Dragon Ball Super: Manga Chapter 96 - Official Discussion Thread

[Vegard Aune]

I enjoyed the crosscutting between Bulma and the others casually discussing wanting to catch up with Piccolo, with Piccolo revealing his new form and radiating pure unbridled edge. That got a laugh out of me and I think is a good use of the comic format with both being on the same page turn. And while it was pretty much identical to the movie, I did get a chuckle out of how goofy Hedo's confrontation with Magenta was, and the "Uh, can I shoot you now?" "NO WAIT, I AM STILL MID-REVEALING MY AMAZING NEW POWER!!"

[Jack Bz]

That panel of cell max is one of my favourite pieces of Toyo art yet

[kemuri07]

Maybe because you're not supposed to say "go watch the movie by that other company if you want to live what happens in all its details"? It was something that shouldn't have happened with the other movies in the first place.

It's not a side story or anything, it's the main story continuing with major evolutions that will probably be put to use.
Even in the manga they had to double down on extra recaps for the Broly movie because they realised there were more important things that happened in the movie that "all you have to know is that the two Saiyans became even stronger". They had to add Goku explaining it in more details to Merus in extra pages in the volume, and then it was still not enough and they had to go into even more details with yet another recap in this arc because there were still things that the recap didn't cover because they didn't know yet what details of the movie could be useful in due time.

Their own attempt to skip with a recap keeps coming biting them in the ass when it is more and more apparent that the details that happen in the movie can be important and that the whole thing should be experienced in details.

Do you also want to read a novel that will tell you in the middle of it "for chapters 8, 9 and 10, go pay for the movie, it's already there so why would we bother here? Skipping to chapter 11 now!"?

Do you want a TV show to say in the middle of its season "by the way, the related novel happened between episodes 3 and 4 with lots of evolutions for the characters you can't possibly feel right with a quick recap, so if you want to feel the whole thing as you should, go spend money on that book, it's not our problem, otherwise, your loss, everybody has changed in drastic ways and it's your job to catch up on your own!"

Do you want a remake to go "we'll just skip this part, if you're interested in knowing what happens, just go play the original, it's already available elsewhere after all so why would we bother"?

To me, no media is supposed to say "we'll just skip it and quickly recap it in a few seconds because it's already available elsewhere in another form, so do your thing and find it on your own!". You'd be entitled to say "yeah, well, it's not that other form of media that interests me right now, it's this one right here, so don't send me elsewhere for some crucial missing pieces".

I'm obviously in the minority here, so I'm probably the one who doesn't get how it's supposed to work, but to me, it's not because you're impatient to know what's next - all that to be probably disappointed in due time anyway because it's somehow not the direction you wanted it to go -, that you're supposed to wish a part of the story was skipped and people should just find ways to watch it elsewhere (and perhaps pay for it) instead of "wasting everybody's time".

1. Yes I would absolutely prefer it if they literally went “just go watch the movie” especially if this arc is a near 1:1 recreation of the movie. Then there’s no reason why simply watching the movie can’t be a viable option.

2. Manga do this all the time, especially Dragonball Super.

3. You’d only have a point if this adaptation was created specifically to fit with the Super manga canon. Then yeah, maybe this would be worth coming in month after month. But since this is literally just “the movie” then I honestly don’t see why someone can’t just merely go watch the movie. And let’s not pretend that the average anime user is not aware that there are options aside from renting this on a streaming platform.


Having said all that. It’s fine. I did like some of the gags added here like Bulma trying to call Piccolo in the middle of his Orange transformation, or Gohan just not being able to see anything. But yeah, it is what it is. We’re all just basically waiting for this to end.

[Super Saiyan Swagger]

Ok, this was actually good. There was enough things that were different from the film for me to enjoy this chapter. It was paced a lot better than the previous chapters. Also, this shot of Gohan is my favourite:

Spoiler:

[nato25]

Lol that panel is creepy in such a wierd way. Also it doesn't make sense Gohan can't sense Krillin, they've been friends for ages. Toyo normally tries to cover for inconsistencies as well, it's disappointing.

[Dbzfan94]

How did Gohan's eyes get so bad he cant see a person's face two feet in front of them? Even the movie his eyesight wasnt that bad.

[kemuri07]

It’s definitely meant to be taken as a gag. Because yeah, Gohan should be able to sense Krillin.


But that page is funny therefore I’ll allow it.

[nineko]

I agree with what other people said, I can go as far as saying that this is a nice chapter and all, I would have enjoyed it if the Super Hero movie didn't exist, but the underlying problem is that I already know where things are going, so I can't enjoy this (and these) chapter(s). I guess we have to play the waiting game for a little longer.

[Mr Baggins]

Toyotaro channeling his inner Junji Ito for that Cell Max panel is fitting and great. It's something you could really only do effectively in a comic.

Very charming chapter.

[Yuji]

Toyotarou could easily do horror if he wanted to. Between this chapter's Cell, zombie Gas and generally his penchant for gruesome fights, his art seems better suited to something more mature than Dragon Ball.

[TobyS]

No "toyotaro drew it" this month?

[Koitsukai]

I actually liked this chapter. The art, the new stuff like Bulma and the teens, the Clean God duo... the pace seems to have picked up, specially the scenes between Hedo and Red.
The funny parts were good, too. Pan being so excited to see the Saiyaman 1 and 2 reminded me of Kid Goten.
Maybe it was the translation, but Bulma roasting Krilin was funnier in the movie, in this chapter it comes off as too try-hard, while in the movie it's so natural it cracks me up every time.

This month's chapter geared down the sensation I was having of it being like when Z was airing, when there were no more dubbed episodes, so they would start all over again, one day you were watching the androids driving a van, and the next day Raditz arrives on Earth. Hopefully, this will continue next month, which I'm guessing will be the end of this arc. Well, maybe it'll take half of october's chapter, too.

I still have problems with knowing exactly what's going to happen, but now at least there are some liberties with the side characters. Anyway, I don't know why it's a problem to redirect the reader to the movie... the movie had much more viewers than the manga has readers, it's not like a mainstream movie telling you to go read that underground, niche comic book you can't find anywhere. But we are too close to the end to complain or even care about this.

I will however, expect the next arc to be flawless and blow my mind, after a year of being stuck with the same story we all know about, I won't concede to the sloppiness and the shortcomings of previous arcs anymore.

[Anomandaris]

Holy shit man that panel with him after the transformation goes hard as hell I love the new look in the manga

[Thani]

Toyotaro channeling his inner Junji Ito for that Cell Max panel is fitting and great. It's something you could really only do effectively in a comic.

Very charming chapter.

Right?! I actually applauded when I saw it, Toyo really surprised me there!

[capsulecorp]

Yeah, I enjoyed this chapter too. I haven't seen the movie since it came out in theaters, so I don't really mind experiencing it again and, like others have said, if Toyo is using this time to hone his skill and focus on planning the next arc, that sounds great. I mean, hell, I don't need new DBS every month, if they just wanted to take a year off that'd be fine too. It's great to see the art improving, too.

[Vegard Aune]

Out of all the storylines shared between the manga and anime, honestly I think this is the one Toyo is adapting the best. Which, admittedly I am approaching from the perspective of finding it frustrating how vastly different the first nine volumes are from the show and so to me the fact that Toyo is mostly just retelling the movie with minimal changes is a plus, but even aside from that, like... the pacing is good? I think the story is getting enough time to breathe which the arcs from the show rarely did? I mean I've said before how I feel like the only TV arc that the manga didn't rush is Future Trunks, but... well bias is admittedly coming into play here being that I like Super Hero and think the Future Trunks arc in any form is, like, the worst thing.

And hey, I see that in this chapter I'm not even the only one actually appreciating Toyotaro's approach. How much of that is down to Toyo himself improving and how much is just him lifting compositions from the movie, though, I can't say. At least I feel like the contrasting shots between Bulma & Co. being extremely casual and Piccolo being extremely hardcore was a Toyo thing.

[theherodjl]

Aside from the admittedly cool-looking shot of Cell Max emerging, I wasn't really amazed that much by this chapter. Toyotaro's art may be good and while it is at least nice to have some 'new' DB content, I still feel mostly the same about this arc being something that could have been skipped. I only hope that the next chapter doesn't try to draw out the battle with Cell Max, ends with Gohan Beast launching the Makankosappo, and then the chapter after does a brief rundown of the aftermath and leads directly onto the next arc.

[tinlunlau]

Love how Gohan's so clumsy without his glasses on that he has to squint his eyes to see Goten and Trunks have arrived.

[emperior]

Aside from the admittedly cool-looking shot of Cell Max emerging, I wasn't really amazed that much by this chapter. Toyotaro's art may be good and while it is at least nice to have some 'new' DB content, I still feel mostly the same about this arc being something that could have been skipped. I only hope that the next chapter doesn't try to draw out the battle with Cell Max, ends with Gohan Beast launching the Makankosappo, and then the chapter after does a brief rundown of the aftermath and leads directly onto the next arc.

The next chapter will likely end with Gamma’s sacrifice. Then the October chapter ends with Gohan transforming and in November it ends, so that December can be the start of the following one.

My two cents.

[BWri]

So, about this chapter...

Spoiler:

Dragon Ball Super Chapter 96 Ends with:
• Cell Max coming out
• Cell Max vs Gammas
• Gohan drops Senzu
• Goten and Trunks become Saiyanman and rush towards Cell Max, end.

I hope this arc ends in two chapters. Please.

Probably 2 and a half and maybe the second half introduces the new arc. Then again, they've been quiet about new content. But yeah, we're pushing to the end at a good pace at the moment. Toyo likes long fights though, so the final battle might have some legs on it, especially now that we have the two Saiyamen X's here.

I'm obviously in the minority here, so I'm probably the one who doesn't get how it's supposed to work

Hey, you are not alone! I’m also interested in seeing everything being fleshed out here. By the way, Toyotaro really cooked with Cell Max design.

I think so too! I really like that they're covering a movie in manga form this time around, even though it's already covered in another format.

I've been enjoying it, especially when they take time to flesh out some of the details. I like this new wrinkle that Piccolo could possibly now have god ki and I like that we have more actual Superheroes. Too bad Gohan didn't bust out his Saiyaman watch. That's the superhero we all want to see.

That panel of cell max is one of my favourite pieces of Toyo art yet

It's really good. I think it's my first time seeing something so detailed in the DB manga.