Super vs GT - so far

[TheMikado]

^ Super isn't bad at all on a technical level and has flashes of brilliance in the fighting. The issue I've always had is its lack of tension with the battles, it's extremely poor characterization, and abysmal story/plot devices. The reason it seems that way is that the complaint levied against GT and used to delegitimize it are actually even worse in Super in some people's opinions. Super is enjoyable if you don't think too hard and haven't watched the original series multiple times through.

[Speedster]

But ....GT is non-canon!

Well GT is better in some areas and Super in others. If I were to quantify it though and say which is better I would say that GT from 64 episodes had about 25 very good episodes worth of material (that is around 40%) whereas Super so far (38 episodes in) had 17 (which is about 45%). So they are both fairly close ... in mediocrity....though Super has now the slight edge (due to the recent good string of a few consecutive episodes)

If you are fan of power scaling you will certainly despise Super as it makes absolutely zero sense with conventional thinking. Not that GT's power scaling is great but in Super we can't even rank the characters by strength let alone quantify differences. Another thing is the plotholes. Super has plenty. To the point of being insulting really. It makes GT's plotholes look like nothing. Also GT is superior in terms of animation and up until the last few tournament episodes of Super much better fighting choreography too. Plot concepts of GT were more creative than Super's though the implementation probably a bit worse (although neither GT nor Super implement their story ideas well). The character interaction and development in Super is better though I hate Goku's character regression ... yet again as a kid in GT this point was worse. Also in GT I didn't like the characterisation of Trunks and Pan. GT's comedy also pales in comparison to Super. Anyway this is a topic you can go on and on but I will stop here.

[Lord Beerus]

But ....GT is non-canon!

Well GT is better in some areas and Super in others. If I were to quantify it though and say which is better I would say that GT from 64 episodes had about 25 very good episodes worth of material (that is around 40%) whereas Super so far (38 episodes in) had 17 (which is about 45%). So they are both fairly close ... in mediocrity...

If you are fan of power scaling you will certainly despise Super as it makes absolutely zero sense with conventional thinking. Not that GT's power scaling is great but in Super we can't even rank the characters by strength let alone quantify differences. Another thing is the plotholes. Super has plenty. To the point of being insulting really. It makes GT's plotholes look like nothing. Also GT is superior in terms of animation and up until the last few tournament episodes of Super much better fighting choreography too. Plot concepts of GT were more creative than Super's though the implementation probably a bit worse (although neither GT nor Super implement their story ideas well). The character interaction and development in Super is better though I hate Goku's character regression ... yet again as a kid in GT this point was worse. Also in GT I didn't like the characterisation of Trunks and Pan. GT's comedy also pales in comparison to Super. Anyway this is a topic you can go on and on but I will stop here.

I disagree in regards to the plotholes. I think the only major plothole Super has produced so far is Ginyu!Frog being alive. But even then, you can kinda explain that. Hell, if anything, Super fixed several plot continuity errors that Battle Of Gods and Resurrection F produced.

[TheMikado]

^ most of the plot holes are caused by the fan servicy power scaling. I actually really liked the above post though. I certain agree on the characterization of the main cast was a huge turn off for GT. For a some of buddy buddy road trip their chemistry really sucked and that detracts from the enjoyment. The comedy in GT also fails quite a bit but once it got into doing what Z does best it was in its element.

[Kakarotto92]

I'd say we're far too early in the game to make any call, I'll reserve my full judgement for when Super reaches the same episode count as GT.

I used to hate GT with a passion as a kid and as a teen, but over the years, the show has grown on me and nowadays it's more or less of a guilty pleasure.

For now I'd say it's more or less of a tie. I think we can all agree that GT had a far superior production than Super and that the later's sloppy production is one of the main factors damaging its overall quality.

Super wins in the original characters department. Beerus, Whis, Zuno-sama, Jaco, Champa, Vados and the U6 warriors team (with all their unique abilities and techniques) all have that Toriyama trademark quirkiness and originality (which is lacking in GT's original characters) which makes them feel like they really belong in the series' universe and are all fantastic additions to the character roast. The only memorable original characters in GT were Baby, the four-star Shadow Dragon and maybe Ledgic (although I didn't even remember he existed prior to rewatching GT's first arc the other day).

Goku's personality is equally insufferable in both series, but at least in GT he has an in-universe excuse. I truly don't get it why Toei isn't portraying Goku the same way he was in Toriyama's last 2 movies and Toyotaro's manga and instead decided to make him a campy manchild with an extra chromosome.

When it comes to fights and action in general, when Super is at its best, it's mostly better than GT's best (SSG Goku vs Beerus and all the Vegeta tournament matches, not counting with the Frost one), on the other hand, Super at its worst can be even worse than Gts worst (Goku vs Freeza in RoF arc and Goku vs Botamo). With that said, Super has yet to achieve anything on the level of GT's last 2 episodes.

As I said above, for now, it's more or less even between the two. I'm not a GT hater so take this as a compliment to Super.

[omaro34]

I hated GT from the very first episode when they decided to make Goku into a kid again. I mean, we already spent so much time developing his character, and by turning him into a child again' it's just taking 10 steps back from his overall development as a character. It would have been better to keep him as an adult. We already explored Kid Goku's adventures in nearly an entire series, we didn't need more of it.

I also didn't like GT's first Arc when Pan, Goku, and Trunks went to go hunt for the Dragonballs. It tried to copy Dragonball's very first Arc to an extremely noticeable extent, and it was just dull to watch.

Although Super's first two Arcs merely retold the two recently released movies of BOG and ROF, the new material which introduced 12 universes was worth the wait. The ideas that Super introduced and are implementing can literally make the series go for a long time, just think of the opportunties. We only have seen fighters from U6 so far, we haven't seen anyone from other universes yet.

The one praise I'll give GT was the idea for the last Arc. The idea of the Shadow Dragons; a consequence of using the Dragonballs for so many years is a great way to end the entire series. This is because it creates more suspense, and the characters won't be able to rely on the Dragonballs all the time once a threat comes to the Earth. The idea had so much more potential than how it was actually executed, and that to me after nearly 20 years is a tragedy. What a shame.

I will compare more of the two when Super ends.