Does 'Super' have too much fanservice for the sake of it?

[WittyUsername]

Just so we're all perfectly clear, I don't mean fanservice of the sexual variety, I'm talking about fanservice in the sense that the writers/Toriyama are going "Oh! Wouldn't it be cool if we did this?" To be honest, I'm kind of beginning to think that Super is perhaps getting too excessive in the amount of fan service it provides, to the point where parts of it comes off as fanfiction.

Aside from adapting RoF, which already had the very fanservicey premise of bringing Freeza back to life and giving him a new transformation, we also had Toei bringing back Captain Ginyu, for seemingly no reason other than to appeal to the nostalgia of the fanbase. Then we had the Future Trunks arc, which not only brought back an extremely popular character, but also had an evil Goku as one of the main villains, a new transformation for Future Trunks, and the return of Vegetto (who ultimately ended up being pretty pointless). Finally, we have the Universe Survival arc, which has given us a character who was clearly made to be a canon version of Broly, as well as Freeza not only coming back yet again, but also him supposedly fighting alongside Goku and the others.

To be perfectly honest, while I don't necessarily hate having a bit of fanservice for the sake of it, it kind of seems like Super is going overboard with it. It just seems like they're trying too hard to do things just so the fans can go "Oh wow! That's cool!" As cynical as this may sound, at this point, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we had a future episode where Goku meets Bardock and Gine.

[fadeddreams5]

Honestly, this series has been the opposite of "fanservicey" up until the current arc. Otherwise, people would have gotten Mystic Gohan a LONG time ago. Frieza coming back was not fanservice. Ginyu coming back was. Goku Black was not fanservice; this was not a conventional evil Goku and was a surprisingly brilliant character too. Vegito was fanservice, but also a nice little touch, though poorly implemented at the same time.

Now, the current arc is littered with fanservice, but I also think that's the point. It almost feels like a celebration of all these characters, even if the whole power level thing has been completely retconned to cram them all into a coherent (I use that word loosely) story.

[DHM211]

Super does have a lot of fanservice but as long as its enjoyable and doesn't create some kind of plot hole I don't mind it.
Except for everything that happened in the Resurrection 'F' arc. That was horrible.

[precita]

Bringing 17 back is also fanservice. Who honestly ever expected to see him again especially in a major role? He had no major appearance from the time he was absorbed by Cell throughout the rest of DBZ besides one small cameo in the Buu arc, throughout the next 85+ episodes of Super till he appeared.

Android 17 went a 22+ year and over 200+ episode gap without a real appearance, not counting GT.

[SaiyanGod117]

Honestly, this series has been the opposite of "fanservicey" up until the current arc. Otherwise, people would have gotten Mystic Gohan a LONG time ago. Frieza coming back was not fanservice. Ginyu coming back was. Goku Black was not fanservice; this was not a conventional evil Goku and was a surprisingly brilliant character too. Vegito was fanservice, but also a nice little touch, though poorly implemented at the same time.

Now, the current arc is littered with fanservice, but I also think that's the point. It almost feels like a celebration of all these characters, even if the whole power level thing has been completely retconned to cram them all into a coherent (I use that word loosely) story.

I have to disagree, I feel the show has been filled with nothing but fan service.

[Shinomori]

Yeah they have too much fan service, but it is what it is. Between story telling and fan service/fanfiction, the show has been fan service since the RoF arc. I thought with the return of Trunks we would be getting the story telling aspect back, but that wasn't the case in my opinion. Even the thought with bringing Future Trunks back was fan service, but there was potential when I heard he was 31 years of age. They could have given him a more mature look, and even could have had him be married with kids. I would have loved to see Vegata interact with a mature Trunks who was a father himself. I would have loved to see Vegeta interact with grandchildren. Nope, they brought Trunks back the same way he was before, except for the color of his hair and his supposed age of 31. So it was fan service and bad storytelling.

I don't think we're going to get a decent story until two things happen. One, there's a time skip. Two, we have a legit villain with a clear goal. Black had potential, but his back story was all jacked up and at the end of the day, his goals were jacked up. Kaioshins are supposed to be creators, but that creative power was never really explored during the Goku Black arc. He never created his own creatures, and just so much potential lost. Anyway, I've accepted the fan service for what it is and am enjoying the show more for it.

[LightBing]

Impossible to truly determine. By some people's definition Super existence is fan-service as it exists to please the fans making the conversation irrelevant.
While others might look beyond the appearances and find substance in characters return like Future Trunks, holding a more grounded definition.

[buutenks]

It has fanservice in it. But it isnt full of it. Tho the fanservice it delivers is decent and isnt to big. 17 coming back isnt really a big deal nor is getting a fem broly. Since the real meat of the current arc is the new power houses we got introduced and will be introduced to. Jiren, Toppo, Teletubbie girl. All the new GoDs.

Maybe Freeza coming back is a bit of a fanservice, tho unlike RoF arc(tho the movie was awesome), this will actually be fun, since he is forced to tag along with Goku, who he hates and wants to defeat and since Freeza is pure evil, he wont have a change of heart like Vegeta.

[DrakenballP]

I don't see an issue with this, and it isn't causing inconsistencies or other issues. I love bringing Frieza back. He's my favorite character next to Vegeta.

[Asura]

The entirety of Super is fanservice. The only reason this show exists is fanservice. From RoF and on, it's just been nothing but fan service.

"Hey, lets bring back Frieza again!"
"Hey, lets have an alternate universe version of Frieza!"
"Hey, lets have saiyans... in other universes!"
"Hey, lets have Super Saiyan AND Kaioken!"
"Hey, lets bring back Future Trunks!"
"Hey, lets have an evil Goku!"
"Hey, lets bring back Vegetto!"
"Hey, lets bring back Gohan all of a sudden out of the blue!"
"Hey, lets canonize Broly and even make this new Broly be a carbon copy of the old one, from their lines to their poses to their attacks!"
"Hey, lets have female super saiyans!"
"Hey, lets bring back #17!"
"Hey, lets bring back Freeza AGAIN AGAIN"

etc. etc. you see where I'm going with this

[Alruneia]

Fanservice as in "the viewers would like it if we did this, this and this"? Not at present, but it's not far off.
You could call Frieza's return (Resurrection F) fanservice, but that's really it for that arc. You could call Cabba and the existence of Universe 6 saiyans (Champa arc) fanservice, and that's about it for that arc. For the Zamasu arc, Future Trunks' return and Goku Black's existence can both be called fanservice. SSJB Vegito and Trunks' special form in the anime should count too. That's about it there.
And then we have the Tournament of Power. We were immediately treated to a female Broly when it was revealed. Kale's whole existence is fanservice, playing to the Broly fanbase, and they've never tried to sell it as anything else. We also have Caulifla, who has hit SSJ1 really easily and SSJ2 for no reason, and she was probably made to satisfy the fan demands of a female Super Saiyan. Gohan regaining his Ultimate power is definitely fanservice, playing to the Gohan fanbase, as they did do a bit of a "the old Gohan is back" thing in Jump. 17's return and Frieza's second return can also be considered fanservice. However, the arc also has a lot of things that can't as easily be considered fanservice, such as Ribrianne, the Pride Troopers, the Gods of Destruction and their angels, Universe 3's warriors, Universe 10's warriors, the Trio de Dangers... Dropping Buu and skipping four universes... There is some balance still. Not everything is done and designed just to please fans. There is an upward trend, though, and I hope they stop that, preferrably by having the fanservice characters get wrecked.

[fadeddreams5]

The entirety of Super is fanservice. The only reason this show exists is fanservice. From RoF and on, it's just been nothing but fan service.

"Hey, lets bring back Frieza again!"
"Hey, lets have an alternate universe version of Frieza!"
"Hey, lets have saiyans... in other universes!"
"Hey, lets have Super Saiyan AND Kaioken!"
"Hey, lets bring back Future Trunks!"
"Hey, lets have an evil Goku!"
"Hey, lets bring back Vegetto!"
"Hey, lets bring back Gohan all of a sudden out of the blue!"
"Hey, lets canonize Broly and even make this new Broly be a carbon copy of the old one, from their lines to their poses to their attacks!"
"Hey, lets have female super saiyans!"
"Hey, lets bring back #17!"
"Hey, lets bring back Freeza AGAIN AGAIN"

etc. etc. you see where I'm going with this

None of the things I bolded would I consider fanservice. Incidentally, the stuff I didn't mostly come from the new arc, which I admit is fanservice galore, not that I mind, sans the power level issue.

[Asura]

The entirety of Super is fanservice. The only reason this show exists is fanservice. From RoF and on, it's just been nothing but fan service.

"Hey, lets bring back Frieza again!"
"Hey, lets have an alternate universe version of Frieza!"
"Hey, lets have saiyans... in other universes!"
"Hey, lets have Super Saiyan AND Kaioken!"
"Hey, lets bring back Future Trunks!"
"Hey, lets have an evil Goku!"
"Hey, lets bring back Vegetto!"
"Hey, lets bring back Gohan all of a sudden out of the blue!"
"Hey, lets canonize Broly and even make this new Broly be a carbon copy of the old one, from their lines to their poses to their attacks!"
"Hey, lets have female super saiyans!"
"Hey, lets bring back #17!"
"Hey, lets bring back Freeza AGAIN AGAIN"

etc. etc. you see where I'm going with this

None of the things I bolded would I consider fanservice. Incidentally, the stuff I didn't mostly come from the new arc, which I admit is fanservice galore, not that I mind, sans the power level issue.

You don't consider reviving popular villains and re-using them as fanservice? You also don't consider bringing character's back whose arcs have long been completed as fanservice? Or the ridiculous fanfiction idea of an evil Goku as fanservice?

[HybridSaiyan]

The entirety of Super is fanservice. The only reason this show exists is fanservice. From RoF and on, it's just been nothing but fan service.

"Hey, lets bring back Frieza again!"
"Hey, lets have an alternate universe version of Frieza!"
"Hey, lets have saiyans... in other universes!"
"Hey, lets have Super Saiyan AND Kaioken!"
"Hey, lets bring back Future Trunks!"
"Hey, lets have an evil Goku!"
"Hey, lets bring back Vegetto!"
"Hey, lets bring back Gohan all of a sudden out of the blue!"
"Hey, lets canonize Broly and even make this new Broly be a carbon copy of the old one, from their lines to their poses to their attacks!"
"Hey, lets have female super saiyans!"
"Hey, lets bring back #17!"
"Hey, lets bring back Freeza AGAIN AGAIN"

etc. etc. you see where I'm going with this

None of the things I bolded would I consider fanservice. Incidentally, the stuff I didn't mostly come from the new arc, which I admit is fanservice galore, not that I mind, sans the power level issue.

You don't consider reviving popular villains and re-using them as fanservice? You also don't consider bringing character's back whose arcs have long been completed as fanservice? Or the ridiculous fanfiction idea of an evil Goku as fanservice?

We had Turles and Ginyu Goku so I'd agree and say Goku Black is fanservice.

[Metalwario64]

Kale is the weirdest fanservice ever. In the latest episode she said Broly's lines, and they referenced a bunch of shots and attacks from movie 8.

At this point, I wish we'd just gotten Broly himself, especially since his backstory was more interesting, and I hate Kale's voice. I feel toward her what many people these days feel toward Broly himself, and I like Broly.

[FoolsGil]

Making a super form based on Broly is definitely the shark jumping point of too much fanservice for the sake of it. So yes.

[Yedis]

17 and Frieza are not fan service. There's was not a strong push to bring those characters back. That was a decision made by the Writers. However 17 being on the team is the logical choice since even without the power boost he's still one of the strongest 10 people in U7.

If the U7 team was truly 100% Fan Service then Goten and Trunks would be on the team.

[fadeddreams5]

The entirety of Super is fanservice. The only reason this show exists is fanservice. From RoF and on, it's just been nothing but fan service.

"Hey, lets bring back Frieza again!"
"Hey, lets have an alternate universe version of Frieza!"
"Hey, lets have saiyans... in other universes!"
"Hey, lets have Super Saiyan AND Kaioken!"
"Hey, lets bring back Future Trunks!"
"Hey, lets have an evil Goku!"
"Hey, lets bring back Vegetto!"
"Hey, lets bring back Gohan all of a sudden out of the blue!"
"Hey, lets canonize Broly and even make this new Broly be a carbon copy of the old one, from their lines to their poses to their attacks!"
"Hey, lets have female super saiyans!"
"Hey, lets bring back #17!"
"Hey, lets bring back Freeza AGAIN AGAIN"

etc. etc. you see where I'm going with this

None of the things I bolded would I consider fanservice. Incidentally, the stuff I didn't mostly come from the new arc, which I admit is fanservice galore, not that I mind, sans the power level issue.

You don't consider reviving popular villains and re-using them as fanservice? You also don't consider bringing character's back whose arcs have long been completed as fanservice? Or the ridiculous fanfiction idea of an evil Goku as fanservice?

I don't consider bringing back characters that have appeared in the past to be fanservice if they are the focal points of the new storylines. These were stories that simply needed these characters to work; Trunks and Frieza weren't reintroduced for the sole purpose of pleasing fans like, say, the villains were in Fusion Reborn. Frieza coming back in the new arc--that's fanservice to me.

As for evil Goku, I guess. But this wasn't the conventional evil "Kakarot" from an alternate universe either. It wasn't Goku at all. It was Zamasu. But I suppose it could have had any other design. Eh. Thankfully, he ended up being one of the best villains in the entire franchise.

[Freeza9000]

Or the ridiculous fanfiction idea of an evil Goku as fanservice?

Funny enough that this is coming from you:

Evil Goku never existed though. It was just something the fans made up. From almost the very beginning of his appearance it was made known that this wasn't an evil Goku, but someone in Goku's body. You can't praise TOEI/Toriyama for turning a bad idea into a good one when the bad idea never existed to begin with.

[Asura]

Or the ridiculous fanfiction idea of an evil Goku as fanservice?

Funny enough that this is coming from you:

Evil Goku never existed though. It was just something the fans made up. From almost the very beginning of his appearance it was made known that this wasn't an evil Goku, but someone in Goku's body. You can't praise TOEI/Toriyama for turning a bad idea into a good one when the bad idea never existed to begin with.

I was referring to how the fans perceive it. Just as they perceive Turles as an evil Goku, despite Turles not really being anything like Goku or having anything to do with him at all aside from the hair. In the sense that Turles is an "Evil Goku" to the fans, despite his character and story having nothing to do with it, Black is also an "Evil Goku" to the fans, despite his character and story having nothing to do with it. Both are fanservice though.