How could the series possibly go back to how it was?

[Sin]

Over the years I've been here plenty of people feel that as Dragon Ball has gone on, characters we love have fallen onto the sidelines and the 'mystic adventure' feel was replaced by power levels and transformations. The sad truth of which we are all aware is that the other characters have very little impact on much nowadays. they can't keep up with the villains and character development is usually short-lived.

But then I wonder how we could possibly go back to how things were before? Do we dumb the Saiyans down and lower their power to the rest of the cast, or do we buff them somehow through some kind of deus ex machina? (I'm looking at you Book of Namekian Legends). It feels like we either need some new characters who can participate or we need some serious training. What do you guys think? What kind of outcome would you be happy with? At this point in the story it seems easier to say we want to see other characters involved when there isn't much they can do.

[Lord Beerus]

As long as the Saiyans remain the top merch sellers, they will remain on top.

But in all seriousness, at this stage, it's not even the Saiyans as whole who are getting insane boosts in strength, it's specifically Goku and Vegeta. They are in such a different league of power now, along with the likes of Golden Freeza, Beerus and Whis, that I don't think any power up could possibly bring the rest of the cast anywhere near their level, save Gohan and Gotenks.

[DarkPrince_92]

Well considering the introduction of God Tier characters, I think Goku and Vegeta just moving up in the ranks is all they can really do. Just introducing new Gods or other universes. The other characters are comic relief... ALL OF THEM. They can't catch up.

I mean what else can they really do?

[fadeddreams5]

Going back to what the series originally was (i.e. early DBZ) has little to do with random buffs, and more to do with story as a whole, from delivery to how the characters are used. A saga doesn't need to star every single character who has ever graced the franchise. Hell, it can star only Goku, Vegeta, and new characters, and still be reminiscent to what a lot of fans crave.

[VintageSaiyan]

It's in the writing to be honest. The characters are there. The development to be had is there. It's much more to do with the piss poor writing AK/Toei are coming out with these days, mostly because they don't care as long as they get their $$$.

[dbzfan7]

The new universe I believe is said to be introducing new characters and could be more adventurous. I believe when asked about the universe 6 stuff, the new characters were said to possibly or would be on par with Goku. So we'd get a new team to join the ranks or relevancy. I'll take anything I can get to avoid another grand tour like it is now.

[Chuquita]

I think they'd have needed to diversify their skill sets earlier (I'd say "like One Piece, but

Spoiler:

the Straw-hats haven't been together since early Dressrosa and that's two years ago,

so...) either in terms of techniques (see: Chaotzu and Buu's telekinesis) or character-specific skills (Piccolo's amazingly-fun-I-am-so-sad-it-was-abandoned stretchy-arms/size-changing powers).

[MarCas92]

Unfortunately, in a series that's all about fighting now the strongest characters or Mcguffins will have the most relevance.

2 things can happen now to give the supporting cast times to shine.

1. Do what Z-did. Supporters fight henchmen until Goku shoes up to take on the big boss.
2. Create scenarios where a characters specific abilities let them take out the villain.

I think 2 is the most interesting. For example: How about a villain that can control people through magic or a virus or w/e and only 18 can fight him/her because her robot parts make her immune? Or Piccolo since he's not human?

But as you probably noticed, the main problem with these scenarios is that they are extremely forced in order to get the other characters to fight. It's a problem that started all the way in the Urunai Baba Arc. Goku (and Vegeta) have become so powerful that anything that isn't a threat to them isn't really a threat at all. I actually like the first few episodes of GT BECAUSE it's not just about Goku beating up strong guys. Sure there's action, but there's adventure and comedy mixed in as well which gives Pan and Trunks moments to shine.

Can Dragon Ball go back to it's mix of comedy, martial arts and adventure? It can, but I doubt it will happen. Just look at the fandom here in the states. Casuals have only seen Z and they think the whole show is big brutes punching each other and whoever yells the loudest wins. Unfortunately, that's what sells. The franchise has to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Don't get me wrong, I love the action too. But there is so much more that can be done (and has been done) with this franchise, that it's a shame we lost so much of that mysticism and charm once Raditz killed that farmer. We still had mystical elements introduced (Otherworld and Boo) but there was no longer any adventure. It all became set up for fights.

Maybe with the introduction of Super well get more of that classic Dragon Ball feel. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Hellspawn28]

DB is a series that makes it hard to make fans happy. Fans wanted Toriyama back after GT and most of the 13 films sucking, but now want him gone. Fans wanted comedy again in the series and bitch about not having too much of it in BOG. ROF give us a more serious and action pack film and fans still bitch about it.

[Chuquita]

I still have confidence that Uni 6 is going to be an adventure arc, at least for the first leg of it before we inevitably reach battles again.

[Faustus]

It's much more to do with the piss poor writing AK/Toei are coming out with these days, mostly because they don't care as long as they get their $$$.

I'm not sure why people keep saying this. You don't like what's being done, and that's perfectly fine. But I'd say Toriyama actually cares a lot more about the integrity of his vision than is usually supposed, especially given that the disaster of Evolution prompted him to return to the franchise for precisely this reason -- eventually to rewrite Battle of Gods almost from the ground up -- and he has not infrequently made comments to this effect in things like interviews and other ancillary material (e.g. see his dissatisfaction with Toei's characterization of Goku).

(It's probably 100% true of Toei, though.)

[Zephyr]

Well, between the new films throwing all of that strict battle power scaling and such out the window in favor of less predictable outcomes of fights (Vegeta's rage boost, Piccolo vs Shisami, etc), and the realm of God ki being accessible to non-gods, I think it goes without saying that the potential is certainly there. Like others are pointing out, it's all a matter of what they want to write.

Make the Super Saiyan God circle of friendship apply to more than just Saiyans, and give Piccolo and Tenshinhan a nice boost, have them reignite their rivalries with Goku, and I'd be set. Hell, let Videl channel Ultimystic Super Saiyan Pan's power, and put her on par with SSj God. Put everyone on the same general tier of power, and let their skills, focus, character traits, and the like dictate the outcome of battles.

[B]

I would argue they're doing it right now; the characters have gotten so absurdly powerful that they just goof around now. You can only be surprised and shocked at the new enemy's threatening power so many times. Dragon Ball Super is the most honest result of a series drawn by a guy who did it for money and would rather write poop and panty jokes that lasted 30 years.

[Doctor.]

Kill off Vegeta and have Goku, Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong and Puar go around universe 6 searching for the (super) dragon balls, with a red Pilaf look-a-like as the main villain. That'll return it back to how it was immediately.

[JulieYBM]

I like the fights in Yuu Yuu Hakusho, which I am currently re-watching. Yuusuke and friends are always the underdogs, because plot, or have can't fight at full strength because of injuries or the like. I think that's really the only way to go now, have the antagonists always having an upper hand on Gokuu and the others just because.

[Cipher]

1) GT kind of did this; smaller, focused cast in a scenario where, sure, Goku's stronger than everyone, but many things need to be resolved without strength, reserving the extremely super-powered moments for climaxes and comedy.

2) Otherwise, I don't really know. That's part of why the Boo arc worked so well as an ending and GT only as a brief epilogue.

[precita]

I think the Cell arc did the best of showing a post-Super Saiyan frenzy still have numerous subplots going around and most characters still getting decent screentime.

[derpgoku]

DB is a series that makes it hard to make fans happy. Fans wanted Toriyama back after GT and most of the 13 films sucking, but now want him gone. Fans wanted comedy again in the series and bitch about not having too much of it in BOG. ROF give us a more serious and action pack film and fans still bitch about it.

big part of db fans still live in the past , they think that what is showed now was never showed before , and everything that is new should not be new but rather a copy paste of DBZ , "OMG vegeta making wierd facese that never hapened on the original series"<===== a delusional ignorant statment by fan who he remeber dbz as he wants it not how it was

[TripleRach]

The cast was already godly 20 years before we ever saw Beerus. Death and planetary destruction have been trivial for just as long. The established lore has made it difficult to imagine believable and interesting challenges for these guys. We got stuck in a corner with "fight, power up, repeat."

But the Dragon Balls themselves have always been a source of adventure and suspense, and there's no reason they can't continue to be. Just imagine if Cell or Boo had been interested in the Dragon Balls on top of everything else they did. You don't even have to be a fighter to collect them, which opens up a lot of possibilities. I haven't seen RF yet, but from what little I know about it, Toriyama still seems to have an interest in giving the expanded, non-Saiyan cast things to do.

I think GT sort of had the right idea, as far as adding a new set of Dragon Balls with new rules. Also sending a small cast into new territory, where they can't just go off to train for a few days while their powerful allies distract the enemy. (Until they went back to Earth, at least.) Obviously Super will be doing something similar when it gets to the Universe 6 arc, but we still lack most of the details, and no one has seen the actual execution yet.

[garfield15]

I still have confidence that Uni 6 is going to be an adventure arc, at least for the first leg of it before we inevitably reach battles again.

I'm putting a lot of hope that Uni 6 gets a little more adventurous or at the least splits up the cast so we can get some sort of like different focuses for the week.