Hey, I'm genuinely happy it made you feel like a kid again, that it brought you joy and excitement. That's awesome, and you are absolutely in a great place to be able to experience it that way. I wish I was as well. I was struck, though, by your line about experiencing it "with your heart, not your brain" because that's exactly why this doesn't work for me. I agree with you in a much broader sense that ALL storytelling is experienced with the heart more than the brain, regardless of whether you dismiss it as for kids. And that's precisely what this is lacking. For example, I'll always remember Trunks's first Super Saiyan transformation in the Trunks special because it such an emotional moment. It means something to Trunks. He is experiencing loss and grief at the same time he achieves everything he set out to achieve. That's meaningful. That's what resonated with me as a kid. This, however, just feels like a thing that happens. A switch is flipped, and here's a transformation. I think it's designed to coast off of the memories someone had watching GT decades ago without actually bringing anything to the table.PhantomSaiyan wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2025 5:27 pm The intensity of the feelings that I felt watching this can't be described. Is it creatively bankrupt? Sure. Is it cheap writing? Sure. It's whatever you want, but all of that isn't why I watch dragonball. This episode made me feel like I was a kid again, and I think that's exactly the feeling daima is trying to capture, so in my opinion, it succeeded.
Advice for everyone, looking at this through the eyes of a cynical grown up won't do you any good, it's like trying to listen to a piece of music with your nose and not your ears, you're using the wrong sense. Dragonball is to be experienced with your heart, not your brain
I freely admit that transformations have lost their luster for me. I've been here for over a quarter of a century, and law of diminishing returns has hit hard. How many times can I see a Dragon Ball transformation and get the same impact when I've seen dozens of them? That's definitely an inevitable consequence of me being a cynical grown-up, no doubt. So I was never crossing my fingers that Super Saiyan 4 would show up here. I do not care one way or the other. But if I did care about transformations, if I had been dying to see this particular form, I'd want it to mean something. I'd want it to be a marvelous, emotional moment I'd never forget, one that means something to the character experiencing it. I'd want it to appeal to my heart. And even as someone who doesn't specifically care about transformations, I still want the story to appeal to my heart, and I'd be happy to accept a new transformation if it came with that emotional resonance. I just don't think it does.
Buuuuut by the time episode 18 came around, Super Saiyan 4 had left my mind. They threw me off the scent as soon as those fusion bugs were introduced. Now I'm left wondering if those are a Red Herring or a Chekhov's Gun. There's still a chance they'll find the bugs and use them. Maybe even fuse in Super Saiyan 4 form. But for now, we don't know. Of course, the Supreme Kai is RIGHT THERE with his Potara. So as long as Toriyama didn't forgor, they could use those too.
