"Dragon Ball Super (Manga)" Official Discussion Thread

[OLKv3]

Chapter's out in English
Everything surrounding Ribrianne was the best part of the chapter
Lmao I loved it

[JazzMazz]

So read the chapter.

Thought it felt really clustered. Not in the sense it felt like a battle royale, but because there was no real plot thread for the chapter. It basically just felt like a condensed episode of the anime considering how many plot threads were brought up and dropped almost instantly.

Also, I keep people say that Jiren is a team player. What on earth has Jiren done that even remotely demonstrates that. The most his done is just kind of do his own thing and heed some advice from Dyspo when the universe 4 guys were in play. He hasn't protected or fended for his team mates at all.

Also, I think I can safely say that Goku vs Jiren's intial fight was easily better handled in the anime. There is no much needed gravitas to their fight in the manga.

Finally, the art in this chapter was really iffy. There were loads of construction issues pretty much everywhere in this chapter.

[Hawk9211]

I really liked the ribriane stuff.I always like his gags.

[BanterTheGreat]

This was great. I actually enjoyed Ribrianne for once aswell, piccolo went out quickly which is a shame but atleast it keeps the tension.

[dbgtFO]

Toyotaro needs to stop drawing Jiren as El Hermano (check the second panel of this chapter).
I wonder if he is aware of the meme and is doing it on purpose?

[TKA]

Chapter was hilarious. 18 looking for someone when Ribrianne said "Ugly" was great, because of course nobody's ever called 18 ugly. And then she just shrugs it off because it isn't her in her character to care about looks.

Piccolo being the one to figure out the invisible opponent and eliminate him is great, since Piccolo is supposed to be wise. Then, because he was looking for another invisible opponent rather than a minuscule one, he was able to get caught off guard and eliminated. Nice writing there, since it doesn't make Piccolo seem stupid or inept.

Jiren retreating is also great because it doesn't make him out to be the infallible, unstoppable beast he was in the anime. This avoids the question of "Why doesn't Jiren just knock everyone out if he's so strong?" The answer is he can't and he isn't. This is more believable.

Fun stuff, and good character work all around.

[OLKv3]

Chapter was hilarious. 18 looking for someone when Ribrianne said "Ugly" was great, because of course nobody's ever called 18 ugly. And then she just shrugs it off because it isn't her in her character to care about looks.

Piccolo being the one to figure out the invisible opponent and eliminate him is great, since Piccolo is supposed to be wise. Then, because he was looking for another invisible opponent rather than a minuscule one, he was able to get caught off guard and eliminated. Nice writing there, since it doesn't make Piccolo seem stupid or inept.

Jiren retreating is also great because it doesn't make him out to be the infallible, unstoppable beast he was in the anime. This avoids the question of "Why doesn't Jiren just knock everyone out if he's so strong?" The answer is he can't and he isn't. This is more believable.

Fun stuff, and good character work all around.

Jiren retreated in the anime as well, he's the same character.

[Kingdom Heartless]

I'm getting increasingly disappointed with this arc in the manga.

Yes, it gives a more believable sense of a grand scale battle royale where nobody is safe, but that in itself doesn't make it an improvement.

While several characters got disappointing exits from the battle in the anime, all of them felt like they did little to justify their presence. Here, most of Universe 7 has just been fodder. Maybe they realistically would have been, but part of what made me love this arc is all the team-ups and character focus that I never thought we would see.

The manga maintains my curiosity, but while I was waiting excitedly every week for the anime, I don't have a great deal of anticipation for new chapters.

[mute_proxy]

Art wise this chapter was a let down, most of the angles were reused not to mention the repetitive action sequences not sure i wanna continue collecting the volumes anymore

[Vegeta_Sama]

Art wise this chapter was a let down, most of the angles were reused not to mention the repetitive action sequences not sure i wanna continue collecting the volumes anymore

If you have the previous ones, you might as well have them all. An incomplete collection is infuriating to watch

[mute_proxy]

Art wise this chapter was a let down, most of the angles were reused not to mention the repetitive action sequences not sure i wanna continue collecting the volumes anymore

If you have the previous ones, you might as well have them all. An incomplete collection is infuriating to watch

Yeah, but there are only two english volumes out, not a big deal I'd agree if I had at least 5 of them

[CriticalThinker]

Overall I think this was a good chapter and to me was much better than chapter 35. Only thing I really didn't like this chapter was how 18 elimination was handled. As much as I like Ribrianne I was pretty annoyed that 18 didn't just blast her right away. This is a tournament for survival she shouldn't have even given them the choice of jumping out. I myself would much rather of had Gamisaras attack and knock 18 out while her fight with Ribrianne was still going on. Rather than him knocking her out because she decided to stand still like an idiot for five seconds.

[Lord Beerus]

This was better than last months chapter, but not by much.

By far the highlight in the chapter was Ribrianne and the rest of the Maiden Squadron being awe of how "handsome" Krillin was. That was a really funny gag.

Piccolo being eliminated in the same fashion as he was in the anime annoyed the hell out of me. Why couldn't that aspect have been changed?

I do have to give Toyotaro a missive amount of credit for utilizing Gamisaras in far more efficient manner than the anime. I wish the reveal could have made that he was responsible for all the off-screen eliminations, but, oh well. I'm also saddened that "ace up the sleeve" fighter that Universe 4 had ended in similar anti-climatic fashion.

I really felt so much more mileage could have been gotten out of #18 fighting the Maiden Squadron or Piccolo in general, so it can't shake the feeling that their eliminations were far too premature.

#17 continues to be the best part of the Tournament Of Power. In both mediums he's awesome.

[Marlowe89]

What I liked:

Ribrianne was handled so much better in the manga. Her character doesn't feel like it revolves around a one-dimensional meta homage to a different Toei franchise and I love the "beauty" aspect to her, she doesn't overstay her welcome, and her attraction to Krillin is way more appropriate (and more importantly, funnier) than the opposite scenario in the anime; it also falls more in line with Toriyama's subversion gags, which is a huge plus. The chapter hits all the high notes of her dynamics with her teammates and opponents without any of the low points of the other medium, and it helps that Toyotaro can draw her exceptionally well.

Piccolo and 18 losing in a manner that was completely off-guard and unexpected (along with Roshi outlasting them both) is another one of those factors that suits the atmosphere of a battle royale and keeps the narrative fresh and unpredictable. There's definitely a certain thrill/excitement to having no clue which protagonist is going to be eliminated next. As batistabus and I have touched on previously, this puts the arc's concepts to proper use -- eliminations aren't meant to feel like a dramatic swan song. They're supposed to be totally out of left field in this setting, and often necessary to figure out opposing gimmicks. For the most part, that works because it elevates the apprehensive tone of the arc and fits the story's "survival" themes along with the premise in general. Once again, the pacing is completely appropriate here.

I love how Jiren is at least somewhat of a team player in this version and I think it certainly complements his personality. He's portrayed to be a member of the Pride Troopers, not a lone wolf, and he seems to more aware of his team's and his own limitations, which helps the reader to become more invested in Universe 11 since it continues the manga's trend of showing them to be a coherent team of heroes. On that note, there was just a lot of great teamwork all-around this month: I liked the overall coordination between 17/Gohan/Piccolo, and Universe 4's invisible fighters doing their thing early on in the tournament makes them seem comparatively less incompetent than the anime. 17's method of eliminating Botamo was also hilarious.

Likewise, 17 tucking his hair back to track Damon's position through his developed sense of hearing was a pretty cool touch, but...

What I didn't like:

...it was a touch that didn't make a lot of sense. There's no reason he should have sharper hearing and senses than Piccolo, who was defeated almost immediately by Damon, so it's strange that he would outperform him in that manner regardless of whether he's an experienced park ranger or not.

Goku fighting Jiren off-screen for the entirety of the chapter is pretty silly as well. I suppose one could attribute this to the stamina preservation aspect on Jiren's part as well as Goku theoretically becoming more acclimated to Jiren's fighting style, but there's something about it that just doesn't sit well with me. I don't think it's a major mark against the chapter, but it's certainly a notable one.

Overall verdict:

Another solid month. I suspect all the grand spectacle in this version is reserved for the tournament's more climactic fights, which I'm okay with for reasons stated above. Until then, I'm glad we have someone like Toyotaro at the helm to keep the story grounded while knowing exactly how to execute each arc's conceptual ideas properly, implement strong characterization, write focused themes and threads with genuine follow-up, insert suitable gags with good humor, and maintain Dragon Ball's sensibilities as a whole. That's what I got from this chapter. That's also what I want and expect from this franchise, so I'm more than satisfied thus far.

[OhHiRenan]

I do have to wonder why Toei felt it necessary to keep Ribrianne around so long and use her so much while Toyo just spent a few pages on her and knocked her out, comparatively, early.

There were some art issues, especially in the last few pages, but this chapter did feel like an improvement. Toyo's choreography isn't that great, but it's nice to see a bunch of small fights in one chapter compared to the anime's one fighter per episode rule. It's going by fast, but I'm not minding that as much. I still feel like we have a lot of content to get through.

I do like that Jiren and Goku's fight didn't end with a total beatdown. I hated the stamina nonsense the anime devolved into and hopefully this is Toyo's way of just avoiding that entirely.

[Zen Yabuki]

Chapter was meh to me overall. Better than last month but not by a lot. I did like the Ribrianne stuff that was great. Jiren isn’t really all that much of a team player and he is largely the same as the anime. Piccolo and 18 going out this way kinda sucks but not a deal breaker. Overall fairly boring to me. Not bad but nothing that’s really exciting or too engaging.

[The gr]

It was an ok chapter, way better than last month and that isn't saying much.

Damn Vegeta vs Toppo look clunky, I could have swore we could have have had another chapter 35.

The highlight was the Gag of Ribrianne,it was pretty hilarious and quite refreshing since we see way too much Krillin with no nose gag however I'm kinda disappointed that #18 and Ribrianne elimination,I would have prefer if it was the other two maiden and have #18 and Ribrianne rethreat.

I did liked seeing Piccolo taking out a pest like Gamisara, the latter was slaughtering a lot of people and of course like the anime Piccolo couldn't used his super hearing to track Damom .

#17 is the best thing in the Top in both mediums, quite refreshing seeing a non Saiyan character performing this well.

[batistabus]

it REALLY does sound like you just have favoritism towards it

I fundamentally disagree with the idea a large tournament CANT give focus to moments or that characters "dont deserve" the time. Both points are arbitrary limitations to limit screentime to who the viewer decides is important.

I'm sure some would argue the U6 Saiyans dont deserve screentime and that they should have gotten eliminated over Hit.

The moments and characters you criticize are exactly why I favor the DBS anime over the manga. The manga feels soulless to me. I'm not enjoying it anywhere near as much as I did with the anime. I certainly dont think it's just because I dont understand the manga.

Now where did you get that idea? I do have favoritism towards it, because I feel like it has constantly proven to be a much better sequel to Dragon Ball.

I'm sorry, but I think you are missing the point. Yes, characters can be developed in a large tournament, and yes, who "deserves" page time is arbitrary, but it's a balancing act that is up to the author. The anime fails at developing characters in a satisfying way, and it still comes at the expense of the battle royale setting. Just because characters are jumping around on screen for 24+ minutes, that doesn't mean they're getting satisfying character development. They settled on a middle-ground that doesn't satisfy either goal. Toyotaro develops fun smaller encounters while still taking the time to develop the more complex narrative threads.

Again, the "deserve" is up to the author. By eliminating Hit quickly and early, that puts more emphasis on the Saiyans do make up for losing Universe 6's strongest fighter. When Toriyama created the outline, some characters and plot points were fleshed out more robustly than others. Toei's padding doesn't work to the benefit of the story Toriyama is trying to tell...it just keeps Super on air for a little bit longer.

You're free to enjoy whatever you like, but where exactly do you find the "soul" to be lacking? I'd say having the right soul is what so clearly puts the manga over the anime. Toei's version is so blatantly riddled with poor planning, needless padding, and product placement. More subtle things aside, that's where I feel like it's soul is most lacking.

[LightBing]

...it was a touch that didn't make a lot of sense. There's no reason he should have sharper hearing and senses than Piccolo, who was defeated almost immediately by Damon, so it's strange that he would outperform him in that manner regardless of whether he's an experienced park ranger or not.

Goku fighting Jiren off-screen for the entirety of the chapter is pretty silly as well. I suppose one could attribute this to the stamina preservation aspect on Jiren's part as well as Goku theoretically becoming more acclimated to Jiren's fighting style, but there's something about it that just doesn't sit well with me. I don't think it's a major mark against the chapter, but it's certainly a notable one.

I didn't saw it that way. Piccolo didn't get eliminated because of hearing, he actually felt Damon and reacted. The thing is, he had the invisible fighter stuck in his head and Damon is pretty strong. Which caught him off-guard.
All we got is that #17 has sharp hearing not that it's better than Piccolo's.

Agree regarding Goku vs Jiren, it was a pretty abrupt ending to their fight. Felt forced.

[Dragon Ball Gus]

I am so pissed off at Toyotaro for taking out Android 18 so soon. Like, dude, at least let her stay for two more chapters! Can't believe she went out before Roshi out of all people! Same thing with Ribrianne. Hopefully, Caulifla, Kale, and Kafla (yes, I spell her name this way now) don't get the same treatment. If they do, then I'm done with this manga. Put respect to my girls, Toyotaro.