Super anime vs Super manga

[ZombieVito]

In conclusion, compared to the Anime, the Manga might have more consistency or better writing; but it is so boring, uneventful, and basic that I don't enjoy it more than the Anime.

Better writing? What manga did you read? There are multiple mistakes/plot holes in the Zamasu arc alone. Do I need to remind you about the whole Time RIng shenanigans?

Are we talking about the same anime Vegeta who won’t give his ki to the Genki Dama at the Tournament of Power for some reason?

The manga version of Vegeta has him risk ceding his chances at the U6 tournament over to Goku specifically to inspire Cabba (compared to his loss in the anime having nothing to do with any kind of character beat). Both versions see him demonstrate growth in the Future Trunks arc, but the manga adds the additional capstone of his willingly going for the fusion and telling Trunks to heal Goku when he realizes what’s on the line and that Future Bulma was killed, which is a more substantial role of his character and characterization than the TV version grants. At the ToP, while manga Vegeta doesn’t have the same (endlessly repeated) sense of duty toward U6 he does in the TV version, he also doesn’t have the regressive bits like the aforementioned Genki Dama portion above. (Such is characterization when scripted by a revolving door of rushed writers relying on pulling in recognizable tropes; see Freeza being a walking collection of Namek arc one-liners by the end.) Instead it ends on his suggesting teamwork with Goku, building off their training under Whis. The series then goes on to provide two arcs that are some of the best content Vegeta’s gotten since Namek, and where is growth and regrets over past actions are essentially the A plot.

I’m not here to tell anyone what the better version is (manga), but I particularly don’t get this stance when it comes to Vegeta’s character. What Vegetas are we looking at?

Since I actually am here to tell people what the better version is (sometimes I feel more diplomatic than others; I’ll let previous posts in the thread dictate the tone here): Despite its obvious different artist/author, I still feel with the Super manga like I’m reading a series set in the same world as the original run, and featuring the same cast. (Like the original, I also find it very rereadable and instantly fun to go back to, even if I wouldn’t put them on the same level.) I do not feel that way with the anime.

Sure, cherry pick one instance of a 60+ episode arc and he ends up helping out anyway on his own way.

Him risking the tournament for Cabba doesn't even correlate to how he treats him later on the ToP. He literally only interacts with him to ask about Kale and then basically tells him to fuck off. He doesn't even show any intention to revive him in the entire arc and doesn't even react to him getting erased. Their relationship in the anime is actually developed, Vegeta actually gives him motivation and in a way helps Cabba unlock SS2. They can be considered a true master and student. There's also how he shit talks everyone from his universe (Including Whis) when he unlocks SSBE in the most hypocritical way possible.

There's just no comparison, manga Vegeta is an asshole.

I of course didn't mention Moro and Granolah because they haven't been animated yet.

Vegetto could deal with one merged Zamasu, Goku was individually briefly able to deal with one merged Zamasu...
And then there were hundreds of them. All at full strength. Explicitly declaring their intent to spread out to every timeline and kill all life. While Goku and Vegeta were completely worn out and had played every single one of their cards. Oh and every single injury dealt to each of the merged Zamasus resulted in more fully-powered merged Zamasus showing up. Calling the Omni-King there was every bit as justified as it was in the anime. In both versions they were stuck in a situation where they were 100% going to die.

While you have a point, the anime version just seems a hell of a lot more dire since we actually see Infinite Zamasu beginning to infect the other timelines in that moment and even Whis is getting worried. If nothing is done in that moment then everything is lost.

Manga Infinite Zamasu could do the same but it would take considerable more time to do it. Maybe Zeno wouldn't even be needed to be summoned to deal with him with Beerus and the other GoD's around. I can't say the same in the anime version.

[PerhapsTheOtherOne]

I think, at the end of the day, for me the anime is better because it got me invested in it, interested in it in ways the manga couldn't.

The manga just kinda lacks the soul and spirit of DB that I crave. It's competently drawn and written, but I just can't emotionally resonate with it.

For example, was Future Trunks gaining the Genkidama Sword kinda dumb? Yeah, but it was also very gratifying and a great way to pay off the fact that he was the main character of the whole arc who got a seeming victory with the help of everyone he's protected and tried to keep safe against a tyrant who refuses to see the value of mortal life and whose body is literally falling apart because he underestimates those he views as beneath him.

Merged Zamasu is literally defeated (at first, anyways) by the combined might of everyone who Future Trunks has fought for and alongside. And even when this loss is negated, it gives some extremely emotional tension as that victory is suddenly nullified by everyone being killed.

Where can I get that kinda emotional payoff in the DBS manga? Original manga, maybe, but not Toyotaro's work in my view.

[capsulecorp]

It's funny how the "anime vs manga" conversation keeps returning to Zamasu. He's such a divisive character! There's no denying the spectacle and scope of his story but I was literally checking my phone and yawning during a lot of the parts that people think of anime highlights. Like, I don't come to Dragon Ball for emotional catharsis and the longer the series goes on, the less interesting the final showdowns with the villains end up feeling. I guess that's why they introduce the deus ex machina at the end. If nothing else, it was a surprise!

But yeah, I think people that lean toward the anime do so because of the spectacle, and the focus on Zamasu confirms that for me. That's fair! But it comes at the cost of decent characterization and consistent writing, which I guess are more important to me.

[SupremeKai25]

The ominous feeling Infinite Zamasu gives is unmatched. That's something you MUST call Zeno for, while an army of Zamasu... that's something still nuts, but if they were able to fuse, it would've been, at least narratively, the next step before calling your dad, and also amazing. But Toyo wanted his Vegito for lunch, he couldn't wait for dinner, so...

Vegetto could deal with one merged Zamasu, Goku was individually briefly able to deal with one merged Zamasu...
And then there were hundreds of them. All at full strength. Explicitly declaring their intent to spread out to every timeline and kill all life. While Goku and Vegeta were completely worn out and had played every single one of their cards. Oh and every single injury dealt to each of the merged Zamasus resulted in more fully-powered merged Zamasus showing up. Calling the Omni-King there was every bit as justified as it was in the anime. In both versions they were stuck in a situation where they were 100% going to die.

But Anime Infinite Zamasu is more unique and scary.

Manga Infinite Zamasu is scary in-universe, but meta-wise he's just like Mecha Cooler. We have already seen this kind of villain before, villain who basically cloned himself endlessly. He isn't really memorable or unique in the context of the franchise and gets carried by the beautiful art, not the concept itself.

Meanwhile, Anime Infinite Zamasu is something unprecedented in the franchise, there has never been another villain who evoked the same kind of sheer cosmic horror/eldritch horror of Anime Infinite Zamasu.

Also, in terms of personality, Anime Infinite Zamasu is just more terrifying. Manga Infinite Zamasu doesn't change much in terms of personality, Anime Infinite Zamasu is completely insane and doesn't care about anything anymore, he even lost the ability to formulate words and just cackled maniacally until his destruction.

Manga Infinite Zamasu still ran away like any other God would upon seeing Zeno. Anime Infinite Zamasu stared at Zeno and continued laughing at him unbothered (while even Beerus gets scared like a baby whenever Zeno comes). This makes the Anime version seem a lot more larger-than-life and maniacal. He's just next-level madness, to the point that he doesn't even react to Zeno, the literal God of everything.



Just listen to his maniacal laughter, he's easily one of the scariest villains DBZ ever produced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDBWBjBbzu8

[Magnificent Ponta]

Where can I get that kinda emotional payoff in the DBS manga?

Chapter 76 springs immediately to mind, as Granolah and Vegeta are both confronted by their own Avenger/Destroyer poses, circle the drain together and their convictions ebb away, and both resolve to die in combat as Goku tries frantically to intervene.

[ZombieVito]

But Anime Infinite Zamasu is more unique and scary.

Manga Infinite Zamasu is scary in-universe, but meta-wise he's just like Mecha Cooler. We have already seen this kind of villain before, villain who basically cloned himself endlessly. He isn't really memorable or unique in the context of the franchise and gets carried by the beautiful art, not the concept itself.

Meanwhile, Anime Infinite Zamasu is something unprecedented in the franchise, there has never been another villain who evoked the same kind of sheer cosmic horror/eldritch horror of Anime Infinite Zamasu.

Also, in terms of personality, Anime Infinite Zamasu is just more terrifying. Manga Infinite Zamasu doesn't change much in terms of personality, Anime Infinite Zamasu is completely insane and doesn't care about anything anymore, he even lost the ability to formulate words and just cackled maniacally until his destruction.

Manga Infinite Zamasu still ran away like any other God would upon seeing Zeno. Anime Infinite Zamasu stared at Zeno and continued laughing at him unbothered (while even Beerus gets scared like a baby whenever Zeno comes). This makes the Anime version seem a lot more larger-than-life and maniacal. He's just next-level madness, to the point that he doesn't even react to Zeno, the literal God of everything.



Just listen to his maniacal laughter, he's easily one of the scariest villains DBZ ever produced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDBWBjBbzu8

This was another thing I didn't like about manga Infinite Zamasu. Yes, he can talk and everything but he runs away like a coward when Zeno appears while the anime version doesn't even care and continues to laugh.

I shouldn't be surprised though. Toyo made Black a bitch too so why not the final villain of the arc as well.

[SupremeKai25]

This was another thing I didn't like about manga Infinite Zamasu. Yes, he can talk and everything but he runs away like a coward when Zeno appears while the anime version doesn't even care and continues to laugh.

I shouldn't be surprised though. Toyo made Black a bitch too so why not the final villain of the arc as well.

Yes. For this reason, Zamasu in the Anime has a more complete villain arc.

Zamasu always behaved like a pompous and arrogant villain, he always acted smugly and belittled others, he always held himself in high praise and literally claimed that he was the pinnacle of existence. He even referred to himself with pronouns like "Watashi" and "Ware", which are highly formal and eloquent. He made entire monologues about how much smarter, wiser, and more beautiful he was than everyone else.

How fitting it is, then, that Zamasu ended up becoming a mindless entity that just laughs like a maniac and doesn't understand anything anymore, and whose body was horribly deformed and destroyed.

Manga doesn't have the same impactful arc. Manga Infinite Zamasu is just Zamasu who cloned himself. There is no personality change. Meanwhile, Anime Infinite Zamasu is Zamasu who has been reduced to a mindless entity like Kid Buu, which is a pitiful, miserable, and fitting end for such an arrogant, pompous, snobby, full of himself villain.

But I wouldn't scrap Manga Infinite Zamasu entirely. Ideally, Fused Zamasu in the Anime would have used the same technique Black used in literally the previous episode to clone himself ad-infinitum (while obviously keeping his final, Multiversal form for later). That way, we'd have the best of both worlds in one medium.

[Cipher]

Sure, cherry pick one instance of a 60+ episode arc and he ends up helping out anyway on his own way.

Aren't you cherry-picking exactly one moment out of the manga for your basis for its Vegeta too?

His risking the tournament for Cabba in the manga is an example of the series taking elements that are haphazard plot points in the anime and making them feel like story and character beats in the manga, which is part of why I bring it up. Vegetto is given a similar role in the Future Trunks arc, where in the anime he's just a means to the end of the fight, without a real character beat for anyone involved, but in the manga he's repositioned as a two-fold character beat for Vegeta, and arguably Trunks alongside him--first for the fusion itself, as Trunks finds a way to spur Vegeta's sense of responsibility, with Vegeta being the one to finally suggest they go through with the fusion, and afterward, as Vegetto is used to alert Vegeta to Goku's Perfected Blue theory and lead him to try to buy time for and cede Trunks' healing to Goku. In the anime, Vegetto is heralded by...nothing but another grumpy Vegeta fusion moment, with Goku taking the fore, and its only impact is (maybe or maybe not; unclear) softening Zamasu up for Trunks' victory.

But, re: Vegeta: In the ToP proper, Vegeta still goes out of his way to save Cabba, and explain the situation with Kale to him, but he's right in pointing out the truth that they're ostensibly all each other's opponents at that point.

On the other hand, anime Vegeta cares about Universe 6 and his family so much (so we hear episode after episode) that he can't be bothered to contribute to team tactics likely to improve their odds of victory.

You can point out that this is cherry-picking, but the fact that it's even there to cherry-pick is part of my overall consternation with the anime, and what prevents my buy-in even with its otherwise exciting moments of payoff. Its characters do not feel like consistent characters--they feel like haphazard caricatures that might at any moment give way to a highlight reel of their greatest hits from Z, at the whims of the rushed writer rotation, and indeed that's something that happens often in the ToP in particular. It prevents it from feeling like a story. In this way, I think it'll probably play better with non-superfans, which, fair enough, but as someone deeply familiar with the tone and characterization of the original it's just death by a thousand cuts for my ability to invest in it.

There's also how he shit talks everyone from his universe (Including Whis) when he unlocks SSBE in the most hypocritical way possible.

It has him deciding he needs his own manner of catching up to, rather than just blindly following, Goku's route, which is something the series commits to in future plot lines. It also fully let's us know that Vegeta's lines about not needing teachers are all in-the-moment bravado, as it pointedly cuts to Whis deadpanning following those lines. Immediately afterward, Vegeta is championing the team approach with Goku as well, following the latter's loss with UI.

So to play the comparison game: When the manga gives Vegeta a rugged tough guy moment, it's positioned as false bravado and in keeping with his character trajectory. When the anime gives him the same (Genki Dama, others), it's because you're meant to remember how Vegeta was in Z, and there's no other context or intent beyond incidental callbacks to the broadest character tropes, regardless of how well they mesh with the thrust of the story.

And after 130 episodes of that as the series was airing (and every time I've tried to go back through it since), I just can't with that. I wind up liking the manga more on each pass, and finding the anime more frustrating. Freeza and Goku teaming up to take Jiren out in a spectacular final volley is cool; it is less cool when you remember it comes off of a string of episodes of Freeza spouting Namek arc lines and being knocked out three different times because it seems like writers weren't aware of who was supposed to incorporate what plot point. Super is a TV series with fun highlights actively better consumed in bite-sized YouTube clips, because the in-series context makes every single one of them worse.

On the other hand, the manga is ... a pretty respectable fluffy sequel to DB that I think captures a lot of what makes the original fun, if under a different author, even sans the comparison game.

Your mileage may vary. I realize this is an unusually prickly post; I just see so much of the opposite being applied to the manga.

[kemuri07]

Super is a TV series with fun highlights actively better consumed in bite-sized YouTube clips, because the in-series context makes every single one of them worse.

On the other hand, the manga is ... a pretty respectable fluffy sequel to DB that I think captures a lot of what makes the original fun, if under a different author, even sans the comparison game.

I mean i couldn't have said it any better myself. Neither adaptation holds a candle to Z, but Super (manga) makes a ton of smart choices that make Super's story tolerable.

In regards to TOP arc: The entire point of the tournament is that it's supposed to be a chaotic battle royale. The manga absolutely captures that chaos. The anime? Some of the most poorly paced shounen you will ever see on screen. It's not great, and not worth the wait for the one or two eps in which the sakuga kicks in. Is the manga version perfect? Absolutely not as it is a bandaid on a bad story arc, but again the pacing is much better, there are actual decent character arcs throughout ( I absolutely think what it does with Gohan is absolutely superior to the anime), and it actually brings some much needed context to Ultra Instinct that just isnt' there in the anime.

[Mr Baggins]

I've belabored the manga's superiority over the anime so many times in the past that there's no reason to exhaust the same points and comparisons all over again, so I'll leave it at this:

If, in some alternate reality, Super was instead relegated to a series of condensed films scripted by Toriyama – as is currently in fact the case with the animated format – it would have been a much stronger sequel. That's not to say it would have matched the original series in quality, but it would have done its job while being easy enough for the audience to get into.

As it stands, it's just an adequate but flawed sequel in the manga's case, a complete fucking trashfire in the TV anime's, and a nightmare to follow for any casual fan regardless. At its best, it's an enjoyable mess.

Hopefully Daima will be better.

[Zephyr]

When both the TV anime and the manga were running at the same time, I definitely saw the manga as the stronger and more interesting work and was what I preferred. It was in the same medium as the original work, Toriyama seemed to have more of a hand in overseeing it, there was less fluff, it was being filtered ultimately through one person's mind and hand (Toyotaro's), it wasn't blighted by the anime's then-current house style art direction emblemized by Yamamuro's greasy and bloated character designs, it wasn't punctuated by Sumitomo's bland musical score, etc.

These days my preference has switched. Since 2018 I've soured pretty significantly on Toyotaro as a creator; his choreography and plotting is for the most part extremely derivative, and while Dragon Ball has always been derivative of other things as well as itself, the way he goes about it never feels terribly interesting to me. Having re-read the Moro arc last month really solidified that for me. Besides that, the anime is the source material here, with Toyotaro's manga being an adaptation. Not to mention that Toriyama had his share of oversight with the anime, as well (we all remember how his corrections about Geran's personality resulted in a last minute swap with Toppo during the Zen Exhibition Match ). While the art style of the TV anime on the whole never changed, we did start to see more episodes with a less ugly art direction. In the Goku Black arc, Sumitomo stepped up his game. Not to mention the voice talent; Nozawa's Goku Black was killer, and hearing more of Nakao as Freeza was splendid. So, on the whole, I now instead find the anime to be more interesting as a piece of art/media.

Though I should emphasize that, just like back in 2018, I don't find either to be terribly great on the whole, and find both to be ultimately superfluous additions to Dragon Ball's story, which ended in 1995.

---

In terms of storytelling, Toyotaro seems to not be as interested in telling a story about Goku's growth as a martial artist as the anime did, and that's ultimately what I'm here for. To quote myself from a few days ago:

You can bang on in every single post you make about how the TV anime made Goku too much of a clown, but I don't think you can blame it for presenting a Goku who isn't at the forefront of martial prowess. That's more the realm of the manga and Super Hero: Goku saying he's always been a "bad student" during the Tournament of Power, Vegeta somehow being way better at ki control than him on Yardrat during the Moro arc, Goku insisting that meditation isn't real training in Super Hero, etc. I'd say that's a much more important part of Goku's character to not fuck up than what the TV anime did.

In the Champa and Goku Black arcs, Toyotaro "got" this well enough, with Goku being more savvy about Blue's drawbacks and working around it, as well as whipping out Destruction on the fly against Zamasu. But from the Tournament of Power onward, he seems to really love making Goku seem more like a novice than Vegeta, and I just don't think that's in-line with the natural progression of either character's arcs. Goku is a guy who is so good at this shit that he gradually leaves everyone in the dust, such that he makes reckless decisions to get a good fight, before ultimately finding a healthy outlet in Oob as the story's ending. Leaving everyone in the dust necessarily includes Vegeta.

Vegeta sought to skip the Tournament of Power to witness the birth of his second child, and to whatever extent we can read into things like Neko Majin Z and Toriyama's GT concept art, he's destined for babysitting, growing a mustache, and cropping his hair. Vegeta giving up on trying to attain Ultra Instinct and going down a different (and ultimately not as good) path is in line with this, but then Ultra Ego gets introduced and presented as a different (and ultimately just as good) path, fumbling the character arc.

There are also just so many beats that the manga doesn't hit, or hit as well, with regards to Freeza's characterization, his growth as a martial artist, and his relationship with Goku. The lack of Nakao and Nozawa bouncing off of each other definitely plays some part in that, but the manga just really abridges this stuff to its absolute practical minimum, I feel to its detriment. This applies to the Tournament of Power, though; Black Freeza showing up at the end of the Granola arc, punking Goku and bouncing, is very in-line with where he's at, and I loved it.

---

I agree with people saying that the manga doesn't hit the "highs" that the anime does. Zamasu merging with the universe, every instance of Ultra Instinct during the Tournament of Power, Kafla's entire existence, and the Tournament of Power's finale are entirely unrivaled by the manga's adaptation of those events. But the manga isn't without its highs either, ones which outshine the anime's versions: the flashback to the fight between Champa and Beerus was a nice spectacle with a great sense of scale to it rarely seen in Dragon Ball fights, Goku using Destruction was the kind of hype "asspull" I'm here for, I loved seeing all of the Gods of Destruction fight in a battle royale, and Kale absolutely demolishing a chunk of the Tournament of Power roster was a great way to trim the fodder and speed things up.

There are also small things the manga does that I really liked, such as Champa's search for the Super Dragon Balls occurring alongside Goku's fight with Beerus and effectively setting Resurrection F into motion. As well as Trunks becoming a Kaioshin apprentice and learning how to heal; just a shame it had to turn into a video game, and Trunks lost the ability when he changed class, because it seemed like the kind of thing that would nicely setup Gohan having a distinct role to play in combat (as he, also, had a Kaioshin dance around him, once upon a time).

---

Last point of comparison is their respective endings. Which is to say, the anime at least has one. Clearly, we can't begrudge an ongoing work simply for being ongoing, and certainly the Super manga will eventually inevitably have its final chapter, after which a better comparison can be made. But this thread was opened in 2023, not in 20XX, so compare I will.

In many respects, the Tournament of Power acted as a sufficient culmination to the plot threads introduced in Battle of Gods and Resurrection F. To once again quote myself from a few days ago:

"Super" opens with the introduction of the God of Destruction, and the revelation that there are multiple universes. The Super TV anime, at least, ended with Goku having achieved the greatest technique of the gods which got him a standing ovation from all of the Gods of Destruction; he fought the mortal who was stronger than a God of Destruction, and decisively bested him using the technique. In this way, he fought the strong guys the "multiple universes" thread opened, and vicariously through them passed the God of Destruction who bested him at the beginning. I think that's a "proper ending", though there's definitely room to keep going with it if you wanted to (ie: Goku getting better at Ultra Instinct, rematches against Beerus, Geran, etc.).

In other words, this was a good place to stop. Whether it was at the behest of corporate editorial mandate, or due to some continued artistic vision, the manga kept going. Now while I just said that we can't begrudge an ongoing work for being ongoing, one could argue that we can if it's still ongoing after its natural conclusion. Especially if it's not really doing much more by continuing, and is thus doing so for little good reason.

I don't much care for the way that Ultra Instinct has been handled. Goku learning to activate it at will is the obvious place to go, but now the story has flipped back around to black haired Ultra Instinct being the better version, and the adjective in front of it has changed I don't know how many times by this point. It feels to me like it's spinning its wheels in this regard, and could stop at whatever point it wants.

As said before, I don't like the implications that Ultra Ego has for Goku's and Vegeta's character arcs (even if I do like everything else about the form). The manga is now also adapting the Super Hero film, and while I don't have any problem with that, it has certain implications on the plot and characters. Goku's little meditation goof would have been a film-exclusive problem, but it's now a part of the manga, adding to the "Goku is a novice, Vegeta is a master" problem that both of their character arcs now have in this medium.

That said, now that the story has been re-opened after the Tournament of Power, there's still some stuff that the manga would ideally touch on before reaching its next natural conclusion point: Broli learning to control his power, Goku and Freeza having another rematch. With Vegeta, Freeza, Piccolo, and Gohan having new forms, a second Tournament of Power could someday be on the horizon as well.

But to finish this section: the anime and manga reached the point of natural conclusion; the anime ended there, the manga didn't; the places the manga has gone are in some ways superfluous (such as True? Ultra Instinct) and narratively problematic (such as Ultra Ego), so it having not ended further sours it in my eyes. There are places it has gone in other ways that are natural and organic (such as Black Freeza), but so far these are outweighed.

---

"Combine both versions of Super and you'd get something pretty good" is today's "GT had good ideas, but bad execution", and I agree with it. Back in 2017, I'd have liked to see the manga be the "base" of such a fusion, with choice elements and moments from the anime added as a supplement. These days, I feel the opposite, and would instead prefer the anime as the "base", with choice elements and moments from the manga added as a supplement.

[FPSSJ4_Goku]

Zamasu arc basically ruined Goku Black, made Future Trunks completely useless apart from that stupid White mage crap and wanked Goku to extreme levels by the end.

Wanked? I disagree. In fact, I say that manga Fused Zamasu wasn't that strong to begin with. Absolutely not as strong as the anime version. Base Vegetto has better feats than Perfected SS Blue Goku, since he was able to blow off half of Fused Zamasu's body with a Final Flash (which is NOT his strongest attack, mind you) but Perfected SS Blue Goku needed to use Destruction, only to erase a bit of him.

[ZombieVito]

Zamasu arc basically ruined Goku Black, made Future Trunks completely useless apart from that stupid White mage crap and wanked Goku to extreme levels by the end.

Wanked? I disagree. In fact, I say that manga Fused Zamasu wasn't that strong to begin with. Absolutely not as strong as the anime version. Base Vegetto has better feats than Perfected SS Blue Goku, since he was able to blow off half of Fused Zamasu's body with a Final Flash (which is NOT his strongest attack, mind you) but Perfected SS Blue Goku needed to use Destruction, only to erase a bit of him.

Officially Fused Zamasu's fusion boost is said to be big.

[GreatSaiyaman123]

I tend to flip flop on this matter every month. The anime looks ugly as fuck, the manga is streamlined but sometimes to the point of dumbing it down.

Goku vs Hit is the first divergence and I like both fights. Anime is cooler, but also too wanked. Zamasu Saga could go either way, I like how the manga made Kaioshin relevant and didn’t overcomplicate the trips but it did wrong in keeping Trunks on the bench. As much as SSJ Fury and the Genki-Dama suck, Trunks has every right to destroy Zamasu’s physical body.

ToP anime is incredibly messy. Manga was somewhat better structured in a by-chapter basis, but the plot is so bare bones and thinks it’s oh so smart in how Goku taps into UI. Not to mention Vegeta’s characterization switches roles here: Anime Vegeta tends to cry about surpassing Goku all the time, but it’s in the manga that he unlocks SSJBE from it. Having him draw strength from his loved ones makes much more sense.

The endings are worth their own paragraph too. I lost count of how many times Freeza was KO’d in the anime and Manga Jiren has an actual character, but they just forgot Freeza was around and hoped everyone would forget too. In the anime it was genuinely possible Freeza would win if Goku and Jiren double KO’d, but in the manga Jiren never stood a chance because time was running out and U7 had 3-4 guys standing.

I've belabored the manga's superiority over the anime so many times in the past that there's no reason to exhaust the same points and comparisons all over again, so I'll leave it at this:

If, in some alternate reality, Super was instead relegated to a series of condensed films scripted by Toriyama – as is currently in fact the case with the animated format – it would have been a much stronger sequel. That's not to say it would have matched the original series in quality, but it would have done its job while being easy enough for the audience to get into.

As it stands, it's just an adequate but flawed sequel in the manga's case, a complete fucking trashfire in the TV anime's, and a nightmare to follow for any casual fan regardless. At its best, it's an enjoyable mess.

Hopefully Daima will be better.

You know, I wonder about this a lot. The stories might have been really different because it’s hard fit entire tournaments in a 90-120 minutes runtime. Zamasu would suffer a lot from said condensation too.

I like to see the movies as side-stories instead of sequels: Broly and Super Hero aren’t really about Goku, even if he’s a main character in the former there’s no progression from him. If the movies had the usual “Goku trains and beats bad guy” formula from RoF, they’d run out of steam pretty fast, even with the visual innovations of the last two films.