This is a very interesting take and I'm inclined to agree. If GT didn't come out til 2010 or whatever, it would be much, much more successful, especially if they were more transparent with Toriyamas contributions in the first couple episodes. If Super came out in 1996 it would have about a similar reception to GT, probably a bit better but still casual fans would say "oh skip that".[/quote]TenshinFan wrote:You can't possibly think that Super would last 131 episodes + high budget movie if it was aired right after Z?
Ressurection 'F' story is mostly accepted by fans because there was huge gap between GT's end and Battle of Gods premiere. Not to mention those two movies being turned into sagas in series.
If Super was aired right after Z, even without two first arcs being retellings, it would have far worse reception than it has now.
Recolored SSJ vs recolored Frieza didn't kill franchise because it was a long time since last official production. Otherwise, it would be far more hated than Super 17 saga ever was.
I also think that GT having the stigma of "Oh Toriyama didn't write any of it at all" (whether that's 100% accurate or not is irrelevant) was also a knock on GT that made it feel much more "optional" than it was intended to be.
It should also be noted that GT, if made today, would likely still at least look like Super due to the way anime is drawn today. Would be interesting to think about that story with a vastly different design aesthetic! As I've mentioned elsewhere, one aspect that GT has gained over the yeas is that it's part of "classic" Dragon Ball, so it looks just like DBZ and is still traditionally animated. Super meanwhile can't hope to achieve that because it looks like a modern anime with all the trappings like bad background texturing and flagrant CGI useage.
