The Problem With Power Escalation

What I'm about to say will probably make some people very angry, but I HATE Dragon Ball Z. I don't like the show. Some of it's early arcs are good, and I respect it as one of the longest running anime of all time, but it suffers from a problem many shows do, which is the mishandling of power escalation. Remember this is all my opinion and, and if you're wonder why I'm picking on DBZ when it's such a wide spread issue, it's because almost everyone is familiar with the show, and it's the godfather of this annoying trope.

The world of manga writing is cutthroat, especial Shonen manga. If your manga isn't popular, Shonen Jump will cut you in a second. The opposite, however, is also true. If your manga is popular, they basically wont let it end. A LOT of very popular manga experience this, including Bleach, Naruto and One Piece. They all have off the rails power escalation (except One Piece), but the god super Sayain god form of power escalation without a doubt is Dragon Ball Z. Every season Goku gets a new, more powerful form, so every season the villain gets more power in an endless cycle. It's got so bad that some of the threats they face are MULTIVERSAL. That's ridiculous.

So how can Power Escalation be avoided? It's actually a pretty simple solution. The solution to power escalation is by establishing a clear power ceiling early on. A great example of this is one of my favorite shows, My Hero Academia. From the first episode it's established that All Might is the #1 Hero, clearing setting him as the power ceiling. The goal most of the main characters aspire to is to reach All Might level. This makes it so that there's no chance of power escalation, and gives the main character Midoriya a very clear goal, which is to fill All Might's shoes once he looses One for All.

Dragon Ball actually does set a power ceiling, Shenron, but this is such a high power ceiling that it might as well not exist. With a ceiling like that the can keep the show escalating for decades to come, and in the end that's the goal. Keep the show running, escalate the stakes, wash, rinse, repeat.

So, what do you think of power escalation? Do you agree that it's an over used trope that needs to be left behind? Leave your answers on the comments below. Come back next Friday for more content like this and until then, have a very fine day.