The whole point of power levels in Dragon Ball is that they are wrong and stupid and an expression of an evil mind.
They are introduced in the Saiyan saga with Raditz, representing the true intrusion of sci-fi into the general fantasy vibe of the series. DB always had tech elements, but this is when shit gets space and biotechy for a long time until the Boo saga.
Anyway, Raditz reads power levels and he's like "okay this immutable number means I'm stronger and I win" but then whoops turns out the Dragon Ball protagonists cannot be quantified because their power is not a scientific measure, it is an expression of their passion, heart, determination; their heroic qualities. Get Special Beam Cannon'd about it, idiot.
Second verse same as the first, Vegeta shows up and he's like "blah blah superior elite Saiyan warrior, Kakarot" and now power levels are an expression of a repressive hierarchical class system that proscribes inferiority and superiority, a genetic destiny that can never be overcome.
But oops turns out Dragon Ball protagonists cannot be quantified etc, and also class hierarchies are bullshit, get Kaioken'd about it, loser!
Third verse: Namek Saga. Frieza's intergalactic empire runs on hierarchical oppression codified in power levels, and in Vegeta's confrontation with Kiwi, Kiwi is confident that Vegeta is not a real threat because they have the same power level of 10.000. But oops Vegeta has been to earth and he has been touched by the fantasy, and now it turns out he is a protagonist who cannot be quantified, get energy blasted about it, numbnuts.
This is also how Vegeta begins to transition from villain into a heroic figure: he begins to give up on obsessing over quantified power levels and embraces his passions, heart, determination as sources of his strength.
Anyway yadda yadda Frieza is space Napoleon-Hitler, etc etc avatar of inherent superiority and hierarchy encoded in power level, blah blah get Super Saiyan'd about it, dipshit.
The Super Saiyan is a power that is accessed by deeply caring, it is a power of myth and legends, it is fantasy overcoming and destroying sci-fi, as literalised by the progressive destruction of quantifiable "power levels" as a construct.
Power levels are dumb bullshit invented by evil minded people to enforce shitty hierarchies. They suck and everyone who believes in them sucks and trying to measure the power of a hero with a number is an attempt to destroy fantasy as a genre.
On an entirely unrelated note, huge portions of the anime community are obsessed with measuring the power of heroes with numbers.
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