Why were the Dragon Ball specials of such a high quality?

[The Monkey King]

When I say specials I am referring to:
Bardock: Father of Goku and The History of Trunks

When I compare these works to other non Toriyama Dragon Ball works such as the 13 movies, GT, filler arcs, EoB. I find that those 2 specials blow them out of the water.

Even comparing them to Toriyama's own manga versions of the events covered by the specials I find them to be much better. Toei's version of Trunks' story was much better done than Toriyama's own and quality wise I believe it's no contest between FoG and DB- with Toei once again proving superiour.

So what I'm asking is why are these 2 specials so good compared to pretty much everything else? Is there a certain director who used to work with Toei when the 2 specials were created?

[Lord Beerus]

It's all subjective to opinion. Not everybody would consider the Bardock: Father of Goku and The History of Trunks superior to the movies, GT, EOB, filler etc. And in regards to the two TV specials specifically, they had much more freedom and time to tell a better story than the manga chapter the Trunks special was based on and DB Minus.

[DBZAOTA482]

Cuz they're specials....

[DB1984]

That reminds me, did Toriyama ever state in interviews with of the movies from 1986 to 1996 were his favorites, and which were his least favorites?

[sintzu]

They used stories already introduced by Toriyama unlike the other stuff you mentioned which were written by Toie from the ground up.

That reminds me, did Toriyama ever state in interviews with of the movies from 1986 to 1996 were his favorites, and which were his least favorites?

He said Bardock's special was his favorite but nothing about not liking any of them.

[Doctor.]

They used plot points already introduced by Toriyama unlike the other movies which were written by Toie from the ground up.

The Bardock special was also built from the ground up, it wasn't based on anything besides some lines and events in the manga, just like the 13 movies.

[sintzu]

The Bardock special was also built from the ground up, it wasn't based on anything besides some lines and events in the manga, just like the 13 movies.

The entire thing was about those lines and events from the manga unlike the 13 movies which didn't have anything from the manga to go on.

I'm not saying they didn't do anything on their own cause they did but the reason it alongside Trunks' special turned out better then the movies was because they had something to work with.

[Doctor.]

The Bardock special was also built from the ground up, it wasn't based on anything besides some lines and events in the manga, just like the 13 movies.

The entire thing was about those lines and events from the manga unlike the 13 movies which didn't have anything from the manga to go on.

Of course they did. Cooler's movie, for example, was built around Freeza's death and the destruction of planet Vegeta.

[Kamiccolo9]

Movie 13 was better than both of the specials anyway.

[Lord Beerus]

Movie 13 was better than both of the specials anyway.

As was Movie 12.

[Ajay]

They have a story to tell, and plenty of time to tell it.

Many of the Dragon Ball films, while enjoyable, are mostly written to support big action scenes. There are only a few exceptions that break this mold in favour of crafting a genuinely interesting narrative (Movie 13, for example).

Dragon Ball Minus is 16 pages long. Regardless of whether you enjoy the content or not, it has absolutely no time to flesh out a narrative worth a damn. You can't set up any genuine suspense or create pathos. It goes through its events step by step and finishes.

The TV Specials, much like Movie 13, care more about their characters than crafting fights. Unlike Dragon Ball Minus, they have plenty of time to actually deliver the narrative with real finesse. You can establish that relationship between Gohan and Trunks, you can build the tension as Bardock desperately tries to save his race, it all leads to a magnificent pay-off.

When Toei focuses on telling a unique story rather than facilitating fights, they can generally create something worth watching. It might be quite far from the series in tone, but it's at least a well put together product.

[Doctor.]

It might be quite far from the series in tone, but it's at least a well put together product.

I quite like the tone of the Toei films, actually. They're a breath of fresh air. Just as long as not all DB material has the same dark tone the two specials in question had.

[Wibbs]

I reckon if Toriyama had spent more time on his two stories we would have had something more substantial than what we got. Rather than quick rushed chapters at the end of a couple of books.

In regards to the specials they're pretty good, they have some nice looking animation in some parts - more so in the Bardock special I'd say. But story wise, like I said earlier, you've only got a few pages worth of content to compare it to but honestly I think Toei did a good job with it considering what could've happened.

I can't tell you why exactly they're so much better, though. Maybe they had more money to work with.

[SaintEvolution]

Well, in terms of plot, they are canon and didn't have much errors. The other old movies have many cronological errors(the olny two ones that didn't are the 9 and the 13).

And in animation, they are very good too.