"Dragon Ball Super" Series Official Announcement & Discussion Thread

[Ajay]

I guess we all saw that coming from a mile away. Expected, but ultimately disappointing.

He's a composer who admits he's not particularly good at doing lighthearted tracks. That's an understatement and a half, and an utter travesty for a series like Dragon Ball that features so many comedic scenes.

For me, the issue isn't that it deviates so heavily from what's come before (though I do prefer Kikuchi-influenced work), it's just that it doesn't capture what the series is about whatsoever, and a lot of it is just plain bad music. There's absolutely no sense of adventure to his work. It's either terrible 'happy' synths or heavy strings and excessive chanting. There's rarely any inbetween that doesn't feature irritating guitars and pounding drums. He's just not a fitting composer for this franchise.

I have few issues with his Battle of Gods score, but Kai and many of the tracks on the Fukkatsu no F OST are just abysmal. They sound like generic JRPG MIDI tracks from 1999!

He absolutely has the capacity to create tracks that somewhat belong with the series, though. They're just so few and far between! He can even do happier stuff pretty nicely [0:40] when he wants to, too. For whatever reason, he's drawn to these awful electronic sounds that really put a dampener on his better work.

Though I find a lot of Takaki's tracks a little generic, they're certainly more consistent, at least. You can hear the Kikuchi influence in there, too. Though this is not a necessity and simply my preference, I do think a series that follows Z should have some callbacks to make sure it meshes well. GT managed that much!

Here's my challenge, Mr. Sumitomo; make some uplifting tracks without using guitars or electronic sounds, and please, show us the severity of battle without falling back on Latin chants. You can do it!

Fuck's sake.

[MCDaveG]

Nooooo! *Darth Vader* Please, not Sumitomo. He's the most boring and unappealing composer I've ever heard.
And when I thought that Toshihiko Sahashi is worse of the composers, he actually made some catchy and epic sounding tracks, even heavily synth involving.
Sumitomo is the worst. The arrangements, execution, endless loops, overall feeling.
What would I expect from TOEI.

[Doctor.]

He absolutely has the capacity to create tracks that somewhat belong with the series, though. They're just so few and far between! He can even do happier stuff pretty nicely [0:40] when he wants to, too. For whatever reason, he's drawn to these awful electronic sounds that really put a dampener on his better work.

The first one reminded me of Chrono Trigger and the second one of Dragon Quest more-so than Dragon Ball, really.

[batistabus]

I'm pretty disappointed. I actually really liked the soundtrack for Battle of Gods, but what he's done for Kai is just....unbearable. Maybe with the drive, enthusiasm, and (hopefully) budget behind Super, we'll be getting something of markedly higher quality.

[Cold Skin]

Sumitomo again, that was to be expected, but that's still nice to know that he'll be back as he has a way of being able to give you chills with the epicness or eerie side or goofy-happy typical-of-Dragon-Ball side of his tracks.

The Earth getting blown up really has a sense of tragic nightmare with him.
Freezer really brings a sense of being someone eerie and dark to worry about with him.
The heroes waiting for death at the hands of Beerus really bring a sense of hopeless tragic fate upcoming.
And those early-DB-magic tracks like the Theme of Videl that could have been used with young Goku riding Kinto-Un... Or Fusion Complete and it's overwhelming sense of beautiful friendship!
And all those magnificent Kai tracks we're still waiting for in volume 2 where the violins get straight to your heart...

I would have been okay with the idea of a new composer, but hiring one that understands what Dragon Ball is supposed to sound like (also embracing the extreme sci-fi side to the story unlike many composers) is fine with me too.
It is also an additionnal reason for me NEVER to check any unfair-yet-unavoidable whining comment Dragon Ball Super will have, as whining about a music that does the job fine will be one of the many things people will unfairly whine about (which includes: opening, ending, plot, eyecatches, writing, dialogues, acting, animation, occasionnal CG elements, title presentation, era, pacing, clothes, new characters, old characters, etc...).

[Darkblade1995]

I'm also okay with Sumitomo coming back for Super. Sumitomo has proven that he can create some awesome tracks. Let's hope he creates a extensive soundtrack.

[FortuneSSJ]

-About Sumitomo-
Another one of my wishes for Super thrown out the the window. So, no Kikuchi remastered sountracks.?!And that award he got weeks ago, just asked for that...
Well, Sumitomo is not bad. Not great either. Just hope he does something on BOG and ROF levels.

[Bulma's Foot Masseur]

-About Sumitomo-
So, no Kikuchi remastered sountracks.?!And that award he got weeks ago, just asked for that...

Is this something people actually want from a brand new Dragon Ball series? Even if Sumitomo isn't the end-all greatest, I'd take him any day over a bunch of appropriated Kikuchi tracks we've been hearing for over a decade now.

Let someone else have their time in the sun. I'm pretty sure it's been established that Sumitomo can compose some amazing stuff provided he actually has a budget. (AKA not with The Final Chapters.)

[Rukura]

Like Ajay said, saw it coming.

Saw Episode of Bardock fairly recently, and it was painful because whoever scored it needed to stick around.

[FortuneSSJ]

Well, getting a new whole set of sountracks is just another one of many reasons why Super shouldn't take place in Z timeline.

[Captain Space]

Well, getting a new whole set of sountracks is just another one of many reasons why Super shouldn't take place in Z timeline.

I...kind of get what you're saying, but it doesn't seem that relevant. There have already been works taking place in the Z timeline that have had new soundtracks.

[Captain-Sora]

So, no Kikuchi remastered sountracks?

The only time that would have been appropriate would have been with Kai. Something I totally wanted to happen too. However, having a remastered Kikuchi score for an entirely new series would be awkward and clunky, as it tells the tale of brand new situations and characters. Such a project requires new leitmotifs and pieces to match the material. With that said, it would be cool for the composer to actually utilize and rearrange classic motifs from the original score when scenes call for them. It's probably too late to see that ever happening, though, and there's no reason to expect Sumitomo suddenly heading in that direction, given his musical history with Buu Kai and the films.

As for my opinion on the guy, it's a bit mixed. When he's just doing traditional orchestral cues for dramatic, emotional, and peaceful moments, he really excels. However, whenever he starts to dabbled into mixing styles and throwing in ill-fitting instrumentation that doesn't quite match Dragon Ball, it winds up being somewhat jarring. It only ever really works when he tries to throw in some rockish elements, such as in "Goku" and that prologue music with the memorable and cool guitar riff.

If he can just stick to that more traditional and slightly rockish side to him, it might turn out to be a decent soundtrack.

[B]

They were never going to repurpose Kikuchi tracks; they want to sell CDs.

[Kakarotto92]

I'm fine with this, been hearing his work for Kai for the first time in the last couple of days and I'm really digging some of the tracks (the fact that my expectations were low helped, so I was pleasantly surprised when I heard awesome pieces such as the one that plays when Goku turns SSJ3). Sure he's no Kikuchi, but considering the budget limitations he had I'd say he did pretty good. I actually prefer his score to Yamamoto's in Kai.

[Valerius Dover]

We all knew this would be the case. Just like how it was obvious with The Final Chapters and Resurrection F. I've heard some of his work separately and in a few clips, but have yet to see any episode or movie with his score in it, as I STILL haven't seen Battle of Gods, but will any day now. I can say that I'm perfectly fine with this choice for now. The question is whether any previous tracks will be reused or not.

[FortuneSSJ]

I actually prefer his score to Yamamoto's in Kai.

In that regard, no doubt. I choose him over Yamamoto anyday.

[fadeddreams5]

I prefer Yamamoto's, but I don't mind Sumitomo's tracks. There are some gems in there. Overall, pretty bland but doesn't kill the experience either.

[snaku]

Completely unsurprising news. Looking forward to some real news on Tuesday. Don't let me down Tuesday, you've been on a hot streak lately.

They were never going to repurpose Kikuchi tracks; they want to sell CDs.

Well then maybe they should have hired someone other than Sumitomo.

[Kakarotto92]

heavy strings and excessive chanting.

The chant in the beginning sounds almost exactly like this one from Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno's OST.

[DBZ_Lee]

Completely unsurprising news. Looking forward to some real news on Tuesday. Don't let me down Tuesday, you've been on a hot streak lately.

They were never going to repurpose Kikuchi tracks; they want to sell CDs.

Well then maybe they should have hired someone other than Sumitomo.

I don't think anything happened this past Tuesday. I'm not expecting anything until V-Jump.