Death Battle is a show that I have a lot of history with. I've been watching it since it started all those years ago in 2010 with tons of memories of the days of ScrewAttack. With this top ten I wanted to express why Death Battle has not only become a favorite among shows I’ve watched, but overtime has become a cultural zeitgeist for the internet as a whole. I’m not gonna waste anymore time, let’s get into my personal favorite Death Battle episodes.
10. Balrog Vs. TJ Combo
We start this list with what is probably the second best hand to hand fight of the entire series, not to mention a rivalry episode between two iconic video game fighting franchises. While Street Fighter has one of the worst records in the show’s history (4-9), the episodes range from decent to great, and this is easily the best episode any Street Fighter character has had. Killer Instinct is better off with a 3-3 record overall, but like with Street Fighter, this is easily the best episode. A good old fashioned boxing match between two heavy hitters, one who’s basically one of M. Bison’s right hand man fights to satisfy his greed and desire for power, the other has a backstory that would make Rocky proud. The analysis does a good job hyping up both boxers, but it’s the fight, and the music, itself that makes this an all time great. By the way, go listen to the song in this episode, Mick Gordon and Omega Sparx did such a good job with this.
The fight itself is a good old slugfest that is basically TJ fighting someone who is essentially his past self, and damn wouldn’t that make a great boxing movie? But yeah this had such good hype from beginning to end, and that last part at the end has become one of the most iconic moments in all of Death Battle. In a series where we characters warping reality or destroying multiverses, it really says something that one of the greatest episodes is just a boxing match.
9. Frieza Vs. Megatron
In hindsight I should have known this matchup would be badass. For years I’ve heard very negative opinions on this matchup, but it’s two very iconic villains, and having two villains fight is one of my favorite types of matchups just so both can trash talk to each other. This matchup is also a reminder that just because a matchup is a stomp, doesn’t mean that it is automatically bad. Not much to say on Frieza, he’s THE villain of Dragon Ball for a reason, but Megatron’s analysis is what surprised me, especially the end of it. Devilartemis shows why he’s one of the very best animators, but my personal favorite moment is at the end, when Megatron verbally demolishes Frieza even though he’s pretty much lost. And of course Cybertron blows up, because it’s Cybertron, LOL.
8. Bill Cipher Vs. Discord
To say that this matchup has history would be an understatement. I remember when this matchup got straight up banned in the discord server just because of how toxic the discussions got, it made me wonder how an actual episode would be. As it turns out, one of craziest, yet best episodes in the shows history. Besides watching Gravity Falls, I was fairly neutral on this episode, but the reality warping that was displayed here is the very best we’ve gotten on the show, and I understand why people were underwhelmed with Strange Vs. Fate. This also has without a doubt the best pyrrhic victory in the show, I won’t spoil it, but I will say it was an awesome way to conclude this battle.
7. Galactus Vs. Unicron
When Death Battle started people requested many matchups to be made for future episodes, out of all of them, this matchup has been THE most requested in the show’s history. So it makes sense that not only would this be the finale to what is the show’s best season, but literally the biggest battle in the show’s history. This is an episode that benefits from the analysis, because these two are stupid overpowered, even for comics. Of course my favorite part was them talking about drunk Orson Welles, as a drama/theater major that got a laugh out of me. As far as finales go, this will be really hard to top.
6. Megazord Vs. Voltron
This battle is pretty infamous for a few reasons. For one, this is where I noticed that views would start to decrease a bit, partly because the popular one lost. But really, this episode is infamous because of all the stuff that happened trying to get this episode made. If you don’t know, just go watch the Death Battle Cast episodes where they talk about it, but making the models for the Megazord and Voltron were a pain in the ass that took lots of time and money, hell I remember Ben saying they lost money because of this episode. With all the crazy shit this episode went through, this is still one of the very best episodes. The fact that Megazord and Voltron look great is a big factor, but the fight is just an awesome, simple fight from beginning to end. This is one of those episodes that I point to when people ask what Death Battle is about.
5. Scooby-Doo Vs. Courage
When this was announced I had a good laugh, but like everyone else I didn’t want either one to die. Thankfully this is one of the only times where a draw was a good thing. They are not just good boys, they are the goodest of boys, no I don’t care if that’s not a word! I’ve noticed that in the last few years people have developed a negative attitude towards toon force and cartoon characters, go look at Saitama Vs. Popeye on why. But you honestly couldn’t have had a better episode for these two loveable cowards, it really felt like another cartoon made just for them. And Eustace totally got what he deserved.
4. Flash Vs. Archie Sonic
Ah yes, the infamous Speed Force episode, or another example of how stupidly overpowered comics, DC in particular, can truly be. When this was announced I remember both sides at each other’s throats saying why their pick wins this fight, basically was at the level of Bill Vs. Discord long before that matchup was a thing. And right up until the episode came out, it really seemed like Archie Sonic was gonna pull off the impossible, but that damn Speed Force changed everything. As for the episode itself, it was very interesting learning about what Wally could do and his history while remembering how crazy Archie Sonic was at the time. The analysis and the end to the fight are the best parts of the episode, it’s always fun learning about characters you don’t know or have forgotten. As far as deaths go, punching Sonic so hard every version of him gets erased has to be one of the best ways to beat an opponent in the series.
3. Trunks Vs. Silver
At first I didn’t think much of this matchup, I know Dragon Ball and Sonic episodes will be good, however Trunks and Silver aren’t my favorite characters from either series, especially Silver given how he debuted in Sonic 06. However this wasn’t the canon versions, it was Xeno Trunks and Archie Silver, and that right there made for a way more interesting matchup. What we got was possibly the best Dragon Ball episode that didn’t have a certain Saiyan in it. Everything was on point, the analysis, the fight, the freaking song! Seriously Hedge of Tomorrow is a banger and a must listen. But I think the best thing this did was make Silver really cool for the very first time, that final one line he gives is up there with Death Battle’s very best.
2. Goku Vs. Superman
THE Death Battle. The fight to end all fights. If there is one matchup that not only defines Death Battle, but Vs Debating in general, it's this. Goku Vs. Superman has become such an iconic matchup that it has become part of internet culture and history. Believe it or not, I didn’t know this was a thing before Death Battle brought it up. Goku Vs. Superman 2013 is the ageless classic, no matter how outdated the analysis and animation is, it's still the longest fight in the show’s history for a reason. I know Goku Vs. Superman 2 isn’t looked at fondly but I still have fun memories of the match and SGC, watching it all go down on Twitch as we watch a live action Goku Vs. Superman fight at SGC is stuff we g1s still fondly talk about to this day. As for Goku Vs. Superman 2023, it’s easily the best of the three analysis and animation wise there’s no doubt there. If there’s a matchup that I point to when people want to watch Death Battle, it’s always this matchup, but for me there’s one matchup that in my opinion truly defines these debates…
1. Mario Vs. Sonic
If you were around for ScrewAttack, you know how huge this matchup was. This not only the big matchup that defined Death Battle before Goku Vs. Superman, but this is the rivalry that defined my childhood since I started playing video games, so pretty much my whole life lol. I think it’s pretty self explanatory why this is my top matchup, it’s the only one where the two had an actual real life battle because of the SNES/Genesis console wars. It’s been a roller coaster watching these two characters as the years pass, being mortal enemies, having Sega putting Sonic games on Nintendo consoles, Smash Brawl, pretty much leading to these two episodes. The first is a no doubt classic, not much else to say honestly. Mario Vs. Sonic 2018 is so vastly superior, it’s also the 100th episode and when Death Battle adopted the rules that they implement today. Yeah I don’t care what people say about the verdict being wrong due to only using the games or “getting their characterizations wrong”, which is a bunch of bullshit by the way, this is not only the definitive Mario Vs. Sonic episode, it was the turning point for Death Battle and a celebration of why we love doing stuff like this. Until the next one is announced and the debating can start all over again.
When I started this blog I made it with the intention of making it Sailor Moon centric and having it center around the series in general. I realize that now I was severely limiting myself and just decided to turn it into a general blog for myself. I'll still talk about Sailor Moon, but I didn't want to keep handicapping myself, and part of that is changing the title. So goodbye to The Blog Named Sailor Moon, and hello to Jawbreaker's Cul-De-Sac!
So I figured I just take some time to talk about the series and the impact it’s had on my life. Actually to start, I wanted to talk about before Sailor Moon appeared. Growing up for the first years of my life the shows I remember the most are The Simpsons, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Batman: The Animated Series. These shows had a major impact in molding my sense of humor, with the last one pretty much becoming the definitive Batman cartoon for me. These were basically what I consumed the most when it came to watching tv.
Not a bad list to start watching cartoons if I say so myself.
Then one day while watching Cartoon Network in 1998, I ended up seeing the new program block at the time, Toonami, and with it one of the two animes that would forever change everything for me, Sailor Moon.
I can say that I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for these two.
If you’re wondering about the other, it’s Dragon Ball Z. Before this I was used to seeing Power Rangers having a couple of girls on a team, but the only other all girls team I remember at the time were The Powerpuff Girls, which while it was cool, was another episodic western cartoon full of crazy things happening but ultimately going back to the status quo. Even Simpsons and BTAS with their plot important episodes eventually reverted back to status quo somewhat.
Powerpuffs save the day indeed.
Sailor Moon was a breath of fresh air compared to the other cartoons that were on at the time. A cartoon with a progressing story? Besides The Simpsons and BTAS this was unheard of to me. I mean half of the episodes are filler, but that’s fine because they’re so good. Not to mention having an entire team full of girls was a big change compared to the Power Rangers or Justice League where there were only two girls on the team. An entire superhero team full of girls kicking ass was something I didn’t know I wanted to see back then.
Being relatable made the senshi feel much closer to you than most characters.
So over the next several years I watched Sailor Moon constantly on Toonami whenever it came on. However once I became a teenager, Sailor Moon ended up going into the back of my mind, mainly because I was getting into other things and the final season never aired at the time. My teen and young adult years were focused on life and all the crazy shit it threw at me, and Sailor Moon simply just didn’t have a place while I was dealing with everything life was throwing at me. That was until one day I ended up seeing videos of the anime on youtube of episodes I never saw, not knowing this was the season that didn’t air at the time. And from there I went to rewatch the anime, read the manga, and it has stuck with me ever since. For now I don’t know what the future has in store for Sailor Moon, but I do know that I will be along for the ride.
So, this is a little awkward because as of right now Rooster Teeth has been shut down, so the future of Death Battle is uncertain. I will say that whatever happens in the future I will be there to support everyone who've worked so hard on Death Battle.
When it comes to Death Battle there's so many characters I love that have been on the show and have been given the opportunity to show how cool they are. However, there are still a lot of characters that I think would be awesome to see on the show at some point. Sailor Moon is one of the biggest series that has only been used once so far, so for this blog I wanted to look at some matchups that I think would be good to make for Death Battle.
Goku Vs. Sailor Moon
If you know me then you know how much I've been wanting this matchup. My remaining most wanted matchup without a doubt, I've even wrote my own personal script for this matchup. There's not much for me to say about it except how awesome it would be. Well, besides the shitstorm that would come out of this.
Sailor Moon Vs. Pegasus Seiya
In my personal opinion, this is objectively the best matchup for these two. The dynamic between these two would be through the roof, and the legacy of these two would no doubt get people to watch. One of the best things about Death Battle is introducing new series to people, and I can't think of a better matchup to introduce Saint Seiya than this one.
Sailor Moon Vs. Cardcaptor Sakura
The quintessential magical girl matchup to me, arguably the two most popular magical girls of all time pitted against each other would be a sight to behold. Like with the previous matchup, this would be an excellent way to introduce Sakura to newcomers, however this has more connections and fits more thematically due to both being magical girls. If there has to be one magical girl matchup, I would go with this one.
Sailor Moon Vs. Madoka Kaname
The other big magical girl legacy matchup, Death Battle's Tournament of Champions definitely helped this one get some traction. The only things that would probably keep this matchup from happening is the fact that out of all of Usagi's most popular matchups, this is the most recent one compared to the previous three I posted here, and I think that Usagi simply stomps Madoka overall.
Blaze The Cat Vs. Sailor Mars
This would be a great matchup, there aren't many matchups based on elements. not to mention these two are very popular in their series. For Blaze this would a great opportunity to boost her popularity because she needs more attention, if it worked for Silver the Hedgehog it can work for Blaze. The same goes for Sailor Mars, though she is a lot more popular than Blaze. Overall this is a very popular matchup that I see no downside to.
Queen Beryl Vs. Rita Repulsa
Back in the day having Power Rangers Vs. Sailor Moon matchups was a big thing to do, nowadays with the knowledge on how powerful Sailor Moon characters are, those matchups have pretty much gone away. This is probably the only matchup that I think can still work, and is a very good matchup. It's basically the most iconic villains of both series, which makes Galaxia's inclusion against Beerus all the more surprising. Honestly I can see this one going either way and one of the best parts of matchups like this is seeing what a combatant will bring to the table.
All right, the combatants are set, and we’ve run the data through all possibilities.
IT’S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLE!
Within the depths of Universe 7, we find the saiyans Goku and Vegeta in yet another intense battle to determine who is stronger while visiting the world of the God of Destruction, Lord Beerus. While the God in question was sleeping at the moment, his attendant and teacher Whis has been overlooking the fight between the saiyans as he has done in the past. Soon enough a couple of critical blows, Whis blows his whistle to get Goku and Vegeta’s attention.
“Alright gentlemen, I believe we’ll call that a match for now.” As Whis calls the match.
“Really? But it feels like we only just started.”
“Goku, you and Vegeta have been sparring for nearly 3 hours, and I can hear your stomachs rumbling so I’ve prepared all the food Bulma sent us so we can eat.”
Though he wouldn’t show it, Vegeta was starting to get hungry as well. “Besides Kakarot, we both know that I was gaining the upper hand anyway.”
At the mention of food Lord Beerus awoke from his nap ready to devour the earth food. “It’s about time Whis, I was getting pretty bored without something to fill my appetite.”
“Oh Lord Beerus, I know you’d never let me forget to feed you my Lord.”
“Less talking, more snacking, I really want more of this ice cream I’ve heard about.”
So off they went to enjoy the food Bulma sent them to feast on. As they enjoyed their food, Beerus and Whis felt something faint but very powerful, which caused them both to pause.
“Whis, did you feel that?”
“I did my Lord.”
Seeing both angel and God of Destruction stop eating caused both saiyans to look up at them and soon enough they too felt it.
For Goku, anything to stop him from constantly eating was considered a miracle“Woah, where’s that power coming from?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never felt anything like this before.” Vegeta claims. “Lord Beerus, Whis, you two seem to know where this power comes from.”
Whis seemed to be in deep thought about it, “This power is very old, ancient magic, I remember my early days as an angel when our father, the Grand Priest, talked about it. He said that it existed when the universe was in its infancy.”
“And do you know where this power came from Whis? It’s not often that I hear about the ancient magic anymore.” For Beerus it had been centuries since the old magic was talked about, let alone seen or heard about.
With a wave of his hand, Whis uses his staff to see the source of the magic, images appear of a young blonde girl with two odangos on her head in a sailor fuku fighting what appears to be monsters and people the four have never seen.
“What the?! Are you telling me that this girl is the source of this power?!” Vegeta didn’t want to believe it, but seeing the girl in action gave him the sense of deja vu when he fought Ribrianne.
“That appears to be the case Vegeta.” Whis currently in thought as he looked at everything he was seeing, as an idea suddenly popped in his head.
“Goku, why don’t you test yourself against this power? This would be an excellent way to see where you are in power.”
Goku, one to never back away from a challenge, immediately accepted. “Alright! I can’t wait to see just how strong she is!”
“Don’t get too full of yourself Kakarot! We finish our fight as soon as you’re done with the brat!” Vegeta exclaimed. While the Prince of all Saiyans was annoyed that his fight with Goku would be put on hold, he too was curious of the power the girl had.
“Very well Goku, I’ll transport you to Earth so you may have your battle.” In that instant, Whis activates his staff to send him and Goku to Earth.
And as the angel and saiyan head towards Earth, Beerus couldn’t help but smirk in anticipation. “Well well, this should be very interesting.”
Meanwhile on Earth, we find the Sailor Senshi at the Crown Arcade enjoying the summer day, when they get a call on their communicators from Luna and Artemis prompting them to head to their headquarters underneath the arcade.
“We got your message, what did you need us for?” Said Minako.
“We just found two energy readings on their way to Earth.” Explained Luna.
Rei assumed it was a new enemy to disrupt their time of peace. “Is it a new enemy?”
Artemis’s answer was not what they expected. “Doesn’t seem like it, one is hard to tell, but the other is no doubt saiyan in nature.”
Makoto perked up at the answer. “Wait, saiyans? I thought they had died years ago.”
“Not all of them.” Ami answered, on her supercomputer, uploading all her info onto the main computer. “The saiyan race was wiped out by a would-be emperor named Frieza, but a few have managed to make Earth their home.” The girls got a look at events that happened in history, from a monkey boy taking on an army, to two alien-like men wiping out cities, to a creepy looking bug-like creature, to what looked to be a pink-like creature turning people into candy.
“Eek! Creepy huge green bug!” Usagi exclaimed in fear behind Rei as to not look.
“Oh grow up Usagi! We’ve seen worse things!” Rei couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her leader/best friend. “Ami, how did we not know this?”
“All of this happened before we were born, I’ve only heard stories of a mysterious group of people called the Z-Fighters who would face these threats and leave afterwards.”
Makoto was lost in the clouds looking at the group, “The one with purple hair is kind of cute, reminds me of the guy I had a crush on.” The girls nearly fell over at the tall brunette fawning over yet another guy.
Minako couldn’t help but giggle, “Z-Fighters? Such a shonen name.”
“Take this seriously, Mina.”
“So shonen.” Mina whispered before adopting a serious look, “Do we have an idea what they’re coming for?”
Before anyone could answer, a voice was heard on the main computer. “Hello, can anyone hear me?”
That startled the girls and the cats before Luna responded, “Who is this? Are you the energy signal we found?”
And before more was said, an image appeared on screen showing two individuals, a blue skinned man with an air of divinity surrounding him, and a man in an orange gi with gravity defying hair and an infectious smile.
“Hello to you all! I am Whis, divine angel, and this is Son Goku, a saiyan. And given the familiar looks you all have, you know about the saiyans.”
“We got a quick crash course but we’re up to speed now.” Said Artemis, who was still in disbelief that they were speaking to an honest to goodness angel.
“Wonderful! Then this will be brief, we’ve seen your history and your adventures and wish to have you test Goku’s abilities, and from what we’ve seen we know you’re very capable.”
“So Usagi then.” Everyone said as Usagi frantically looked at everyone.
“Wait, why me?!” All the girls just gave her a deadpan stare, causing her to nervously giggle.
“Oh right, I forgot.” The girls facepalmed.
“Excellent, we’ll be arriving shortly.” Whis said.
“Hey, I’m Goku! I can’t wait to see how strong you are!” Was the last thing the girls heard as the two disappeared from the screen.
“So, that happened.”
“Usagi gets to fight a buff hunk, I’m so jealous!”
“Mina! He could be a threat!”
“Oh please, you saw his history and how he’s protected the earth, plus he acts like Usagi.”
“Well, looks like you get to fight an alien hunk Usagi.”
“But I didn’t finish my milkshake!”
Mount Paozu
Whis and Goku finally arrive on Earth in Mount Paozu, Whis figured this would be the perfect setting for Goku’s fight.
“Alright Goku, she should be arriving shortly.”
“Okay, I can’t wait to see how strong she is.”
Within minutes as Goku’s stretching in preparation, five beams of light arrive to Goku’s excitement. When the lights disappear, the five senshi take notice of their surroundings.
“This is an oddly nice place for a fight.”
“Oh! He’s even hunkier in person!”
“We’re not here to drool over him Minako!”
Usagi stands in silence, sensing the power that lays dormant in Goku. “He really is strong, wait how strong can saiyans be anyway?”
“Hey it’s me, Goku! I can’t wait to see how strong you are!”
“We thank you for coming, are there any questions before we begin?”
“I don’t mind them fighting, but what are we supposed to do?” Makoto explained. While she wasn’t the most comfortable in just standing around, she was excited to see if the stories about saiyans were true.
“Oh I came with Goku so that I could taste more of Earth’s delicious food!” Whis exclaimed.
The girls sweatdropped in confusion at the angel’s reason to come to Earth.
Before anything else was said, Goku was amped to go. “Alright then, let’s do this!” And in an instant, the saiyan powered up and transformed into his Super Saiyan form.
“A transformation?!”
“Geez, a little warning would have been nice!”
“Do you feel that?”
“I taste that, Makoto!”
Usagi stared in wonder at the transformation, “Oh so this is what a saiyan can do? Okay, guess it’s my turn. Moon Prism Power, make up!”
And in that instant, the area was bathed in a bright light before vanishing moments later, and in place was Usagi in her familiar sailor fuku.
Whis stared in amazement, “My, the power that we felt truly does exist. Now are both combatants ready?”
Goku got into his stance. “I’m ready!”
Usagi summoned her moon stick, putting herself in a stance. “Ready!”
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand…!
FIGHT
The two charge at each other before clashing head on before both backflip away from one another. Goku heads in with a punch and a leg sweep, to which Usagi dodges the punch and jumps to avoid the sweep. But that was what Goku was hoping for as he landed a kick to her stomach, sending her away but landing on her feet.
“No regrets okay? Give it your all!” Goku exclaimed while waiting for Usagi’s next move.
Usagi couldn’t help but smile at Goku’s excitement. “No regrets? Okay, here I come!”
Usagi rushes to throw a punch, but Goku grabs her arm and throws her over his shoulder to send her flying, but before he could do anything else Usagi throws her Moon Tiara Boomerang into his stomach.
“Moon Tiara Boomerang!”
Goku gets launched across Mount Paozu but manages to land safely as the two clash again. Goku unleashes a barrage of ki blasts, while Usagi summons her Moon Stick to dodge and block the ki blasts coming her way but gets hit by a few that get behind her and sent to the ground. As she gets up she manages to barely dodge a big ki blast and starts to fly to Goku, dodging the ki blast until she gets close enough to unleash a powerful beam right in Goku’s face, sending him into the mountains. Goku gets up and prepares his signature Kamehameha attack.
“You’re pretty good, but now it’s time to get serious! Kamehameha!”
Usagi seeing this gets her Moon Stick ready to attack, “He’s not pulling any punches, then I shouldn’t either! Moon Prism Power!”
Both unleash powerful beams that clash and everything shatters around them, the next thing they know the two find themselves within the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Before anything else, Goku powered up into his Super Saiyan Blue form and almost instantly decks Usagi in the face! Jab, hook, uppercut into the air before Goku uses Instant Transmission with his Kamehameha attack to send her to the ground. Usagi was hurt, but she could still move.
“Okay, ow! Saiyans really pack a punch! Holy Grail, lend me your power!”
As Goku was about to land another attack a bright light blinded Goku, forcing him to stop his attack and jump back. When the light disappeared, Usagi had powered up to her Super Sailor Moon form with her Spiral Heart Moon Rod in hand. Nodding in acknowledgement, Goku launches ki blasts, but Usagi wipes them out and sends Goku flying.
“Moon Spiral Heart Attack!”
Goku doesn’t waste much time getting back on his feet to fly towards Usagi to attack but Usagi manages to dodge before kickflipping him into the air and unleashes her attack again, launching him even further into the air. The fight becomes an air battle with Goku trying to get close to attack and Usagi repelling him back. Goku unleashes a big ki blast to distract Usagi which she destroys which leads to a distracted Usagi getting a boot to the face but still manages to stay in the air. The battle rages on as both try to gain an edge over each other before Goku manages to close in on Usagi once again and hits a devastating one inch punch on her, leaving Usagi breathless for a moment.
“Hack! Okay, that one hurt, but I’m far from finished!”
Recovering from the attack Usagi fires her Rainbow Moon Heartache attack straight at Goku while he fires a huge ki blast.
“Rainbow Moon Heartache!”
Both attacks collide and Usagi uses it to get in front of Goku to unleash a devastating attack, but as she’s about to unleash it, everything slows down for Goku as at the last second, the power of Ultra Instinct activates and Goku dodges her attack. It took Usagi a second before looking back to see what happened.
“Wait, wha-BAM” The next thing she knows is she’s sent back due to a gut punch, she tries to attack but she blinks and gets hit with a barrage of punches and kicks as Goku is too fast for her to see. Before either can think, they unleash another blast towards each other, shattering everything around them and finding themselves at the heart of everything, the Galaxy Cauldron.
Usagi doesn’t hesitate to call upon the Holy Moon Chalice knowing how intense this battle has become. Once again a bright light engulfs everything only to leave a fully powered Eternal Sailor Moon with her Eternal Tiare in its wake.
For Goku and Usagi, this is what it’s all led to. “This is it, the true power I’ve been waiting for!”
“He’s unlike anybody I’ve ever fought in the past. Here I come, Goku!”
With nothing left to say, the two warriors immediately clash with ki blasts and magic, each one dodging and flying in order to gain the advantage, not giving each other a chance to breathe. Goku’s astonished by the power Usagi’s showing,
“She can even keep up with Ultra Instinct, what makes her so strong?”
Before Usagi can think, Goku’s right behind her, trying to read her mind.
“Attacking my mind, huh?” Usagi blasts him away with Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss, but that was enough time for Goku to finally know the source of her power.
“That gem, it’s what makes her so powerful.” With that knowledge Goku goes in to directly attack the Silver Crystal, but the crystal blows him back before he can make a direct hit.
Wasting no more time, Usagi unleashes her power to the max, uniting all of the sailor crystals in the galaxy to her, ready to unleash her ultimate power. At the same time, Goku prepares his most powerful Kamehameha for one final attack.
“Ka-Me…”
“Silver Moon…”
“Ha-Me…”
“Crystal Eternal…”
“HAAAAA!”
“POWER!”
The entire area becomes bathed in lights of white and blue, as if the gods themselves were waging a great cosmic battle, but Goku unleashes his final trump card!
“KAIO-KEN!”
The fire surrounding Goku explodes in red, making his Kamehameha attack explode in power! The Kamehameha clashes with the power of the Silver Crystal, all for naught however, as the power of the Silver Crystal completely engulfs the Kamehameha and Goku!
The entire area becomes completely white, and then… Nothing but silence. As the light finally died down, all that was left was Usagi holding a bright orange star seed with four stars inside of it.
“You are a brave, strong warrior, Son Goku, never let the star in your heart burn out.” Before she sent it back, she could see Goku's soul come out of the star seed for a brief moment.
"That was amazing, you're really as strong as everyone says! Let's do this again sometime!" And with that, and with a smile on her face, Usagi sends the newly formed star seed back to where it came from before departing from the cauldron. Usagi makes it back to her friends in the same spot she left them.
“What happened?!”
“We couldn’t find you anywhere!”
“So how was fighting such a hunk?”
“Are you alright Usagi?”
“Girls, I'm fine!” Usagi had to get the girl off her so that they wouldn’t crush her from their hugs. “It was just, I wasn’t used to fighting for the sake of it.”
“What are you talking about?” Minako exclaimed. “You looked like a champ out there!”
Before Usagi could go on, she noticed Whis was no longer around. “Hey guys, where did the angel go?”
Thankfully Ami was able to fill in the blanks. “Well once we could no longer sense the two of you, he decided to head back to his home.”
“So that’s it? Will we see them again?” Rei was the one to say what the girls were thinking.
“Most likely, given that they live here, who knows, maybe we could join together whenever some evil being comes to Earth?” Ami explained.
Any other thoughts were interrupted by Usagi’s stomach rumbling loudly. “Okay, back to the arcade for milkshakes!”
Rei just rolled her eyes, “Is food all you think about bunhead?” The rest of the girls just laughed before heading back home to enjoy the rest of their day.
Back at Beerus’s homeworld, the star seed finally made it and exploded to have Goku appear in front of Whis, Beerus, and Vegeta.
Whis was the first to address Goku. “Ah, welcome back Goku! I see your battle has ended?”
“Oh yeah, she was something else! Never faced anything like that kind of power before.”
Beerus couldn’t help but smirk. “So the stories I’ve heard are all true, will wonders ever cease?”
“Alright now that you’re back Kakarot, we can finally finish our fight!” Vegeta would never let Goku know if he was in complete shock at the power he felt during the battle.
Not missing a beat, Goku prepared to square off against Vegeta once again. “Oh yeah, give me everything you’ve got Vegeta!”
This is the journey that will never end, the struggle to push beyond all limits and redefine the meaning of power. As two groups go their separate ways, they wonder when they will see each other again to protect the planet they call home. As Goku and Vegeta waste no time charging at each other once again to see who's stronger, the saiyans and the senshi will fight new foes, new challenges, and they will be ready. Until then, we bid you farewell.
KO
This has been a battle I have thought about for decades, since Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon came on Toonami. I’ve played this matchup in my head so many times, the dynamic, the power struggle, the characterization of everyone. With the legacy that these two animes have left, and the fact that it’s my favorite animes of all time, I wanted to give it the proper respect that it deserves.
First off, why did I have Goku start the fight at Super Saiyan and go immediately to Super Saiyan Blue? The truth is I wanted to go through all the Super Saiyan forms but that would have dragged the fight on for too long. Super Saiyan God was close to being here but I decided against it for the same reason.
There were plenty of references to other Death Battles and plenty that inspired this including the Goku Vs. Superman battles, Phoenix Vs. Raven, Megazord Vs. Voltron, and Mario Vs. Sonic. I went back and looked at what I considered the best moments of those, and made it into my own thing and applied it to my version of Goku Vs. Sailor Moon.
As for the matchup itself, Goku definitely had the strength, skill, and experience to put the fight in his favor. With Goku being older, not to mention being a master martial artist, Goku would ensure that this would take him far in the fight. But that’s where things would start turning the other way, Usagi was faster, had more variety in weapons, and her regeneration was something Goku simply couldn’t overcome. Usagi has been erased from history, and conceptually, and still managed to somehow regenerate completely, so the Hakai wouldn’t work on her. But Usagi had other ways to beat Goku, change his history like her future self did with Sailor Pluto, ask her future selves for more power should she ask, attack his soul directly, you get the idea. Plus with Lambda Power she would get the powers of every senshi from the manga, giving her way more options. Lastly I thought about the quality of their greatest enemies. Goku going up against someone like Zamasu who he had a nightmare of a time to fight just can’t compare to Usagi being able to one shot Chaos and restore the Galaxy Cauldron back to the way it was.
Goku is one of the mightiest fighters in the history of fiction, but Usagi’s sheer power, absurd reality warping, and broken regeneration gave her what she needed to take the victory. Goku had the ultra skill, but he just didn’t have the instinct to take the victory.
