If Super ends with ToP: Super = 1 single story arc?

[Zephyr]

Let's say that Super is to hypothetically reach its climax and conclusion in the Universe Survival arc, and let's likewise assume that the arc manages to wrap Super together with a nice big bow. Were that to happen, I think I'd be more inclined to (I'm already largely leaning toward the view, but this would solidify the idea for me) treat Super altogether as a single whole, proper, Toriyama Dragon Ball story arc, rather than five distinct story arcs. As everyone knows its five distinct 'chapters': Battle of Gods, Revival of F, the Champa arc, the Future Trunks arc, and the Universe Survival arc. I used the word chapter deliberately.

While writing/drawing the original manga, Toriyama would write one complete chapter after another. He never wrote the entirety of a story arc before drawing it bit by bit. It was written while it was drawn. The films are like chapters, in this sense. One was written and animated, and afterwards the next one was written and animated. We know that for Super proper, Toriyama was writing complete drafts for each 'story arc', prior to them being drawn/animated. So they're being drawn/animated at a slow pace, while the entire thing's already been written and planned out. This is antithetical to how Toriyama's mind and hand (or even someone's else's hand) harmonized during the original run. When they're harmonized, the writing evolves seamlessly and organically with the drawing.

So: how best to look at Super in the way that the writing and drawing are more harmonized? By consuming each 'arc' as an individual chapter. Where Toriyama previously made things up from chapter to chapter, in Super he makes things up from 'arc' to 'arc'. In this case, it would take all of Super's 'arcs' to make up a proper Dragon Ball story arc, more (though obviously still not wholly) in line with Toriyama's writing style: where even he doesn't know what path the story arc is going to take, even half way into the audience experiencing said arc.

[Asura]

There's absolutely no way that Super will end after this arc. This thing could be on life support on its last breath and TOEI would keep the machine plugged in so they can pump out whatever money is still left in it. This is their cash cow. They won't let it end unless they need to. Like Disney with Star Wars, Dragon Ball will continue to be milked for many, many years to come. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you to decide.

[Chuquita]

At this point in time, I'd be fine with Super ending after this arc. It's clear a lot of the stuff I wanted to see won't be focused on, and this way if they want to do something else with the franchise they can start with a fresh slate.

[Ki Breaker]

At this point in time, I'd be fine with Super ending after this arc. It's clear a lot of the stuff I wanted to see won't be focused on, and this way if they want to do something else with the franchise they can start with a fresh slate.

The reason I am not against this idea is because finally, for whatever reason they understood how to make everyone stay in character, and having a new series where this is the case from start to finish will be awesome..
Heck, they made Vegeta interesting again which I thought was a lost cause until now, and it was handled in such a natural way as well

[funrush]

There's absolutely no way that Super will end after this arc. This thing could be on life support on its last breath and TOEI would keep the machine plugged in so they can pump out whatever money is still left in it. This is their cash cow. They won't let it end unless they need to. Like Disney with Star Wars, Dragon Ball will continue to be milked for many, many years to come. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you to decide.

That could explain the reluctance to go post-EOZ. They don't know that Pan, Gohan, and Uub are marketable as main protagonists compared to Goku.

[UpFromTheSkies]

Dragonball is making Toei more money right now than any of their other franchises, so if it does end after this story it will be immediately followed by another Dragonball series

[Chuquita]

There's absolutely no way that Super will end after this arc. This thing could be on life support on its last breath and TOEI would keep the machine plugged in so they can pump out whatever money is still left in it. This is their cash cow. They won't let it end unless they need to. Like Disney with Star Wars, Dragon Ball will continue to be milked for many, many years to come. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you to decide.

That could explain the reluctance to go post-EOZ. They don't know that Pan, Gohan, and Uub are marketable as main protagonists compared to Goku.

Pan has the unfortunate stigma of her GT self over her head. Baby Pan in Super is adorable, and kid Pan in Z is a lot of fun, but it's like...do they "reboot" her character once they get past EoZ? Would they?

Even though he was in GT too, I still think Uub is untested waters because of how few scenes he had in GT. He's like Bra in that way.

This is where I comment that it would be nice if Shueisha finally did a new character poll (because I want a new one so much!), but I feel like it's something that if they cared about gauging through polls they would've done already. There's probably some internal metric they use to see which characters are most profitable.

[ChaosLordBrandon]

There is zero chance of super ending any time soon, can people stop this bullshit already?

[Asura]

for whatever reason they understood how to make everyone stay in character

*cough* Roshi *cough*

Goku's bizarre/borderline evil interactions in the exhibition matches still have yet to be explained as well.

[Zephyr]

There's absolutely no way that Super will end after this arc.

There is zero chance of super ending any time soon

Come on, guys. I'm not asking if you think Super will end, or what the chances of it ending are. I'm suggesting that if it did end, then that would have an interesting potential impact on how Super as a whole might ought to be viewed (i.e.: as one story arc, rather than five). I'm not suggesting that production of new Dragon Ball TV Anime would halt. If Super were to end this arc, I think UpFromTheSkies is right on the money: they'd just make another one.

[ChaosLordBrandon]

There's absolutely no way that Super will end after this arc.

There is zero chance of super ending any time soon

Come on, guys. I'm not asking if you think Super will end, or what the chances of it ending are. I'm suggesting that if it did end, then that would have an interesting potential impact on how Super as a whole might ought to be viewed (i.e.: as one story arc, rather than five). I'm not suggesting that production of new Dragon Ball TV Anime would halt. If Super were to end this arc, I think UpFromTheSkies is right on the money: they'd just make another one.

My apologies friend, I just see this topic that super is ending soon so much that I got annoyed to see it again lol.

[GodKaio-Ken]

Well isnt every story just one story when broken down like that? One event causing the next to an ultimate resolution?

Every show that tells a story anyway. Maybe I'm not understanding the question fully.

[MrBlackFox]

Remember, Super could end while Dragon Ball goes on and on

They can stop Super with EOZ, then start another fresh new series, Dragon Ball Omega, set after eoz and following Goku and Uub training, kid pan, teen Goten and Trunks adventures

[Zephyr]

Well isnt every story just one story when broken down like that? One event causing the next to an ultimate resolution?

Every show that tells a story anyway. Maybe I'm not understanding the question fully.

Yeah, in the original manga, the events of each arc are caused in part by the events of the prior arc. That's not what I was trying to get at. I was trying to get at how in the original run, each arc was comprised of chapters. Each chapter was its own thing. The overarching thrust of any given arc wasn't planned out in full from before the publishing of that first chapter. It was made up, as it was written, chapter by chapter.

Super, as it is divided into five story arcs, doesn't feature any story arcs written in the same way Toriyama wrote them in the original run. In order for us to have a new story arc written in that same way, we ought to treat Super as a whole as one single story arc, rather than five. That way, the thrust of the arc is still organically developed from Toriyam's own mind, as it moves along, rather than being written in its entirety from front to back before it's drawn. And, if we do indeed look at Super that way, it would feel more like an authentic continuation of the story from Toriyama's mind (because it is then developed in his mind in the same kind of way that prior arcs during the original run were), albeit still lacking as an authentic continuation of the story from Toriyama's hand (since he isn't the one storyboarding, drawing, and scripting all of it).

[Israelite Wolfman]

I don't see Super ending in the near 2 years, so be sure it'll be here beyond this arc. If I'm wrong and your theory is right, then Toei awes us a better BoG (have all the presented warriors attack Beerus before Goku arrives) & RoF (include Yamcha, Chiaotzu, 18, 17 and Majin Buu) for the re-runs.

[Hit!!]

I honestly doubt Super will end anytime soon. Way too much money invested and being produced by the franchise right now. The creation of the Dragon Ball Room is also a testament to this.

And i also doubt there will be another series after EOZ. I think Super will go past EOZ, but i could be proven wrong. What i'm almost sure of, is that DB will go on for a very, very long time. And i'm not sure that's a good thing.

[Basaku]

It kind of is one big story arc honestly. Everything revolves around expanded the 12 universes concept and new deities. Even the Freeza arc has been retroactively made important and core to the concepts in Super due to his SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER. The 'division' certinately ain't as clear as it was back in Z. Although Z had Saiyan saga transitioning directly into Freeza stuff so there's that too

I know that personally, unless Super goes for 300 episodes and covers completly difefrent subjects after ToP arc, I will always see Super era as 1 big "Gods period" in DB history

[Dbzfan94]

Pan has the unfortunate stigma of her GT self over her head. Baby Pan in Super is adorable, and kid Pan in Z is a lot of fun, but it's like...do they "reboot" her character once they get past EoZ? Would they?

Well from what I've seen, Baby Pan is redeeming GT Pan for a lot of people. So who knows?

[funrush]

For Super to be one arc that would mean the ToP would basically have to be the point. You would need to look at how the other arcs in the series lead us to that point.

Battle of Gods would be an introduction to the new lore, and bringing Beerus and the angels into the Z-Fighter's lives.
Resurrection F would be mostly a prep movie, powering up Goku and Vegeta and setting the stage for [redacted]'s appearance in the ToP arc.
U6 arc would expand on the idea of the multiverse and the tournament idea, with Zeno's reveal at the end.
Black arc is mostly unrelated but has more Zeno stuff and shows off U10.

There would have to be a climax of sorts too. Like if it weren't for Goku's involvement with the Gods, countless universes would have been destroyed. Or maybe Beerus dies at the end. Something to put a bow on the arc in some way.

Hasn't it been said that Toriyama has been giving very bare-bones ideas for the last 2 arcs? That's the only kink in this theory.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

I see what you're getting at, but the thing is, "arc" isn't descriptive of these 5 stories. You could call this a separate era, but that's so broad that your structure becomes collapses. You could call it its own sub-story, but that brings in the exact same problem. Maybe there's a better word, but either way, "arc" isn't it.