Janemba: The Ultimate Deep Dive into the King of Evil Ki

How strong is Janemba in Dragon Ball Z? Is he stronger than Majin Buu?! Who is stronger between Gogeta and Vegito?! This article brings to you the most comprehensive, evidence-based deep dive ever created on these characters. Utilizing rare guidebook scans and direct quotes from many Dragon Ball Z staff members, this definitive analysis is unlike any other. Whether you’re a longtime fan or just curious, this guide will help you truly understand Janemba and Fusion.

If this is your first time reading this article, please read it from top-to-bottom. Some things may not make sense if you do not read the entire article or skip around. This article is LONG, but if you want to truly understand Janemba and Fusion in Dragon Ball Z, then it is worth your time. Also, you can click on every picture for more information about them. If you click on a picture while using a mobile phone, click the circled i in the bottom right corner for more information on that picture. If you are using a slow Internet connection, it may take some time for all of the pictures to load, but I assure you they are there. This article is best viewed on a desktop, but works perfectly fine on mobile phones. This article contains hundreds of scans. While you may personally feel that some of these scans are irrelevant, others may not. I’ve included everything so that the readers can make their own determinations. This article was written to address ALL interpretations on Janemba and the Gogeta vs. Vegito debate, and not just a single reader’s perspective. For returning readers, please feel free to use the Table of Contents. Please see the About section of this website for the list of Dragon Ball guidebooks I own. This article is a living document that is updated to reflect new discoveries, so it may look different if you read this again in the future. It was last updated on January 14th, 2026.

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Table of Contents

• Who is Janemba?
• Metamoran Fusion vs. Potara Fusion
• Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn
• Super Janemba vs. Super Buu

Who is Janemba?

Saike Oni was a red ogre who loved to listen to rock music, and didn’t really care for his job. Unfortunately, his job was extremely important. Saike Oni was tasked with monitoring and replacing the tanks of the Spirit Laundering Device — a machine that washes the evil ki out of the souls of deceased, evil people. Because of his neglect, the evil ki captured in the machine’s tanks burst out, causing a chain reaction of tank explosions that washed an abundance of evil ki over him. This evil ki possessed and transformed him into the cute and playful Janemba. Janemba was a being with strange and unique powers, and by imprisoning Enma Daiō, he brought disorder and chaos into both the Afterlife and the living world. After battling Super Saiyan 3 Goku, the cute Janemba undergoes a terrifying transformation into Super Janemba.

Before the name “Super Janemba” was settled upon, “Janemba 2” was used by Jump Anime Library 1: Dragon Ball Z Movie 12 to refer to the second form of Janemba. It was essentially following the Super Saiyan naming convention: Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, etc. So when I cite something from Jump Anime Library 1: Dragon Ball Z Movie 12 and it says “Janemba 2,” just remember that this means “Super Janemba.” Also, Janemba appears in many video games and some spin-off series, but this article will mostly focus on Janemba’s appearance in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn.

Janemba’s name is a pun meant to sound like 「邪念波」or “Evil Thought Wave.” Also, Janemba 「ジャネンバ」 is actually spelled “Janenba” with two n’s if you convert the katakana directly into English. The 「ン」 or “n” in Japanese changes its sound depending on the consonant following it. When a “b,” “m,” or “p” sound follows it, like in “Janenba” or “Nanba-eki,” it changes into an “m” sound. The reason this is done is simple: it’s easier to say. The end of an “m” sound closes the mouth and primes it for the “b” sound, which needs to start from a closed mouth position. If you end on an “n” and go into a “b,” you have to close your mouth between the two sounds. Changing the “n” sound into an “m” sound skips that extra step without garbling the word. We do this in English, too. A perfect example is “grandpa,” which sounds like “grampa” when actually said aloud. This is a phenomenon known as nasal place assimilation in linguistics.

As for the design of Janemba and Super Janemba, these were done by Yamamuro. Toriyama only made minor edits to the design of Super Janemba and left Janemba as-is. Yamamuro explained this on page 59 of Dragon Book: Dragon Box: The Movies: “I designed him with the image of ‘a guy you can’t really hate before transforming, and a devil-like guy after transforming.’ In particular, the post-transformation Janemba was well received by Toriyama-sensei, and personally he’s one of my favorite characters. As for the leg patterns, at first I made them like a tree-demon form with vines wrapped around them, but after Toriyama-sensei added his own arrangement, they became this shape.”¹

Metamoran Fusion vs. Potara Fusion

Understanding the strength of Super Janemba includes understanding the strength of his opponents, so let’s now look at how Gogeta compares to Vegito. Gogeta is the product of Goku and Vegeta fusing via the Fusion Dance, i.e. the Metamoran (or “Metamorese,” according to Trivial Pursuit) style of fusion, and Vegito is the product of them fusing via the Potara, i.e. the Kaiōshin style of fusion. Other types of fusion that don’t increase strength also exist in Dragon Ball, but they are never explored. Both Vegito and Gogeta are referred to as the “strongest fusion,” the “ultimate warrior,” or some variation of that across various guidebooks. They are both called this so often and so broadly that the words nearly become meaningless. Thus, this comparison will be narrowed to using sources that only include BOTH fusion warriors, and will ONLY measure their Super Saiyan forms in Dragon Ball Z against each other. Vegito and Gogeta in Dragon Ball Super and non-canon versions like Vegito: Xeno and Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta will NOT be considered.

The reason for these restrictions is because I am looking for the original intent behind these characters and how they are and were perceived in Dragon Ball media. Gogeta only uses Super Saiyan 1 in Fusion Reborn, so it would be unfair to compare him to base Vegito. Vegito and Gogeta’s original appearances are also conveniently during the same time frame of the Buu Saga, so it’s fair to compare them. Thankfully, it is quite easy to distinguish between which Gogeta and which Vegito to use. In Dragon Ball Super, Vegito never uses Super Saiyan 1; he goes straight to Super Saiyan Blue. This removes any potential issue of trying to figure out which series he is from; if he has golden hair, he’s from Dragon Ball. Gogeta does use Super Saiyan 1 in both Fusion Reborn and Dragon Ball Super: Broly, but the Super version of Gogeta has yellow trimming on his clothing instead of orange and doesn’t have a halo over his head. There are unfortunately some instances of Gogeta also having yellow trimming in pre-Super content, such as Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2, but these were made about a decade prior to the release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, so they can be compared if we use their years of creation. Likewise, I won’t be comparing Super Gogeta from Dragon Ball Super: Broly to Super Vegito from Dragon Ball, because it’s a completely unfair comparison.

Reliable sources are marked with an asterisk (*). Please keep in mind that while some sources can be considered authoritative in this debate — such as Weekly Shōnen Jump — others, like Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butōden, cannot. The sources here are not necessarily to be understood as conclusive individually, but rather are used to illustrate a trend, and the tallying of them is not weighted. As some of the media listed below regularly produce new content, the numbers for live service and card games, like Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle, may be inaccurate. If something is out-of-date, please let me know.

• In Data Carddass Dragon Ball Z 2, there is 1 Super Gogeta card: 146-II with an attack of 4000. There is also 1 Super Vegito card: PE-012-II with an attack of 3000.
  Gogeta: 1, Vegito: 0.
• In Dragon Ball Card Game, there are 3 cards featuring Super Vegito: SP-25 with an attack power of 8000, D-582 with an attack power of 8500, and SP-37 with an attack power of 9000. There are three cards featuring Super Gogeta (D-602, D-699, D-842) and they all have an attack power of 9500.
  Gogeta: 2, Vegito: 0.
• In Dragon Ball Carddass, there are two cards of Super Gogeta with a 3400 battle power, (#216 and #247), and one at 3350 BP (#251). His average BP is 3383. There is one card of Super Vegito at 3800 BP (#280), one at 3850 BP (#281), and three at 3600 BP (#282, #283, and #295). His average BP is 3690. On page 55 of Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary: Super History Book, Kondō, Toriyama’s second editor stated that: “At the time, things were truly busy. When a draft from Toriyama-sensei arrived, I would immediately fax it to the anime production site. Unlike today, back when I was the one in charge, there still wasn’t a department that handled licensing. So the responsible editor had to do everything alone. I was checking absolutely everything myself. For example, when something about an anime script concerned me, I holed myself up in a hotel room with the anime staff and discussed it starting from the plot. When new Carddass cards came out, I checked each one’s battle power and such with the people from the game company. There were so many goods that checking them all was really hard work.”
  Gogeta: 2, Vegito: 1.*

• In Volume 5 of Dragon Ball Carddass Remix, there are 3 Super Gogeta cards: 22-216 with a BP of 3400, 22-247 with a BP of 3400, and 22-251 with a BP of 3350. There are 4 Super Vegito cards in the same volume: 23-280 with a BP of 3600, 23-281 with a BP of 3650, 23-282 with a BP of 3600, and 23-295 with a BP of 3600. None of the Super Gogeta cards exceed the weakest Super Vegito card, so there’s no need to calculate the average.
  Gogeta: 2, Vegito: 2.
• On page 233 of Chōzenshū 3, it calls Vegito the “ultimate super warrior” and the “ultimate fusion warrior.” On page 339 in the episode description of episode 268, it calls him the “ultimate warrior.” And on page 340 in the episode description for episode 269, it calls him the “strongest warrior.” On page 146, it calls Gogeta the “ultimate fusion warrior.” On page 150, it calls him the “strongest fusion warrior,” a “super warrior,” and the “strongest hero in the universe.” And on page 265, it calls him the “ultimate super warrior.” Neither can be considered stronger than the other based on this book.
  Gogeta: 2.5, Vegito: 2.5.*

• In Chōzenshū 4 on page 74 (Daizenshū 7 page 67), Gogeta is described as having “overwhelming strength and speed.” However, on page 165 in the description for the Barrier technique (Daizenshū 7 page 153), it states Vegito is “said to be the strongest in the universe in both ki control and power.”
  Gogeta: 2.5, Vegito: 4.5 (2 books).*

• In Daizenshū 9 on page 65, in the Super Battle Carddass game, Vegito is described as “the strongest invincible warrior,” and “the strongest warrior in the entire universe.” Gogeta is “the ultra-invincible warrior,” has “super power that makes even the Earth tremble,” and is “the strongest fusion.” This wording slightly favors Vegito as they are both described as invincible, but Vegito is specifically the strongest of that category, and Vegito’s power is compared to the entire universe, while Gogeta’s power is compared to the Earth. In the Carddass game itself, there are 5 Super Gogeta cards: 13-547 with a power level of MAX, 14-576 with a power level of 8, 15-630 with a power level of 9, 16-692 with a power level of MAX, and 16-696 with a power level of 9. There are 10 Super Vegito cards: 13-538 with a power level of MAX, 14-587 with a power level of MAX, 15-622 with a power level of MAX, 15-629 with a power level of 10, 15-640 with a power level of 10, 15-641 with a power level of 9, 15-653 with a power level of 8, 15-654 with a power level of 7, 16-664 with a power level of 8, and 16-697 with a power level of 8. Some of these cards feature other characters, but Daizenshū 9 labels which character they’re meant to represent. I’m choosing to interpret “MAX” as 13 because the numbered power levels end at 12, but it could very well be higher than that. Super Gogeta’s average power level is 10.4, and Super Vegito’s is 9.9. If we add the 1 Super Vegito and 2 Super Gogeta cards from Carddass Tokubetsudan (51, 52 and 70, respectively), it doesn’t change that Super Gogeta has a higher average.
  Gogeta: 3 (average power level), Vegito: 6 (Daizenshū 9‘s text and having more cards at MAX).

• Page 14 of Daizenshū 10 says Vegito is the “ultimate warrior.” Page 16 says his strength is “number one in the universe,” and page 17 says he has “too much confidence in his overwhelming strength.” In the episode description for episode 269 on page 117, it says Vegito is the “strongest warrior.” Gogeta is simply called a “super warrior” on page 105 in the description of battle 113.
  Gogeta: 3, Vegito: 7.*

• In Dragon Ball Fusions, Super Vegito has a melee stat of 1492 and a ki blast stat of 1373. Gogeta has a melee stat of 1596 and a ki blast stat of 1587.
  Gogeta: 4, Vegito: 7.
• In Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission, there are 4 cards of Super Gogeta the player can obtain: HG2-53 (6500 power), HG3-29 (5500 power), HG4-17 (5500 power), and GPJ-02 (5000 power). His average power is 5625. There are 6 cards of Super Vegito the player can obtaiin: H7-40 (6800 power), H8-CP5 (6200 power), HG3-CP6 (6200 power), H6-56 (5000 power), HG1-29 (5000 power), and GPB-10 (4500 power). His average power is 5617. Gogeta has the higher average, and Vegito has the higher max. In Ultimate Mission 2, there are 9 cards of Super Gogeta the player can obtain: HG2-53 (6500 power), HG3-29 (5500 power), HG4-17 (5500 power), HG5-CP6 (5000 power), HG5-SP08 (5000 power), HG10-CP8 (5700 power), HG10-SP10 (5700 power), GPB-55 (4700 power), and GPJ-02 (5000 power). His average power is 5400. There are 14 cards of Super Vegito the player can obtain: H7-40 (6800 power), H8-CP5 (6200 power), H8-SP07 (6200 power), HG3-CP6 (6200 power), HG3-SP08 (6200 power), HG6-47 (5300 power), HJ3-CP5 (6300 power), HJ3-SP07 (6300 power), GB-07 (5300 power), JB-05 (5300 power), H6-56 (5000 power), HG1-29 (5000 power), HJ3-51 (5800 power), and GPB-10 (4500 power). His average power is 5743. Vegito has the higher average and higher max in this game. In Ultimate Mission X, there are 31 Super Vegito cards the player can obtain: H6-56 (5000 power), H7-40 (6800 power), H8-CP5 (6200 power), HG1-29 (5000 power), HG3-CP6 (6200 power), HG6-47 (5300 power), HJ3-51 (5800 power), HJ3-CP5 (6300 power), HJ4-50 (5300 power), HJ4-CP6 (5800 power), HJ5-47 (4200 power), HJ6-48 (5500 power), HJ8-38 (5000 power), HGD2-48 (5300 power), HGD3-43 (4800 power), HGD3-CP8 (5300 power), GPB-10 (4500 power), GB-07 (5300 power), JB-05 (5300 power), JPJ-17 (5000 power), HUM-10 (4800 power), JPB-30 (5200 power), JPB-33 (5500 power), JPBC4-05 (5500 power), JPBC5-06 (5300 power), HUM2-13 (5300 power), HUM2-26 (4200 power), GDPBC2-02 (4800 power), GDPBC1-01 (4800 power), HUM3-20 (6000 power), and GDPJ-18 (4800 power). His average power is 5294. There are 16 Super Gogeta cards the player can obtain: HG2-53 (6500 power), HG3-29 (5500 power), HG4-17 (5500 power), HG5-CP6 (5000 power), HG10-CP8 (5700 power), HJ4-CP5 (5200 power), HJ5-50 (5500 power), HJ7-CP8 (4200 power), HGD5-CP4 (4700 power), HGD6-CP2 (5700 power), GPJ-02 (5000 power), GPB-55 (4700 power), JPB-34 (4200 power), JPJ-21 (4500 power), JPBC5-07 (5800 power), and JPJ-31 (4400 power). His average power is 5131. Vegito has the higher max and higher average in this game. I own the official game guides for these, and while they are dense with information, they leave out key identifying information. Therefore, I’ve decided to play through these games at some point. So in the future, this tally may change.
  Gogeta: 4.5 (UM1 higher average), Vegito: 9.5 (UM1 higher max, UM2, UMX).

• In Dragon Ball IC Carddass, there are 2 Super Gogeta cards: BT5-001 with a power of 20000 on the front of the card and a power of 10000 on the back of the card, and BT5-003 with a power of 22000. His average power is 17,333. There are also 2 Super Vegito cards: BT5-021 witth a power of 20000, and BT5-023 with a power of 22000. His average power is 21000.
  Gogeta: 4.5, Vegito: 10.5.
• In Dragon Ball Jumbo Carddass, the back of the Super Gogeta card (#18), states: “The fusion with the strongest power is truly invincible,” and “What’s this?! Goku and Vegeta fuse!! The power of the two who have fought their way through countless fierce battles becomes one, and the ultimate warrior, Gogeta, who possesses power beyond limits, appears!!” The back of the #21 Super Vegito card states that he has “infinite power,” and states twice that he is an “invincible warrior.” This point comes down to strongest vs. infinite. Choosing either will sound like I’m twisting words, so I’ll split the point between them.
  Gogeta: 5, Vegito: 11.
• In Dragon Ball Kai: Dragon Battlers, there are 4 Super Gogeta cards: T012-V with an attack power of 5000, B035-1 with an attack power of 5000, B183-4 with an attack power of 6000, and B367-7 with an attack power of 5000. There are also 4 cards of Super Vegito: B118-3 with an attack power of 6200, B208-5 with an attack power of 6200, B298-6 with an attack power of 7200, and B349-7 with an attack power of 6700. All of Super Vegito’s cards have a higher attack power than Super Gogeta’s, so there’s no need to calculate the average.
  Gogeta: 5, Vegito: 12.
• In Dragon Ball Kai: Miracle Battle Carddass, there are 6 Super Vegito cards: DB05-Ω1 with a battle power of 30000, DB06-85 with a battle power of 14000, 10-Ω34 with a battle power of 30000, 17-34/54 with a battle power of 12000, the promo DB35 card with a battle power of 11000, and the J-Heroes 2-065/102 card with a battle power of 16000. His average BP is 18833. There are also 6 Super Gogeta cards: DB06-Ω6 with a battle power of 30000, 8-85/85 x2 with battle powers of 9000 each, Ω47 with a battle power of 12000, Ω52 with a battle power of 10000, and the promo DB34 card with a battle power of 13000. His average BP is 13833.
  Gogeta: 5, Vegito: 13.
• On pages 27 and 28 of the guidebook for Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butōden, it shows that Super Vegito and Super Gogeta have the exact same stats, except for their stamina. Super Vegito’s stamina is 670 and Super Gogeta’s stamina is 590.
  Gogeta: 5, Vegito: 14.

• Dragon Ball Lamincards has 2 Super Gogeta cards (4-74 and 4-Z1). The card with the highest attack is 4-74 with 110 attack, and his average attack is 105. Super Vegito has 19 cards (4-P12, 3-48, 3-49, 6-26, 6-F11, 6-X5, 9-91, 9-92, 9-93, 9-94, 9-95, 9-96, 10-150, 10-153, 10-154, 11-131, 11-148, 12-144, and 12-145) and I was unable to find the attack for 2 of these cards (10-150 and 11-131). The card with the highest attack is 12-144 with 260 attack, and his average attack is 157.
  Gogeta: 5, Vegito: 15 (higher max and higher average).
• In Dragon Ball Legends, Sparking Red Super Gogeta has a power of 1.53 million, Ultra Blue Super Gogeta has a power of 1.51 million, and Sparking Green Super Gogeta has a power of 1.43 million. His average power is 1.49 million. Sparking Purple Super Vegito has a power of 1.62 million, and Ultra Yellow Super Vegito has a power of 1.51 million. His average is 1.565 million.
  Gogeta: 5, Vegito: 16 (higher max and higher average).
• In Dragon Ball Official Site‘s Monthly Dragon Ball Report #10, Vegito is stated to have “overwhelming power,” while Gogeta is called “the strongest fusion warrior.” Notably, the English version of this report completely deletes that title for Gogeta.
  Gogeta: 6, Vegito: 16.*
• In Dragon Ball PP Card (lol), there are 2 Super Gogeta cards: 27-1217 with a power level of 69 million, and 27-1220 with a power level of 800 million. His average power level is 434.5 million. There are also 2 Super Vegito cards: 28-1226 with a power level of 500 million, and 28-1254 with a power level of 70 million. His average power level is 285 million.
  Gogeta: 7, Vegito: 16.
• In Dragon Ball Raging Blast, there are two “What If” fights where Vegito and Gogeta fight each other. In the one where you play as Gogeta, Goten and Trunks talk about how the Fusion Dance must be better than Potara Fusion because of how cool Gotenks is. When you play as Vegito, Elder Kaiōshin says that the Potara’s “effect is much stronger than the Fusion technique!” In the Character Encyclopedia entry for Vegito, it states, “They say it makes me stronger than the Fusion Dance would’ve!” This was removed from Raging Blast 2. In the December 2009 issue of V-Jump, it has large images of both warriors but only describes Vegito as an “unrivaled fusion warrior.”
  Gogeta: 7, Vegito: 17.

• In Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, Super Vegito and Super Gogeta have essentially the same stats and are in the same DP category (8). The only differences are in HP and Agility where Vegito is ever-so-slightly better than Gogeta.
  Gogeta: 7, Vegito: 18.

• In Dragon Ball Super: Card Game Masters, there are 4 cards of Super Gogeta at 15,000 power (SD6-01, P-069, P-069_PR, and P-298), 4 at 20,000 (BT22-033, BT22-033_PR, BT27-007, and BT27-007_PR), 5 at 25,000 (BT12-039, SD6-04, EX23-15, P-607, and P-694), 4 at 30,000 (BT5-038, BT5-038_SPR, BT5-038_PR, and BT12-038), 3 at 35,000 (BT22-137, BT22-137_PR, and BT22-137_SPR), and 2 at 40,000 (BT22-140 and BT22-140_GDR). His average power is 25,909. There is 1 card of Super Vegito at 9,000 (EX21-27), 6 at 15,000 (BT2-001, BT20-099, BT20-099_PR, BT20-099_SPR, BT28-079, and BT28-079_PR), 5 at 20,000 (BT20-084, P-021, P-643, P-643_PR, and P-643_PR02), 6 at 25,000 (BT2-012, BT2-012_SPR, BT6-035, BT28-098, EX13-05, and P-014), and 2 at 30,000 (BT28-097 and BT28-097_SPR). His average power is 25,900.
  Gogeta: 8, Vegito: 18.
• In Dragon Ball Super Card Game: Fusion World, there are 4 cards of Super Gogeta with a power of 40,000 (FB06-097 x4) and 3 cards with a power of 15,000 (FB05-095 x3). His average power is 29,286. There are 3 cards of Super Vegito at 40,000 (FB04-130 x3), 2 cards at 30,000 (FB05-040 x2), 1 card at 25,000 (FB07-040), 2 cards at 20,000 (FS09-16 x2), and 1 card at 15,000 (FB04-046). His average power is 28,889.
  Gogeta: 9, Vegito: 18.
• In Dragon Ball Super Divers, there are 5 Super Vegito cards (SDV7-019 x2, SDV7-PUR1, SDVZV-005, SDVTB-006). The strongest of his cards are the 2 SDV7-019 cards with a power of 7300 each, and his average power is 6700. Super Gogeta has 4 cards (SDV7-062 x2, SDV7-PUR2, SDVPJ-024), and they all have a power of 6000.
  Gogeta: 9, Vegito: 19.
• In Dragon Ball Super Warrior Sticker Wafer Super, there are 2 Super Vegito stickers: 6-24 with power rating of 7500, and 8-30 with a power rating of 9000. There are also 2 Super Gogeta stickers: 10-28 with a power rating of 8100, and 12-29 with a power rating of 8300. Super Vegito’s average power is 8250, and Super Gogeta’s is 8200.
  Gogeta: 9, Vegito: 20.
• In Dragon Ball Super Warrior Sticker Wafer Z, there are 2 Super Gogeta stickers: W2-14 with a power rating of 8200², and W16-18 with a power rating of 8100. His average power is 8150. There are also 2 Super Vegito stickers: W4-19 with a power rating of 9300, and W12-19 with a power rating of 7500. His average power is 8400.
  Gogeta: 9, Vegito: 21.
• In Parallel Quest 84 of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, you fight a level 55 Super Gogeta and a level 63 Super Vegito. In the Hero Colosseum, there are 10 Super Gogeta figures: 261, 262, 263, 264, 335, 336, 537, 538, EX23, and EX24. The one with the highest attack is EX23 with 6730, and the average attack for Super Gogeta is 5066. There are 6 Super Vegito figures: 267, 268, 269, 270, EX85, and EX86. The one with the highest attack is EX85 with 8080, and the average attack for Super Vegito is 5755.
  Gogeta: 9, Vegito: 22.

• In Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact, there are 3 Super Vegito cards: SP-005-III with an attack power of 5200, 207-III with an attack power of 5200, and PE-017-III with an attack power of 5200. There are 2 Super Gogeta cards: 203-III with an attack power of 4000, and PE-014-III with an attack power of 4000. All of the Super Gogeta cards are weaker than the Super Vegito cards.
  Gogeta: 9, Vegito: 23.
• On page 32 of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods Official Movie Guide, it calls Gogeta “the ultimate warrior” and a “dream fusion.” There is a picture of Vegito on page 30, but it’s not accompanied by any text. For those confused, Fusion Reborn is labeled as the 15th movie because their list included Dragon Ball films, as well.
  Gogeta: 10, Vegito: 23.

• In Dragon Ball Z: Bucchigiri Match, there are 3 Super Gogeta units: 642, 645, and 646. The strongest units are 645 and 646 with 10,600 BP each, and his average BP is 9600. There is only one Super Vegito unit (457) and it has a BP of 7600.
  Gogeta: 11, Vegito: 23.
• In the guidebook for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Vegito is called “the strongest warrior,” “the dream warrior,” and is said to have “terrifying power.” Gogeta is described as “the dream combination,” and is said to have “extraordinary power.” However, in the V-Jump July 2004 (page 204) promotion for this game, Gogeta is called “far-and-away the strongest in the universe,” and it says of him: “The strongest even among all ‘DB’ stories!! No matter what additional characters appear in ‘Z3,’ it is even said that there is no warrior who surpasses him anymore!!” At the bottom of that page, it states: “This story takes place right before the final battle with Buu, and yet Gogeta is already the strongest in the universe…!?,” which would place him above Vegito.
  Gogeta: 11.5, Vegito: 23.5.

• In the guidebook for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Vegito is described as having “strength equal to a Super Saiyan even in his normal state,” and “overwhelming strength.” Super Vegito is described as having “unfair strength” and as being “the ultimate warrior.” Super Gogeta is described as having a battle power that surpasses Goku and Vegeta. While Vegito and Super Gogeta are given stats in the guidebook, Super Vegito is not. It would be unfair to compare Super Gogeta to base Vegito.
  Gogeta: 11.5, Vegito: 24.5.

• In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2‘s Character Illustration for Vegito, it says he is a “super fighter” and that “his power level has increased to unimaginable levels.” It also calls Super Gogeta a “super fighter,” but later calls him the “ultimate warrior.” These statements are repeated in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. In the story mode of Budokai Tenkaichi 2, it calls both of them the “ultimate warrior.” In the story mode of Budokai Tenkaichi 3, however, it only calls Gogeta “the strongest Fusion ever.” Page 98 of the official guide for the second game calls Vegito an “invincible warrior,” and page 99 says that Super Vegito has “overwhelming strength.” Page 118 says Super Gogeta also has “overwhelming strength,” but in the specific context of fighting Super Janemba, and not as a general comment. As for their stats, they are basically identical except that Super Vegito has a blast stock of 4 and Super Gogeta has a blast stock of 3, and it takes 3 seconds longer to switch out Super Vegito. Then on page 217, it calls Gogeta the “ultimate fusion.” On page 217 of the official guide for the third game, it calls Vegito the “ultimate warrior.” When comparing their stats on pages 68 and 69, it shows that Super Vegito beats Super Gogeta in two categories: blast stock and rush ki blast rapid-fire count.
  Gogeta: 12.5, Vegito: 25.5 (Both games are split between them).

• In Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, PHY LR Super Gogeta and AGL LR Super Gogeta have an attack of 20,700, STR UR Super Gogeta has an attack of 20,392, INT UR Super Gogeta has an attack of 19,738, and TEQ LR Super Gogeta has an attack of 16,125. His average attack is 19,531. STR LR Super Vegito has an attack of 21,650, TEQ LR Super Vegito has an attack of 20,675, AGL UR Super Vegito has an attack of 18,705, PHY UR Super Vegito has an attack of 18,560, and INT LR Super Vegito has an attack of 18,490. His average attack is 19,616.
  Gogeta: 12.5, Vegito: 26.5.
• The cover of the Dragon Ball Z Movie 12 Anime Comic calls Gogeta “Goku and Vegeta’s unprecedented and unparalleled strongest fusion!!”³ Page one calls Gogeta the “ultimate warrior,” and page 3 calls him the“absolutely invincible strongest warrior.” Importantly, page 3 also states about Gogeta: “A super fusion that shakes the Afterlife!” Page 149 says of Vegito that he is the “strongest warrior in history” and “boasts invincible strength.” Importantly, it also states: “The super warrior who shakes the entire universe is born!!” Both of these fusion warriors are described as shaking something (Afterlife vs. Universe), but Vegito’s encompasses Gogeta’s shaken area as well as the living world. The structure of the universe was known at this point in the story, as well, because both fusions only appear after the Dai Kaiō spins a symbolic version of the universe on his finger in the Anoyo’ichi Budōkai story arc in the anime, and after the Kaiōshin planet was revealed. While the universe as depicted in the anime only story arc is missing the holy Kaiōshin Realm orbiting it, it is otherwise depicted accurately. Despite this being an anime comic ostensibly designed to promote Gogeta, Vegito wins this point.
  Gogeta: 12.5, Vegito: 27.5.*

• In Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai, there are 2 ending paths depending on which fusion the player chooses in Chapter 5. If they choose Gogeta, they fight a fake Vegito and then Janemba. If they choose Vegito, they fight Janemba and then Kid Buu. Because Gogeta’s path has a direct match-up against even a fake Vegito where he wins, this point goes to him.
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 27.5.
• In Chapter 6 of Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai – Another Road –, Super Vegito defeats a Super Buu that absorbed Gohan, Gotenks (yes, Gotenks), Piccolo, Broly, and Cooler. Super Gogeta defeats a Super Janemba that was stronger than the Super Janemba “in the past,” but the fusion almost ran out. This game won’t count as a point for either since it’s not decisive enough.
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 27.5 (no change in the tally).
• On pages 41 and 42 of the guidebook for Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, it states that Super Vegito is “one of the candidates for strongest character,” but doesn’t say anything of the sort for Super Gogeta. Their listed stats are completely identical except that Super Vegito has 10 rush ki blast consecutive shots and Super Gogeta only has 9.
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 28.5.

• In Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, Super Gogeta’s Melee Attack is rated “D” and his Ki Attack is rated “A.” Super Vegito’s Melee Attack is rated “A,” and his Ki Attack is rated “D.” Overall, they have similar stats like this, but Vegito takes the edge with his Ki Speed.
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 29.5.
• In Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact, there are 4 Super Gogeta cards: 037-IV with an attack power of 5000, 236-IV with an attack power of 5100, SP-014-IV with an attack power of 2200, and SP-017-IV with an attack power of 4000. His average attack power is 4075. There are 8 Super Vegito cards: 187-IV with an attack power of 5400, 270-IV with an attack power of 7400, SP-004-IV with an attack power of 5600, SP-006-IV with an attack power of 3000, SP-048-IV with an attack power of 4400, SP-054-IV with an attack power of 4400, SP-058-IV with an attack power of 4400, and SP-011-IV with an attack power of 2800. His average attack power is 4675.
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 30.5.
• On page 11 of the Spring 1996 Toei Anime Fair (Path to Power) pamphlet, it describes Gogeta as “Goku and Vegeta’s ultimate fusion warrior.” On page 12, it describes Vegito as “the ultimate warrior.” The description for Gogeta leaves open the possibility of a stronger warrior existing, while Vegito’s description does not.
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 31.5.

• In Super Dragon Ball Heroes Carddass, there are 31 Super Gogeta cards that do not feature other characters (excluding Goku and Vegeta). They are: SH1-CP4, SH5-21, UM1-CP5, BM3-SEC3, BM10-CP2, UGM3-CCP1, UGM7-029, UGM7-029 DA, MM1-073, MM2-031, MM2-SEC2, MM3-018, PUMS10-20, HG2-53 P, PUMS12-21, PUMS12-21 SE, ABS-28, PUMS14-04, HG2-53, HG3-29, HG4-17, HG10-CP8, HJ4-CP5, HJ5-50, HJ7-CP8, GPB-55, GPJ-02, JPB-34, JPBC5-07, JPJ-21, and JPJ-31. The cards with the highest power are BM3-SEC3 and MM3-018 with 6700 power, and his average power is 5199. There are 57 Super Vegito cards with the same conditions. They are: SH1-CP5, SH4-CP4, UM1-CP6, UM4-CP5, UM5-CP6, UM8-CP4, BM2-CP7, BM6-021, BM9-019, BM10-CP3, UGM3-CCP2, UGM4-CP5, UGM5-SEC3, UGM6-CP5, UGM9-019, MM4-029, MM4-029 DA, PUMS-19, BMPJ-25, H6-56 P, PCS11-04, PCS14-02, PSES14-01, H7-40 P, HUM3-20 SE, PUMS11-04, PUMS11-04 SE, UGPJ-36, ABS-25, H6-56, H7-40, HG1-29, HG3-CP6, HG6-47, HJ3-51, HJ4-50, HJ4-CP6, HJ5-47, HJ6-48, HJ8-38, HGD2-48, HGD3-43, HGD3-CP8, GPB-10, HUM-10, JB-05, JPB-30, JPB-33, JPBC4-05, JPBC5-06, JPJ-17, GDPBC1-01, GDPBC2-02, GDPJ-18, HUM2-13, HUM2-26, and HUM3-20. The cards with the highest power are H7-40 P, PUMS11-04, and PUMS11-04 SE with 6800 power, and his average power is 5519.
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 32.5.
• In Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission. there are 4 Super Vegito cards: SH1-CP5CP and UM1-CP6CP with 6300 power, and PUMS-19 and SH4-CP4CP with 5300 power. His average power is 5800. There are also 4 Super Gogeta cards: SH5-21 and UM1-CP5CP with 5700 power, and PUMS-21 and SH1-CP4CP with 4700 power. His average power is 5200. I am still reviewing the story, so it’s possible this tally mark will change in the future.
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 33.5.
• In TV Anime Guide: Dragon Ball Z Son Goku Densetsu on page 12, it calls Vegito the “strongest warrior in this world and the Afterlife,” or in other words, the universe. On page 164, it says Vegito is the “ultimate warrior,” a “super warrior,” and that he is “probably the strongest” in Dragon Ball Z. Lastly, on page 223, it calls him a “super warrior” again. On page 249, Gogeta is simply called a “fused superhuman.”
  Gogeta: 13.5, Vegito: 34.5.*

• On page 180 of V-Jump November 1995⁴, it states for Super Vegito: “It’s probably no mistake to say that this Vegito form is the strongest of all!!” For Super Gogeta, it states: “Realized in the Afterllife! The Strongest Fusion!!” These are the same and so each get half a point.
  Gogeta: 14, Vegito: 35.*

• In Weekly Shōnen Jump 1995 Issue 28 on page 36, it states that Vegito has “ultimate power.” On the very next page, it states that Gogeta simply has “immense power.” However, at the bottom of page 37, there is a little box directly comparing the two of them in a fight. It reads: “The ‘F’ in which the strongest rivals join their hearts one and fuse has good balance and can draw out their power to the maximum!! Therefore, in a short-term decisive battle within 30 minutes, Gogeta should win, and in a long-term battle, Vegito should win!!” Next to this explanation in the episode preview, Vegito is called the “strongest warrior.” The statements outside of the match-up box clearly favor Vegito: “ultimate power” and “strongest warrior.” The match-up box gives them both victory conditions, and even then is not definite about it — “should win.” Most fans who’ve seen this match-up scan have never seen a high-enough-quality scan that the rest of the page is legible. And so, those fans reading this probably expected this point to just go to Gogeta. But the truth is that it doesn’t really favor either of them. Shueisha is intentionally trying to equivocate the two fusions. Thus it’s important to understand the context of when this was published. Vegito was set to premiere in the anime the following week and would be on Japanese TVs for the next month and a half, Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 (which features Gogeta and not Vegito) would be released one month after this issue, and this issue was published roughly midway between the release of Fusion Reborn in Japanese theaters and its VHS and Laserdisc releases. There was simply no monetary incentive to decisively state one is stronger than the other when both were already absurdly strong as it is.
  
  24 years later, they do the same thing again. On page 13 of Weekly Shōnen Jump 2019 Issue 2 while promoting Dragon Ball Super: Broly, it states: “Both are equally unmatched, strongest trump cards!!”⁵ The key part of this sentence being 「いずれ劣らぬ」which more literally means “neither is inferior.” To be clear, this does not say they are equal in power. What it means is that they are essentially both so overwhelmingly above ordinary fighters that they are within their own separate tier. It is entirely possible for either of them to be stronger than the other while still existing within that same tier. It’s similar to how Fox and Falco have consistently been placed in the same tier of competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee characters since 2006, even though Falco is just a worse version of Fox.
  Gogeta: 14.5, Vegito: 35.5.*

Final Tally: Gogeta: 14.5, Vegito: 35.5.

As demonstrated, the large majority of sources indicate Vegito is stronger than Gogeta. When the fusion methods themselves are compared, there’s no equivocating. Potara Fusion is consistently described as superior to the Fusion Dance. This superiority is not limited to ease of use or time limits; multiple sources (including the text of the manga) explicitly state that the Potara produce the stronger fusion.

• Within the manga itself, we have a direct statement from Elder Kaiōshin in Dragon Ball chapter 501 that Potara Fusion produces the stronger fusion. In English, he says, “Clip this Potara earring on your left ear! Gohan puts the other one on his right ear. Then you combine into one warrior, just like fusion. But it’ll work even better! Through generations of Lords of Lords [Kaiōshin], this has been treasured!” And then responding to Kaiōshin, “That’s why you’re so weak. Here, you and Kibito give it a try with your own Potara.” While this is broadly accurate, “But it’ll work even better” is more ambiguous in English than it is in Japanese, which is itself still ambiguous. In Japanese, he says here, 「あったりまえじゃしかも効果はフュージョン以上！」, which more accurately translates to, “Of course! And what’s more, its effect is greater than Fusion!“ The key word here is 「効果」or “effect.”
  
  There are only three things that “effect” can refer to: (1) power, (2) ease of use, or (3) its permanency. Being easy to use doesn’t lend itself well to the idea of an effect being greater, so it cannot be (2). As for (3), Elder Kaiōshin does refer to the time limit of fusion as being a “weakness” on page 11 of chapter 501. However, for the people being fused together, the idea of being stuck together forever is not a benefit of the fusion. One of the very first actions of Kibitoshin in both Super and Daima was to undo his fusion, and Vegeta immediately destroyed the Potara once getting out of the Vegito fusion. Elder Kaiōshin himself, on the first page of the next chapter (502), also refers to being stuck together forever as a negative. He refers to the witch he’s fused with as 「クソババア」 or “that damned old witch,” and laments how he used to look cooler and is “stuck like this.” In general, this aspect of Potara Fusion is considered to be a negative effect, not a greater one. Therefore, the “greater effect” can only refer to “greater power.” And in general, the sources that are more specific about the “effect” always indicate it means “power” : Dragon Ball: Chōzenshū 4, Dragon Ball: Daizenshū 7, Dragon Ball: Extreme Battle Collection: Round 02, Dragon Ball Kai – Majin Buu Arc – Box 4’s Dragon Book, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero,Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot,Dragon Ball Z: Ulltimate Tenkaichi, and Dragon Ball Z Volume #45’s Dragon Ball Z Fact File 45.
• Dragon Ball: Chōzenshū 1 page 339 (Daizenshū 4 page 163) writes of Potara Fusion: “The principle is the same as the Fusion technique, but the effect surpasses Fusion.”
• Dragon Ball: Chōzenshū 4 page 222 (Daizenshū 7 page 211) writes of Potara Fusion: “The fusion power surpasses even Fusion.”
• Dragon Ball: Extreme Battle Collection: Round 02 calls Potara Fusion “a power-up beyond Fusion!”
• In episode 151 of Dragon Ball Kai, just like in the manga, Elder Kaiōshin explains: “And the effect is even greater than Fusion!” In episode 152, Goku explains to Vegeta: “Our powers will be multiplied together, and a warrior with absurd power will be born!” In episode 153, Buuhan says to Vegito: “You do seem stronger than you were when it was the two of you.”
• The Dragon Book of Dragon Ball Kai – Majin Buu Arc – Box 4 page 4 states: “Goku and Vegeta, the strongest duo, fuse with the Potara and become the ultimate warrior, Vegito! His post-fusion power surpasses Fusion, and he is so strong that even Buu—who absorbed Gohan and the others—can’t do anything against him!!”⁶
• In Goku’s Episode Battle of Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, it states: “With Elder Kai’s life force, Goku returns to the living. He takes the Kai’s Potara earrings—which promises power greater than Fusion—and heads to Earth.”
• In Dragon Ball: Super Exciting Guide: Story Volume, a guidebook supervised by Toriyama, on page 63, it states: “Using the Potara for the ultimate fusion!! Goku and Vegeta, powerful warriors who have constantly pushed and honed each other, perform a miraculous fusion! The power-up from the fusion isn’t merely the sum of their battle powers—it becomes multiplicative, producing an overwhelming boost!” It even makes it simpler by writing: “Goku x Vegeta = Vegito” as well. On page 85 of the Character Volume, it states regarding Metamoran Fusion: “Two people fuse and a completely new person is born!! By striking an embarrassing pose that looks like a kids’ dance game, the two fuse!! A warrior is born whose battle power is greater than 1 + 1!!” The wording here clearly favors Potara Fusion over Metamoran Fusion by specifying that it’s multiplicative, whereas Metamoran Fusion is greater than additive but not necessarily multiplicative.
• In episode 267 of Dragon Ball Z, just like in the manga, Elder Kaiōshin explains: “And the effect [of Potara Fusion] is even greater than Fusion!” In episode 268, Goku explains to Vegeta: “Our powers will be multiplied together, and a warrior with absurd power will be born!” In episode 269, Buuhan says to Vegito: “You do seem stronger than you were when it was the two of you.”
• In Stage 8 of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Kaiōshin explains, “The result is even greater than regular Fusion!”
• In Dragon Ball Z: Buu’s Fury, Elder Kaiōshin explains: “They’re called Potara Earrings. You can use them to perform a more perfect fusion! They’re much more effective than that fusion dance you picked up from the Metamorese.”
• In Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Elder Kaiōshin explains: “And the effect is far stronger than that other fusion technique!”
• Dragon Ball Z Movie 12 Anime Comic page 149 states: “Its effects exceed Fusion!”
• In Dragon Ball Z TV Animation Comic: Majin Buu Fierce Battle Arc Volume 4 on page 46, just like in the anime, Elder Kaiōshin explains: “And what’s more, its effect is greater than Fusion!”
• Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi states: “However the increase in power was even greater than Fusion.”
• In Dragon Ball Z Volume #45’s Dragon Ball Z Fact File 45 (each DVD of this series came with a “fact file”), it states about the Potara: “The power after fusion is greater than Fusion, but once fused, they are fundamentally unable to ever separate again.”
• In V-Jump September 1995, it states: “Just by putting them on your ears, you get a fusion effect greater than Fusion!! But… you can never return to normal again!?”⁷

Before moving forward, I just thought it was worth mentioning that the back of card #32 in Dragon Ball Jumbo Carddass describes Metamoran Fusion as more than doubling the power and speed of those fusing. This matches what Dragon Ball: Super Exciting Guide: Character Volume says about Gotenks: “A warrior is born whose battle power is greater than 1 + 1!!” However, page 1 of Weekly Shōnen Jump 1995 Issue 24 says of Goten and Trunks: “With Fusion, their power doubles!!!”

The reason Potara Fusion is superior to Metamoran Fusion is because Vegito was made in response to Gogeta. Toriyama confirmed this in two interviews: on page 5 of Le Manga de Légende No. 42 and on page 350 of Chōzenshū 3 (Daizenshū 6 page 215).

Normally, Koyama takes credit for characters he’s created, with Broly being a popular example. However, he has denied being Gogeta’s creator on Twitter. In the original release of the manga in Weekly Shōnen Jump and in the Sōshūhen edition, it mistakenly refers to Vegito as “Gogeta” at the end of chapter 503 (Weekly Shōnen Jump 1995 Issue 8). Was Toriyama therefore Gogeta’s originator? We may never know, but what we can surmise is that Vegito was originally intended to be a fusion warrior called “Gogeta.”

Regardless, while it’s true that Vegito debuted to the public before Gogeta, films take several months to produce and so Fusion Reborn was already well into production by the time Vegito was revealed in the manga. Koyama confirmed in Dragon Book The Movies on page 52 that the script-writing alone took an average of three months to finish. In Weekly Shōnen Jump 1995 Issue 9, where chapter 504 was first published, we see Vegito transform into Super Vegito and also an advertisement for Fusion Reborn. Vegito is the stronger fusion precisely because he’s a response to Gogeta. With all of this established, it can now be stated that Super Janemba was defeated by the inferior fusion of Goku and Vegeta, and quite easily at that.

Allow me to preempt the idea of “movie scaling” as proof of Goku, and therefore Gogeta, being stronger than Vegito during Fusion Reborn. I cover the topic of movie scaling in my Deep Dive on Broly. You can read it here. I recommend reading the entire article, but you can just skip to the Movie Scaling section if need be. To summarize it here, the entire idea of “movie scaling” is a misconception based on misunderstanding the manga’s scaling and how the movies were produced. And to add onto that section here, fans often use Toei’s website for the Dragon Box collection as proof of Janemba being the strongest Dragon Ball Z movie villain. This issue with this is that this website says Hirudegarn is the second strongest villain with Janemba being the first, while also saying Broly is the strongest. Normally, Broly and Janemba could share the title, but the issue is that it specifically lists Hirudegarn as second, not third. In other words, if Janemba and Broly were both first place, then Hirudegarn would have to be third place. It therefore contradicts itself. Its reasoning behind Hirudegarn being second behind Janemba is also questionable: Goku fought “evenly” against Hirudegarn using Super Saiyan 3, but lost to Janemba with Super Saiyan 3. These films take place at different points in the manga, and the Goku that Hirudegarn fought is much stronger than the one Janemba fought. Therefore, Toei’s website is reliable for other information, but not for character vs. character power dynamics.

Some fans may point to “the retcons” of Dragon Ball Super as equivocating Vegito and Gogeta. These retcons are the permanency of Potara Fusion being changed into only an hour long fusion, and Metamoran Fusion being upgraded in strength. In the Dragon Ball Super: Broly premium pamphlet⁸, it states that Gogeta’s “power surpasses even the combined strength of the two fighters [Goku and Vegeta].” The standard pamphlet takes this a step further, stating: “His strength increases far beyond simply adding the two warriors’ powers together.” On page 11 of Sports Nippon: Dragon Ball Super: Broly, it states: “It’s not just adding together the two people’s strength. It’s an even greater increase.” In Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the anime comic, and the film’s novelization, Gogeta explains himself to Freeza: “It’s not just adding the two of our strengths. It’s a massive power-up on top of that.” This is similar to how Vados and Goku describe Potara Fusion during the Tournament of Power. This means that Potara Fusion was always a fusion that went “far beyond” the addition of both fighters’ powers, and that only since Dragon Ball Super: Broly has this been changed to include Metamoran Fusion. So, yes, as of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Gogeta and Vegito are more-or-less equal, but as of their original incarnations, Vegito is the superior fusion. As an aside for any power-scalers reading this, on page 109 of the Dragon Ball Super: Broly novelization, it describes Gogeta and Broly as battling with “interdimensional power.”

For one last point before moving on, while we are discussing the retcons from Dragon Ball Super, it also retcons itself with regards to how powerful fusion is. After Beerus defeats Goku on Kaiō’s planet in both Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super episode 5 (but not in the manga), Goku says that fusion wouldn’t be enough to defeat Beerus. However, after achieving the Super Saiyan God form, he is more confident in trying to win. The implication here is that Super Saiyan God Goku is stronger than a hypothetical Super Saiyan 3 Vegito or Gogeta. Additionally, in V-Jump May 2013 on page 33, it states Super Saiyan God Goku is “the strongest warrior in history,” which puts him above Super Vegito from the Buu Saga. However, later, in episode 114 of Dragon Ball Super, the combined efforts of Kale and Caulifla are relatively equal to Super Saiyan 2 Goku. Once he transformed into a Super Saiyan God, they were on the verge of defeat and fused with the Potara. Their fusion, Kefla, proceeded to completely overpower Super Saiyan God Goku with just her base form. If Super Saiyan God is supposedly a stronger power-up than fusion, this shouldn’t be possible. Two fighters who are roughly the level of Super Saiyan 2 Goku combined shouldn’t be able to overpower Super Saiyan God Goku if the implication that God > Fusion is correct.

Then, in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, both Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta (not even Super Saiyan God — Blue), both struggle greatly against Super Saiyan Broly. We even see Goku’s shirt and Vegeta’s armor get destroyed during this struggle. However, base Gogeta basically toys with Super Saiyan Broly, and is not hit by him even once. V-Jump February 2019 pages 12 and 13 even say as much: “In his normal state, Gogeta overwhelms Broly with physical techniques; as a Super Saiyan, he overwhelms him with energy attacks.” So even if one wanted to argue that “Goku was tired” during the Tournament of Power and that’s why Kefla outperformed him (until Ultra Instinct Sign), this can’t be used for Gogeta in Dragon Ball Super: Broly. Again, these are the BASE forms of fusions outperforming Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue. Therefore, the implication that Super Saiyan God is a greater power-up than Fusion was either misinterpreted or retconned. Importantly, there is no official statement anywhere comparing the strength of Fusion to Super Saiyan God, either. Super Saiyan God is only ever directly compared to Super Saiyan 3. This comparison is made on page 156 of Chōzenshū 4, and page 37 of Dragon Ball Super: Broly‘s premium pamphlet.

One or two of you might be wondering why I didn’t mention the Super Dragon Ball Heroes anime and manga in this section since they use God forms and Fusion. The reason I didn’t use them is simple: they’re terrible, lol. Let’s just take the fight against Cumber in the anime as an example. Base Cumber fights evenly with SSBKK Vegito, then Golden Great Ape Cumber cannot even crush Super Saiyan ONE Goku with his foot and struggles to hit SSBKKx20 Goku. Then Cumber powers up to a presumably even stronger form called “Evil Saiyan” and finally defeats Super Saiyan God Goku. Even ignoring the fact that SDBH makes Vegeta happy-go-lucky about fusing, what about this fight makes ANY sense? I think it can be safely surmised that Golden Great Ape has a multiplier of x500. In Dragon Ball GT, it’s depicted as being above Super Saiyan 3, which is x400, and x500 would be Great Ape (x10) multiplied by Super Saiyan (x50). Therefore, this fight can only make sense if Potara Fusion makes Goku 25 times weaker, which is preposterous. The manga is no better. In Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Dark Demon Realm Mission!, none of the Time Patrollers seemingly remember that they can actually try to win fights on their own, and instead just constantly fuse. Therefore, data gathered from this series simply cannot be trusted.
“You know what a Saiyan doesn’t have, Kakarot? Pride! Let’s fuse!”
“But shouldn’t we at least try and fight the enemy in our strongest forms first? Haha, just kidding! Let’s fuse!”

Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn

First, let’s establish when exactly Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn takes place. On page 146 of Chōzenshū 3 (Daizenshū 6 page 142), it states, “In the film, the fact that Super Saiyan 3 Goku mentions Majin Buu, Gotenks appears, and Vegeta is dead allows us to infer that the events take place in the midst of the Majin Buu battle.” Dragon Book: Dragon Box: The Movies page 44 states: “In the opening of the story, Goku and Vegeta are already dead.
Additionally, Goku, having transformed into Super Saiyan 3, talks about Majin Buu, and similar elements providing timeline hints can be found throughout. It seems likely that this battle takes place within the very dense span of the TV series—from the introduction of Super Saiyan 3 up through the climax of the Buu arc.” V-Jump July 2004 page 204 states that: “This story takes place right before the final battle with Buu…” These are all accurate (V-Jump less so), but it specifically takes place during either chapter 491 or 492. The reason for this is because Gotenks uses the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack in chapter 491, which is also used in the film, and he reveals that he can transform into Super Saiyan 3 in chapter 493, which is not even hinted at in the film.

Some fans believe that Janemba is the culmination of all evil ki that ever went through the Spirit Laundering Device, but this is unlikely. Saike Oni’s job was to replace the tanks of the device, and his brief conversation with the blue ogre suggests he is not the first attendant to the device. Thus, the tanks were at least swapped out semi-regularly prior to his onboarding. However, as Saike Oni was bad at his job, the tanks that he did swap out were haphazardly strewn about the immediate vicinity of the Spirit Laundering Device. Thus, the initial explosion caused a chain reaction of explosions of those other tanks. Therefore, in all likelihood, Janemba represents the evil ki that Saike Oni did not properly dispose of, rather than all evil ki ever. It’s only in the video game, Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai, that Janemba is presented as being made from potentially generations of evil ki. However, that game doesn’t follow the plot of Fusion Reborn at all, so it is not “canon” to the movie. For example: Vegeta uses the Kamehameha at the end of the game. In Funimation’s dub of the movie, Enma Daiō refers to the tanks as containing “thousands of years of spiritual waste,” but in Japanese, he doesn’t refer to any sort length of time like that. He says 「スピリッツ・ロンダリング装置で洗い落とされた悪い気がまとまって開放されてしまったのじゃっ！」 In English, this means: “The evil ki that had been washed off by the Spirit Laundering Device gathered together and ended up being released!”

While fighting Janemba, Goku comments that Janemba in his base form is the second character to ever push him that far, with the first being Majin Buu. Because of when this film takes place, this comment can only refer to one of four forms of Majin Buu: Evil Buu, Fat Buu, Good Buu, or Super Buu. It is extremely unlikely that Goku is referring to Evil Buu or Good Buu here because none of the members of the Dragon Team had fought them at that point in the story. It’s also unlikely he is referring to Super Buu for two reasons: (1) Goku did not fight or even engage with Super Buu at that point in the story, and (2) this movie takes place during Gotenks’s fight against Super Buu and Goku could not watch the events unfolding there. Therefore, Goku is almost certainly referring to Fat Buu when he says “Majin Buu.”

This is also the most likely answer because the plot of Fusion Reborn loosely follows the plot of the Buu Saga up to that point: Goku fights and overpowers a fat and silly enemy with Super Saiyan 3 after undergoing an awesome transformation sequence, that enemy then transforms into a leaner and scarier version, and fusion is used to fight that new form of the enemy. Very similar language is also used to describe the transformations of the two. In the manga, Piccolo describes Super Buu’s transformation like this: 「ヤツは変化してしまったぞ……バカな地球人のせいで… 純粋な悪となりカラダもより戦闘向きなものとなって…」 and in the Movie 12 Anime Comic, it describes Super Janemba’s transformation like this: 「ジャネンバが、より戦闘的に変身した姿！変身前とはうってかわり、その残忍で粗暴な性格は、まさしく邪悪な戦鬼そのもの！戦闘力もはるかに上昇しているのだ！！」 Both of these bolded adjectives specify that their new form is more combat-oriented. The contemporaneous advertising also displayed Super Janemba alongside Super Buu. Therefore, the intent behind Janemba seems to be a mirror of Majin Buu: Janemba = Fat Buu and Super Janemba = Super Buu.

Importantly, Goku doesn’t say that Janemba in his base form is stronger than Fat Buu — just that he also required the use of Super Saiyan 3, and that he never felt a ki as “incredible” as his. When Janemba transforms into Super Janemba, we finally get a direct confirmation on his power from Goku. He says to Vegeta: “That’s the strongest guy I’ve ever fought. I’m shaking with excitement!” This Goku had fought both Fat Buu and Janemba at this point, but only mentioned Super Janemba as being the “strongest guy.” Therefore, we can understand from Goku’s comments and his performances against them that Fat Buu must be stronger than Janemba and weaker than Super Janemba. If base Janemba was stronger than Fat Buu, Goku would have made his “strongest guy” comment earlier in the film. Due to the appearance of previous movie villains in this film, we also know that Goku’s “strongest guy” comment places both Fat Buu and Super Janemba above all previous movie villains: Broly, Bio-Broly, and Bojack included.

So now we have this basic comparison: Super Janemba > Fat Buu > Janemba. Goku and Vegeta never fight Super Buu in the manga, but in the anime, they do so while being significantly weakened from being inside of Buu. So it becomes a bit trickier to compare the strength of Super Buu and Super Janemba by using their opponents. While inside of Buuhan, Goku suggests that Gogeta would be sufficient for beating him. Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team even has a “What If” scenario where this fight happens. In fact, the main issue with using the Fusion Dance (with Gohan) against Buutenks was that he presumably would have interrupted it, not that it wasn’t strong enough to defeat him. Therefore, it’s very likely Gogeta could have defeated Buutenks and Buuhan, as well.

When discussing exactly how strong Super Janemba is, the guidebooks generally only ever state that Super Janemba is stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Goku. Anyone who viewed the movie already knew that, and so these statements aren’t revealing any new information. It’s just like how the guidebook statements saying Super Gogeta easily defeated Super Janemba do not reveal anything new. Here are some such statements on Super Janemba being stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Goku:

• In Chōzenshū 3 on pages 149, 150, and 284 (Daizenshū 6 pages 145, 146, and 208), it states, in order: “[Super Janemba] possesses strength surpassing that of Super Saiyan 3,” “Even Goku, having become Super Saiyan 3, struggled greatly against Janemba,” and “Upon transforming, he displayed power surpassing Super Saiyan 3.”
• In Dragon Book: Dragon Box: The Movies on page 35, it states: “His evil power can even smash Super Saiyan 3!!”
• In Jump Anime Library 1: Dragon Ball Z Movie 12 on page 34, it reads: “Super Saiyan 3 vs. Janemba 2. Chapter 10. As Janemba 2 moved, and this world and the fate of the Afterlife were at stake, the strongest warriors’ battle finally began!! Using his tail as an effective weapon, the attacking Janemba 2 was, in hand-to-hand combat against Super Saiyan 3 Goku, not at any point at a disadvantage. And then, unable to endure it anymore, energy blasts were fired, and immediately afterward, Goku was shown a succession of Janemba 2’s various special abilities, one after another. The Super Saiyan 3 Goku encountered this—the first and greatest crisis!!” Then on page 80, it states: “Even with the Kamehameha, Goku who had become Super Saiyan 3 could not make a dent against Janemba, a possessor of tremendous power.” And also on page 80: “Janemba 2 can release powerful energy from his mouth. From his mouth, energy erupts like a roar, and the energy is unmatched in power. Even though it was at point-blank range, Goku, who had become Super Saiyan 3, had his body beaten to tatters. If he had been continuously struck by this powerful technique, Goku might have been in serious danger!”
• On page 4 of the Spring 1995 Toei Anime Fair (DBZ Movie 12) pamphlet, it reads: “Janemba transforms into a far more vicious form after being struck by Goku’s attacks. His power is so overwhelming that even Goku is forced into a desperate struggle!!”

One guidebook is a notable exception to this. Jump Anime Library 1: Dragon Ball Z Movie 12 page 82 reads: “Goku’s greatest enemy, Janemba.” And on page 83 of the same book, it states: “Leaving behind that mystery,here and now, Goku’s greatest enemy has been annihilated!” This is a direct confirmation that Super Janemba is, at the very least, stronger than Super Buu. This is due to when Fusion Reborn takes place — when Gotenks and Super Buu are battliing inside of the Room of Spirit and Time. However, if one were to argue these statements by when this book was published (June 3rd, 1995), and not by when the film itself takes place within the story, this would place Super Janemba above even Kid Buu, since the manga had finished by then, or Buutenks, since episode 266 of Dragon Ball Z was the most recent to air at that point. The statements in this book wouldn’t necessarily place Super Janemba above Hirudegarn because Wrath of the Dragon didn’t premiere until a month after this book was published.

Super Janemba must be at least as strong Super Buu for one important reason: he almost certainly contains Super Buu’s evil ki. The premise of Fusion Reborn is a scenario where Majin Buu was defeated either by Goku or Gotenks. Because of the chapter this film takes place during, it’s more likely that Gotenks won and Super Buu was the one who died. The tanks of the Spirit Laundering Device were piled haphazardly all around it, meaning that it’s been storing a lot of evil ki recently. This evil ki almost certainly contains Majin Vegeta, Babidi, Dabura, Babidi’s henchmen, the evil people on Earth that Buu killed, and Buu himself. This ki should also be inside base Janemba, too, but consider Fat Buu and Super Buu for a moment. Fat Buu is composed of all of the same constituent parts as Super Buu. His underlying makeup doesn’t change as he transforms into Super Buu. The same thing happens with Super Janemba. He doesn’t add or remove anything from himself when he becomes Super Janemba; he just restructures his body and power. So base Janemba also had the potential for using all of this power, but couldn’t utilize it — as evidenced by how decisively Super Saiyan 3 Goku beat him. Therefoe, we have this comparison now: Super Janemba > Super Buu > Fat Buu > Janemba.

Despite the numerous statements on Super Janemba vis-à-vis Super Saiyan 3 Goku and guidebook comparisons, when they actually fight, Goku does quite well. It’s not until Super Janemba wields his sword that the fight moves definitively in Super Janemba’s favor. Prior to that, the sequence of successful attacks are: Goku kicks Super Janemba 4 times, Super Janemba hits Goku with a small ki blast, and then Super Janemba hits Goku with a powerful mouth beam. Following Super Janemba creating his sword, Goku lands one small ki blast but is otherwise totally on the defensive. Super Janemba without his sword is roughly equal to Super Saiyan 3 Goku in strength based on the fight itself, but with his sword, he is clearly above him. In fact the gap becomes so wide that it necessitates Fusion. Super Janemba is similar to Guts from Berserk in this regard; they are both dangerous fighters while unarmed, but become monstrous with a sword in hand. Therefore, a new comparison emerges: Sword-Wielding Super Janemba > Super Janemba > Super Buu > Fat Buu > Janemba. However, there is also a limit on how long Super Janemba can use the sword, as it falls apart right before he fights Vegeta. No official material has ever insinuated Super Janemba with and without a sword could be distinctly measured, so separating them ends up being a moot point.

In episode 267 of Dragon Ball Z, Super Saiyan 3 Goku faces off against Buutenks while Gohan looks around for the dropped Potara. Goku is able to land some ki blasts on Buutenks here, but Buutenks is clearly the stronger fighter of the two. Goku also faces off against Buuhan in episode 268, but only in his Super Saiyan 1 form. The fight is again one-sided. This suggests that Super Janemba would be somewhere among the ranks of Buutenks and Buuhan. This makes sense considering Goku’s comment on Fusion while inside of Buuhan suggested that Gogeta could also defeat Buu. Thus we get this new comparison: Buuhan > Buutenks; Super Janemba ∈ [Buutenks, Buuhan] > Super Buu > Fat Buu > Janemba.

However, Super Janemba has a few considerations working against him. The most glaringly obvious being is his weakness to insults, but the other is that the failed Gogeta fusion, Veku, was able to survive a full 30 minutes against him. The failed Gotenks fusions didn’t attempt to fight even Fat Buu. Veku didn’t have a choice in the matter, but, embarassingly for Super Janemba, Veku was able to knock him over and fart on his face. The only thing that comes close to that humiliating of an experience for any form of Majin Buu is the anime’s implication that Goten beat Good Buu in the 28th Tenka’ichi Budōkai. Paikuhan’s insults towards Super Janemba actually prevented an attack and allowed Paikuhan to get some ki blasts in. Majin Buu has also been insulted by characters, but it never stunned him out of an attack.

As a fun aside before moving on to comparing Super Janemba to the various Super Buu forms, at one point in the movie, an old man gets a hole-in-one in golf and explains that he took out insurance for that. This may seem like a foreign concept to some readers, so you can read Golf Digest’s succinct explanation here.

Super Janemba vs. Super Buu

As the intent behind Super Janemba places him somewhere above Super Buu, let’s now compare how Super Janemba is depicted in other Dragon Ball media when compared to the various forms of Super Buu. The scale I will be using is: Super Buu < Buuccolo < Buutenks < Buuhan < Southern Kaiōshin Buu < Kid Buu. If you are confused as to why Kid Buu is the strongest Buu, please read this. I know this scale may be controversial so I ask that all Majin Buu power-scaling discussions go on the Buu article. I will delete any that appear here. The way I will do this is I will compare Super Janemba to the weakest of these 6 forms, and if he exceeds that form, I will compare him to the next form, and so on. In some cases, it may not be possible to compare him to every one of these 6 forms, and so I will simply skip over those excluded forms in those situations. For example: Dragon Ball Carddass doesn’t have a Buuccolo card, so I will go from Super Buu to Buutenks. I will also be excluding forms that are not “canon,” such as “Supervillain Janemba” and “Kid Buu: Xeno” as these are not the characters being measured.

Reliable sources are marked with an asterisk (*). Please keep in mind that while some sources can be considered authoritative in this debate — such as Dragon Ball Carddass — others, like Dragon Ball Fusions, cannot. The sources here are not necessarily to be understood as conclusive individually, but rather are used to illustrate a trend, and the tallying of them is not weighted. As some of the media listed below regularly produce new content, the numbers for live service and card games, like Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle, may be inaccurate. If something is out-of-date, please let me know.

• In Dragon Ball Card Game, there are 4 Super Janemba cards: D-549 (x2) with an attack power of 8500, D-657 with an attack power of 6000, and D-871 with an attack power of 6000. His average attack power is 7250. There are 5 Super Buu cards: D-220 with an attack power of 4000, D-379 with an attack power of 3000, D-396 with an attack power of 6000, D-543 with an attack power of 3000, and D-544 with an attack power of 4000. None of these go above 7250, so I don’t need to compute their average. There are 2 cards of Buutenks: D-221 with an attack power of 6000, and D-498 with an attack power of 3500. Neither are above 7250. There are 2 cards of Buuhan: D-297 with an attack power of 7500, and D-868 with an attack power of 5000. His average attack power is 6250. There is 1 card of the Southern Kaiōshin Buu: D-834 with an attack power of 4000. There are 5 cards of Kid Buu: D-222 with an attack power of 3000, D-545 (x2) with an attack power of 6000, D-655 with an attack power of 4000, and D-868 with an attack power of 5000. None of these are above 7250.
  Kid Buu < Super Janemba.
• In Dragon Ball Carddass, there are 2 cards that exclusively feature Super Janemba: 22-249 with a BP of 3450, and 22-250 with 3400 BP. His average BP is 3425. There are 6 cards that exclusively feature Super Buu: 21-174 with 3200 BP, 21-210 with 3300 BP, 22-237 with 3300 BP, 22-238 with 3500 BP, 22-242 with 3500 BP, and 23-292 with 3500 BP. His average BP is 3383. There is only 1 card that exclusively features Buutenks: 22-214 with 3500 BP. As mentioned earlier in the fusion section of this article, on page 55 of Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary: Super History Book, Kondō, Toriyama’s second editor stated that: “At the time, things were truly busy. When a draft from Toriyama-sensei arrived, I would immediately fax it to the anime production site. Unlike today, back when I was the one in charge, there still wasn’t a department that handled licensing. So the responsible editor had to do everything alone. I was checking absolutely everything myself. For example, when something about an anime script concerned me, I holed myself up in a hotel room with the anime staff and discussed it starting from the plot. When new Carddass cards came out, I checked each one’s battle power and such with the people from the game company. There were so many goods that checking them all was really hard work.”
  Super Buu < Super Janemba < Buutenks.*

• In Volume 3 of Dragon Ball Carddass Remix, there are 2 Super Janemba cards: 22-249 with a BP of 3450, and 22-250 with a BP with 3400. His average BP is 3425. Super Buu has one card in Volume 3 and one in Volume 5: 21-174 with a BP off 3200, and 21-210 with a BP of 3300. His average BP is 3250. In Volume 5, there is one Buutenks card: 22-214 with a BP of 3500.
  Super Buu < Super Janemba < Buutenks.
• In Dragon Ball: Daizenshū 9, which covers the Super Battle Carddass game, there are 3 Super Janemba cards: 13-562 with a power level of 11, 13-563 with a power level of 10, and 14-607 with a power level of 10. His average power level is 10.3. There are 7 Super Buu cards: 12-486 with a power level of 10, 12-508 with a power level of 10, 12-518 with a power level of 11, 12-520 with a power level of 9, 13-552 with a power level of 10, 13-560 with a power level of 2, and 14-604 with a power level of 2. His average power level is 7.7. There is 1 Buuccolo card: 13-556 with a power level of 6. There is also 1 Buutenks card: 13-551 with a power level of 11. Super Janemba’s average is below Buutenks’s, so I’ll stop it here.
  Buuccolo < Super Janemba < Buutenks.

• In Dragon Ball Fusions, Kid Buu and Super Janemba are two among many characters the player can obtain. In fact, they can even fuse together into Janembu. Super Janemba’s melee is 620 and his ki blast is 1210. Kid Buu’s melee is 1040 and his ki blast is 1516. Janembu’s melee is actually much worse than Kid Buu’s, despite it being a fusion.
  Super Janemba < Kid Buu.
• In Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission, there are 4 Super Janemba cards the player can obtain: HG2-49 (4600 power), HG3-30 (3600 power), HG3-CP5 (3600 power), and GPB-16 (3600 power). His average power is 3850. There are several Super Buu cards that can transform when certain conditions are met, but I am going to exclude these cards from each game of this series. So there are 2 cards of Super Buu that the players can obtain: H6-44 (3400 power), and PB-34 (4400 power). His average power is 3900. In Ultimate Mission 2, there are 7 cards of Super Janemba the player can obtain: HG2-49 (4600 power), HG2-SP01 (4600 power), HG3-30 (3600 power), HG3-CP5 (3600 power), HG3-SP07 (3600 power), GPB-16 (3600 power), and GPBC5-12 (4100 power). His average power is 3957. There are 4 cards of Super Buu the player can obtain: H6-SP07 (3400 power), H6-SP08 (3900 power), HG1-SP10 (4400 power), and PB-34 (4400 power). His average power is 4025. In Ultimate Mission X, there are 6 cards of Super Janemba the player can obtain: HG2-49 (4600 power), HG3-30 (3600 power), HG3-CP5 (3600 power), HGD6-26 (3600 power), GPB-16 (3600 power), and GPBC5-12 (4100 power). His average power is 3850. There are 9 cards of Super Buu the player can obtain: H6-44 (3400 power), HJ5-38 (4800 power), HJ6-43 (3500 power), HJ7-36 (4000 power), HJ8-28 (3400 power), HGD7-33 (4400 power), PB-34 (4400 power), UM2-04 (4000 power), and HUM3-19 (3000 power). His average power is 3878.
  Super Janemba < Super Buu (UM1, UM2, and UMX).

• In Dragon Ball IC Carddass, there are 2 Super Janemba cards: BT5-002 with a power of 15000, and BT5-009 with a power of 15000. There is 1 Buutenks card (BT5-034) and it has a power of 16000.
  Super Janemba < Buutenks.
• In Dragon Ball Kai: Dragon Battlers, there are 2 Super Janemba cards: B260-5 with a power rating of 3600, and B316-6 with a power rating of 3600. There 3 Super Buu cards (B049-1, B049-2, and B198-4), and they all have a power rating of 3000. There are 2 Buuccolo cards (B128-3 and B354-7), and they both have a power rating of 3300. There are 5 Buuhan cards: T003-V with a power rating of 3800, B050-1 with a power rating of 3800, B254-5 with a power rating of 3700, B243-5 with a power rating of 4300, and B355-7 with a power rating of 3800. His average power is 3880.
  Buuccolo < Super Janemba < Buuhan.
• In Dragon Ball Kai: Miracle Battle Carddass, there are 4 Super Janemba cards: DB06-Ω9 with a battlle power of 13000, DB06-超Ω9 with a battlle power of 13000, 13-37/77 with a battlle power of 8000, and 16-28/54 with a battlle power of 6000. His average BP is 10000. There is 1 Super Buu card and it’s the promo DB27 with a battle power of 11000. Super Buu has a better average, but his one card is weaker than Super Janemba’s strongest card, so I’ll put them down as equal.
  Super Buu = Super Janemba.
• Dragon Ball Lamincards has 2 Super Janemba cards (4-112 and 4-113). They both have an attack of 120. There are also 20 Super Buu cards (3-G82, 3-82, 3-144, 6-40, 6-S13, 7-112, 7-S112, 8-72, 8-74, 8-76, 10-146, 10-157, 11-87, 11-89, 12-90, 12-156, 14-169, 14-138, 14-159, and 15-138) and I was unable to determine attack of 2 of these (10-146 and 14-138). The card with the highest attack is 7-S112 with an attack of 660, and his average attack is 172.
  Super Janemba < Super Buu.
• In Dragon Ball Legends, there are 4 Super Janemba units: Ultra Blue Super Janemba 1.18m, Sparking Red Super Janemba 1.43m, Sparking Purple Super Janemba 1.55m, Extreme Yellow Super Janemba 1.34m, Sparking Purple Super Buu 1.12m, a different Sparking Purple Super Buu 1.35m, Extreme Red Super Buu 1.36m, Sparking Blue Buutenks 1.42m. While Shallot fights Buuhan, Kid Buu, and Super Janemba in the Story Mode with Super Saiyan God, it’s hard to measure how strong Super Janemba is against them because he was teaming up with Basil to fight Shallot.
  Super Buu < Super Janemba < Buutenks.
• In Dragon Ball PP Card (lol), there are 2 Super Janemba cards: 27-1206 with a power level of 72 million, and 27-1212 with a power level of 72 million. There are 3 Super Buu cards: 27-1188 with a power level of 89 million power, 27-1198 with a power level of 80 million, and 27-1203 with a power level of 89 million.
  Super Janemba < Super Buu.
• In Dragon Ball Super Card Game: Fusion World, there are 2 cards of Super Janemba with a power of 15,000 (FS10-07 x2) and 3 cards with a power of 25,000 (FB05-080 x3). His average power is 21,000. There are 7 cards of Super Buu with a power of 15,000 (SB01-029 x2, SB01-034 x3, and FB04-077 x2) and 7 cards at 20,000 (FB04-091 x7). His average power is 17,500. There are 6 cards of Buuccolo and they all have 20,000 power (SB01-035 x2, and FB04-092 x4). There are 3 cards of Buutenks with a power of 20,000 (FB05-086 x3), 2 cards with a power of 25,000 (FP-060 x2), and 2 cards with a power of 30,000 (SB01-036 x2). His average power is 24,286.
  Buuccolo < Super Janemba < Buutenks.
• In Dragon Ball Super: Card Game Masters, there are 7 cards of Super Janemba at 15,000 power (BT5-027, BT12-028, BT22-032, BT22-034, BT27-088, BT27-088_SPR, and P-086), 9 cards at 19,000 (BT12-045 BT12-045_SPR, BT22-044, BT22-045, BT22-046, BT24-031, BT24-032, EX24-22, and P-523), 7 cards at 20,000 (BT5-048, EX05-03, EX13-10, DB1-038, P-076, P-078, and P-078_PR), 5 cards at 25,000 power (BT5-047, BT5-047_SPR, BT22-043, BT22-043_SPR, and P-501), and 1 card at 30,000 (BT12-046). His average power is 19,690. There is 2 cards of Super Buu at 4,000 (BT14-080, BT14-081), 1 at 5,000 (P-491), 1 at 9,000 (EB1-16), 2 at 10,000 (BT6-028, BT20-090), 5 at 15,000 (BT9-082, BT20-085, BT20-109, BT25-037, BT25-037_PR), 3 at 20,000 (BT11-082, BT25-065, BT25-065_SPR), and 1 at 25,000 (BT2-027). His average power is 14,429. There is 1 card of Buuccolo at 4,000 (EB1-15), 1 at 10,000 (BT14-079), 2 at 15,000 (BT9-080, BT20-108), and 1 at 20,000 (BT25-040). His average power is 12,800. There is 2 cards of Buutenks at 15,000 (BT14-078 and BT25-064), 4 at 20,000 (BT6-042, BT6-042_SPR, BT20-107, and BT25-041), and 2 at 25,000 (BT2-026 and BT9-079). His average powerr is 20,000.
  Buuccolo < Super Janemba < Buutenks.
• In Dragon Ball Super Divers, there are 3 Super Janemba cards (SDV7-067, SDV7-IGPUR5, and SDVPJ-027), and they all have a power of 5200. There are 7 Super Buu cards (SDV1-036, EX1-007, SDV6-065, SDV6-066 x2, SDV7-041, and SDVE-010) and they all have a power of 4700. There is 1 Buuccolo card (SDV7-043) and it also has a power of 4700. There are 2 Buutenks cards (EX6-003 and SDV7-042). The strongest one is EX6-003 with a power of 5100, and his average power is 4950. There are 3 Buuhan cards (SDV7-044, SDV7-PUR5, and SDVTP-006) and they all have a power of 4900. There is one Southern Kaioshin Buu card (SDV7-045) and it has a power of 5400.
  Buuhan < Super Janemba < Southern Kaiōshin Buu.
• In Dragon Ball Super Warrior Sticker Wafer Super, the Super Janemba sticker (14-17) has a power of 7200, the Super Buu sticker (14-08) has a power of 7000, and the Buuhan sticker (11-22) has a power rating of 8100.
  Super Buu < Super Janemba < Buuhan.
• In Dragon Ball Super Warrior Sticker Wafer Z, all of the Super Janemba stickers (W2-13, W9-21, and W16-19) have a power rating of 7200. The Buuhan sticker (W4-18) has a power rating of 8100.
  Super Janemba < Buuhan.
• In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, in Parallel Quest 57, Super Janemba is level 38 and Kid Buu is level 37. In PQ64, Super Buu is level 46 and Super Janemba is level 48. In PQ 179, both Kid Buu and Super Janemba are level 130. In the Hero Colosseum, there are 8 Super Janemba figures: 253, 254, 255, 256, 529, 530, 531, and 532. The one with the highest attack is #531 with 7340, and the average attack for Super Janemba is 4593. There are 3 relevant forms of Buu here: Super Buu, Buuhan, and Kid Buu. There are 8 Super Buu figures: 49, 50, 309, 310, 675, 676, 677, and 678. The one with the highest attack is #309 with 5190 attack, and the average attack for Super Buu is 3623. There are 4 Buuhan figures: 311, 312, 679, and 680. The one with the highest attack is #311 with 5690 attack, and the average attack for Buuhan is 4185. There are 6 Kid Buu figures: 53, 54, 475, 476, EX83, and EX84. The one with the highest attack is #53 with 6200 attack, and the average attack for Kid Buu is 4220.
  Kid Buu < Super Janemba.

• In Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact, there is 1 Super Janemba card: 205-III with an attack power of 3600. Super Buu also has 1 card: 150-III with an attack power of 3000. There is also 1 Buuccolo card (191-III) with an attack power of 3300, and 1 Buutenks card (192-III) with an attack power of 3700.
  Buuccolo < Super Janemba < Buutenks.
• In Dragon Ball Z: Bucchigiri Match, the one Super Janemba unit (0647) has a BP of 8600. Units 410, 532, 601, and 602 are identified as Super Buu, but they don’t specify which form of Super Buu. Unit 535 is Buuhan and that also has a BP of 8600. Unit 451 is a Super Buu unit that evolves into Kid Buu with a BP of 9600.
  Buuhan = Super Janemba < Kid Buu.
• On pages 110 and 140 of the official game guide for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, it lists the stats for Super Buu and Super Janemba, respectively. Their stats are essentially the same except that Super Buu has 6 rush ki blast consecutive shots and Super Janemba only has 5.
  Super Janemba < Super Buu.

• On pages 130 and 154 of the official guide for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, it lists Super Buu and Super Janemba (respectively) as having identical stats, except that Super Janemba is in a DP category one above Super Buu. Page 131 shows that Buutenks has one blast stock more than Super Janemba, and his sparking mode duration lasts one second less than Super Janemba. Page 132 shows that Buuhan has a better blast stock and rush ki blast rapid-fire count thhan Super Janemba.
  Super Buu < Super Janemba = Buutenks.

• In Dragon Ball Z: Buu’s Fury, the Scouter reveals that Super Janemba has a strength of 47 (physical attacks), power of 70 (ki attack), and endurance of 55. These numbers for Super Buu are 50, 65, and 55, respectively. For Buutenks, these numbers are 55, 75, and 65, respectively.
  Super Buu < Super Janemba < Buutenks.
• In Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, there are 5 Super Janemba units: Extreme AGL UR with an attack of 10,344, Extreme INT UR with an attack of 18,685, Extreme PHY LR with an attack of 19,850, Extreme STR UR with an attack of 19,042, and Extreme TEQ UR with an attack of 21,234. The average attack for Super Janemba is 17,831. There are 8 Super Buu units: Application of Skills and Intelligence with an attack of 16,498, Destruction Descending with an attack of 16,708, Destructive Scattershot Strike with an attack of 21,380, Dimension-Breaking Roar with an attack of 16,721, Evil Onslaught with an attack of 12,538, Murderous Designs with an attack of 10,167, Shocking Absorption Ability with an attack of 20,025, and Split Into Good and Evil with an attack of 20,833. Super Buu’s average attack is 16,859. There are 3 Buuccolo units: Power Taken From Others with an attack of 13,468, Shocking Absorption Abiliity with an attack of 20,025, and Strategic Extermination with an attack of 9,403. Buuccolo’s average attack is 14,299. There are 4 Buutenks units: Invincible Absorption with an attack of 19,975, Love of the Throne with an attack of 16,308, Shocking Absorption Ability with an attack of 20,025, and Tactics Evolved with an attack of 10,053. Buutenks’s average attack is 16,590. There are 5 Buuhan units: Application of Skills and Intelligence with an attack of 16,498, Countdown to Despair with an attack of 16,876, Eradicator of Hope with an attack of 5,964, Invincible Absorption with an attack of 19,975, and Shocking Absorption Ability with an attack of 20,025. Buuhan’s average attack is 15,868. There is 1 Southern Kaiōshin Buu unit: Raging Dash with an attack of 16,872. There are 5 Kid Buu units: Heartless Destruction with an attack of 16,064, Majin of Destruction with an attack of 19,389, Sluggish Battle Form with an attack of 11,204, Transcendent Majin with an attack of 18,673, and Uncontrollable Instinct with an attack of 14,922. Kid Buu’s average attack is 16,050.
  Kid Buu < Super Janemba
• Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai is a “What If?” scenario that takes place after Kid Buu is defeated. In chapter 1, Super Saiyan Goku fights and defeats Super Janemba, but he has a hard time. Chapter 2 follows the events of Fusion Reborn more-or-less: Vegeta, Paikuhan, and Gogeta fight him. In chapter 4, Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and Super Saiyan Future Trunks fight Super Janemba. Vegeta then legitimately defeats Super Janemba by himself. In chapter 5, Paikuhan defeats Kid Buu, but acknowledges Kid Buu was holding back. Then the player plays as Kid Buu and defeats Super Janemba, but it’s one of those fights where you lose in the story after winning. Kaiōshin says,“Look! Majin Buu’s on the ropes!” And then Paikuhan says, “Let’s go! At this rate he’ll be defeated!” If the player chooses to play as Gogeta for the final battle, Super Janemba absorbs Kid Buu. If the player chooses to play as Vegito, you fight Super Janemba first and then Kid Buu is the final boss. Before the fight, Vegito says to Kid Buu: “Right. I’ll fight seriously. That’s what you want, right?” And then after the fight, he says,“See you later, Majin Buu. We’ll be training and waiting for you!” Kid Buu struggles against powered up Super Janemba in their 1v1, but then Vegito goes all out against Kid Buu while Gogeta doesn’t go all out against Super Janemba. The messaging here is inconsistent, so I’ll just say they’re equal to each other.
  Super Janemba = Kid Buu.
• In Chapter 5 of Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai – Another Road –, Kaiōshin explains that “Janemba is every bit as dangerous as Majin Buu.” At the time he says this, the form of Super Buu that existed was Super Buu. After Ultimate Gohan defeats him, he says that Super Janemba could have defeated him if he took the fight seriously. Paikuhan alone then defeats Super Janemba in this chapter and chapter 6, at which point the game informs us that Super Janemba becomes stronger, “exceeding his counterpart in the past.” In Chapter 7, Super Janemba is treated like a regular enemy, while Kid Buu is the boss enemy.
  Super Buu = Super Janemba < Kid Buu
• In Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact, there are 3 Super Janemba cards (145-IV, 252-IV, and SP-057-IV) and they all have an attack power of 3400. There is 1 Super Buu card (SP-026-IV) with an attack power of 2800, 1 Buuccolo card (246-IV) with an attack power of 2100, and 1 Buutenks card (247-IV) with an attac power of 2400. There are 3 Buuhan cards: 143-IV with an attack power of 2500, 248-IV with an attack power of 2500, and SP-031-IV with an attack power of 2600.
  Buutenks = Super Janemba < Buuhan.
• In Super Dragon Ball Heroes Carddass, there are 22 cards that exclusively feature Super Janemba (SH5-23, SH7-BCP13, UM3-058, UM5-MCP15, UM9-019, BM3-025, UGM1-064, UGM7-037, MM2-033, MM2-073, MM3-043, PCS7-09, PUMS9-25, PUMS12-34, ABS-29, HG2-49, HG3-30, HG3-CP5, HGD5-34, HGD6-26, GPB-16, and GPBC5-12). There are 9 cards at his highest power of 4600 (SH5-23, UM3-058, UM9-019, UGM7-037, MM2-033, PCS7-09, PUMS9-25, ABS-29, and HG2-49), and his average power is 4068. There are 17 cards that feature exclusively Super Buu (UM9-040, BM7-CP5, BM9-044, UGM3-022, UGM4-027, UGM5-042, UGM9-034. UGM9-034 DA, MM6-018, H6-44, HJ6-43, HJ7-36, HJ8-28, HGD7-33, PB-34, UM2-04, and HUM3-19). There are 6 cards at his highest power of 4400 (UM9-040, UGM9-034. UGM9-034 DA, MM6-018, HGD7-33, and PB-34), and his average power is 3806. I couldn’t tell if HJ5-38 featured Kid Buu or Super Buu in the center, so I didnt count it. But if I can get confirmation it’s Super Buu, that would be his strongest card with 4800 power. There are 4 cards that exclusively featurre Buuccolo (UGM4-028, MM4-044, H6-47, and GPBC1-09), and they all have 3500 power. There are 7 cards that exclusively feature Buutenks (UGM4-029, H6-45, HGD1-39, JBL-05, JPB-36, JPBC2-08, and GDPBC1-03). The card with his highest attack of 4500 is HGD1-39, and his average power is 4000. There are 9 cards that exclusively feature Buuhan (UGM6-CP6, PUMS10-25, ABS-26, H6-46, HG1-35, HJ4-41, HJ5-41, JPBC5-12, and GDPB-12). The card with his highest power of 4800 is JPBC5-12, and his average power is 4278.
  Buutenks < Super Janemba < Buuhan.
• In Super Dragon Ball Heroes World Mission, there are 7 Super Janemba cards (HGD5-34, HGD6-26, SH5-23, SH7-BCP13 CP, UM3-058, UM5-MCP15 CP, and PCS7-09). The ones with the highest power are SH5-23, UM3-058, and PCS7-09 with a power of 4600, and the average power of all of them is 4100. There are 2 Buuccolo cards (H6-47 and HGD7-33). The strongest one is HGD7-33 with a power of 4400, and the average power is 3850. There are also 2 Buutenks cards (H6-45 and HGD1-39). The strongest one is HGD1-39 with a power of 4500, and the average power is 4150. I am still reviewing the story, so it’s possible this tally mark will change in the future.
  Buuccolo < Super Janemba = Buutenks.

Using the midpoint for when there is a gap between Super Buu forms (i.e., Super Buu < Super Janemba < Buuhan is missing Buuccolo), the average position of Super Janemba is between Buuccolo and Buutenks, and closer to Buutenks. When represented numerically, Buuccolo would be a 2, Buutenks a 3, and Super Janemba a 2.68. This makes sense because in the last section, we figured out that Super Janemba must be somewhere vaguely in the range of Buutenks. This outcome is also expected because while Super Janemba was at least as strong at Super Buu, Goku still did relatively well against him. Goku did anything but well against Buutenks by the anime’s depiction of their fight.

Conclusion

Dragon Ball fans have wondered how strong Super Janemba is for decades, and debated who is stronger between Gogeta and Vegito for just as long. This article has gone into far, far more depth than anything else covering these topics by examining hundreds of sources and importing guidebooks. So, objectively considering all of the evidence carefully, as of Dragon Ball Z, Vegito is stronger than Gogeta, and Super Janemmba is slightly weaker than Buutenks. Although there is some evidence that says Super Janemba is stronger than even Kid Buu, the average placement of him places him between Buuccolo and Buutenks. And so, these debates are officially over!

I believe that the end of the Buu Saga was heavily influenced by Fusion Reborn — even the Kid Buu fight borrows from it with the long, stretchy arm of the villain choking Vegeta and with both final villains being purified of evil. This isn’t to say Super Janemba invented the long, stretchy arm, but to emphasize the exact way it was used. As mentioned earlier, Toriyama already admitted Vegito was a response to Gogeta in two interviews: on page 5 of Le Manga de Légende No. 42 and on page 350 of Chōzenshū 3 (Daizenshū 6 page 215). On page 349 of the Chōzenshū 3 interview, he also stated: “Among the characters designed by Toei Animation, I thought Janemba after transforming was ‘cool.’ The way he moves in the battle scenes feels lively, and that’s really nice.” So it’s clear that Fusion Reborn was at the very least memorable to him. Also, as previously established, Koyama stated that the script-writing phase of the films alone took 3 months on average. 3 months prior to the film’s release is December 4, 1994, which is around when chapter 497 was published. This is the chapter when Ultimate Gohan beats up Super Buu. This means the film started production at least a few months prior to that — most likely either chapter 491 or 492 (mid to late October 1994), as established at the start of the Fusion Reborn section.

Even though Vegito is a response to Gogeta, Toriyama had to first create the conditions for Vegito to exist, i.e., Super Buu absorbing the heroes. Prior to the appearance of Buutenks, Majin Buu only changed appearances by splitting into good and evil halves, and by eating himself. However, once Fusion Reborn was in production, my belief is that Toriyama was really impressed by Super Janemba and Super Gogeta, and thus was driven to power up his characters to surpass them.

Toriyama often presented himself as lazy when giving interviews, but the people who worked with him have all refuted this.

• Nagamine, director of Dragon Ball Super: Broly: “Toriyama-sensei said: ‘When I’m drawing the manuscript, I don’t want to color the hair, so I made him a Super Saiyan and made the hair white.’ We try not to take Toriyama-sensei’s words completely at face value. He says things that way because going into a long, complicated explanation would be awkward.”
• Torishima, Toriyama’s first editor: “You could also use ‘mental fortitude’ as a synonym for ‘willpower’ here, but even after drawing the first chapter of Dr. Slump, Toriyama would redraw storyboards… over and over until his editor (i.e., me) was satisfied. Getting it to finally meet my standards was a very arduous process. Even so, the fact that he didn’t just fix his storyboards as he was instructed, but tailored the fixes to make them even better, was an amazing quality of Akira Toriyama’s… If you end up loaded with work and require assistants to help with the art, then you’ll need to give them instructions while you work on your own tasks as you race against time… However, even when faced with situations like those, Akira Toriyama would say, ‘I want to wrap up work with my assistant.’ So after he was done with his share of the work, he would go help his assistant finish his.The mood in his workplace was always chipper and he never once missed submitting a manuscript…”
• Toriyama, on himself, speaking with Torishima: “One time, I tried hitting my deadline, [Note: Torishima has stated Toriyama never missed a deadline] but I caught a bad cold and ran a high fever along the way. There are about two chapters I don’t even remember inking because of that.”
• Toyotarō, co-creator of Dragon Ball Super, to Uchida: “This is just my own theory, but for that scene where Goku turns Super Saiyan, it’s a well-known story that Toriyama said the reason the hair isn’t filled in is because it was too much work to draw, right? But if you look at Goku, his jacket’s gone and his undershirt’s blacked out, so the overall amount of black fill hasn’t changed, even though he’s a Super Saiyan. Toriyama once said something about keeping the amount of black fill consistent throughout pages. That or keep pages from being too black or too white; he tries to keep the amount of black fill the same throughout. So my theory is that he’s upholding that rule. He says that he left Goku’s hair white so that he didn’t have to ink it all, but he blacked out the undershirt, so the overall amount remained balanced. So I think that it’s another case of him just being modest, what he said about the blond hair.”
• Weekly Shōnen Jump editorial comments placed next to chapters of Dragon Ball while it was still being serialized read: “He pretends to be lazy, but actually loves working hard more than anyone!! You can read Akira Toriyama-sensei’s manga only in JUMP!”

In a 2018 interview with Aera Digital, Torishima spoke of the inherent and extreme competitiveness of working in this field, saying: “The primary job of a Jump editor is figuring out how to attract as much popularity as possible through the reader surveys that come in every week. If you can’t get popularity there, then the section you’re in charge of or even the work of the manga artist you’re responsible for can disappear. That said, it’s essentially a zero-sum game, a fight over a limited pie. Because of that, there was a sense of ‘others are others, I’m me,’ and editors often had a tense, prickly relationship with one another in everyday work. You could call it ‘mutual polishing through competition,’ I suppose, but that’s one way of putting it.” Essentially, there a limited number of pages in any given Jump magazine, so they can only have a certain number of manga serialized in each issue. Naturally, if a manga is unpopular, it will get canceled so that another manga can take its place. For example: Pankra Boy had a middling rank after its debut, editorial tried to boost its rating with a colored chapter, but it wasn’t enough to boost its popularity and it was shortly thereafter canceled. Jun Tomizawa, Pankra Boy‘s mangaka, never had another manga published in Weekly Shōnen Jump after that failure; a mangaka of an unpopular manga can suddenly find themselves out of a job. In his introductory message on page 1 of Dragon Book: Dragon Box: The Movies, Toriyama wrote, “During production I was extremely busy and honestly wasn’t able to help very much, but there were times when the producers asked me things like, ‘Is it okay if we do this?’ and I was able to give at least some advice. Still, there were moments when I thought, ‘Ah… that was close.’ The movies kept introducing so many strong characters that, objectively speaking, it sometimes felt like they were pushing things a bit too far. But I suppose that’s exactly because Dragon Ball is a series about strength.” In the interview for Jump Gold Selection: Dragon Ball Z Anime Special II, which took place shortly after Lord Slug premiered, Koyama said, “We put together a very rough story outline, and first we have [Toriyama] take a look at it.” Toriyama responded to this: “And then I go, ‘Ohhh,’ impressed. (laughs)” Thus I believe that Toriyama was not only not lazy, but was also competitive, and that this competiveness drove him to create characters stronger than those in Fusion Reborn. So, Super Buu eventually became Buutenks (and then Buuhan and Kid Buu), and Goku and Vegeta fused to become Vegito.

In episode 267 of the Dragon Ball Z anime and in Fusion Reborn, we get to see Super Saiyan 3 Goku from the same time frame and with the same strength battle against Buutenks and Super Janemba. Goku does not fight Buutenks in the manga. Goku is able to land some ki blasts on a distracted Buutenks, but is otherwise totally on the defensive. Against Super Janemba, he is able to trade damaging blows. Using a filler fight to compare Majin Buu and Janemba is fair because none of Fusion Reborn is canon, anyway. However, some fans believe that the manga, anime, and the movies all exist in different realities, and therefore must necessarily scale differently from each other. As for the manga and anime, these are interrelated. Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga was influenced by the anime, the anime’s scripts were personally approved of by his editors, and Torishima, his first editor, replaced the entire anime staff when they weren’t able to adapt the manga faithfully. Toriyama even heard Nozawa’s voice when he wrote Goku’s lines, changed the way he depicted fights after watching fights animated, and made Yajirobe and Kuririn have the same voice actor.

One of the clearest examples of the manga being influenced by the anime is Dai Kaiō (“the Great Lord of Worlds”), which Toriyama created for the anime’s Other World filler arc and who also appeared in Fusion Reborn. Although this character never once appears in the manga, Dende, Elder Kaiōshin, Kaiōshin, Kibito, and Piccolo all acknowledge his existence in chapters 440 and 509 of the manga. Similarly, from the same filler arc, Olibu appeared as a statue in Dragon Ball Super chapter 104 on pages 11 and 12, and is mentioned by Wu Ou, an NPC near Karin’s Tower in Dragon Ball Online. Toriyama “fully supervised” Dragon Ball Online, for reference. I apologize for not having a picture of Wu Ou saying the story of Olibu because it was during a timed cutscene that I wasn’t expecting. However, I included a picture of the NPC below. Also in Dragon Ball Super chapter 52 are the Yardratians who were first created by the anime. Page 5 of Dragon Ball Super chapter 3 also shows Kid Vegeta and King Vegeta as they were depicted in the anime. Another example is the character Bardock, who first appeared in the anime TV special, Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku, and who then later appeared in chapter 307. These examples demonstrate that the anime and manga are a lot more integrated than some fans want to believe.

In Saikyō Jump August 2022 on page 613 and repeated in Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques on page 169, Torishima explained his grievances with the original Dragon Ball anime and how he exploded at the producers for not matching the manga’s intent. He considered this a second failure as the Dr. Slump anime adaptation also failed to capture the manga’s intent correctly. This was corrected with the production of the sequel series, Dragon Ball Z, where Torishima expressed his satisfaction with it: “In the anime version, unlike before, both the sharpness of the action and the tempo were outstanding.” If the anime were to simply make a one to one copy of the manga, they would have caught up to it immediately and caused serious issues at Fuji TV. Thus, the Goku fighting Buutenks matches the intent of the manga while still being filler content. Furthermore, Dragon Ball Kai, an even more faithful adaptation of the manga, preserved the entire fight between Buutenks and Goku.

Most importantly, Toriyama is on record multiple times ENDORSING filler additions to his work. Relatedly, at Japan Expo 2025, Torishima said that there is “no strict continuity,” and Toyotarō said, “… for me, everything is more-or-less canon.” If Toriyama himself acknowledged outside materials such as the anime, even adjusting his manga due to them, and has endorsed filler material — and if his editors were directly involved in approving anime scripts — then why should we act as though the manga exists in a vacuum, or that filler is always wrong?

Toei also purposefully matched the scaling of the movies to the manga and anime. The fact of the matter is that the movies are directly tied to events in the manga and anime, with each movie entry in the Daizenshū and Chōzenshū starting with a timeline placement for them. Koyama explained this on Twitter, writing: “As for the setting and continuity [of the movies], we based things on the developments in the manga at the time of writing. If there were any planned setting changes in the manga, there was a rule that we couldn’t depict them in the movies ahead of the manga. There wasn’t enough time to fully flesh out every detail of the enemy characters’ settings, so we wrote them in line with the broad, commonly accepted continuity (as of when the TV episodes aired).” On Toei’s website for the Dragon Box collection, it states: “Additionally, the 13 works from Dragon Ball Z [Movie 1] up through Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won’t Do It, Who Will? [Movie 13] were each produced as special episodes meant to connect with the flow of the TV series, featuring overwhelming enemies who appear one after another.” And in the notes section for Movie 1, it states: “This is the first theatrical Dragon Ball Z film, featuring Goku as an adult with his son Gohan. Up through the previous movies, the Dragon Ball films used the same characters as the original story but were created as parallel worlds to the TV series. However, starting with this film, the movies became original episodes that also connect to the television continuity.” Koyama also explained this in an interview for the Dragon Box collection: “As for the content, there was a restriction that we couldn’t go beyond the setting of the TV anime at the time of the movie’s planning. For example, if we wanted to do ‘fusion,’ but the TV anime or original manga hadn’t done it yet, then it wasn’t allowed. That’s why I was always very conscious of where the TV anime was in its progression. So, if the TV anime happened to be doing the Freeza arc when we were planning, then we’d say something like ‘Let’s introduce Freeza’s brother!’ That’s how ideas came about.” That’s why Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, known in Japan as “Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiyan Son Goku” was not allowed to depict an actual Super Saiyan Son Goku despite it being the name of the film. The description for Pseudo Super Saiyan on page 312 of Chōzenshū 4 also alludes to this: “Since the concept of Super Saiyan had not yet appeared in the original story, it was depicted in this manner.” To summarize: this means that the movies’ scaling matches the manga chapters they were created during.

In Fusion Reborn, some fans like to point to how Super Saiyan 3 Goku powering up can be felt all the way on Dai Kaiō’s planet as an example of how the movie characters must be stronger than their counterparts in the anime and manga. However, when Goku first unveiled Super Saiyan 3 in the manga, it was felt outside of the bounds of the universe (the sphere containing the Afterlife and the living world), all the way in the holy realm of the Kaiōshin. Feeling his power in the Afterlife while he’s also in the Afterlife is therefore perfectly reasonable. In fact, only Gogeta was felt outside of the Afterlife and even then, it was only by Goten and Trunks — not even Gohan felt Gogeta’s ki. Page 56 of Jump Anime Library 1: Dragon Ball Z Movie 12 even confirms that the boys only felt Gogeta’s presence for a brief instant. Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 transformation in the manga therefore has a better display of power than even Super Gogeta. For more examples of how movie characters don’t outperform their manga and anime counterparts, please read my Deep Dive on Broly.

On page 31 of the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods Official Movie Guide, while briefly describing previous Dragon Ball films, it states, “All 17 Dragon Ball theatrical films released so far are introduced at once. Even more powerful enemies than in the TV series appear one after another!!” Some fans like to point to this as proof that movie scaling must exist because these enemies are “stronger.” The major issue with this statement is its broad, sweeping claim which falls apart when placed under any amount of scrutiny. Is King Gurumes from Curse of the Blood Rubies stronger than Freeza? Is Garlic Jr. in Dead Zone stronger than Garlic Jr. in the Garlic Jr. Saga? Is Dr. Willow in The World’s Strongest stronger than Majin Buu? All of these must be true for the statement to be correct. The statement is too vague to be useful and too broad to be accurate. If it instead wrote, “Even more powerful enemies than their TV counterparts appear one after another,” for example, then this could be admissible. None of this is to argue for the canoncity of these films, but rather to demonstrate that the power-scaling of them is consistent with the events of the manga at the times of their production. The entire idea of “movie scaling” is a misconception based on misunderstanding the manga’s scaling and how the movies were produced.

Let’s now recap the sources that favor Vegito and favor Gogeta. This section might look strange on mobile phones.

And now let’s recap the sources that place Super Janemba below Buutenks, roughly equal to him, and above him.

Some readers may interpret this article as an attempt to downplay Janemba and Gogeta. It may feel that way because I looked into more statements than just Toei’s Dragon Box‘s website statement and provided context to certain statements made on Gogeta. In truth though, this article simply scaled them accurately. That’s it. The weaker fusion, Gogeta, defeated the weaker enemy, Super Janemba. In summary, the evidence for Potara Fusion being stronger than Metamoran Fusion, and therefore for Vegito being stronger than Gogeta in Dragon Ball Z is overwhelming, consistent, and undeniable. The evidence for Super Janemba being slightly weaker than Buutenks is less overwhelming, but still consistent and undeniable. To argue against these conclusions is not fact-based as it requires one to reject a significant chunk of Dragon Ball content, and illustrates one’s biases in the process.

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