While fans have been anticipating Dragon Ball Super‘s comeback since its end in 2018, the hype surrounding the anime’s sequel has caught new wind due to the upcoming Genkidamatsuri event. With the event set to take place in January 2026, fans believe the anime’s comeback chances look better than ever.
Although fans would be elated by the anime’s possible return, they shouldn’t forget what the show went through during its initial run. From the beginning, Dragon Ball Super faced several issues ranging from production quality, powerscaling, and character portrayals. These issues caused huge damage to the anime’s reputation. As such, it is highly unlikely that the sequel season will be able to fix what the original anime destroyed.
Dragon Ball Super’s Production Issues Caused Irreparable Damage to Its Reputation
As fans must remember, when Dragon Ball Super started airing, there was huge hype surrounding the series. For the first time since 1997, fans worldwide were tuning in to watch the anime every week. Hence, it is only given that fans had huge expectations from the show. Unfortunately, not even one month in, Toei Animation started fumbling the anime.
From the beginning, Dragon Ball Super showed signs of rough and inconsistent animation. While one might have learned to live with the inconsistencies, these were even seen in the most important scenes from the anime, even including those that portrayed Super Saiyan God Goku vs. Beerus.
Therefore, the anime never stood a chance of making a good first impression with its animation. It was only later during the Tournament of Power Saga that the production got better and consistent. Unfortunately, it was too late to bring back the fans who stopped watching the anime due to its poor production at the start.
Fights in Dragon Ball Super Seemed Non-Consequential
That said, it wasn’t just the animation that failed to impress fans but also the fights. As fans might recall, while Dragon Balls could resurrect people and bring back planets, each villain in Dragon Ball Z posed a great threat. The characters were not just worried about themselves and their friends but entire planets and solar systems.
However, that weight was nowhere to be found in Dragon Ball Super, as each fight simply seemed like a sparring segment to see who can get stronger, Goku or Vegeta? In fact, the only villain who posed a threat to Earth in Dragon Ball Super was Zamasu. However, he too, wasn’t targeting the protagonists’ timeline but that of Future Trunks’. As such, no fight in the anime truly seemed consequential.
Powerscaling Made No Sense
Powerscaling in Dragon Ball Super made no sense. Back in Dragon Ball Z, the different Super Saiyan forms made it easy for fans to powerscale the characters. However, Dragon Ball Super completely erased that convenience with the introduction of God Ki.
Not to forget, the Super Saiyan God form was probably the first transformation in the Dragon Ball franchise that carried no weight. Previously, when a new transformation was revealed, there was either huge hype around the transformation or the scene carried heavy emotions. However, the new Super Saiyan God form only needed a ritual, taking away half the fun of witnessing a new power-up.
The questionable part is, if Super Saiyan God transformation only requires a ritual, why don’t all Saiyans on Earth, including Goten and Trunks, go through the same? Had they attained the God forms like their fathers, they too could have appeared in the Tournament of Power, likely replacing Tien and Master Roshi.
Speaking of, why did Universe 7 not pick them in the first place? If they were strong enough to face off against Majin Buu when they were much younger, there was no reason for them to sit on the sidelines during the Tournament of Power.
Lastly, even Frieza’s Golden form made no sense. If he could have reached a form on par with Super Saiyan Blue with only four months of training and no ritual, why didn’t he attain the transformation before? It seemed very convenient that the moment Goku and Vegeta attained new transformations, Frieza attained a power-up at a similar power range.
Characters In Dragon Ball Super Were Off-Model
Dragon Ball Super had several character assassinations, starting with Vegeta. While it is true that he was trying to protect Earth by distracting Beerus with his Bingo dance, Dragon Ball Z’s Vegeta would have rather died than put himself in such a humiliating situation.
Next, was Future Trunks. His entire goal was to safeguard his timeline. But when all hope seemed lost, he seemed okay with Goku calling Zeno to erase his timeline from existence. Not to mention, Future Trunks and Mai later chose to go to another timeline where they overlapped with themselves. Wouldn’t it have been better for them to have stayed in the same timeline as the protagonists or time travel somewhere else much earlier?
While these two character assassinations indeed seem serious, what Goku went through was completely unsettling. While he was always known for being goofy, Goku acted way too dumb in Dragon Ball Super. He didn’t know what kissing was, didn’t realize until much later that Whis was an angel, and couldn’t tell the difference between real and copy Vegeta during the filler arc.
Not to mention, his childish desire to fight strong fighters was what led to the creation of the Tournament of Power, an event that would have caused his own universe to get erased.
Dragon Ball Super’s Comeback Won’t Fix Its Predecessor’s Mistakes
While, of course, there is a chance that Dragon Ball Super’s new season might feature good production from the get-go, that does not guarantee that it will perform well. When the anime first started airing, several fans refused to watch it, stating that it ruined the franchise. As such, considering the damage that has already been done, it is highly unlikely that it will ever match the bar raised by Dragon Ball Z decades ago.
Does this mean that Toei Animation should eliminate all plans for a sequel season? No, Dragon Ball is a massive franchise. Thus, even if Dragon Ball Super’s comeback doesn’t reach an audience as wide as when Dragon Ball Z aired, it is bound to be profitable for Toei Animation. Hence, for now, all fans can hope for is that Toei Animation actually announces a sequel to Dragon Ball Super.
- Release Date
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2015 – 2018
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Ryota Nakamura, Masanori Sato, Kenichi Takeshita, Takao Iwai, Hideki Hiroshima, Masato Mitsuka, Kazuya Karasawa, Ayumu Ono, Takahiro Imamura, Tatsuya Nagamine, Kôjiro Kawasaki, Kouji Ogawa
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Masakazu Morita
Whis (voice)
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Masako Nozawa
Son Goku/Goku Black/Son Gohan/Son Goten (voices)
