Post
by angeldreamZ004 » Sun Apr 26, 2026 3:07 am
It's basically that feeling of the late 20th century. The way they worked with art and storytelling was different. It happens to many series that are 30 years old or older and continue to this day. 21st century Toriyama was different when compared to 20th century Toriyama, and the same applies to Toei. There are changes they've done on purpose to Super and Daima of course, but they mostly also feel different due to time and how the world changed. Other factors such as the popularity the series got globally also influenced this. 80/90s Dragon Ball was made with the mentality of serving Japanese audiences only, especially the teenagers from that time, which is something important as that shapes specific aspects of a series. You can see that with Super and how it had a global audience in mind, same with Daima. If you look at other stuff, such as Heroes for example, it not only feels different from 80/90s DB, but also different from Super, because it had the 2010s japanese kids as their target, that's why it's a lot more focused on fights, spectacle and other megalomaniacal stuff that can feel strange or too crazy for a casual fan.
Also, of course, GT has its own unique aspect, it's a genuine sequel to the original story, after the time skip, and not a midquel like Super and Daima.
Not sure if it's an unpopular opinion, but I consider Super as the superior sequel because I think it feels the most natural, or at least the better progression to what the original manga / DB and Z worked with. I'm a sucker for the concepts and world building of the DB universe, and I think Super explores and expands them in very smart ways.
The divine transformations are the best transformations to come out after the SSJ1 in my opinion. I'm personally not a fan of SSJ3, 4. They look cool, but I think they are lackluster in concept, as they solely make the character stronger. I know SSJ4 has some special things to it, but I feel they never really tried to explore further. And I'm personally also not a fan of transformations that change too much a character's appearance. I do think they look cool when it's a villain, but I'm not so much a fan of them in heroes, so for that reason I go with SSJ God, Blue, UI, etc. They don't feature a heavy design change, but still look appealing to me, and they are very interesting in concept (I hope they still try to explore Orange Piccolo more though, especially Gohan Beast, which feels a lot like a regular post-SSJ1 transformation to me)
Other stuff such as the Hakaishins, the God techniques, the Other universes, an evil Kaioshin, etc also make Super the most interesting sequel to me.
Of course, Super may not have a strong narrative in the level the original manga had. That personally even makes me understand why there are people who prefer GT and say that it's more in line with the original. I interpret them as focusing mostly on the narrative, the dramatic moments, the way the characters are worked and developed. Maybe I can even agree that indeed GT does that better than Super. My problem with GT though is that I think it's kinda lackluster when it comes to developing and introducing new concepts, expanding the universe, the world building. It has its moments of course, but outside the Evil Dragons arc, I feel there just isn't too much to look forward to. It's very below the original when it comes to that. Super does that a lot better than it in my opinion, of course, just being very interesting conceptually doesn't make the narrative automatically good. Daima is there to prove that it expanded the universe, introduced and developed very interesting concepts, new characters, but the narrative was barebones.
But that's also why I feel Super is the superior sequel, even though its narrative has huge lows, I still think they try to make it minimally interesting, still has its character developments and dramatic moments, and that accompanied by the journey where the characters are reaching God levels buys me. Most people want to see the “Black Freeza arc” instead of a “Daima 2” for a reason.
I do feel that Super unfortunately wasted too much time in unnecessary fanservice and nostalgia bait though. Half-assed reuses of old concepts, characters, recreations of scenes etc. 50% of Super Hero made me smile because it really felt new, but 50% really disappointed me with the Cell arc parallels. Fukkatsu no F was the lowest point to me, 10% new stuff and 90% Freeza Arc but shorter and less interesting. Fortunately after it they tried to put more effort, because both the arc and movie to me are just lazy.
And I still think the new and original ideas have more potential that the series hasn't touched so far. For that reason, even though I consider Super the better sequel, I don't think it's the perfect sequel. GT comes close narratively-wise but lacks new ideas and universe expansion. Daima explores new concepts but lacks a strong narrative. Super is in the middle, still not there.
Also, I think Toriyama's biggest mistake when creating Super (or Battle of Gods) was trying to connect it to the End of Z. In my opinion that doesn't benefit Super by any means. Not saying that characters like Uub shouldn't be in Super, no, I do think Super can use stuff from EoZ, I just think the connection wasn't necessary, but that's what Toriyama decided, so we have to respect. But that is certainly what bothers me the most in super alongside the fanservice and nostalgia bait. So none of these sequels are in the same level of the original in my opinion, with Super coming close in kind of a balanced way, but still has its lows.
Anyway, let's wait to see what Toyotaro is preparing, I only really hope it will be a very original arc, full of new interesting ideas, give me the feeling of something fresh similar to how Xenoverse 3 is giving me, since in the animation department will be pretty much just old content for the next 4 years.
Toriyama's Power Level: Infinite. Above All Characters, literally the creator and ultimate mind behind the DB's realities [R.I.P]
