Dragon Ball Super vs. Z: Did the Series Peak?

[CiderHype]

Honestly, I think Dragon Ball peaked with Z. Super feels like it’s leaning way too much on nostalgia, with storylines that rarely feel like there are real stakes. Power-ups, battles, and character moments just don’t hit the same way.

What do you all think? Is Super a solid continuation or does it mostly retread old ground for the sake of fan service?

 

[fasdrummer]

Personally, I think it peaked with Dragon Ball I do *love* DBZ though. I bailed when GT started, and still haven't gotten around to super. I have re-watched Dragon Ball several times with my kids though.

 

[ionface]

The movies after the series Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' were great.

DB Super re-tells those stories for like 22 episodes, and then the story picks up again. In the end I think DBZ ended on a satisfying note, but Super didn't quite have that same crescendo.

I really enjoy re-watching Dragon Ball the most though, even if the stakes aren't as high. The story has wisdom that's immediately applicable to real life, and I just think the characters are charming.

 

[PixelNomad42]

The movies after the series Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' were great.

DB Super re-tells those stories for like 22 episodes, and then the story picks up again. In the end I think DBZ ended on a satisfying note, but Super didn't quite have that same crescendo.

I really enjoy re-watching Dragon Ball the most though, even if the stakes aren't as high. The story has wisdom that's immediately applicable to real life, and I just think the characters are charming.

Totally get that. I think DB Super has its moments, but it definitely leans hard on nostalgia and fan service, sometimes to the point where the stakes feel… optional. The movies you mentioned are way tighter because they don’t have to stretch things out over dozens of episodes.

I totally agree about Dragon Ball itself. The original series has a grounded, thoughtful quality that Z and Super don’t quite capture. The fights might not be as insane, but the characters feel more real, and the story just resonates differently.

 

[SegaDude113]

Original Dragon Ball, then Dragon Ball Z, then Dragon Ball GT. That's the only good continuity.

 

[ilijav]

Personally, I think it peaked with Dragon Ball I do *love* DBZ though. I bailed when GT started, and still haven't gotten around to super. I have re-watched Dragon Ball several times with my kids though.

Getting through GT felt like a huge slog to me. DBS had a few moments where the momentum waned (parts of the Black Goku saga) but the rest was pretty refreshing and fun to watch. I also loved the comedic absurdity of certain scenes, especially when the childish parts of Goku and Zeno's characters come out.

Even though I like DBS quite a bit, I won't shy away from saying that they made some bad decisions. Bringing back Frieza (again) being one of them, imo.

However, I definitely can't agree with stakes being too low or not apparent nor with power ups feeling cheap. The scenes where UI comes out for a few moments are crazy good and the UI appearance scene I believe is one of the better transformation scenes ever. ToP was also incredibly fun and exciting to watch

 

[alexj-12]

Getting through GT felt like a huge slog to me. DBS had a few moments where the momentum waned (parts of the Black Goku saga) but the rest was pretty refreshing and fun to watch. I also loved the comedic absurdity of certain scenes, especially when the childish parts of Goku and Zeno's characters come out.

Even though I like DBS quite a bit, I won't shy away from saying that they made some bad decisions. Bringing back Frieza (again) being one of them, imo.

However, I definitely can't agree with stakes being too low or not apparent nor with power ups feeling cheap. The scenes where UI comes out for a few moments are crazy good and the UI appearance scene I believe is one of the better transformation scenes ever. ToP was also incredibly fun and exciting to watch

Yeah, I get that. DBS has some really awesome moments like when UI shows up or during ToP and some of the goofy stuff with Goku and Zeno actually made me laugh. Those bits hit hard.

That said… it still leans a lot on nostalgia. Bringing Frieza back again just felt like the safe move, and some power-ups kind of happen out of nowhere instead of feeling earned.

Honestly, I still enjoy DBS for the hype and the fun moments, but Z just had this constant tension that Super doesn’t quite match.

 

[CiderHype]

Yeah, I get that. DBS has some really awesome moments like when UI shows up or during ToP and some of the goofy stuff with Goku and Zeno actually made me laugh. Those bits hit hard.

That said… it still leans a lot on nostalgia. Bringing Frieza back again just felt like the safe move, and some power-ups kind of happen out of nowhere instead of feeling earned.

Honestly, I still enjoy DBS for the hype and the fun moments, but Z just had this constant tension that Super doesn’t quite match.

That’s a fair take. Super definitely has its highs like the animation peaks, the hype moments, and the sheer scale of everything are hard to beat, but it rarely feels dangerous. In Z, every fight carried weight; even smaller arcs had real consequences. In Super, it’s more like watching gods spar for bragging rights.

 

[ChrisSawin]

I grew up on Z, but I like the original Dragon Ball the most. Super is a ton of fun, but I like the sillier aspects of Dragon Ball over the “nobody can beat Goku” and never ending super Saiyan evolutions it becomes later.

The first part of Super where Vegeta is trying to impress Beerus with his cooking is so good though.

 

[Zack]

Original Dragon Ball, then Dragon Ball Z, then Dragon Ball GT. That's the only good continuity.

I couldn't agree more with you. Why would they bring back Frieza when they could've written a new evil persona, sigh