Poll: Let's forget about "canon". What's your favorite TV continuity?

[PrinceVegetto]

Let's forget about "canon" for a moment.
(My opinion is the only canon that nobody can argue is the original manga canon. Everything else is a gray area with Toriyama being somewhat involved, e.g. Toriyama saying Super is a "casual continuation" and GT is a "grand side-story")

DB is in a way a choose your own adventure path after Kid Buu gets defeated so take your pick of your favorite TV continuity:

In my opinion, there are now 3 main TV continuities:

• Continuity 1: The original '86 anime run: DB, Z, GT

• Continuity 2: V1 The modern '09 anime run: Kai, Super

• Continuity 3: V2 The modern '09 anime run: Kai, Daima

What's your favorite continuity?

[Vegeta th3 4th]

Here's a 4th one: Dragon Ball (1986), Dragon Ball Z (1989), & Dragon Ball Daima (2024). This is what I consider Toriyama and Dragon Ball at its best. I do however agree with you that it's the original manga on top, with everything else below it at equal levels.

[BernardoCairo]

Continuity 5: the original Dragon Ball manga and (maybe) the Dragon Ball Super manga.
I would go with that.

[ZombieVito]

Continuity 2 without a doubt.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I like them all for different reasons but you can't beat the original 1986-1997 run.

Depending on my mood I'll also sometimes want to watch Dragon Ball Z and other times I'll go for Kai, but I can enjoy all the sequels for different reasons. Daima for its worldbuilding and Toriyama humour, Super for the spectacle and slice-of-life moments and GT for its ambition and more experimental storytelling.

[SupremeKai25]

Continuity 2. Kai looks and flows so much better than the old 1980s series. Super bringing back Kai's OST at certain highlights makes the whole product feel more cohesive and well-structured.

[MasenkoHA]

Dragon Ball>Dragon Ball Z then I'm good

[taikufuru]

Well, my favorite continuity is the original three TV series. I like it because it's something complete, with a beginning, middle and end.



Well, that's the way I, personally, see the franchise (^^).

[90sDBZ]

I'd probably go with DB-Z-GT overall, but Kai-Super is still a solid way to go, especially with Kai's pacing.

You could also watch OG DB before Kai. I did it a couple of years ago and it actually didn't feel too jarring. I'd argue Kai's pacing is closer to OG DB's than Z's, due to to some of the more extensive filler of the latter.

Daima is still new so I'd need more time to think on it. I've yet to watch episode 20 (I'm watching on Netflix). I've been enjoying it overall, and haven't taken it too seriously. I'm not sure what the online consensus is, although I've seen some criticism on here.

I actually like how it took things back to basics by going back to post-Buu. It was nice to see the classic forms again rather than the palette swaps of Super. And as someone who mostly likes GT, it was cool to see the homages.

[Vegeta th3 4th]

It was nice to see the classic forms again rather than the palette swaps of Super.

Super's forms feel so cheap compared to Ssj3 and Ssj4. These are the forms you look to when you want to see actual power on screen. Holding hands and singing Kumbaya at a birthday party just won't cut it in the demon realm.

[Kaboom]

The entire original 1986-1997 DB/Z/GT/Movies run, of course. Accept no half-assed derivative substitutes. Gonna also throw the 2008 Tarble OVA in with it as an honorable mention, though.

[TechExpert2021]

I prefer continuity 1: the classic 1986-1997 Dragon Ball anime run + the DB and DBZ theatrical movies.

[johnboy1]

The original DB series is common to all three options, so broadly speaking the question you're asking is this: Which do you like most: Daima, Super, or Z's filler + GT?

Daima absolutely isn't worth the trade for me, but Super... I'm torn. I believe Super has higher highs and lower lows than GT, but ultimately I wouldn't be willing to give up Z's filler, since I believe a lot of it fleshes out the world better than the stripped-down version from Kai does. So my answer is Continuity 1, just barely edging out Continuity 2.

[MasenkoHA]

Continuity 2. Kai looks and flows so much better than the old 1980s series. Super bringing back Kai's OST at certain highlights makes the whole product feel more cohesive and well-structured.

I know I'm gonna regret asking this but what about Kai looks better than Z? The green tint in Buu? The awkward redrawn scenes in the first season that were probably done in a sweat shop?

Flows better? Sure, I get that. I disagree but I get it.

But I'm not sure what about Kai looks better unless we're comparing it to like the Orange Bricks remaster or something.

[DanielSSJ]

Continuity 0.5: The 520 chapter manga run from 1984 to 1995. I could take or leave everything else.

[SupremeKai25]

Continuity 2. Kai looks and flows so much better than the old 1980s series. Super bringing back Kai's OST at certain highlights makes the whole product feel more cohesive and well-structured.

I know I'm gonna regret asking this but what about Kai looks better than Z? The green tint in Buu? The awkward redrawn scenes in the first season that were probably done in a sweat shop?

Flows better? Sure, I get that. I disagree but I get it.

But I'm not sure what about Kai looks better unless we're comparing it to like the Orange Bricks remaster or something.

I think the green tint looks better. If that makes me the object of mockery by nostalgic people, so be it.

[Vegeta th3 4th]

I think the green tint looks better. If that makes me the object of mockery by nostalgic people, so be it.

There's no shame in liking something that factually looks bad. More power to you.

[SupremeKai25]

I think the green tint looks better. If that makes me the object of mockery by nostalgic people, so be it.

There's no shame in liking something that factually looks bad. More power to you.

Of course. I bet there's nothing in old DBZ that looks "factually bad". What are the odds?

[CodeOfMe]

I think the green tint looks better. If that makes me the object of mockery by nostalgic people, so be it.

I have been a Dragon Ball for many, many years, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone say that Boo Kai's green tint is an improvement. So, uh, kudos to you for having such an original opinion, but I absolutely disagree with it. I personally think the green tint is just as destructive to the original anime's look as Funimation's DNR was for the orange bricks. If you like how that looks too, then more power to you, I guess.

I also think it's hard to buy that Kai flows into Super elegantly when Kai doesn't even flow elegantly on its own. On the music front, you either have to deal with limited usage of the stereo Kikuchi tracks for 98 episodes, or deal with having to switch from Yamamoto to Kikuchi at Episodes 55/78/96 (old out-of-print Funi BDs, JP BDs, and JP broadcast respectively; one of these numbers is probably wrong). Unless, of course, you're using the Yamamoto Revival edit, which I wouldn't really count as it is unofficial. No matter which choice you make, you'll also have to deal with the sudden switch to Sumitomo's music in Boo Kai, which doesn't sound similar to Yamamoto's tracks or Kikuchi's. Also Boo Kai is exclusively in 16:9, which will be a rather unexpected change if you're going from the US blu-rays, which are 4:3 for Kai 1.0.

Though, it is fair to say that Boo Kai and Super do have a certain musical flow with Sumitomo reusing Boo Kai songs and retaining a similar composition style. And I definitely prefer Kai's pacing to Z's, though the Saiyan arc does suffer from rushed pacing and the strange cutting of manga scenes and the Boo arc just suffers... in general. I also believe that of the three follow-ups: GT, Super, and Daima; Super is the best, though that doesn't stop it from being very inconsistent, having bad writing, and being incredibly boring at certain points. I wish there was just an all-around good sequel to the manga if there must be a sequel. It's a shame that the three shows we've gotten since Z ended have all had major flaws which keep them from being truly great.

[johnboy1]

or deal with having to switch from Yamamoto to Kikuchi at Episodes 55/78/96 (old out-of-print Funi BDs, JP BDs, and JP broadcast respectively; one of these numbers is probably wrong).

I think the Funi BDs switched over beginning with Episode 53.