4 post-Boo sequels/stories

[AliTheZombie13]

...

You guys did say, "But it shows that Goku didn't really abandon his family like the manga's detractors love to complain about."
That ultimately is a bad thing to do to your family, and makes Goku a bad person. So this statement boils down to "See? He's not that bad of a guy."

For me, it doesn't really change the fact that the original manga literally ends with Toriyama going full "Goku's an asshole who loves fighting and nothing else, deal with it!"
I will still keep detracting about the manga's ending being bad, sorry.

[sunsetshimmer]

I still haven't started Daima and not know much about DBO story. So i can compare GT and Super only. Between these two i obviously choose GT cause it felt like actual sequel, different series, new adventure and was different enough to call it a new series.

In case of Super it lacks such feeling and feels more like what two first arcs really were - movie stories. The only thing that makes it a series is Goku and Vegeta getting new forms. It feels more like bunch of movies or fillers to Z rather than actual sequel to DBZ.

So in short:
-GT works better as actual sequel
-Super works better as next DBZ arc

[Zephyr]

You guys did say, "But it shows that Goku didn't really abandon his family like the manga's detractors love to complain about."
That ultimately is a bad thing to do to your family, and makes Goku a bad person. So this statement boils down to "See? He's not that bad of a guy."

For me, it doesn't really change the fact that the original manga ends with Goku going full "irresponsible jackass."
I will still keep detracting about the manga's ending being bad, sorry.

I'm happy for you, but the point is that Goku did not abandon his family, despite the common complaint. The other point is that Goku can teleport, so we shouldn't even need something like Neko Majin Z: Chapter 5 to infer that, despite the common complaint.

Obviously feel free to have those things nestled within your own interpretation of and complaints about everything else, but like.....we really do not have to turn this into another repeat of the same fruitless and needlessly passive aggressive conversation about Goku's character we have had numerous times. It only gets more miserable and feels more like a waste of time every time I participate in it, and I can't imagine it's any better for those reading it.

[Yuji]

On top of being able to teleport, Goku can circle the globe in seconds. Out of all the "Goku's a bad person" complaints, abandoning his family at the end of the series is the one that makes the least sense.

[AliTheZombie13]

"But Goku can teleport, he's super fast, he can be there for them and etc, etc, etc, etc..."

Maybe I'm biased, because I saw the anime first, and in there, it shows that Goku's decision, regardless of whether he plans to "visit them once in a while," causes clear emotional distress to his loved ones. That's literally how the story ends, with Chichi yelling at the top of her lungs for him to come back then fainting, Pan crying, and everyone else being concerned as fuck. That's on top of Goku not having shown up in five years, then he leaves once again. And then GT confirms that he has not seen them in years, at all.

Of course, it ain't Toriyama's fault that the anime crew inferred this would be the outcome, but it certainly is most people's interpretation of what happened.

But sure, let's drop the subject.

[Koitsukai]

I think the family abandonment idea comes from GT and the notion that the spent 5-10 years away from them just to go beat up a black child. Akira had nothing to do with that follow up...

Also, isn't his family comprised of a 27yo son with his own family, a 17yo son, and a wife he hardly ever sees except at dinner?... where's the irresponsibility? children already grown up, not the provider of the house, certainly not obliged to raise his granddaughter, he is actually Gyumao's dependent, he is another son. Taking off might be the most unselfish thing he has ever done to this family.

[LoganForkHands73]

I have a distant relatives who reminds me a bit of Goku, in terms of their idiosyncratic views on family/friendly relationships. It's not that Goku doesn't love his family, clearly he does, but he views his many friends on about the same level. At times, Goku seems almost overburdened by the love of his immediate family - it's like he genuinely doesn't quite understand why Chichi, Gohan and Goten always want him for themselves. There are other people in his life just as worthy of his time (as he sees it).

So yes, Goku can leave his family behind for extended periods, just as he does for many of his friends. Doesn't mean he abandons them permanently, but... well, Toriyama has emphasised again and again that Goku is pretty bad at the whole family thing and at this point, I believe him.

Anyway, as valuable as Neko Majin Z as the closest thing to a "post-EOZ manga" written and drawn by Toriyama himself, I don't think it's really fair to rank it alongside the other projects. It's clearly not meant to be taken seriously as a sequel - the Vegeta scene should be a clear enough testament to that - but it does have a few neat glimpses into how Goku's life progressed since we last saw him with Uub. Still, I like to imagine the circumstances that led to Vegeta re-joining the Freeza Force (and possibly forgetting his time on Earth).

IMO, Dragon Ball Online shouldn't be considered as a true peer here, either. Aside from paving the way for the likes of Xenoverse and Heroes with its Time Patrol narrative which is neither here nor there, the actual "post-EOZ" elements are largely confined to lore, worldbuilding and background information. Some of it certainly captures the imagination, but it's not exactly a structured narrative in the same way as the others. All of the interesting stuff relates to what the main characters ended up doing, e.g. Gohan writing scientific studies on chi control, Tenshinhan starting his own dojo, Goku and Vegeta settling the score for a final time in outer space. Stuff like "oh, the Red Ribbon Army came back" could have been alright but they didn't do anything worthwhile with it.

That leaves us with the three main competitors. I want to see how Daima ends before casting judgement, and I may catch up with the other two to have the most informed opinion.

[MasenkoHA]

...

You guys did say, "But it shows that Goku didn't really abandon his family like the manga's detractors love to complain about."
That ultimately is a bad thing to do to your family, and makes Goku a bad person. So this statement boils down to "See? He's not that bad of a guy."

For me, it doesn't really change the fact that the original manga literally ends with Toriyama going full "Goku's an asshole who loves fighting and nothing else, deal with it!"
I will still keep detracting about the manga's ending being bad, sorry.

It's a series where Goku's entire motivation for leaving his home in the mountains is so he can train to get stronger. I don't want to gatekeep and I don't want you to think you shouldn't keep posting, because you absolutely should for as long as you're inclined but maybe Dragon Ball isn't the series for you? And that's okay, there are thousands of other works of fiction more worthwhile than Dragon Ball.

Goku may have had his selfish motivations but he did promise Oob his family's freedom from poverty via Mr.Satan as well as name Oob his new successor as earth's protector. Saying the takeaway is "he's an asshole who cares about fighting and nothing else" is a pretty unfair takeaway

He also promised to visit from time to time and whomst is he abandoning? His adult son with his own wife and kid or his wife who he only married because he made a promise he didn't understand? Goten I guess is 17 but Goku was dead for the first 7 years of his life and Goten seemed pretty unbothered that his mom's roommate was leaving

I will always advocate for the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai being the vastly superior ending but the actual ending of the manga is perfectly fine for the kind of series Dragon Ball has always been and brings Goku's journey full circle (training someone else to become stronger and pass down all he's learned to his successor as well as having that one great fight). It's hardly a bad ending.

[AliTheZombie13]

It's a series where Goku's entire motivation for leaving his home in the mountains is so he can train to get stronger. I don't want to gatekeep and I don't want you to think you shouldn't keep posting, because you absolutely should for as long as you're inclined but maybe Dragon Ball isn't the series for you? And that's okay, there are thousands of other works of fiction more worthwhile than Dragon Ball.

I mean, I like the one series everybody insists isn't "Real Dragon Ball™", so maybe.
Though I do believe for any piece of media to work, be it Dragon Ball or whatever, you need to feel a bit, a tiny bit sympathetic towards its characters, otherwise it renders all the journey pointless. It's not just me, if TVTropes is anything to go by. So yeah, the story ending on that note does bother me, but I'm obviously not everybody and that's just my own personal view.

[tonysoprano300]

Goku is whoever Toriyama needs him to be in the moment, after all the debate and analysis thats the conclusion i get lol

[bahhma]

Which one was your favourite direction for post-Boo DB to go? Conceptually speaking, not necessarily in terms of execution.

Conceptually, Dragon Ball GT is my favorite so far. I prefer that it occurs after the manga's story ends, so anything about its execution I don't like I can easily hand-wave it away

I also like seeing the characters well-aged and seeing how a long stretch of peace changes them. Execution was of course iffy, however.

[Goten_jr]

I like GT as an overall ending Storyline for Dragon Ball the most it feels the most natural to me, but Dragon Ball Super is more entertaining and has way better Fights, Dragon Ball Daima on the other hand genuinely feels like a Spin off / an actual little side story between main arcs ( maybe it is ).



Btw: I personally like the first half of GT and most Super arcs more than the Buu arc

[BernardoCairo]

Well, GT was definitely the worst for me so far. It strips out everything I liked about Dragon Ball and the action itself is not fun to watch. It feels very "Toei-esque" (like the DBZ movies from the 90s).
Super wasn't very good, especially at the beginning. But I still managed to have fun with it. I think the movies and manga are nice and better than the anime.
Daima has been a lot of fun so far, but it's not finished yet. So it's hard to give an opinion. I do like how different it is from other Dragon Ball series in structure. And it's funny. Dragon Ball is always better when it doesn't try to be serious.
I haven't played Online and that's a shame. I wish Bandai would remake it somehow.

I just love how Boo is the catalyst for so many different stories. The arc is truly special, as is the manga as a whole. Nothing has ever come close to topping it.

[dbs fanboy]

GT's ending is just the best hands down.

However I find the Super timeline more entertaining.

GT made it's universe feel so small and while I respect it stuck to it's guns by ending the magical era in Dragon Ball, it's Dragon Ball ending it all in a mostly normal world where it seems like all the previous magic from older eras is gone and obscures is pretty lame for a franchise such as this imo.

I had hopes for Daima and it still entertains me but it just has done nothing, like it's not bad, it's just nothing.

It would have worked better as a movie.

Drago Ball Online is what I keep hoping the Super Timeline eventually ends up doing, we have some hints with Goku and Vegeta being buddies throughout it's run and little things like Freeza's army being back and Tien opening his own dojo.