Dragon Ball Super: Manga Chapter 88 - Official Discussion Thread

[supersaiyamangod]

Behind trunks in the preview high school page is that Mai as a high school student?

[JulieYBM]

Behind trunks in the preview high school page is that Mai as a high school student?

Spoiler:

Yes, it is. Mai is in Chapter #88.

[Geraldo]

This is the first time I had seen a PC move in the Japanese Dragon Ball decision making; the three new friends of Trunks and Goten belong to the 3 standard division of the human race (Asian, African and Caucasian). And after almost 40 years of making fun of black people in a racist manner, Toriyama had cooled down, probably to make his franchise more accessible for people in America who most likely get offended by his past designs.

[TobyS]

This is the first time I had seen a PC move in the Japanese Dragon Ball decision making; the three new friends of Trunks and Goten belong to the 3 standard division of the human race (Asian, African and Caucasian). And after almost 40 years of making fun of black people in a racist manner, Toriyama had cooled down, probably to make his franchise more accessible for people in America who most likely get offended by his past designs.

The manga is mostly done by Toyo, Tori oversees the drafts and ok's it all.

So this is just Toriyama just not telling him "no no, make his lips bigger, give him a stupid accent".

Which tracks, it never seemed like Toiryama was pro actively hateful just picked up the latent homophobia and racial stereotypes of his time.

[jjgp1112]

Trunks trying to get the buns, I respect it

[Magnificent Ponta]

I haven't seen Super Hero as of this writing, so I figure this'll be my first encounter with material to do with this storyline.

I'm definitely looking forward to an arc which promises a lighter tone and some good fun; Toyotarou has good form around this general area given his own slice of life fan-work from DBAF #1, with Goten as Great Saiyaman #3, so this could be pretty enjoyable.

[goku the krump dancer]

Was Bulma’s mom always called “Panchy”? Since when? I always thought she was nameless.

[Mr Baggins]

Oh man, this was great.

Trunks being scared shitless of ghosts (despite being a skeptic) and Goten's willingness to just casually approach what could be one (despite being a believer) is exactly the kind of subversive character dynamic I would expect from DB's take on a Scooby-Doo mystery case, and I freakin' love it. Their interactions in Super Hero weren't nearly this colorful.

And then there's just Trunks in general. He's the son of a tech genius, but sucks with tech. He's next in line to be Capsule Corp's CEO, but doesn't want the position at all. He's heroic enough to protect innocent babies from littering assholes on his way to school, but also regularly motivated to chase tail @ Mai because he's still just a teenager. This is Dragon Ball, baby!

Baller chapter from front to back, and I haven't said that about a DBS chapter in years. More of this please.

[JulieYBM]

More of this writing, please.

I hope Rulah has more scenes. Maybe she can become a third Saiyaman-X of some sort to balance out their dynamic and add to the scenes?

[capsulecorp]

I didn't realize this was coming today. What a pleasant surprise! I'm glad they're running with some of the tone and characters from DBS:SH. Very short break, huh?

[batistabus]

Surpassed my expectations in every sense. This story totally plays to Toyotaro's strengths. So much fun stuff going on. Trunks is the perfect protagonist; he's genuinely cool half the time (maybe 1/3...) and a total doofus the rest of the time. Goten plays the straight man unexpectedly, and he does it well. Art seems notably refined (especially compared to the rougher drafts), and the shapes are softer to match the tone. The wait was worth it.

[JulieYBM]

It's really important to make Goten different from Gokuu and Gohan, so actually having him be the better put-together between him and Trunks makes more sense.

[PurestEvil]

YES! YES! NOTHING BUT BANGERS!

I love the superhero dynamic with Goten and Trunks, they finally get to do something INTERESTING for once! The way the story handles these underutilized characters by giving them weaker antagonists is just how I anticipated the writers to use them.

Trunks' dilemma regarding his future with his mom's company is compelling, and him not believing in ghosts due to his fears was a pretty funny gag. I hope Goten gets similar characterization later on in this story, he is in dire need of it.

The human characters were well used, too! The classmates are quite intriguing, though I hope they don't become irrelevant like Sharpner and Erasa. Heck, the Pilaf trio were used in a way that didn't want me to punch myself in the eye sockets! (I do think that Trunk's feelings for Mai might make some controversy, though)

I can't comment on the antagonists, as I still have yet to see DBS:SH. I do have to wonder why Dr. Hedo did all that to produce sushi packages in the first place...

The pacing was MUCH MUCH better here than in most of the Granolah arc. That arc would have stretched the contents of this one chapter to four.

Overall, I am outstandingly excited for this new arc, more so than I was for the previous arc when it began two years ago.

[Draconic]

Pretty sweet chapter. Pretty cluttered paneling, however. Felt more like an anime episode than a manga chapter. Might be an indication of something... Still, it was all fun. A much needed change of pace after the shitshow of the last two arcs. Hope they expand on Hedo as the story progresses. He and the Gammas are really fun and Cell Max is pretty cool in his own right, so it would be nice to learn more about the process of building them.

[batistabus]

Despite everything I love about this version of Trunks, his characterization also makes sense as a grown up version of the one shaped by his moments in the Future Trunks arc. He has a lot to live up to (being cool, being heroic, winning over Mai), but so far, he keeps getting in his own way.

[Grimlock]

Was Bulma’s mom always called “Panchy”? Since when? I always thought she was nameless.

She is nameless. "Panchy" is actually a what-if name by Toriyama himself.

[GreatSaiyaman123]

Great chapter, the only time I found anything in the DBS manga to be truly great was the first half of Vegeta vs Granolah, anything else was mostly awful. It's more interesting than the original Saiyaman arc tpp, I might add.

I hope we see more of Goten, since the Boo Saga he's mostly only there so Trunks can have someone to hang out with, as of this chapter it seems like he's slowly getting more characterization.

[jjbgood]

Loved the chapter. Funny, original and finally something to do for the supporting characters.
One nitpick: Why is Mai aged the same as Goten and Trunks, if their explanation for the fast growth are their saiyan genes? I hope they give us an explanation... One sentenced would be enough... "because the wish that made them toddlers let them age differently" or something like this would be okay for me.

[Cold Skin]

It's a huge change from the usual, but it's very nice and I'm eager to see the next chapter.
It gives a new, welcome depth to Goten and Trunks as characters, we're getting to know them better with these situations and I just love it, even if it's "Great Saiyaman" level of threat. It's all fine to me, I'm hooked!

Plus, surprise, color pages for the first time!

I do have to wonder why Dr. Hedo did all that to produce sushi packages in the first place...

Doesn't he say something at the end like "it was our way to get money for our scientific research section and now it's gone"?
So it was likely a quick way to produce something cheap and popular to get easy finances and invest in his more important research!

[Captain Awesome]

Great chapter, enjoyed the focus on Goten and Trunks.

My only complaint really is this has to work as a prequel to Super Hero (where they don't really do anything) rather than it being an independent story that can stand on its own.