News A New Dragon Ball Anime is Expected to Be Revealed in January

I admit I find it really hard to get myself enthused about this.

I really wish they could let Dragon Ball rest a bit, or maybe even just let the franchise end with Daima. As the last work Toriyama had direct involvement in and as a tribute to him, it feels like it would have been appropriate as a proper send off for Dragon Ball. We've had had multiple satisfying endings at this point and it feels like a shame for DB as a story that none of them are ever allowed to just stick. Hell, I remember even when Z was still airing for the first time in US that plenty of fans felt like like it starting to get long in the tooth during the Android/Cell Sagas and Buu Saga. "When was Dragon Ball Z supposed to end?" and "When should Dragon Ball Z have ended" used to be popular topics of debate, and now we're so far away from that with GT, Super in both anime and manga form, and Daima. And I've enjoyed aspects from all of those, but it feels hard to shake off the feeling that even when Toriyama was still around that the franchise had just been spinning it's wheels for decades now. That all the movies, Super, and Daima all take place in a weird interim period and we have never actually gone past The End of Z in the timeline (sans the Korean MMO and it's descendents) almost feels like a really apt piece of meta commentary at this point.

Of course, I'm not naive. After Toriyama died, I knew this was gonna happen. But it just feels so... hollow. We're now removed from the original creative mind who made it magic in the first place, and all we have left is just a corporate brand, a recognizable name that's gonna be pushed for the promise of unlimited hyper profits until it's driven into the grown and it's no longer deemed worth using. It kind of just makes me sad, even if I've already long accepted that this is the current world and system I live in.

I know part of is that I've grown out of it. I'm not just some 7 year old girl anymore. I'm an adult with a wife and children; I have different interests and priorities than I had back in the days when Toonami was relevant. I barely even read or watch shonen battle manga and anime anymore. I've mostly moved on. I only really check into modern Dragon Ball out of a sense of curisoity, like seeing how an old friend is doing. And of course this is to be expected. They want to appeal to younger folks to expand the reach of the brand and replace old hags like me who've largely fallen out of it. And for what it's worth, I hope this new anime is good and capture's some new kids' imaginations just like og DB and Z did for me back in the day. But yeah I think it's gonna take a lot to clear me of this sense of DB fatique and get me invested again.
How do you feel about it now?
 
Effectively the same as before. Battle of the Gods was fantastic, but we don't need a THIRD retelling of it. Toyotaro is great at emulating Toriyama's art style, but never Toriyama's paneling and how beautiful his fights flowed. So there's potential in an adaptation taking the Toyotaro arcs have more enjoyable fights. That's nice. And I'm sure a lot of people are going to love that, and I'm happy for the people who did want it. But the implicastion that they'll do Granola eventually fills me with dread in regards to how much that arc retroactively cheapens earlier Dragon Ball's story.


But yeah, both of theses announements just feel like reheated leftovers.
 
Effectively the same as before. Battle of the Gods was fantastic, but we don't need a THIRD retelling of it. Toyotaro is great at emulating Toriyama's art style, but never Toriyama's paneling and how beautiful his fights flowed. So there's potential in an adaptation taking the Toyotaro arcs have more enjoyable fights. That's nice. And I'm sure a lot of people are going to love that, and I'm happy for the people who did want it. But the implicastion that they'll do Granola eventually fills me with dread in regards to how much that arc retroactively cheapens earlier Dragon Ball's story.


But yeah, both of theses announements just feel like reheated leftovers.
I didn't read the manga, I just know bits and pieces of the story. I tried to avoid spoilers.

Would it be better or worse for them to be as true to the manga as possible for this?
 
Super hasn't really utilized Broly. They really should, though. Such an interesting character (although I prefer Z Broly).
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