With Dragon Ball Super coming to an end after 131 episodes, five story arcs, and two mini-arcs, it’s time we took a look back on the sequel that𓄧 came seemingly out of nowhere. Beg⭕inning with Battle of Gods in 2013, Dragon Ball’s revival has 🅺been an unforgettable journey filled with ups and downs. We’ve suffered through horrible animation, been graced with the most creative video games in the franchise, and welcomed more new merchandise than ever before. Seem♓ingly running on a never ending tank of nostalgia, Dragon Ball Super has been milking the series for ever🌼ything it’s worth.

As fun as it’s been, and it genuinely has been fu🉐n, DBS hasn’t been the most graceful follow up. The original series had problems,♏ sure, but it had an artistic identity, a vision. Toriyama wrote a💎nd drew Dragon Ball on a weekly basis for ten years. For all its faults, it was still a work of art that reflected Toriyama’s mastery of his craft. Written by committee with only a brief outline fromꦚ Toriyama to lead the way, Super brought with it problems the original series didn’t have and exaggerated the 🔯issues it did have.ꦗ It’s a fun anime with plenty to enjoy, but it’s also a bit of a mess.

25 Goku’s Track Record Is Worse Than Ever

Goku losing to Beerus at the end of Battle of Gods is one of the most refreshing 🐻endings to a story the franchise has ever had. Despite attaining a new transformation, the main villain could not be defeated. While a novel ending, Super seems to have taken quite a liking to the format, refusing to give Goku a sꦜingle, definitiv꧙e win against the anime’s new villains. The man who had one of the best win rates in Dragon Ball now has one of the worst.

If Goku loses to Jiren, he’ll have lost agꦏainst every main villain.

Goku loses every fight in Battle of Gods, does not defeat Freeza in Resurrection F without Whis’ assistance, only wins one mꦬatch in the Universe 6 tournament, and cannot defeat Zamasu or Goku Black on his own. If Goku loses to Jiren, he’🤡ll have lost against every main villain. Dragon Ball Super effectively took a creative ending that helped 🍎develop series’ core themes and ran it into the ground. It’s not refreshing if Goku loses all the tim🌠e. It’s just boring.

24 The Continued Tarnishing Of Freeza’s Legacy

As fun as Freeza’s been in the Tournament of Power, the overall handling of his character has been poor to say the least. In the original series, Freeza was the naturally strongest antagoni♊st in the universe. The Androids were modified, Cell was a science project gone wrong, and Majin Buu was a magical being with a questionable background. That leaves Freeza as the strongest, naturally born villain the heroes ever had the displeasure of squaring off against.

Freeza’s role is so influential that he’s used as a benchmark🦹 in the Android arc and referenced by Kaioshin as a galactic danger du💛ring the Buu saga. Come Super, however, all tension involving Freeza is gone. Resurrection F is basically ♋a play date that Beerus and Whis can break up should things go south (which🅰 they did,) and Freeza can be subdued by Goku during the Universe Survival arc should be out of line. Freeza has a more active role in Super than he’s everꦆ had, but 💎it’s at the expense of the legacy associated with the character.

23 Toppo The Destroyer: Good Concept, Awful Execution

Toppo becoming a God of Destruction by betraying his ideals is one of the best conceptual developments for a character in the entire series. After spending an entire arc going on about justice, Toppo decides he can no longer fight for justice, instead embracing a destructive power that goes against everything he once stood for. On paper, this shou✱ld make Toppo one of the most compelling characters in Dragon Ball. In execut꧅ion, however, very little is done with this ideological shift.

Slowing the plot down to make an intimate episode where Toppo struggles with his rejection of justice would have been an excellent payoff to Toppo. We know how🌊 much he loves justice, so seeing him struggle with accepting his role as a d𒆙estroyer would allow us to further sympathize with him. What we got, however, was a destruction crazed Toppo who barely resembles his previous personality. There’s no real buildup, which makes the entire transformation unfortunately underwhelming.

22 Goku’s Characterization

Goku is not a superhero. He doesn’t save people just because and his main priority in life is to fight strong opponents so he can get stronger. This does not mean he isn’t🦩 heroic, however. Goku cares about his friends and he will fight on behalf of others should he feel they need him. While he doesn’t seek out being a hero, he doesn’t reject heroic responsibilities when they come up. It’s also worth men༺tioning, Goku isn’t as dumb as he seems. He’s actually quite a dynamic character, but you wouldn’t get that from just watching Super.

Dragon Ball Super has played up Goku’s naivety and♔ heroi🅘clessness to an extreme.

For whatever reason, Dragon Ball Super has played up Goku’s naivety and heroiclessness to an extreme. He doesn’t know that people kiss on the lips, 🙈he wasn’t around for Gohan’s birth, and his actions are incredibly selfis🌠h at times, more than he was ever depicted to be in the original series. He was immature at times, but he was also wise. His character has gotten better in this last arc, but the first half of Super flanderized Goku way too much.

21 Jiren Is The Blandest Villain In The Entire Series

Let’s not mince words here, Jiren is boring. Underdesigned, devoid of personality, and the most overt obstacle Goku has ever faced in the series, Jiren stands out poorly in a franchise where characters, both good and bad, stand out as fairly developed 🌞and defined. Jiren’s one defining feature is that he’s just strong. This is rare for villains, every main antagonist has been defined by their streng🌱th, but they had other traits to give them actual personalities.

King Piccolo was obsessed with being evil, Vegeta was a pride obsessed prince with a fragile ego, Freeza was sarcastic and sadistic, Cell was conniving and narcissistic, aꦐnd Majin Buu was effectively a child with no concept of right or wrong. Jiren is strong. That’s it. All h𒉰is actions are defined by his sheer strength, and that’s incredibly boring.

20 The Retelling Of Battles Of Gods

What was easily the best part of Dragon Ball’s revival became one of the worst stretches in Dragon Ball Super. Battle of Gods was a film that, at most, could have been broken down into around five or six episodes. In that amount of tim♐e, the plot could be expanded while also keepi🤪ng the pace intact. When it came time to retell the movie for Dragon Ball Super, Toei stretched the plot out for fourteen episodes. Naturally🔴, this hurts the arc more than it helps.

Toei stretched the plot out for fourteen episodes.

Battle of Gods thrived on its brisk pace and clear three act structure. Beerus is introduced and defeats Goku, Vegeta tries to keep Beerus in check on Earth, and then Goku has his final showdown with Beer𝓡us where he loses. All this is accomplished in an hour and forty-five minutes. By stretching the story out, the action feels halted and stiff. Vegeta spends far too long appeasing Beerus and the final fight drags where it once didn’t. The less said about the horrendous 🧸animation, the better.

19 Vegeta’s Regression As A Character

Vegeta’s been getting an a⛎wful lot of praise for h﷽is character development in Dragon Ball Super, which is fine as his relationship with Cabba is refreshing, but his character regression from the end of the original series deserves to be acknowledged. At the end of the Buu arc, Vegeta has completely reconꦆciled his rivalry with Goku. He finally admits to himself that Goku is stronger, ending their rivalry on a satisfying note. After years of obsessing over him, Vegeta finally frees himself from living in Goku’s shadow.

Then Dragon Ball Super starts and basi𝔉cally ignores all of Vegeta’s development at the end⭕ of DBZ. What’s especially frustrating is that t💟he film versions of Battle of Gods and Resurrection F don’t dwell on Vegeta’s feeling towards Goku as a rivalry. They’re equals by the second movie, but it’s still clear Veg👍eta isn’t as intent on surpassing Goku like he used to be. DBS brings that trait back, regres⛎༒sing a part of Vegeta that has no right returning.

18 Gohan’s Character Arc (Or Lack Thereof)

As one of Dragon Ball Z’s main characters, you would think Gohan would play a mo🌳re active role in Super. He does very little in Battle of Gods, is made a mockery of in Resurrection F, doesn’t participate in the Universe 6 or Goku Black arcs, and has ver꧅y little character work in the Tournament of Power despite playing a major role. It’s frustrating to see so little of Gohan, but it does make sense considering he has one of the clearest character arcs in DBZ. The problem is Toei trying to force a new arc for him without follow⛎ing up on it.

Gohan has constantly been portrayed as someone who needs to get back in shape. He’s mentioned his desire to train with Piccolo again, but never ever comes o♛f it until the Tournament of Power. When we get to the ToP, Gohan seems to reflect on the nature of erasing other universes, but this isn’t followed up on, at all. He’s setup interesting arcs, but nothing ever happens with him.

17 Frost: Diet Freeza

Frost could have been so much more than he ended up being. Introduced as a good version of Freeza, Frost was our first sign that things would be different for Universe 6. He’s ki🍷nd, polite, and a genuine hero in his universe. When Goku fights him, we’re even supposed to sympathize with Frost to an extent. All that is thrown out the window, however, when Frost cheats and re⛦veals himself to be a warmonger just as bad as Freeza.

Frost being a genuine hero would have meant him losing early to Goku, but it would have kept him interesting.

While he may not commit genocide, Frost rigs wars on planets so that he can show up and liberate them. By creating conflict, Frost can solve his💧 universe’s issues and establish himself as a hero. Needless to say, it’s a disappointing♋ twist. The idea of a good Freeza is an excellent. Frost being a genuine hero would have meant him losing early to Goku, but it would have kept him interesting. At it stands, he’s basically a sugar-free Freeza.

16 The Retelling Of Resurrection F

Dragon Ball Super’s retelling of Resurrection F might genuinely be the worst story arc in the series since the entiret🐬y of Dragon Ball GT. Already a problematic film wit💃h some pacing issues in the last act, Toei drags the movie out for fourteen episodes, yet again, to cannibalize a movie that actually could have benefited from a retelling. Ginyu is thrown in for no reason, Gotenks shows up to slow the once well paced second act to a crawl, and Goku’s fight against Freeza is 🍰horrifically animated. The only saving grace is that Vegeta’s beatdown of Freeza still looks great but, even then, the film version looked better.