Is Super on its way out?

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

This is all pure speculation on my part, but is the Super brand being phased out moving forward? With Daima releasing this fall Toei/Shueisha would want to put their focus on promoting the new brand. Also since its run finishing in 2018 the Super anime never returning to Television. Most likely in favor of developing Daima if the reports of Daima's 5 years of development are true.
On the U.S. side (this is probably coincidental) we saw Toei/Shueisha/Bandai (whoever would be in charge of brand tie-ins) revert to the Z moniker for the Dragon Ball Z Reese's Puffs brand tie-in.
What do you think? Is there evidence that points to Super being phased out, do you think the Super branding will have a comeback after Daima finishes airing? Let's speculate together.

[SupremeKai25]

No.

Considering how Toriyama's name is still on the Moro and Granolah arcs and he designed the Heeters, I find it nigh-impossible for the Super Anime to never animate the Moro and Granolah arcs. Impossible. They are amongst the last of Toriyama-approved works.

Also, Iyoku, President of Capsule Corporation Tokyo, stated that he will continue to make animated content for the next 10 years to convey Toriyama's vision. Since Toriyama's name is on the Moro and Granolah arcs, I find it nigh-impossible that Capsule Corporation Tokyo will not animate the Moro and Granolah arcs eventually, and they will naturally be part of the Super Anime, not Daima. And he stated this BEFORE Toriyama's passing.

If the Animated Moro and Granolah arcs follow the format of the Zamasu arc, a 21-episodes-long arc divided roughly in three major segments (the ideal format), we can easily get up to 42 episodes of Anime adaptation, filler notwithstanding, and 9.5 months of Weekly Super content, breaks notwithstanding.

[NeoZ Duwang]

Like SupremeKai25 said, it's almost certain they will animate at least Moro and Granola eventually, I would also assume they'd make a television retelling of the Broli and Superhero movies. The "Super" brand is not going anywhere soon I think.

However, there is something to be said about how Superhero timeskips to only a year or so before the EoZ... I mean, sure, they can still cram some stories in that time period, but it is very weird to me that they changed the status quo when they could just... keep the timeline somewhat vague and milk the 10 year gap as much as possible. I want to say that it feels like the "Super" storyline is getting closer and closer to end... but why would they do this when Dragon Ball makes so much money? I also doubt that they will get past EoZ, especially after Toriyama's passing.

I don't think it's impossible for Dragon Ball Super to keep going, but as much as I appreciate the work of many other artists involved with the series, the main guy is now gone, and the future of the series is uncertain, particularly on the creative side. I assume that the brand will phase as soon as they get to the point where they can no longer keep Super going, assuming that it will happen, and then they will either just go back to the Z branding, because that's what's iconic, or they will just use a generic "Dragon Ball" branding

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I don't think so, anime is meant to promote manga in Japan, so since the former still has the 'Dragon Ball Super' name it would be unwise to rebrand it.

The Battle of Gods and Resurrection F storylines were rebranded, likely because Super wasn't a thing when they were being made, but once Super was announced those arcs were retold for them to be integrated into the new brand.

My guess is Daima will be it's own self-contained story that will start when Goku and friends are turned into kids and ends when they are reverted back to their normal ages. It would be wiser and help brand consistency if the kid characters with Daima designs were Daima-branded and Super/Z was kept for the designs we've seen for those respective series.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

I don't think so, anime is meant to promote manga in Japan, so since the former still has the 'Dragon Ball Super' name it would be unwise to rebrand it.

The Battle of Gods and Resurrection F storylines were rebranded, likely because Super wasn't a thing when they were being made, but once Super was announced those arcs were retold for them to be integrated into the new brand.

My guess is Daima will be it's own self-contained story that will start when Goku and friends are turned into kids and ends when they are reverted back to their normal ages. It would be wiser and help brand consistency if the kid characters with Daima designs were Daima-branded and Super/Z was kept for the designs we've seen for those respective series.

Makes sense, but the one thing that I'm confused about is wasn't the Super manga originally meant to advertise the anime? It would make sense for it to be the opposite now given that Super hasn't aired a new episode since ending in 2018, but the Super manga is, and always has been published in V Jump. Which the guys on the Kanzenshuu podcast have pointed out is mainly a side book for sequels to legacy manga, and video/card game tie-in manga. While stuff like One Piece gets published in the mainline Shonen Jump.

[ZombieVito]

Like SupremeKai25 said, it's almost certain they will animate at least Moro and Granola eventually, I would also assume they'd make a television retelling of the Broli and Superhero movies. The "Super" brand is not going anywhere soon I think.

However, there is something to be said about how Superhero timeskips to only a year or so before the EoZ... I mean, sure, they can still cram some stories in that time period, but it is very weird to me that they changed the status quo when they could just... keep the timeline somewhat vague and milk the 10 year gap as much as possible. I want to say that it feels like the "Super" storyline is getting closer and closer to end... but why would they do this when Dragon Ball makes so much money? I also doubt that they will get past EoZ, especially after Toriyama's passing.

I don't think it's impossible for Dragon Ball Super to keep going, but as much as I appreciate the work of many other artists involved with the series, the main guy is now gone, and the future of the series is uncertain, particularly on the creative side. I assume that the brand will phase as soon as they get to the point where they can no longer keep Super going, assuming that it will happen, and then they will either just go back to the Z branding, because that's what's iconic, or they will just use a generic "Dragon Ball" branding

Dragon Ball will surely get pass EoZ but it won't be under the Super name.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

wasn't the Super manga originally meant to advertise the anime?

It was, that's the ironic thing. The Super manga carried on and effectively defeated its own purpose. Conversely the Super anime went on indefinite hiatus and now it will have to go back to tradition if Moro and Granolah are adapted (which they will very likely be, Granolah especially because it had more involvement from Toriyama, but if TOEI do his arc they may as well do Moro too).

Dragon Ball will surely get pass EoZ but it won't be under the Super name.

I'm not sure about going past End of Z, people have been anticipating that for years and they always find a way to squeeze more content into that 10-year gap. It will all depend on what Toriyama's wishes were for his son and everyone else that would be inheriting the franchise, if he didn't want to go past the end of the manga (which we have a lot of reasons to suspect was the case considering how much has been squeezed out of those 10 years) I could see Toyotaro and TOEI respecting that.

Toriyama gave GT his blessing, but it wasn't his story so the powers that be may not want to move towards that period, especially because it was something he would be happy to watch and enjoy with the viewer. It also might be risky invalidating GT's existence even more because things like Super Saiyan 4 are still a huge selling point.

Maybe we could see a remake of GT though reworked to make it fit with Super.

[Trouser]

I think Super should end with whatever Toriyama left in his notes.

If they want to milk the franchise some more (but without Toriyama for obvious reasons) they should've change the name and start something new - a "non canon" continuation.

It's the best way to avoid even bigger mess (because three versions of Super is... already too much).

I'd call it Dragon Ball Beyond, so we'd get stories after the last chapter of the original manga. A typical what-if stories, or spin-off or whatever you want to call it.

[Xeogran]

It also might be risky invalidating GT's existence even more because things like Super Saiyan 4 are still a huge selling point.

The story can go post EoZ and still be "before GT" since it happens a whole 5 years after EoZ. I doubt Super will go THAT far anytime soon

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

wasn't the Super manga originally meant to advertise the anime?

It was, that's the ironic thing. The Super manga carried on and effectively defeated its own purpose. Conversely the Super anime went on indefinite hiatus and now it will have to go back to tradition if Moro and Granolah are adapted (which they will very likely be, Granolah especially because it had more involvement from Toriyama, but if TOEI do his arc they may as well do Moro too).

Not to dump on anyone who enjoys the manga, but to be honest it feels like the manga has outlived its purpose. The manga seems more like it's a curiosity to most people that I've interacted with online and people I know personally haven't even read more than a couple chapters if at all.

[ZombieVito]

I think Super should end with whatever Toriyama left in his notes.

If they want to milk the franchise some more (but without Toriyama for obvious reasons) they should've change the name and start something new - a "non canon" continuation.

It's the best way to avoid even bigger mess (because three versions of Super is... already too much).

I'd call it Dragon Ball Beyond, so we'd get stories after the last chapter of the original manga. A typical what-if stories, or spin-off or whatever you want to call it.

I like to think Toriyama left instructions on how to end DBS once he found out about his brain tumor. Wasn't it confirmed that another movie was in development after Super Hero released? Maybe he deals with Black Freeza there, who knows.

[capsulecorp]

Not to dump on anyone who enjoys the manga, but to be honest it feels like the manga has outlived its purpose. The manga seems more like it's a curiosity to most people that I've interacted with online and people I know personally haven't even read more than a couple chapters if at all.

That's actually surprising. Here on Kanzenshuu it's very common to find people who follow the manga, not to mention many that prefer the manga over the anime... especially in regards to art and characterization.

[sangofe]

Not to dump on anyone who enjoys the manga, but to be honest it feels like the manga has outlived its purpose. The manga seems more like it's a curiosity to most people that I've interacted with online and people I know personally haven't even read more than a couple chapters if at all.

That's actually surprising. Here on Kanzenshuu it's very common to find people who follow the manga, not to mention many that prefer the manga over the anime... especially in regards to art and characterization.

I like both. But I haven't read past the Goku Black/Zamasu arc because I wanted to continue watching the anime.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Not to dump on anyone who enjoys the manga, but to be honest it feels like the manga has outlived its purpose. The manga seems more like it's a curiosity to most people that I've interacted with online and people I know personally haven't even read more than a couple chapters if at all.

That's actually surprising. Here on Kanzenshuu it's very common to find people who follow the manga, not to mention many that prefer the manga over the anime... especially in regards to art and characterization.

Most of the people that I've interacted with outside Kanzenshuu are anime only's and have had very little experience with the manga. Personally I wasn't a fan of either version of Super. There were bits and pieces I liked, (with some aspects being done better in the manga, and others being done better in the anime) but as a whole product Super didn't do much for me outside the movies. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was more keen on Super, but I don't know.

[SupremeKai25]

Not to dump on anyone who enjoys the manga, but to be honest it feels like the manga has outlived its purpose. The manga seems more like it's a curiosity to most people that I've interacted with online and people I know personally haven't even read more than a couple chapters if at all.

That's actually surprising. Here on Kanzenshuu it's very common to find people who follow the manga, not to mention many that prefer the manga over the anime... especially in regards to art and characterization.

I mean, the Manga has been the only running medium of Super for 6 years, so... of course? Naturally many of the people who preferred the Anime are no longer as active as they were in the 2010s, with the absence of any new content and whatnot. I don't know what your point is supposed to be.

[Koitsukai]

Nah, the manga has at least 2 more years left, and one could assume Toei won't let the last few stories Toriyama was involved in fade away without being animated. I'd say it'll run for half a decade more.

[Mr Baggins]

As a brand that makes money, Super will never end. The GT anime ended in 1997 and is still getting milked to this day via games, toys, etc. – and being the bread winner that it is, Super isn't going anywhere from a merchandising perspective. I'm sure they'll also animate the manga arcs at some point.

As a story, the manga should 100% be on its way out. It's already close to where Toriyama wanted Dragon Ball to end, it was creatively running on fumes even before Toriyama's passing, and there's only one loose end remaining anyway. I'm not Shueisha, but if I were, I wouldn't let it go past one more arc.

[kemuri07]

Not to dump on anyone who enjoys the manga, but to be honest it feels like the manga has outlived its purpose. The manga seems more like it's a curiosity to most people that I've interacted with online and people I know personally haven't even read more than a couple chapters if at all.

That's actually surprising. Here on Kanzenshuu it's very common to find people who follow the manga, not to mention many that prefer the manga over the anime... especially in regards to art and characterization.

Most of the people that I've interacted with outside Kanzenshuu are anime only's and have had very little experience with the manga. Personally I wasn't a fan of either version of Super. There were bits and pieces I liked, (with some aspects being done better in the manga, and others being done better in the anime) but as a whole product Super didn't do much for me outside the movies. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was more keen on Super, but I don't know.

But that's most anime/manga. With very few exceptions, the anime is going to be the more popular option for most casual viewers precisely because they'd rather see animation rather than still images.

But even if Super does come back as anime--it will absolutely come back as an adaptation of the manga as opposed to a continuation of the 2015 anime.

[Hellspawn28]

It also might be risky invalidating GT's existence even more because things like Super Saiyan 4 are still a huge selling point.

The story can go post EoZ and still be "before GT" since it happens a whole 5 years after EoZ. I doubt Super will go THAT far anytime soon

They probably will. GT and Super are in their own thing that don't follow each other.

[SupremeKai25]

I certainly hope Super ends with Goku leaving with Uub, as DBZ did. An ending like GT looks good only for the sentimental and emotional AMVs with the sad music, but it does not fit Dragon Ball.

The ending of DBZ, which is the ending that Super should respect and revisit, is the perfect ending to Dragon Ball. A definitive ending, a passing of the torch to the next generation, the student becoming the master and imparting his wisdom to the next generation, while also keeping in line with the funny and light-hearted atmosphere of the entire series.

The ending of GT does not fit Dragon Ball. Therefore, I certainly hope DBS never tries to go beyond the End of Z and end on such a melodramatic and corny note like GT did.

Ideally, the final arc of Super should revisit the 28th Tournament by applying some modifications (like references to Beerus and the Angels), to keep in line with all the revelations from Super: but it should also be respectful of the original ending that Toriyama chose for his series, which is Goku leaving with Uub.

Anything beyond that - it's just milking the franchise. Toriyama chose to insert Super in that DBZ 10-year timegap for a reason.