Friday, December 16, 2016

FIF#29-Dragon Ball Super


Following the defeat of Majin Buu, peace has settled on the Planet Earth.  Many have embraced this peace.  However, for restless warriors like the Saiyans Goku and Vegeta, peace can only last so long before the lure of training to become stronger becomes too great.  And they’ll need that training fast.  The God of Destruction, Lord Beerus, has awoken and is seeking the fabled “Super Saiyan God” who might be the only one to defeat him.  Beerus isn’t alone as other foes, past and new, are coming for Goku and his friends as well.  The greatest battles have yet to be fought as a brand new chapter in the Dragon Ball saga begins.

After 18 years, the Anime series that made every kid in school rush home to catch Toonami on a weekday returns.  Dragon Ball Super is a big deal for a number of reasons.  First, it’s new Dragon Ball pure and simple, a franchise beloved both in Japan and in the United States.  Second, it’s written by Akira Toriyama himself (the man who made this whole story possible).  Ergo, Dragon Ball GT is pretty much wiped from the history books (thank God) and the story can (hopefully) go down a more enjoyable route.  Unlike some other series that are returning with a new lease on life (looking at you Lelouch of the Resurrection), this is a long overdue event in the wake of the recent success of two new Dragon Ball Z Movies (Battle of Gods and Resurrection F).

I am also very well aware that this show started a year ago and I’m playing catch up.  The Z fan in me hates me for that…I’ve just been busy.

Anyway, the first impressions.  The first couple of episodes are a nice easer back into the world of Dragon Ball.  We get a chance to catch up with Goku and Vegeta and see what they’ve been up to in the lull time following the defeat of Buu.  Goku’s a…radish farmer? And Vegeta is still trying to be the ultimate bad ass while trying to learn how to be a good father and husband.  Oh and Goten and Trunks are still getting into stupid adventures cause Toriyama thinks theyre still entertaining…theyre not.

I can both commend and cringe at this choice of start for Super.  It’s good to see everyone again and interesting to see where the route of peace has taken them.  Plus, rather than reanimate events of the past, we get to see the original Dragon Ball Z footage of the final battle with Buu, that was awesome.  Then again, the second half of the first episode is full of the one thing I hate the most about Dragon Ball Z: Goten and Trunks.  Couldn’t we just skip a bit further ahead to when they’re teenagers and maybe a bit more bearable?  Their BS-ery aside, I did like some of the stuff we had with Goku and Vegeta.  Vegeta’s clearly trying to do good by Trunks and Bulma but he’ll always want to be stronger than Goku, so his attempts at family man can only last but so long.  I really like a scene between Goku and Mr. Satan where Goku begrudgingly accepts a hefty amount of money.  But really, that scene goes more to Satan than Goku.  Satan has ridden the coattails of the Z-Fighters victories for years.  Basically he’s the poster man since the Z-Fighters tend to avoid the spotlight with the supernatural fighting abilities.  Still, Satan knows Goku has saved the world and doesn’t try to ignore it.  He wants to thank him…that is a true hero right there.

One thing I do know about the earlier episodes of Super is that the first two arcs are basically extended coverage of Battle of Gods and Resurrection F.  They follow the same storylines but tweak them a bit.  For example: Beerus is already awake in the first episode and off destroying planets when they don’t give him good food.  We also learn how Goku got to go train on King Kai’s world at the beginning of Battle of Gods.  I don’t know if this is a good move or not.  A, more or less, extended cut could work in fleshing out a few things and maybe even fix a couple of the problems Battle of Gods had in particular.  But couldn’t this be a turn off for fans who want to jump past the first 20 or so episodes and get to the real brand new stuff?  It’s a strange approach and im wondering if it will pay off.  I don’t think Resurrection F needed any reworking and God help them if they decide to insert Goten and Trunks into the action (their absence made the movie work a lot better for me).  Part of me is tempted to skip ahead but I know things are either changed, reworked or totally different in many spots…damn you Toriyama, I have to watch it all.

Also, there isn’t a lot of action in the first couple of episodes (no I don’t count Goten and Trunks battling a giant snake as an action scene).  And while Z didn’t start with balls to the wall action right out of the gate, the seriousness was always there.  Super’s decision to start off light and fluffy caught me off guard, even when it worked.  Still, fans of Z going in should heed the caution anyway.

As Dragon Ball Z was the first Anime to really get me into Anime in Middle School, I feel I am obligated to watch further and see if it gets any better.  Rumor has it some serious stuff goes down later on and my all time favorite character, Future Trunks, makes a big return later on.  Guess I’ll keep going then.  Who knows, maybe the series will surprise me…it kind of already has.  Whatever the case, it’s good to see Goku and company again.  I’m surprised how much I missed them all.  Just cant wait for the action to start.  Welcome to the new age of Anime: Dragon Ball Super.
 

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