"Dragon Ball Super (Manga)" Official Discussion Thread

[Tai Lung]

And that's why I don't like discussing with you. So in the sentence before the senzu was eaten to extend the fusion time and not to recover Vegetto's power but now it's a mistake from the manga because you admit that he took it to replenish his strength?
We've reached a point where you contradict yoursefl from sentence to sentence but you're still right no matter what.

And even if you're right in some aspects (yes, Piccolo didn't have any senzus in the Broly movie) it's also true that Goku and Vegeta were far from beaten there, they still were at SSJB levels of power when they quit the fight and left Broly fighting Freeza and had 1 hour to rest.
A fusion of 2 SSJB (Broly gogeta) is obviously only going to be stronger than a fusion between to sub-SSJ1 fighters (Kefla).

I'm saying there are 2 alternatives ...but let's leave it there

[Tai Lung]

I can't remember if Kefla ever even fought Goku during the manga's Universe Survival arc. Goku didn't get a single elimination apart from Jiren and even that was with help after everything he tried failed miserably. He spent pretty much the entire tournament harassing this one guy and not contributing in any other fight. It was seriously so bad.

The worst thing is that it loses coherence with the fact that Goku met and fought against incredible warriors in other universes ... something he mentioned in the movie of Broly

while in the manga he was only interested in jiren

[The Undying]

Kale goes berserk and massacres four universes in one go, including many of her own teammates.

I'd just like to mention I loved this part, and I think it lends to what I was saying about all these background fighters either enhancing the setting or emphasizing more important characters -- Kale's "unceremonious" eliminations are absolutely brutal, her transformation follows from the arc's build-up about her strength, her berserk state of mind presented real consequences for her own team, and this was pretty good foreshadowing for the next movie in Broly.

Contrast that with the "brutality" in this month's chapter, which meant nothing for the story or characters because it doesn't follow up from anything and you know they'll get healed immediately.

A lot of our differences here would probably come down to how we look at roles and what we aim to take from these stories. The anime's padding and melodrama are too far removed from the spirit of Dragon Ball for me, but you can also make an argument that the manga often lacks the emotion it should have. Toriyama is the only one who I feel can maintain a good balance between DB's lighter tone and its more emotionally compelling moments, but that's because he understands it more than anyone.

When you have time, I would recommend reading through some of this thread's pages from around the period this arc was serialized. Lots of insightful posts from both perspectives.

[Koitsukai]

While manga's rapid pace may contribute to the claustrophobic feeling of the tournament, the art didn't usually reflect that so well -- the arena often feels just as barren and lifeless in the manga, but at least the anime covered it up with smog and later the rocky highrises to create a sense that more was going on in other areas simultaneously. I like how in the anime, several episodes follow concurrent events -- in an episode focusing on Gohan joining Frieza to fight Dyspo there's a glimpse of Toppo attacking Android 17, which is then elaborated on in the next episode. Aside from that one amazing spread of everyone fighting when the tournament starts, I can't think of many moments where the art stood out.

The thing is, with condensing the story in such a way, everything started to feel... perfunctory... like Toyotaro was just skipping from one big plot point to the next, checking off a list that Toriyama had given him with zero passion or breathing room. It also reflects in his art throughout the arc which is among his most inconsistent and anatomically iffy work I've seen. Although it would be dumb to expect every character to have time to shine, the vast majority of these 80 fighters have nothing going for them and might as well not be there, whereas the anime gave us glimpses of some of their powers and personalities. The Universe Survival arc in general may not have an outstanding plot, but the manga reveals how vapid it really is when there's no window dressing whatsoever.

I agree with most of your post but the art remark stuck with me. Yeah, I always felt it was such a lame ambient, to make a dull comparison it reminded me of the early XV2 mods of the ToP stage that were so... sad? dry? sometimes it seems like there is just two people fighting on the entire platform. And then the stage the devs released ended up being so much more which is what the anime stage made me feel.
I would say however that the art of UI Goku and Jiren fight did stand out, although using similar panels from Goku vs Ma Jr., but that fight is really nice to look at, Goku and Vegeta vs Jiren too.

And about Goku, in the manga he does fight Dyspo and Toppo before going for J-dog, and defends Roshi from Frost.

[emperior]

Kale goes berserk and massacres four universes in one go, including many of her own teammates.

When you have time, I would recommend reading through some of this thread's pages from around the period this arc was serialized. Lots of insightful posts from both perspectives.

And lots of anger the Kame Sennin Ultra Instinct scene definitely didn’t sit well with many people, myself included (I ashamedly even got a monthly ban in that discussion).

Going back to re-reading the manga with more calm, I still think that scene should have handled better but I do understand what Toyotaro was going for and can see how it was fitting of the arc’s theme and with Goku’s self improvement story.

Still, as you said, Toriyama really is the only one who can nail down Dragon Ball. I wished he could have written himself, in detail, how Goku achieves Ultra Instinct in the tournament. But he oversaw the manga and approved of it, so it is what it is.
It’s a shame because a little correction here and there in the art and dialogue of 18 against Ribrianne made that part so much better compared to the original draft.

His absence from the writing of the current arc can be felt. As can be felt that Toyotaro is being forced to drag the arc. The pacing is completely different from how it used to be, and I doubt it’s because Toyotaro suddenly forgot how to pace his manga.

[Miracles]

It's an interesting thought. I never looked at it that way. I can definitely see your post justified the most where Perfect Cell loses his marbles when he finds out there is a a stronger being. He wanted to flaunt his vanity because he was perfect.

Sorry, I tend to ramble when I see a point that really gets me thinking.

To sum up all of that, the difference between Cell and Frieza is Frieza is scared that people could be stronger than him, while Perfect Cell thinks nobody can be as strong as him. Frieza can imagine someone matching him and being stronger, but Perfect Cell literally has no conception of something like that being even remotely possible. He is, after all, "perfect".

I absolutely agree. What you say was shown in story.

BTW, I like reading posts....Especially yours. No apology is necessary.

[TheNingen]

Still, as you said, Toriyama really is the only one who can nail down Dragon Ball. I wished he could have written himself, in detail, how Goku achieves Ultra Instinct in the tournament.

Which kind of baffles me when people say Goku has "mastered" Omen. With the lessons he learned in the ToP, and the months of training he did with Merus, I think Goku's gross mishandling of the form in his fight with Moro is kind of baffling.

The anime does has its flaws, yes. But you can see in some of the mini arcs, there were at least ideas or attempts to connect or show Goku's attempts at figuring out the concept of Ultra Instinct, like in the rematch with Hit.

I've been very very verbal about my distaste for the current arc of the manga. But Goku's handling of Ultra Instinct in the manga is one of the big examples that I feel were mishandled. Because it made Goku out to come across as stupid or naive with his mishandling of a form he's been training with for months.

I never thought I'd have little to no enthusiasm to see what is my favorite form in the DB franchise. How Goku used Ultra Instinct is how I would see Vegeta using it.

Although I will admit. Goku's Omen form in his full gi looks fantastic. I dig it.

[ZombieVito]

The pacing is completely different from how it used to be, and I doubt it’s because Toyotaro suddenly forgot how to pace his manga.

You say this but then the manga ToP arc exists.

[Dragon Wukong]

The pacing is completely different from how it used to be, and I doubt it’s because Toyotaro suddenly forgot how to pace his manga.

You say this but then the manga ToP arc exists.

Manga's ToP had fine pacing overall. It still focused on only the main issues, and wrapped up before it became a drag-on. There was enough space for the final fight and take-down to have room, and other important threats got plenty of time for themselves (except Kefla, who is just about the only exception.)

[ZombieVito]

Manga's ToP had fine pacing overall. It still focused on only the main issues, and wrapped up before it became a drag-on. There was enough space for the final fight and take-down to have room, and other important threats got plenty of time for themselves (except Kefla, who is just about the only exception.)

Oof, yeah no.

Having 4 universes get erased in a single chapter is awful.

[Dragon Wukong]

Oof, yeah no.

Having 4 universes get erased in a single chapter is awful.

The main/important universes in the tournament were U6 and U11. The important fighters from U2/U4 (Ribrianne and Damon) also had their own chapter, not to mention Frost's decimation of U9 had plenty of coverage for the most part. The fodder were merely left behind to emphasis Kale's power and rampage. While one can argue that U3 and U10 were sacrificed for this, they also had key moments during said rampage to emphasize and demonstrate Kale's strength (with Anilaza) and ruthlessness (with Obuni.)

It's not about when each universe got erased in the end. It's about the important fights themselves, which were spaced apart appropriately, unless one feels that detailing fights around 55 more fodder characters that most readers had already seen in the anime at this point was necessary.

[LoganForkHands73]

While manga's rapid pace may contribute to the claustrophobic feeling of the tournament, the art didn't usually reflect that so well -- the arena often feels just as barren and lifeless in the manga, but at least the anime covered it up with smog and later the rocky highrises to create a sense that more was going on in other areas simultaneously. I like how in the anime, several episodes follow concurrent events -- in an episode focusing on Gohan joining Frieza to fight Dyspo there's a glimpse of Toppo attacking Android 17, which is then elaborated on in the next episode. Aside from that one amazing spread of everyone fighting when the tournament starts, I can't think of many moments where the art stood out.

The thing is, with condensing the story in such a way, everything started to feel... perfunctory... like Toyotaro was just skipping from one big plot point to the next, checking off a list that Toriyama had given him with zero passion or breathing room. It also reflects in his art throughout the arc which is among his most inconsistent and anatomically iffy work I've seen. Although it would be dumb to expect every character to have time to shine, the vast majority of these 80 fighters have nothing going for them and might as well not be there, whereas the anime gave us glimpses of some of their powers and personalities. The Universe Survival arc in general may not have an outstanding plot, but the manga reveals how vapid it really is when there's no window dressing whatsoever.

I agree with most of your post but the art remark stuck with me. Yeah, I always felt it was such a lame ambient, to make a dull comparison it reminded me of the early XV2 mods of the ToP stage that were so... sad? dry? sometimes it seems like there is just two people fighting on the entire platform. And then the stage the devs released ended up being so much more which is what the anime stage made me feel.
I would say however that the art of UI Goku and Jiren fight did stand out, although using similar panels from Goku vs Ma Jr., but that fight is really nice to look at, Goku and Vegeta vs Jiren too.

And about Goku, in the manga he does fight Dyspo and Toppo before going for J-dog, and defends Roshi from Frost.

Yeah you're right about the XV2 comparison, that's exactly how those old mods felt. It's like they based it off those early episodes of the anime where the animators clearly didn't understand the scale of the arena -- I always found it funny how in the Trio de Dangers' beam struggle against Goku and Vegeta, they're standing on the edge but you can somehow see the curve of it when the camera zooms on their feet. I like how the official XV2 stage only takes place on a small portion of it, it really makes it feel huge. I wonder though... are there any newer mods opening up the rest of the arena to fight on?

A part of me wishes the anime had kept the standard, undamaged arena look for a bit longer, I liked the progression of this supposedly nigh-indestructible arena eventually being completely smashed up into an asteroid field. It allowed for the fights to change in dynamism as well. At first, there's nowhere for anyone to hide -- everyone just smashes into each other and folks get knocked out left and right. Then after Kale destroys most of it, the fighters are given more cover and places to conserve stamina. By the very end, Goku and Jiren are darting between these rocks practically fighting in zero gravity.

Kale goes berserk and massacres four universes in one go, including many of her own teammates.

I'd just like to mention I loved this part, and I think it lends to what I was saying about all these background fighters either enhancing the setting or emphasizing more important characters -- Kale's "unceremonious" eliminations are absolutely brutal, her transformation follows from the arc's build-up about her strength, her berserk state of mind presented real consequences for her own team, and this was pretty good foreshadowing for the next movie in Broly.

Contrast that with the "brutality" in this month's chapter, which meant nothing for the story or characters because it doesn't follow up from anything and you know they'll get healed immediately.

A lot of our differences here would probably come down to how we look at roles and what we aim to take from these stories. The anime's padding and melodrama are too far removed from the spirit of Dragon Ball for me, but you can also make an argument that the manga often lacks the emotion it should have. Toriyama is the only one who I feel can maintain a good balance between DB's lighter tone and its more emotionally compelling moments, but that's because he understands it more than anyone.

When you have time, I would recommend reading through some of this thread's pages from around the period this arc was serialized. Lots of insightful posts from both perspectives.

Each to their own. I will try and dig some old posts up. Thanks!

To an extent, I feel sorry for Toyotaro during the period when the manga was stuck playing catch up to the anime because putting personal preferences aside, the Universe Survival arc was a MASSIVE worldwide phenomenon. Like, it's kind of insane how much it affected global culture -- even if it wasn't super mainstream, I still remember hearing strangers down the pub discussing Ultra Instinct, and of course that spiralled into the Ultra Instinct Shaggy meme and so on. The Future Trunks arc was popular too but the Tournament of Power was something else. Living up to that in a monthly manga was always going to be a challenge, so I can understand to an extent why Toyotaro skipped over so much and overall came across as so disaffected. Above all, it must be draining having to constantly replicate other people's artistic visions that are already way more influential.

[The Undying]

Going back to re-reading the manga with more calm, I still think that scene should have handled better but I do understand what Toyotaro was going for and can see how it was fitting of the arc’s theme and with Goku’s self improvement story.

Another damn great scene, even if I wasn't personally a fan of Roshi's UI Lite receiving very little build-up. The manga makes the tournament feel more urgent and chaotic, but that chapter showed that it wasn't just lipservice; that urgency made Goku go through a desperate breakdown to brute force his way over Jiren, but when Roshi reminds him that brute forcing isn't everything and to remember the fundamentals imparted to him by his teachers, he's able to push himself to new heights. It's also aligned with how Merus describes UI in this arc - he grew calm in the face of a "jarring shock to his emotions".

This is way better than just absorbing Genkidama or whatever.

Toyotaro going through the major plot points and dedicating this much time to them is something to be lauded, not discouraged. I don't care for filler nonsense or "room to breathe" padding.

The pacing is completely different from how it used to be, and I doubt it’s because Toyotaro suddenly forgot how to pace his manga.

It's absolutely true that the pacing in this arc is worlds apart from how it was in any of the manga's previous arcs, but even if Toyotaro himself isn't to blame and it's all editorial/publication pressure, I have to criticize it. It's not good storytelling and I think it's way too prevalent in many modern shonen franchises today.

[emperior]

The pacing is completely different from how it used to be, and I doubt it’s because Toyotaro suddenly forgot how to pace his manga.

It's absolutely true that the pacing in this arc is worlds apart from how it was in any of the manga's previous arcs, but even if Toyotaro himself isn't to blame and it's all editorial/publication pressure, I have to criticize it. It's not good storytelling and I think it's way too prevalent in many modern shonen franchises today.

It’s definitely not good storytelling. And it’s absolutely deserving of being criticized. I just think that people should stop blaming only Toyotaro for the pacing because it’s clear he’s being told to drag this out.

Again, let me reiterate: I am only speaking about the pace. As every month there’s ALWAYS the same complain about how “basically nothing happened to move the plot forward” (aside from maybe chapter 62).

Let’s just accept that this arc’s pacing is what it is and let’s criticize other stuff which is definitely on Toyotaro, such as Moro being very generic, or how even if under pacing constraints (assuming I am right, as I may very well not be) Toyotaro could surely tell a better story, and have more twists and iconic moments, instead of going the generic and safe way.

One criticism I have read of the arc (I think it came from Cipher on Twitter, who’s also on this forum) is one I absolutely agree with: the arc is definitely 100% Dragon Ball, perfectly true to its world, yet it’s not the kind of arc I would be waiting for one a re-read. There are very few memorable moments, if any.
Maybe this will change with later chapters.

[ZombieVito]

The main/important universes in the tournament were U6 and U11.

And yet, Kefla's battle with Gohan was completely rushed. Might as well not even have her if she was going to be treated like that.

[Tai Lung]

Oof, yeah no.

Having 4 universes get erased in a single chapter is awful.

The main/important universes in the tournament were U6 and U11. The important fighters from U2/U4 (Ribrianne and Damon) also had their own chapter, not to mention Frost's decimation of U9 had plenty of coverage for the most part. The fodder were merely left behind to emphasis Kale's power and rampage. While one can argue that U3 and U10 were sacrificed for this, they also had key moments during said rampage to emphasize and demonstrate Kale's strength (with Anilaza) and ruthlessness (with Obuni.)

It's not about when each universe got erased in the end. It's about the important fights themselves, which were spaced apart appropriately, unless one feels that detailing fights around 55 more fodder characters that most readers had already seen in the anime at this point was necessary.

It is not that they are important characters, it was never about that ... because neither they had development or something else
frieza didn't even finish his fight with universe 6
The tournaments are basically fighting shows.
not creative lazily removing 4 teams ...
If kale eliminates 4 universes just by raising her ki, the whole tournament is a waste of time because jiren should be able to do the same ...

the funny thing is that roshi did not fly away

[Tai Lung]

This is way better than just absorbing Genkidama or whatever.

Toyotaro going through the major plot points and dedicating this much time to them is something to be lauded, not discouraged. I don't care for filler nonsense or "room to breathe" padding.

in the anime whis it is explained to him and vegeta .. so he does not need roshi to remind him

[Dragon Wukong]

And yet, Kefla's battle with Gohan was completely rushed. Might as well not even have her if she was going to be treated like that.

While I can agree that part felt rushed, as an extension of Kale's and Caulifla's performance, which took about 2 whole chapters on their own, and as an excuse to get back to the main "meat" - Goku learning Ultra Instinct - it doesn't mean the general arc had poor pacing.

It is not that they are important characters, it was never about that ... because neither they had development or something else
frieza didn't even finish his fight with universe 6
The tournaments are basically fighting shows.
not creative lazily removing 4 teams ...
If kale eliminates 4 universes just by raising her ki, the whole tournament is a waste of time because jiren should be able to do the same ...

the funny thing is that roshi did not fly away

Oh boy. Let me go about this in order.

First of all, most of the important fighters in the ToP, had some kind of development. Toppo, Kale, Caulifla, Cabba, Jiren, Dyspo, Ribrianne, even Obuni of all characters in the manga all had some definition to their characters before they were eliminated. The only fighters I would argue that got literally nothing who could also be defined as "important" to their universes were Anilaza/Paparoni and Damon.

And what? The fight against with Frieza against Universe 6 wasn't "his" fight. He tried to fight Kale and got tossed around in the end. The second Goku stepped in to save him, his role in that battle was over. He refocuses his attention toward U11, which was arguably more thematically appropriate given the fact we actually have Dyspo and Toppo, superheroes, felled by Frieza, the villain, while Gohan got to do something by actually taking down a Potara fusion by himself.

No tournament in the DB manga has ever gone through every single entry that fought. Yes, tournaments are "fighting shows" but they've always cut out action that they know the viewer wouldn't care much about. Kale eliminating all of the weaker universes at once is well within the realm of how DB works when it comes to tournament arcs, particularly early ones. Again, Kale didn't remove 4 entire universes, she got rid of the remaining fighters after those universes had their respective, important battles and strongest fighters eliminated. (Yes, even if two of those important fighters were respectively used to demonstrate Kale's strength and ruthlessness.) It's a necessary distinction in this discussion.

And Kale didn't eliminate 4 universes "just by raising her ki." She literally went berserk like Broly and ended up using so much power that she nearly killed herself, not to mention the fact most of her team was taken out by her. Not to mention the fact Jiren is an entirely different character than Kale, who has said that besides the wish, he'd rather not be directly involved in the deaths of others if possible.

[Tai Lung]

Oh boy. Let me go about this in order.

First of all, most of the important fighters in the ToP, had some kind of development. Toppo, Kale, Caulifla, Cabba, Jiren, Dyspo, Ribrianne, even Obuni of all characters in the manga all had some definition to their characters before they were eliminated. The only fighters I would argue that got literally nothing who could also be defined as "important" to their universes were Anilaza/Paparoni and Damon.

And what? The fight against with Frieza against Universe 6 wasn't "his" fight. He tried to fight Kale and got tossed around in the end. The second Goku stepped in to save him, his role in that battle was over. He refocuses his attention toward U11, which was arguably more thematically appropriate given the fact we actually have Dyspo and Toppo, superheroes, felled by Frieza, the villain, while Gohan got to do something by actually taking down a Potara fusion by himself.

No tournament in the DB manga has ever gone through every single entry that fought. Yes, tournaments are "fighting shows" but they've always cut out action that they know the viewer wouldn't care much about. Kale eliminating all of the weaker universes at once is well within the realm of how DB works when it comes to tournament arcs, particularly early ones. Again, Kale didn't remove 4 entire universes, she got rid of the remaining fighters after those universes had their respective, important battles and strongest fighters eliminated. (Yes, even if two of those important fighters were respectively used to demonstrate Kale's strength and ruthlessness.) It's a necessary distinction in this discussion.

And Kale didn't eliminate 4 universes "just by raising her ki." She literally went berserk like Broly and ended up using so much power that she nearly killed herself, not to mention the fact most of her team was taken out by her. Not to mention the fact Jiren is an entirely different character than Kale, who has said that besides the wish, he'd rather not be directly involved in the deaths of others if possible.

jiren if he had development because he was the antagonist
Toppo can't even I remember what he did outside of looking pathetic during the final part in addition to his off panel fight.
Kale suffers from the problem of Jiren is just power and nothing else she learns nothing and achieves nothing
caulifla is a punching bag .. did not meet anyone, did not interact with anyone and did not form a relationship with anyone etc
cabba has development but it is because he had already appeared before and in the tournament he only got plot armor
Ribrianne a gag comic
by the way what sense had include namekians if they are not going to do anything in all their appearance? the same with anilaza
dyspo was also pathetic it doesn't even seem like "the big three" exists and he didn't get any major fightsk

What is the use of building a battle or a rivalry throughout a chapter if it is not going to end? there is no "sequence" in the events
because it is gohan's fight if he had not had any contact with them before makes the fight feel "empty"
In the anime, Caulifla and Kale began their fight with Goku and ended in the fight with Kefla. A rivalry was formed, respect and that evolved to admiration since Kefla doubted to eliminate her at a certain point.

tournaments in DB were just fighting shows there was no story but it still had interesting things
-dialogues and interactions
-chemistry in the adversary
-opponents have something that connects them so that the fight doesn't feel empty
-creative skills and techniques

Nam-roshi
tien shin han-goku
Man-Wolf-roshi
goku-roshi
tien shin han-roshi
chiaotzu-krillin
krillin-goku
tien shin han - mercenary tao
goku- giran

if there is none of that ... the tournament has totally failed

[Dragon Wukong]

jiren if he had development because he was the antagonist
Toppo can't even I remember what he did outside of looking pathetic during the final part in addition to his off panel fight.
Kale suffers from the problem of Jiren is just power and nothing else she learns nothing and achieves nothing
caulifla is a punching bag .. did not meet anyone, did not interact with anyone and did not form a relationship with anyone etc
cabba has development but it is because he had already appeared before and in the tournament he only got plot armor
Ribrianne a gag comic
by the way what sense had include namekians if they are not going to do anything in all their appearance? the same with anilaza
dyspo was also pathetic it doesn't even seem like "the big three" exists and he didn't get any major fightsk

Toppo had an entire exhibition match where he was able to defeat Goku, and serves as Vegeta's benchmark throughout the tournament for "surpassing Goku" by defeating the man who defeated him. (Who is then meant to surpass Vegeta by properly tapping into Ultra Instinct.)

Kale's relationship with Caulifla is hinted at in her introduction and explored further in her actual chapters. Whether or not she ends up controlling her strength is irrelevant, she's Toyotaro's way of hinting at Broly (if that isn't obvious.) Caulifla actually has a pretty great fight against Frieza, and manages to hold her own briefly even against his golden form thanks to Kale's discrete aid, not to mention her relationship and camaraderie with both Kale and Cabba are developed throughout their chapters.

Cabba arguably got more development in the manga's Tournament of Power than he has in any other arc, regardless of continuity. He's the one who takes the intiative to recruit Caulifla, convinces her to join and bring Kale. He's the one who gets Kale to unleash her full power. And lastly, he's the one who manages to save Kale from elimination and self-destruction by putting the potara on her and tossing her back onto the stage, creating Kefla at the cost of his own place in the tournament. None of what he did can qualify as "plot armour." Cabba's struggles and development is one of my favorite parts of the Tournament of Power in the manga.

Ribrianne's whole existence, is a gag yes. But she still has a somewhat lengthy fight and in a sense, goes through her own arc before deciding to drop herself out of the arena, and we see her relationship with her fellow support magical girls in action. So what if it's a joke? DB has its roots in gags. Not every important fight had to be serious.

The Namekians in the manga serve as a fun way of saying "Oh yea U6 has Namekians too." while also demonstrating Kale's mindlessness in knocking out her own teammates. Anilaza likewise doesn't have to do something, he's a gigantic fusion that Kale takes down in a single hit. That's his purpose. There's a chance he was the strongest opponent Kale fought one-on-one and she managed to topple him easily at her full strength in a single blow. In a rampage where most of her foes are absolute fodder to her, Anilaza is an exception of true power that Kale manages to take down, just as easily one might add.

Lastly, Dyspo was literally the most active member of the Pride Troopers. It's implied he isn't anywhere near as strong as Toppo or Jiren, but despite that he manages to fulfill the role of the greatest support the Pride Troopers have in the Tournament of Power. He's always there when something is going down, be it saving Toppo from getting knocked out by Kale, taking on Goku with the other troopers, or trying to stop Cabba from putting the Potara on Kale. He's effectively Toppo's greatest support throughout the tournament, right until the end when they both are allowed to drop off by Jiren.

What is the use of building a battle or a rivalry throughout a chapter if it is not going to end? there is no "sequence" in the events
because it is gohan's fight if he had not had any contact with them before makes the fight feel "empty"
In the anime, Caulifla and Kale began their fight with Goku and ended in the fight with Kefla. A rivalry was formed, respect and that evolved to admiration since Kefla doubted to eliminate her at a certain point.

U6 wasn't built up as Frieza's "rivalry"? It can be argued no one was meant to take that place for Frieza. He was never focused on finishing any particular opponent, he was designated as and served his role completely as the wild card. He went for what looked like easy pickings, and when the pickings weren't easy he stopped pursuing. One could argue his "rivalry" was always destined to be with the Pride Troopers, given his contrast with Jiren in both ideology and naming scheme. And he served that rivalry well by taking down Toppo and Dyspo before sacrificing himself to ensure U7's victory by tackling down Jiren (and for some victorious irony, his sworn foe Goku.)

You can argue there's a point with Gohan, who was likely given Kefla as an opponent so he had something particularly impressive to his name in the tournament, but there's still a dichotomy between Gohan, a half-saiyan who no longer relies on transformations whatsoever, and Kefla, a fusion of two super saiyans, one of whom has her own unique, absolutely powerful transformation. It's the one big fight that unfortunately isn't really given much development, but as I said earlier, moving past it still served a purpose for the pacing of the arc.

tournaments in DB were just fighting shows there was no story but it still had interesting things
-dialogues and interactions
-chemistry in the adversary
-opponents have something that connects them so that the fight doesn't feel empty
-creative skills and techniques

Nam-roshi
tien shin han-goku
Man-Wolf-roshi
goku-roshi
tien shin han-roshi
chiaotzu-krillin
krillin-goku
tien shin han - mercenary tao
goku- giran

if there is none of that ... the tournament has totally failed

I mean, at this point it's a matter of opinion, but I felt Goku and Jiren had plenty of dialogue, chemistry, and interaction in the manga. One could argue Jiren's techniques were boring, but Jiren contrasts and connects with Goku via their relationships with their masters and handling of the deaths of those close to them. His view of death in comparison to Goku offers, in my opinion, the one of the most interesting chemistries between a hero and an antagonist. Goku literally achieves Ultra Instinct by maintaining complete self-control in spite of the shock to his emotions from 17's "death," while Jiren voices out himself his wish to not see anymore death beyond the erasures he's forced to see in the tournament, because he himself is someone who so truly values life.

Jiren serves as an example of what Goku may have been like if there weren't any dragon balls to save Roshi when he was killed by Piccolo. In fact, I think that's very deliberately the point, given that Jiren's master was also slaughtered by a demon and sentenced to a realm with no proper afterlife, like what happened to those killed by Piccolo. And Goku and Jiren actually have that connection over their love for their masters.

I mean, ultimately we can agree to disagree on this one. But for whatever flaws there is still a lot people can enjoy in the manga's ToP, and it can be read as a decently paced, fully developed story, with chemistry between the characters. I don't blame anyone who sees it as a failure, that's ultimately their opinion, and I can't change that, nor would I care to years after the fact. But personally, I think the way Toyotaro handled it made it a great tournament, and I can at least explain why I feel that way.