Anime Universe Survival Saga Review (spoilers inbound)
And so the Universe Survival Saga finally draws to a close. Man! What a ride, huh? Well if I had to describe the Saga in a few words, I would call it a mixed bag. While it certainly had its epic moments, it had some not-so-epic ones. Let's run through them, shall we?
Pros:
- While Super's animation has never been an issue with me, there's no denying that this saga has some of the best animation in the show, particularly in the later episodes.
- The sheer amount of Character Development in this saga. Gohan regaining his Mystic form, Frieza becoming a Magnificent Bastard, Vegeta going beyond Super Saiyan Blue, Kale becoming a fighter in her own right, and Cabba going Super Saiyan 2. Even characters like Ribrainne and Jiren get their share, however small.
- The fights between Jiren and Ultra Instinct Goku are truly a sight to behold and hands down some of the best fights in the whole show.
- The Tournament of Power boasts a colorful cast of characters such as Caulifla, Kale, the Pride Troopers, the Trio De Dangers, Aniliza, and others.
- 17 has easily become the MVP of the tournament. They took a character no one really cared about and turned him into an absolute badass. And the fact that he gets to make the wish to revive the erased universes is the icing on the cake.
- Like the Resurrection F Saga, all of the Z fighters get their moment to shine in this saga.
Cons:
- While I do like Kale, I feel like her Character Development would've been stronger if it happened in the training episodes.
- The fact that Frieza and Frost's Villainous Friendship really didn't go anywhere was kind of a let down and only reinforced why I think making Frost a villain was a mistake.
- You'll have to slog through quite a few filler episodes to get to the main events.
- At first I liked Jiren when he first appeared, but the more they showed his true colors, the more I started to prefer his manga counterpart, especially when he tried to kill Goku's friends. Though his Jerkass Realization at the end won him back a few points with me.
- Some characters like Ribrainne can get pretty annoying.
- The ending, while awesome, was rather predictable. I mean, really? Who didn't expect Universe 7 to win and revive the erased universes?
Conclusion: Despite having a lot of filler and a predictable ending, the Universe Survival Saga is not slack in its promise of epic fights and is a good way to end the series on a high note. Well, onto the movie.
Anime Universe 6 Saga Review
When I reviewed the Resurrection F Saga, one of the people who commented on it told me to watch the Universe 6 Saga because it really got interesting. Of course, Lazy Bum that I am, I never got around to it. But now that the anime has entered the Universe Survival Saga, I figured I should watch this first to better familiarize myself with the characters. Honestly, I wished I had watched it sooner. It really does get interesting.
Pros:
- The Universe 6 team boasts a colorful cast of characters with unique abilities and fighting styles. Cabba, Auta Magetta, and Hit are my personal favorites.
- The fights are as epic as ever, but what I like the most is that they focus more on strategy rather than strength (Goku throwing Botamo out of the ring when brute force doesn't work, Piccolo letting Frost shoot him in the leg to distract him, Goku learning to counter Hit's Time-Skip).
- On the subject of fights, the fight with Vegeta and Cabba is right below the final battle with Hit as the best fight in the Saga. Not just because it's awesome, but because of how it demonstrates Vegeta's Character Development. Watching him act as a Stealth Mentor and borderline surrogate father to Cabba as he teaches him to go Super Sayian is simultaneously heartwarming and badass. The fact that he even tells Cabba to be stronger than him, something pre-Character Development Vegeta would never say, really shows how far he's come since his debut. Hard to believe this is the same man who once sold his soul to an evil wizard for the strength to beat Goku.
- Likewise, the fight between Goku and Hit is truly a satisfying end to the saga.
- The return of classic techniques such as the Kaio-Ken, Galick Gun, and Final Flash can make a Dragon Ball fan weep with nostalgic pride.
- The debut of Super Shenron and the beautiful animation accompanying it is truly a sight to behold.
- Beerus using the Super Dragon Balls to restore Universe 6's Earth and its population is surprisingly heartwarming.
Cons:
- Champa is incredibly annoying and tends to suck the fun out of some of the fights.
- The fact that Frost is a villain seems like such a waste of a character. A genuinely heroic counterpart to Frieza would've opened the door for so many potential plots, but no, every member of Frieza's race has to be a complete sociopath. Though given that he and Frieza both will play a role in the Universe Survival Saga, I have a feeling my opinion of him may end up changing.
- The fact that Cabba never interacts with Goten or Trunks is rather disappointing. Would've been fun to see some interaction between them.
Conclusion: The Universe 6 Saga is a truly awesome saga that provides quite a few Call Backs to the original series while wowing fans with awesome fight scenes and memorable characters. Now let's see if the Universe Survival Saga can top this.
Anime Super is the equivalent of the Star Wars Prequels
Dragon Ball Super has some really neat concepts, and unlike Dragon Ball GT, it has a better grasp of the series tone. But people will hate it, no matter if its original creator is involved. The product was doomed from the start, as most of Dragon Ball Super flaws are the same problems it had during Z.
Well, yes. You can't expect Akira Toriyama, who is known for improvising a lot and not thinking really clearly about things, to create a good story after he was dried out. You can't really expect the same studio to produce a really good show when they have little to work with (After all, they only got some basic outline from Toriyama and had to work through it).
Goku's idiocy is not inconsistent. People just generally think he was smarter in Z when he wasn't really: he was out of commission most of the time, Out of Focus, as the story was focusing on Gohan's point of view. Alright, it's inconsistent, I'll admit: but is because Toei Goku was generally more heroic than his original counterpart, who didn't even hugged his second son the moment they met. Now that Toriyama, who had aged and doesn't hold the same views as he had in the 90's and 80's, is more direct in the production, you will notice his writing flaws more (Hell, the anime at least tries to give Goku some resemblance to his older Z self, the Super manga version of Goku is even dumber and the characters do even less, and yet, people call it the superior version. My ass with that statement.)
I would compare Dragon Ball Super to the Star Wars prequels: A product that came 20 years later and have the original creator aboard; they aren't as bad as people think they are, but the overall reception will be of disappointment and criticism of the writing decisions despite their success, with the spin-offs making a better use of the concepts.
I don't hate Super. Why should I? It offered many characters the opportunity to shine, unlike GT had a better understanding of the series tone (As Super feels just like it was written alongside the Majin Buu saga, while GT felt like some odd mess between the original Dragon Ball and the Saiyan saga movies), have some really good moments, and some of the best concepts, but it was still a really flawed mess that was rushed and not thought out, but hey: the franchise wasn't always known for their writing decisions.
I qualify Super as an interesting series, with some good talent behind it, but they are sadly not in the hands of someone who knows how to further escalate things. Akira Toriyama is not Tohishiro Yogashi, or even a Eiichiro Oda. He is just a guy who thinks about things and tries to make it work.
Don't have high hopes for the movie coming out in December of 2018.
By the way, I thank the fandom for making me enjoy the series further. You guys are the best.
Anime Future Trunks Saga Review (Anime version)
Ah, the Future Trunks Saga. One of the most recognized arcs in Super. The Resurrection F saga was what drew me to the series, but this arc was what kept me watching it. But while it was definitely awesome, it's far from perfect.
Pros:
- Goku Black. Do I need to say any more? The "evil Goku" thing has been done before, but he's an evil Goku done right. He's everything you want in a Dragon Ball villain: Dark, threatening, powerful, cunning, mysterious, pragmatic, and somewhat charming. He's easily one of the best things to come out in Super. Though The Reveal kinda hurt him with me as I'll explain below.
- Likewise, it's always a pleasure to see Future Trunks back again. And Future Mai is the epitome of the Badass Normal. Their scenes together are the most heartwarming moments in the Saga.
- Equally heartwarming is the pep talk Future Trunks gets from his younger self.
- The fight scenes are as awesome as ever. Special mention goes to the rematch with Vegeta and Black and the fight with Fused Zamasu and Vegito Blue.
- On that note, the epic return of Vegito is easily one of the highlights of the saga. Though I'm not too happy with the retcon behind it.
- The return of the concepts such as Cell's Time Machine and the Evil Containment Wave. It's nice to see that the series hasn't forgotten its roots.
Cons:
- While the build up made for an impressive mystery, The Reveal that Goku Black is actually Zamasu in Goku's body was kinda anticlimactic. Mostly because I just don't find Zamasu that interesting and I just can't see the two characters as the same person.
- Zamasu... Wasn't that interesting a villain. An evil Supreme Kai sounds good on paper, but not so much in execution. For one thing, his motives are kinda dumb. He's a Kai who hates mortals because he feels that they are stupid and violent and Goku beating him in a sparring match only reinforces this sentiment. Okay. But if he really hated mortals so much, why not just use the Super Dragon Balls to wish them out of existence instead of going through this convoluted Zero Mortals Plan? Future Zamasu is particularly annoying because the only thing he has going for him is immortality. The only version of Zamasu that I like is Fused Zamasu, and that's only because his design and powerset is kinda badass.
- While a Super Sayian absorbing the power of a Spirit Bomb has been done before, Future Trunks managing to somehow create a Spirit Bomb without even thinking was a blatant Ass Pull. Frankly, Xenoverse 2's adaptation handled it much better.
- The ending. While I understand that the writers wanted to do something other than use the Dragon Balls to make everything better, I don't understand why they didn't just let Future Trunks stay in the present with the others? His new Super Sayian Rage form would be quite useful in the Tournament of Power.
Overall, the arc was fun to watch, flaws and all.
Anime Resurrection F Saga review.
When I heard about Dragon Ball Super was retelling the Ressurection F film, I decided to watch to see if it would improve on the film. After watching it, I can gladly say that the saga was the film done right. This was how the film should have been done.
- Pros:
- While the fight isn't as impressive or fast paced as the film, it's great that the Z Fighters get their day in the sun. Krillin even makes a delightful Call-Back to the Saiyan Saga by using the same attack he used to kill the Saibamen. Also, Frieza's army lasts a bit longer than in the film.
- Frieza, and surprisingly Tagoma, are much more darker and effective villains thanks to their Adaptational Badass treatment. Frieza in particular has more control over his Golden Form and holds his own against Goku for far longer before his stamina gives out.
- Likewise, the fight between Goku and Frieza is far more epic and there are no sudden CGI shifts to disrupt the flow of the battle.
- Captain Ginyu, of all people, makes a surprise appearance when he steals Tagoma's body. Likewise, Trunks and Goten pull a humorous Big Damn Heroes.
- Piccolo getting shot by Frieza was a surprisingly nice twist and motivates Gohan to undo his Badass Decay.
- On that note, Gohan's Badass Decay is somewhat toned down. He gets one-shot by Tagoma before he can even turn Super Saiyan, but he does managed to defeat the Ginyu-possessed Tagoma on his own. (Tagoma at the time was the strongest soldier in Frieza's army).
- Beerus and Whis are less jerkish and are more entertaining in the arc than in the film.
- Cons:
- Much like the film, the arc never really expands on Frieza's training, nor on how Vegeta was able to become a SSGSS on his own when they could have made episodes detailing that.
- Jaco's Adaptational Wimp treatment. Really writers? One of the few Badass Normals in this show and you turn him into a wuss?!
- While the fight is awesome, it takes a while before it really kicks into high gear. Frieza and Goku spend the first half of the fight trading more barbs than blows. I found myself actually agreeing with Vegeta when he told them to stop talking and skip to the good part.
Overall, this was a great retelling of the film and if this is Super's way of saying it's going to get better, then it's off to a great start.
Anime Mostly atrocious, incredibly boring and uncreative as hell... Mostly.
Before I start this review, I will say this: I haven't watched the entire series. I have watched up until episode 87, after which I have concluded this show was not worth continuing. I have heard comments that it gets better, but I don't want to wait another bunch of painfully mediocre episodes until I get there.
As for the previous 87 episodes, I can say without a shred of doubt this show is an absolute mess. It essentially takes the worst flaws of the franchise and amplifies them a million times fold. Let's start with an easy example: the pacing.
For some reason, Super thought it would be a great idea to take 2 self-contained movies and stretch the fuck out of them into two separate arcs of roughly 15 episodes each. The result was, predictably, a series of boring repetitive events that made virtually every single character more annoying.
But no, Super is not just content with stretching out two movies to hell, it makes them worse. In Battle of The Gods, Beerus was a perfectly likable and reasonable character. In Super, Beerus comes off as a petty asshole who keeps going back and forth between "I'mma do this, no wait I won't, yes I will, no wait I won't."
In Resurrection F, there are moments where other minor characters prove themselves useful. Those moments are absent from Super. Actually, Super goes the extra mile to make Gohan even shittier by having his only use be nearly kill himself trying to call Goku to the battlefield... I wish I was making this up. And after the retellings are over, it doesn't get much better from there.
The following arc is a tournament with another universe where there are no stakes or tension whatsoever, it kinda tries to bring back that old-school Dragon Ball feeling with fake ring-outs and joke characters, but fails hard. I couldn't find myself caring about any of the new characters, and most of it happened just the way I predicted. Overall, not interesting.
Now, the arc after that is admittedly a huge step-up. I love the Goku Black arc, it actually feels like a story is unfolding. There is mystery, emotion, stakes, character development, a compelling antagonist and other characters not named "Goku" or "Vegeta" being relevant and taking the spotlight for a change.
...But then, "Tournament of Power" happens and I can't find myself being able to finish this series. And now, I present perhaps the biggest problem of Dragon Ball Super: The characterization. And before someone comes to me and tells me "But Goku was always like that, the dub/anime made him more heroic", I don't care.
Goku is unbearably annoying in this show and nigh-impossible to root for. You can throw me all "It was always meant to be like that" you want, characters being annoying and plot being pushed forward by sheer character stupidity doesn't make it good or watchable. Why should I be watching a story about characters trying to save themselves if I don't like said characters and don't care about what happens to them?
This aspect alone makes most of Dragon Ball Super simply unwatchable. There is not enough compelling characterization or storytelling to save this show from being an absolute boring mess to watch. Adding to that, the animation is simply ugly, the transformations are uncreative as hell and boil down to simple hair color changes, and the retcons to justify Super's existence simply don't sit well with me.
"Oh look, here's some new characters and new gods that were never mentioned before, but we swear they were always present even before the franchise began!" Yeah, no.
There aren't many positive things I can say about Super, but I did like the Goku Black arc. And the comedic filler episodes like the Dr. Slump crossover, the gang playing baseball, Vegeta trying to cook for Whis and the other slice-of-life episodes are usually god-tier. But the rest? Ehhh. Music is generic, animation is supbar, battles are uninteresting, plot is usually an excuse setup and basically non-existent, characters are unlikable...
As much of a mess GT was, it was never this bad. I'll take another thousand episodes of GT before I ever have to sit down to watch another episode of Super.
Rating: 1.5/5