So, did DBZ Movie 14, and everything after scratched your DB itch?

[Psajdak]

And if not, why not?

[Matches Malone]

I was happy with DB&Z as is, but Z's abrupt ending and GT not living up to its 2 predecessors always made me wish Toriyama would come back for one more story. I wanted something to wash away the bad taste GT left behind, and for the manga's ending to feel more conclusive. The BOG movie definitely gave me what I wanted and then some. It felt like a missing story that never got published for the manga back in the day, as it made the ending feel a lot more natural and satisfying. I personally would've been happy if that's all we got from this revival, but we ended up getting even more content, to various degrees of success.

[Robo4900]

BOG was okay. I've come to feel that it was basically everything that the 2008 OVA was, but stretched out to a greater length, and with a new transformation and a more significant villain thrown in. And for me... The 2008 OVA was already a good "let's have a fun return to the franchise" thing, so BOG was kinda just more of the same. Oh well, it was fun at the time.

ResF was then just unmitigated shit. Oh well, it happens.

Never the less, we had a new Dragon Ball show on the horizon (though I thought the name "Dragon Ball Super" was fucking dumb, and I stand by that 100% to this day! ). Exciting, in my view -- much as I think Toriyama was right to end the manga when he did, and much as I thought GT closed the book on the anime side quite definitively, I was pumped to have more Dragon Ball to enjoy.
... And then it sucked.

And honestly, to me, Super is not Dragon Ball, it's... The lesser of the Z movies, where it's just an excuse to have a big fight without much character work being attempted, mixed with the lesser of GT, where it's trying to call back to what worked in the original run while not having anything new to add to it (I'm very much of the view that GT did "get good", and it did so when it finally stepped out of Toriyama's shadow, when the gang went to planet M-2. Before that, it was largely trying to recapture the magic of early DB, and failing at it), though at least the lesser of the anime-only material had a decent handle on the characters... Everyone has been flanderised into nothing in the modern material, meaning that these characters I love just aren't around. The characters in the new stuff LOOK LIKE the familiar characters, but that's where the similarities end.

To me, Dragon Ball isn't an excuse for some strong bois to have a big fight, it isn't Vegeta continually struggling to be better than Goku at all costs, it isn't an endless stream of new transformations, it isn't something that banks its entire appeal on a strong familiarity with its forebearers... And that's what modern DB has been.
To me, Dragon Ball is likeable characters, fun adventure, goofy martial arts techniques, an "anything goes" attitude, constantly-shifting genre and tropes... These are things that really died after 1997.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly was a really fun movie that seemed to shift things forward, depict the characters properly, and just generally do things right for the first time since 2008, but the Moro arc tells us that we're going straight back to shitty, unoriginal, flanderised, shallow tripe next.

So, no, modern Dragon Ball hasn't scratched the itch. With the exception of the new Broly movie, I don't think there's been a worthwhile addition to the franchise since the turn of the century.

[Grimlock]

No. In fact, it's quite the contrary. 2013 was the last great year for the "series" and a terrible one at the same time.

It was great because we got Movie 14 and Jaco, the Galactic Patrolman, both being very good. But terrible because they were the last "very good" things to be released. And to make things worse, Dragon Ball Online was closed. Since then, the quality we've been getting has only plummeted.

What did scratch my itch was the video games, which, in a completely turn, went from abysmal to excelent, starting in 2015. They've been doing stuff that should be expected to be done in these modern times. Virtually no retellings, no tournaments, just new stuff with interesting themes (too bad Dragon Ball Z Kakarot didn't follow the suit, but hopefully the next games return to what it's supposed to be).

[SpiritBombTriumphant]

Yeah, it has. I liked BoG, loved RoF, and enjoyed Broly. Super was also a great Sunday morning ritual for me and I miss it. It is different than DB and DBZ, but I still very much enjoy this series and can't wait for more. Moro arc is looking good so far so I have hopes things will just get better.

[Vijay]

It made me realize how great DB & Z was...so that's one thing.

[MetaMoss]

I had effectively "said my goodbyes" to Dragon Ball once I got to the end of GT, accepting the series as complete, so I really see all of this newer stuff as a bonus. Battle of Gods was a nice revisit with the characters I loved; Resurrection F was at least entertaining (if not much else); Jaco was Toriyama doing his thing (which I'm always down for); Super was overall a mixed bag (quite the slog at the start, but it turned around a decent amount by the end); and Broly was a fun-to-watch spectacle (which I would like to see more of). But I can't really say any of these things have gotten that "DB itch", at least like the original run did.

But, when I think about it more, I don't imagine that anything new could scratch that. Even if I didn't see basically all of this new stuff as a nostalgia-fueled cash-grab and altogether not as good as the original, I probably still wouldn't have loved it in the same way. I'm no longer the toddler whose parents decided that DBZ was family viewing, after all. I've grown up quite a bit since I watched the original run on Toonami, and I've found a whole mountain of other things that take up my love, attention, and energy. Perhaps the fact that I lost my dad, whose love of Dragon Ball had always inspired mine, a year before this whole revival started also has something to do with it.

Then again, it could just be as simple as what I said at the beginning: Dragon Ball was complete, and in my mind, it still is. Nothing new could ever take away that from me, so I might as well enjoy the "bonuses" as they come.

[Xeogran]

I like the entirety of DB, DBZ, DBGT and DBS. There, I said it. Every arc has something fun. Various art styles, some worse, some better, but honestly there's always interesting things to take out of the experiences.

DBS in particular I love the concepts of different Universes, their GoDs and Angels. Zeno is very cute and an interesting take on a overlord type character, too.

I just hope the Moro arc pays off with perhaps some interesting lore dump to shake up the status quo.

[Matches Malone]

Perhaps the fact that I lost my dad, whose love of Dragon Ball had always inspired mine, a year before this whole revival started also has something to do with it.

It could just be as simple as what I said at the beginning: Dragon Ball was complete, and in my mind, it still is.

I'm really sorry to hear that.

That, and the fact that this revival has been constantly going up and down in terms of quality. It also doesn't help that there's a 15+ year gap between it and the original material, creating a disconnect between them. I think BOG was the closest we've gotten to the original due to it not looking back and pushing things forward.

[Thanos]

There were peaks and valleys when it comes to my satisfaction with everything from 2013 onward. Although I am grateful there has been new content, the novelty of anything new has more or less worn off. I remember when the art for Dragon Ball Online was released, it was a big fucking deal simply because there were new characters in the Dragon Ball universe designed by Akira Toriyama. Even the tiniest new thing was huge because there hadn't been anything since 1997. Any suggestion to the contrary prior to then was either dismissed instantly as schoolyard rumors or "AF"-tier bullshit.

Looking back however, there were only really two big highlights--the Future Trunks Arc and Super Broly (as much as I dislike the Broly character, at least in his original incarnation). Despite the awful ending of the Future Trunks Arc, the best parts of it come very close, to me, with some of the best stuff in the franchise in terms of quality.

Probably the most disappointing aspects have been music and video games. To me, the single memorable and good pieces of music since 2013 were "Z" no Chikai and Blizzard. That's really it. Overall I think the soul has been completely absent from the music in this franchise for years, which is a shame, considering how integral that aspect has been to Dragon Ball since the beginning. The video games suffer this even worse, because save for a few good tracks in XV2, 99% of Dragon Ball music has devolved into the "uninspired fast guitar riffs" trope which is a far cry from the poppy, melodic (or jazzy in the case of the Budokai games), memorable stuff from the 90's/00's. I've played DBFZ enough to where I should be able to remember even a second of its music but I can't for the life of me recall anything as I sit here today.

As for the games themselves, maybe I'm just getting old and the tradition of buying every game released since 2002 is finally wearing on me, but I can't find it in me to get invested in Dragon Ball FighterZ. I even bought Kakarot but I had to put it down after about 15 minutes. Maybe it is just me but it feels like there's something missing.

[MasenkoHA]

I was perfectly fine with Dragon Ball Z’s ending and there was always GT for people who didn’t like the way Z ended.

I didn’t have a Dragon Ball itch because the trilogy already exceeded 500 episodes without even including the movies and specials.

That said Battle of Gods was a very fun movie and I easily place it alongside Z movie 1 and the 10th anniversary film as Dragon Ball’s best movies.

I’m glad Dragon Ball Super exist for people who enjoy it but it didn’t need to exist.

[SupremeKai25]

BoG was a very good movie with tons of new interesting concepts. Beerus as an antagonist was ominous and fearsome (a shame he is now basically a cartoon gag character).

RoF was a pretty meh movie. Probably because I never liked Freeza that much.

Broly was a decent movie, the thing I liked the most was the opening sequence with the backstory of Planet Sadala and its fall. The movie looked beautiful but was very straightforward, Broly also wasn't a great antagonist.

Super at times was perfect. The first part of the Future Trunks arc was brilliant, especially the episode in which Black appears for the first time. Zamasu is one of the greatest Dragon Ball villains ever. The Tournament of Power arc was full of useless episodes but its high moments were very good. The movie retellings were bad and the U6 arc was generic and boring.

Ultimately, I liked the revival of Dragon Ball. I had plenty of complaints about the new storylines, but the characters themselves for the most part were enjoyable. The antagonists were definitely memorable and unique in their own way. Zamasu, Hit, Kefla, Beerus, and even Jiren (he had a scuffed backstory, but his personality is interesting and shows potential). I am looking forward to what the future holds, whether it's a new movie or the return of Super (probably both).

[MasenkoHA]

BoG was a very good movie with tons of new interesting concepts. Beerus as an antagonist was ominous and fearsome (a shame he is now basically a cartoon gag character).

He was set off by Boo not sharing pudding cups. He was always a classic Toriyama gag character

[SupremeKai25]

BoG was a very good movie with tons of new interesting concepts. Beerus as an antagonist was ominous and fearsome (a shame he is now basically a cartoon gag character).

He was set off by Boo not sharing pudding cups. He was always a classic Toriyama gag character

What you said proves my point. Initially Beerus was cold-hearted and ruthless and was willing to destroy entire worlds for petty reasons. Nowadays he is just there for comic relief. Bulma casually slaps him, people freely mock him, his role in Broly was reduced to being a babysitter.

There's one point in the ToP arc where he threatens to erase Goku for his insolence and iirc even says something along the lines of "you've been taking too much liberty with us Destroyers". More Beerus moments like these would be appreciated.

Perhaps I chose the wrong words, but Beerus was handled poorly throughout Super and the Broly movie.

[Dbzfan94]

Kinda? Not really. BoG was better as a one off imo. But Nothing after did for sure.

Everything after BoG just made me enjoy the older stuff more

[Matches Malone]

Initially Beerus was cold-hearted and ruthless and was willing to destroy entire worlds for petty reasons. Nowadays he is just there for comic relief.

In Beerus' case, less is more. I think the problem is that he's being overused, resulting in the writers just not knowing what to do with him. I think they would've been able to keep his integrity had he been used for major events only (his movie, the moment you mentioned with Goku, and him killing Zamasu, etc.) instead of constantly hanging around Goku and friends. Beerus' presence should be an event, not a regularity.

[SpiritBombTriumphant]

In Beerus' case, less is more. I think the problem is that he's being overused, resulting in the writers just not knowing what to do with him. I think they would've been able to keep his integrity had he been used for major events only (his movie, the moment you mentioned with Goku, and him killing Zamasu, etc.) instead of constantly hanging around Goku and friends. Beerus' presence should be an event, not a regularity.

I don't see the problem as he hangs out with everyone without getting in the way. Yes, he killed Zamasu but only one of them. He didn't really do much in the RoF arc and he didn't help in the ToP (since he couldn't). In Broly he chilled while the battle happened. As it is, he's similar to Ryuk from Death Note. He's there to see some interesting shit happen and eat food. His presence is funny (especially around Zeno) and he doesn't save the day in every arc because Goku and Vegeta fail to do it themselves. He's perfectly fine.

[KorgDTR2000]

I didn't have an itch. To me Chapter 519 closed the book and it never needed to be opened again.

[Kamiccolo9]

I've had fun with the movies and Super, but I was never really craving anything else. I'm not that big a DB fan nowadays anyway, so I guess the new stuff didn't really succeed in bringing me back into the fold or anything.

[Majin Buu]

For me, it was Dragon Ball Fighterz, a video game, that prompted my most recent Dragon Ball kick, during which I finally sat down and watched GT in its entirety (and wound up appreciating it more than I did in the past) after re-watching all 13 movies, which ended up scratching the itch.

None of the actual new material had anything to do with either creating the itch or scratching it for me. So no.

I still give an honorable mention to Zamasu and the Future Trunks arc for at least being somewhat intriguing enough for me to make eventually watching it someday a goal.