Super Shadow Dragons Saga is not the last narrative arc, so better check your sources and please consider to binge until chapter 27!anubisj wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2024 1:47 pm Hi Kanzenshuu,
So I have finished reading Dragon Ball AF by YoungJiji, up to the end of the Super Shadow Dragons Saga, and I gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised. I never gave the opportunity to fan works before, since I didn't trust in their quality, but lately, the typical Dragon Ball fever that comes every few times a year has possesed me (not unlike a Tuffle parasite), and I have decided to watch and read everything Dragon Ball related that was on my list, which includes the manga sagas of Moro and Granolah, the full manga of Heroes, the different OVAs for videogames with unique characters (like Majin 21 and Sealas), the game walkthroughs and stories, and finally, yep, fan works.
Dragon Ball AF has its flaws, for sure; it's basically a copycat of GT in many scenes, and the designs, while being nice and interesting, are not that original either (it got better with the last saga I read, though).
The transformation/power-up boosts were handled properly, some people got killed, and did not get revived immediatly, which led to more tension and heartbreaking scenes for the surviving cast. Some characters had interesting new abilities, like a Shadow Dragon that nullifies justice or "good " energy (sort of the opposite of Devilman), and many times I was left thinking "this is what Super should've been". Of course, I can't compare it to Super, maybe not even to Heroes; it's just 1 guy, doing all this, and it shows in lack of team brainstorming etc. For example, there's barelñy any scenes outside of the fights, it's just one villain after another.
However, I was really impressed by his work, and can't avoid thinking that if he had had a team of writers and animation designers, he could've made a really nice GT sequel. Of course, the elephant in the room was Goku's return, if it was possible, how would it happen, etc. I'm on the boat of those that would like Goku to stay in Shenron after GT, but oh well, it was handled nicely enough.
To be honest, the main quarrel I have is that it only starts 3 years after the end of GT. I would've have made a more drastic advancement of the timeline, so it doesn't feel like GT 2.0. But, all in all, it had some nice ideas and executions.
Anyways, as a final question, does someone knows of any other good fan mangas that they would recommend? I have Kakumei and dragon ball sp
I would suggest too "Shin Dragon Ball After" by "Young Naoyuki" (Young Jijii + Omada Naoyuki), "DBAF" and "DBZERO" by Toyble (now Toyotaro) and "Dragon Ball Sai" by DragonGarowLee.
Thank you for the suggestions, only one I know from those is DBAF by Toyotaro, which I'm not particularly interested in, but the rest I will chek them out. 
