Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Discussion specifically regarding the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series premiering July 2015 in Japan, including individual threads for each episode.

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Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by WittyUsername » Wed May 25, 2022 9:50 pm

That’s definitely the impression I’m getting. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think anyone who’s hoping that they’ll keep the train going for a good while longer will be disappointed.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Geraldo » Wed May 25, 2022 11:36 pm

There are probably two more arcs to go. That's my gut feeling. I have thought that after Broly there will be five more arcs to reach End of Z. Nowadays, after seeing what moro and Granolah had delivered, I hope it's going to end.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by JulieYBM » Wed May 25, 2022 11:37 pm

Not especially, no. The only 'long-term goal' has been 'Gokuu and Vegeta defeat Beers' but we're at zero indications that they are about to achieve this.
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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Lionel » Wed May 25, 2022 11:45 pm

Hasn't Super been a commercial success for the Dragon Ball franchise? It's rejuvenated the brand after a period of relative calmness. We can all go on about the level of quality of the stories and the characters but I think so long as there's profit to be made with an interest in writing stories then Toriyama will continue to be involved; the fact he's going to the trouble of grooming a protege suggests a long term ambition, in my opinion.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Skar » Thu May 26, 2022 12:37 am

I've been feeling that way since UI was introduced because it's what DBS was building up to for a few arcs. It seems like they backtracked a little to have Goku still below Beerus but that can't be dragged out indefinitely. I think the most they've had were three arcs taking place within the same year in the story before another minor timeskip. Super Hero is only a year or two before EoZ so shouldn't be too many arcs left. If the DBS manga has two more arcs, it would've lasted almost as long as the original manga.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by ObnoxiousNamek » Thu May 26, 2022 5:47 am

Didn’t we have this same conversation when ResF arc of super was happening :D

“Oh Dragonball is finished this is the end etc etc”

* 3 more arcs*

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by SupremeKai25 » Thu May 26, 2022 8:16 am

In terms of activity, it undoubtedly peaked during the FT and ToP arcs back in 2016-17-18, and has been declining since then.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Xeno Goku Black » Thu May 26, 2022 9:17 am

All it needs is new ongoing anime series and fans will flock back to it in droves.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Alruneia » Thu May 26, 2022 9:25 am

Hmm, I don't know. Things have slowed down without a weekly anime, maybe, but the manga is still going (and has another arc on the way) and there's no indication that DBSSH is the last DBS movie or anything like that. At the same time, DBSSH's willingness to go so close to EoZ timeline-wise could imply that they're starting to think about wrapping up the storytelling in the 10-year gap. That doesn't have to mean Super is ending, but it could mean that. Also, depending on what the next manga arc is gonna be about, maybe we'll see some kind of thematic closure or fulfilled journey or whatever that suggests that it could be the final arc, but it'll probably be a year until we know that. So I'm gonna give it a big old "maybe". I guess what I think is that they haven't made any decision to end Super yet, since there's more content to come, but they have moved into a position where they can wrap it up whenever without it being too much trouble.
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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Mr Baggins » Thu May 26, 2022 11:03 am

Between the last two manga arcs feeling like stretched out Toei movies, the series recycling character beats even with the supporting cast, and the timeline in general being this close to EoZ?

Yeah, it's creatively running on fumes. With four movies and five arcs, I'd say we're in the home stretch.
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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by PrinceVegetto » Thu May 26, 2022 12:13 pm

It certainly feels that way. After the Granolah arc I see there being a time skip to EoZ. Super Hero events will probably be briefly mentioned in the manga and the story will continue from there. I think we'll get 1 or 2 more arcs that will wrap up Freeza's story and delve into Uub.

They can only stretch these 10 years for so long before being forced to make a decision on whether to move past EoZ. It will be interesting to see what they do...

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by batistabus » Thu May 26, 2022 12:48 pm

Nope. I mean, maybe the Super era/tagline will end at some point, but DB content isn't slowing down. The new movie is coming out soon and a new arc for the manga has been announced. None of the manga content post-ToP has made it into other media, so I'm assuming they're waiting for a push later - possibly for the return of the anime.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Mr Baggins » Thu May 26, 2022 1:09 pm

PrinceVegetto wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 12:13 pm I think we'll get 1 or 2 more arcs that will wrap up Freeza's story and delve into Uub.
That's plausible. The manga's spine art depicts the Kinto'un flying in the opposite direction of the characters, not to mention the series has already foreshadowed Oob's significance multiple times.

Any reservations I have about going past EoZ aside, I'd rather the next arc focus on that -- and even then, I'm not sure how its execution would pan out. I haven't truly enjoyed a story in Super since 2018/early 2019.
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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Koitsukai » Thu May 26, 2022 2:05 pm

I think Super - as a midquel- is coming to an end, and will stop once we've reached EoZ. We know there's another arc already on the works, which should take place after the original ending, so the revival won't end, but DBS will.
I think they'll rename whatever comes next.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by nineko » Thu May 26, 2022 2:52 pm

As some people said in another topic, there is a lot of untapped potential in the multiverse thing, so they could theoretically write several story arcs set in some of those other universes (including, why not, 13 to 18, depending on the scope of a certain wish). Jiren's backstory, Hit's backstory, U6's Saiyans, more hakaishin / angel lore, you name it. The question is, are they going to pursue interesting plots, or are 6 months worth of boring fights against Gas the best thing they're able to write?

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by TheSaiyanGod » Thu May 26, 2022 3:13 pm

I have this feeling now, but only because it doesn't seem like Toriyama has any interest in continuing DB past EoZ. He has already stated that the time period chosen for the BoG movie (revival of the franchise) was because he felt that the characters in EoZ were already too old. And I honestly think some people are also just feeling that Super might be at an end precisely because DB Super Hero has come considerably closer to the end of the original manga, a bigger time jump than any other arc in DBS so far.

Prior to that, the anime had been over for years and even with the manga garnering less attention due to its nature, there was no discussion about the series possibly heading towards its end.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by WittyUsername » Thu May 26, 2022 3:20 pm

batistabus wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 12:48 pm Nope. I mean, maybe the Super era/tagline will end at some point, but DB content isn't slowing down. The new movie is coming out soon and a new arc for the manga has been announced. None of the manga content post-ToP has made it into other media, so I'm assuming they're waiting for a push later - possibly for the return of the anime.
I seriously doubt the anime is coming back, just so it can adapt the manga arcs. It’s been four years. It looks like that ship has sailed.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Shorty GZ2 » Thu May 26, 2022 3:29 pm

In theory, yes
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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Lord Beerus » Thu May 26, 2022 6:40 pm

I feel as though with the introduction of Pan in the latest movie, with how the manga has already introduced Oob and even had him play a small but significant role in the climax of the Galatic Patrol Prisoner arc, and with Toyotaro already making it clear he doesn't want the manga to go beyond EOZ, it certainly feels like Super is reaching its grand finale. I would not be surprised if the next arc is the last arc of the manga and the longest.

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Re: Anyone else get the impression that Super is on its last legs?

Post by Geraldo » Thu May 26, 2022 6:45 pm

Mr Baggins wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 1:09 pm I haven't truly enjoyed a story in Super since 2018/early 2019.
Same here.

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