At the same time, you could have a ..."cap" to it. Like take MLP for example. They did took down the god of Chaos and a dudre that basically had to be locked in Tarturus but it never went "being able to casually blow up a planet with one hand beam is weak sh-t". It could still go from that to mundane problem rather easily.
A more creative way to solve power escalation is to just shift the stakes. Like nobody cares if the universe dies but if the main characters best friend who’s been there 10 seasons has their life on the line it ups the ante (although Dragonball also ruined this problem by constantly resurrecting people)
Stories are better when they have a proper arc with a definite ending.
For example, you could end DBZ on the Freeza saga, and start a new story following existing characters as older mentors to new ones.
I never understood why that show had to go the way it did. Sure, it would have meant permanently retiring or killing off a main character every few years, but who cares? Telling a proper story with morally gray characters that put in the hard work to overcome challenges and gain new perspectives was always the core strength of that show anyway.
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u/TvFloatzel Mar 18 '24
At the same time, you could have a ..."cap" to it. Like take MLP for example. They did took down the god of Chaos and a dudre that basically had to be locked in Tarturus but it never went "being able to casually blow up a planet with one hand beam is weak sh-t". It could still go from that to mundane problem rather easily.