DragonBall Super is a 2015 martial arts adventure Japanese television series, created by Akira Toriyama and produced by Toei Animation. Serving as a direct sequel to DragonBall Z, the series follows Goku and friends ten years after defeating Majin Buu, they discover deities and the multiverse.
Seasons: Season 1 (2015), Season 2 (2015), Season 3 (2016), Season 4 (2016), Season 5 (2017)
Story:
Super actually does what GT failed to do, introduce us to the multiverse and it’s actually a good change of direction.. The story is not only good but a great expansion to its predecessor. And like its predecessor brings the franchise to an even grander scale. Now the series does start off rather slow (season one being an extended version of Battle of Gods and season two Resurrection ‘F’) but after that the story takes off with tons of new characters, awesome drawn out battles, and some really interesting stories. By far, the Universe Survival Saga is the best arc not only in Super but possibly the entire franchise. My biggest disappointment in the series is the fact that it lacks character development. DragonBall had Goku, Krillin, and Tien, Z had Piccolo, Gohan, and Vegeta, but Super doesn’t have any which sucks because there are a lot of interesting characters.
Super introduces fans to a whole lot of characters and for the most part they are some of the most memorable ones, both heroes and villains. Of course, we follow Goku and Vegeta and honestly, I’m ready for their time to end. I want characters such as Gohan, Goten, Trunks and the other Z Fighters to take up the mantle. These two are completely overused to the point that it’s criminal. The only saving grace is the Universe Survival Saga which thankfully allows all the Z Fighters to join in on the fun. Beerus and Whis are by far some of the best characters in the series. Their back-and-forth banter is hilarious.
The antagonists are just awesome and a lot of them have really cool abilities and motivations. One of my personal favorites is Zamasu and Goku Black. I like villains who have grand plans and theirs is pretty interesting. Without a doubt the assassin Hit and the leader of the Prider Troopers, Jiren, are some pretty solid characters. Frieza makes a big return and he’s given more time to show more of his personality. And though he’s far from being a good guy, it’s great seeing him again. There are a crap ton of other characters who’re pretty cool.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Production:
The animation style looks good and it’s great seeing the series with a more modern look, though it’s not as good as the movies. There are moments where the quality gets a little silly, but it doesn’t hurt the overall production.
The sound design is actually pretty damn good, something you’d expect from the series. The voice performances are definitely on point. Many of the original performers return and they’re great. The Japanese dub is good but I’m much more of an English dub. The music is really good and I love some of the new themes. The Ultra Instinct theme is by far the most standout.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Writing:
The writing does manage to capture what made the original series so good especially since series creator Akira Toriyama wrote the story. There’s a good bit of humor but it doesn’t deter from the action. One of the better highlights is when we get to see our favorite characters in their everyday lives (something the previous series rarely did). Like the episode where Vegeta’s spending time with his family or Goku farming with his son Goten. These are good, heartwarming moments.
There’s a new direction that greatly expands not only upon the DragonBall story but the universe as well. This expansion does a great job of putting in context some of the major events in both DragonBall and DragonBall Z. The fights are well-paced with a lot of great action. There’s a good focus on martial arts and different techniques that make the fights refreshing. I do like this time around that the villains…antagonists actually have plans, motivations, something that gives them depth.
But the series isn’t without its flaws. One of the most prominent problems is the power scaling. It’s a joke but it’s hard to measure when the characters are fighting gods. There are several fights where characters who couldn’t possibly be a threat press the heroes, no matter how powerful they actually are. Characters who’re weak actually can fight on par with stronger characters. In the second season, during the Resurrection ‘F’ arc, Gohan is beaten by Frieza. Gohan who killed cell, Gohan who unlocked his full potential and defeated Super Buu, was beaten by Frieza. Maybe I can understand it if he’d done it in his Golden Frieza form but he was beaten in his base form.
Second, there are some questionable character choices that make little to no sense. Why was Yamcha and Fat Buu written off? Why was Roshi fighting against Frieza’s army and not 18, 17, Yamcha, or Fat Buu? Why the hell weren’t Trunks and Goten fighting in the Tournament of Power? Roshi’s power level is just a speck compared to all the Z fighters at this point. Just dumb character choices all round.
While watching the Tournament of Power, I couldn’t help but ask myself, what’s the point of Super Saiyan 1, 2, and 3 when you have Super Saiyan Blue and Super Saiyan God. At this point, it’s irrelevant. And then when Goku goes to Ultra Instinct, what’s the point of the other transformations now? And when he and Vegeta power up the transformations are practically meaningless anyway. These aren’t new issues however. Z faced many of these same issues, but it doesn’t keep it from being any less entertaining.
Rating: 3 out of 5
The Verdict:
In the end, DragonBall Super is a great addition to the DragonBall mythos doing good what Z already did great and expanding more of the setting. Sure, a lot of the problems of Z persist here but the story, characters, and action make it an entertaining watch. DragonBall Super gets 4 out of 5.
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