I'm not really sure I'm understanding you properly. From what I thought you wrote, I thought you were implying that you wanted more than just a linear standard tournament, that you wanted something along the lines of the Buu tournament where it wasn't really a tournament at all and just changed into something completely different. I'm arguing against that, and arguing for more of a linear tournament like the ones we had in Dragon Ball. You're correct in that the 22nd Budokai, Kuririn dies afterwards which takes us into an entirely new arc, but that was after the tournament. The tournament was linear and standard, and then something happened afterwards. I wouldn't be against something like that, I just don't want the tournament to be interrupted by something dumb that makes everyone ignore the tournament like in the Buu arc.Ajay wrote:I haven't said anything about telling a non-linear narrative. I'm just asking for the type of stories that came to define the series from the moment Piccolo Daimao showed up. I'm asking for the exact opposite of what you think I'm asking for. Bounce me from this tournament into something grander a la the Boo arc. That's it.Asura wrote:I disagree. I think the Future Trunks arc trying to diverge away from linearity is what caused it to become such a colossal fuck-up in the first place. They should stick to what they know. Sure it's nice to change things up from the normal formula and get away from being linear, but if they can't do it then they shouldn't even attempt it, otherwise we'll just get the Future Trunks arc again.
I don't understand what people's issues are with having multiple tournaments in the series. The original Dragon Ball had three tournaments, and all of them went uninterrupted and were usually only broken up by one arc. The tournaments were some of the best parts of Dragon Ball to me, so I really don't mind just a straight up tournament, no hidden ulterior motives from the higher ups or anything crazy like that.
While the first tournament in Dragon Ball was played straight, the second ended with Kuririn's death that catapulted us into a larger tale. The third tournament, while a nice spectacle, is not the best thing in the world, so there's no inconsistency in my view there. The Boo arc's tournament, again, catapulted us into something else. Tournaments are fine in and of themselves, but we're way beyond those simple tales now. They're not interesting enough to stand on their own at the point we're at now. They need to be starting points, not the entirety of an arc.
Super has introduced so many new elements since it began, but we haven't actually explored them to a significant degree yet. In Dragon Ball, we're told of God, so we go to God's Temple, hone our skills, and it becomes a regular part of the series. In Dragon Ball Z, we're told about Namek, so we go Namek and have one of the grandest story arcs in the series. We're told about the Kaioshin realm, so we go to the Kaioshin realm, meet new characters, then have a huge battle. The series was all about introducing new elements and having us explore them through the story told. There was always this sense of adventure. I love love love that.
For me, Super hasn't made masses of progress in this regard. I love that Beerus' planet is a norm, and I love that we saw Zuno's planet, if only for a short while. I don't love staring at a purple sky and stone floor for an entire arc while being introduced to all of these characters with amazing backstories that we don't get to see. I'm not looking forward to staring at a black background for weeks on end while this upcoming tournament takes place. Again, for all of the Future Trunks arc's issues, I appreciate it for taking us to another universe, for taking us to Zeno's place, and for setting the story in the future - which is of course the same as our world, but it feels different.
This arc has shown us other universes, different cities and planets, and all sorts. Unfortunately, they're not convincing. I can't be sold on a world by a mere glimpse of it. I need our characters there and interacting with it to feel any sort of strong emotion. That's what I so desperately want from this series and future arcs. Give us a reason to go somewhere and tell me a story in that world.
There's nothing wrong with what they're doing right now, really. It's just that it feels like they're constantly planting seeds, but never letting them blossom into something great.
Hope that makes more sense!
I agree with what you're saying in wanting the series to explore all these different universes and cities and planets, but if we're being honest that would be impossible. The arc would be like 70 episodes long if that happened, and while I personally have no objection to that, it's understandable as to why the majority of people would hate a 70 episode long arc. I'm happy they even bothered to show off some other universes at all, to be honest. Or even give other characters some spotlight like Toppo or Cabba. I think they did a good job considering the circumstances. Unfortunately the days of animes lasting hundreds of episodes are basically over. Z was able to do so much because it was almost 300 episodes long.