurous tone throughout the whole thing, but also a grim and frightening tone because you can tell something isn't right.

Although Goku wasn't there, Bulma still acted as the connective tissue alongside Goku's son and Krillin, and it reminded me not just of the first arc of Dragon Ball but also that mini section of the Red Ribbon Army arc when they're in the pirates' cave. It really brought back those vibes at a point when Dragon Ball was already evolving past that kind of story.

The art design and architecture in these episodes deserve credit

The architecture in these episodes, the art design, I think is fantastic. There's tons of creativity in the way they design the buildings and other elements, so much cool stuff that Toriyama did not give them the basis for, and they should be credited for that. Writers Takao Koyama, who was the showrunner for Dragon Ball Z, along with Aya Matsui and Keiji Terui, tried their best to go back to the original feel of the series.

Fake Namek's Dragon Ball hunt wouldn't be matched again until Dragon Ball GT

Even though Namek became a struggle for the Dragon Balls, passed from Vegeta to Frieza to Gohan back and forth through the first half of the Frieza saga, Toriyama was already evolving the series to focus more on the quest for power. That's what the entire Cell saga was, from the time Trunks arrived to the very end, a quest for power from both the good guys and Cell as the villain. That's where the series went, and the Dragon Balls were put on the back burner, no longer the central focus of a show or manga called Dragon Ball.

So I appreciate that this little mini arc has a lot of mystery to it and brings back warm feelings of a classic hunt-for-the-Dragon-Balls adventure story, something we wouldn't even get again until the first half of the Black Star Dragon Ball arc in Dragon Ball GT. There was that one filler episode in the Buu saga where characters were trying to get the Dragon Balls, played mostly for comedy, but an actual hunt for the Dragon Balls that feels adventurous didn't return for years until GT.

My final verdict on Fake Namek

Even though I'm not a fan of Fake Namek, it's not that bad, and I appreciate what it tried to do, although the execution probably could have been a bit better.

What do you think about the Fake Namek arc?