Summary
Since the end of the originalDragon Ballmanga and its anime adaptations, the franchise has continued to expand on its story withDragon Ball Super, which wasproduced by a team headed by Akira Toriyamaand Toyotarou, until the former’s untimely death. Although the new series renewed interest in theDragon Ballfranchise, which had been relatively dormant, it did have its shortcomings.
One of the most obvious among them, was the lack of cohesion between individual story arcs, contrasting Akira Toriyama’s originalDragon Ballmanga, which featured greater continuity between some narrative segments. Hence, here is a look at howDragon Ball Supercould takeinspiration from the acclaimed Saiyan Sagaand Frieza Saga, to foster a better sense of flow in its overarching plot.
How Dragon Ball Super’s Sagas Are Connected
Unlike some of the earlier arcs inDragon BallandDragon Ball Z, mostDragon Ball Superstory arcs felt almost episodic, with a new antagonist presenting a threat that had nothing to do with previous narrative segments.From the God of Destruction Saga, tothe “Future Trunks Saga,” and the Universe Survival Saga in the anime, the number of long-running narrative threads was scarce, in spite of the individual arcs and tournament sections being fairly engaging on their own.
Even though certain characters such as Beerus, Whis, Zeno, Broly, and Hit reappeared in most, if not all, of these arcs, they were seldom the driving forces behind the plot.With respect to the manga, a similar trendcould be seen in the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, the Granolah the Survivor Saga, and the Super Hero Saga, where each was an independent story arc which saw the status quo revert to its earlier state at the end — apart from the new power ups attained by the main cast.
Contemporarybattle shonen manga and anime seldomfollow this narrative style, instead using smaller story arcs to build up a larger conflict. This can be seen in the story lines of major franchises such asNaruto,One Piece, the first half ofBleach,My Hero Academia,Attack on Titan,Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, orFullmetal Alchemist. While certain series such asJojo’s Bizarre Adventure, orChainsaw Manhave been able to thrive without following this structure too rigidly, they are outliers and differ considerably fromDragon Ballin many respects.
The Issue With Self-Contained Story Arcs
It is worth acknowledging the fact thatDragon BallandDragon Ball Zdid also succeed with more self-contained story arcs at various junctures, as seen in most of earlyDragon Ball, as well asthe Cell Saga and the Majin Buu Saga. That being said, this approach might eventually infuse a sense of monotony, by cutting off the story’s momentum every time an arc ends. As a result, there arises a need to rebuild that same momentum with a new antagonist, which will inevitably lead the writer into the domain of rehashing earlier ideas.
Consequently, it never feels as if the series is building up a larger conflict or narrative, since the end of each saga effectively has the main plot thread resolved, allowing the story to come to a temporary halt until the next arc begins. This is not to say that no sense of narrative progression is felt, but rather,each arc does not raise the stakesof the story from a situational standpoint, since events in one arc — apart from power ups or character development — have no real direct impact on subsequent arcs.
How Dragon Ball Z’s First Half Can Help Fix This
When looking at the first main stretch ofDragon Ball Zfrom the Saiyan Saga to the Frieza Saga, it is not hard to understand why these two arcs are so iconic and highly-acclaimed thatDragon Ball Superis still reusing elements and characters from them.From introducing the Saiyans and Vegeta, to the eventual reveal of the Namekians and the tyrant Frieza, the narrative flow in this stretch of the series is near unparalleled within the franchise, which is why it has been so influential in the evolution of the battle shonen genre.
At the start of this stretch, Raditz’s arrival altered the tone of the series forever with the reveal of Goku being a Saiyan, following whichevents such as Goku’s death and trainingwith King Kai, coupled with the impending arrival of Vegeta and Nappa kept the tension going. Even after the climactic battle between Goku and Vegeta marked the end of the Saiyan Saga, there was a dire need for the main cast to journey to Namek, in order to revive those who had been killed during the conflict.
The events that followed also displayed constant escalation and tension, since nothing occurred in isolation, with each story beat directly or indirectly influencing the next. Although there were moments in the Namek Saga and Captain Ginyu Saga where the animeadaptation dragged on for longer than necessary, a shift in focus back to the main conflict ensured that consistent narrative progression took place.
Finally, all this culminatedin the final battle against Frieza, which was an unforgettable spectacle worthy of all the build-up that had preceded it, with his return to Earth triggering the start of the Trunks Saga that followed it. Since then, mostDragon Ballarcs — excluding those inDragon Ball GT— have relied on time skips of varying length to separate sagas, which is effective but overutilized at this point. Hence, adopting a different approach to arc-based storytelling might be a solution worth considering for the future ofDragon Ball Super, because of how it could provide a welcome change from the prevailing plot structures of story arcs in the series.
Why This Could Help The Series' Long Term Future
For both Shueisha and Toei Animation,Dragon Ballis a legacy title at this juncture in time. Furthermore, given the limbo state the franchise is currently in, following the demise of its legendary creator,Akira Toriyama, there is a lot to ponderabout how things will play out for its various adaptations in the future. It is quite likely that the franchise will return in some form — either through the continuation of the manga or a new season of the anime followingDragon Ball DAIMA— and there is no better time than now to rethink what this esteemed franchise has to offer in the landscape of contemporary battle shonen anime and manga.
