Dragon Ball Z is one of the most popular anime of all time. While Dragon Ballwas already quite famous, the Z series is generally much more known among anime fans. There are many people who haven’t even watched the original Dragon Ball but love Dragon Ball Z.
Dragon Ball Z is also what most people know as the core of the franchise. For example, Saiyans and constant power-scaling weren’t a thing in the first Dragon Ball anime, but they’re like the pinnacle of the franchise today. However, between insanely powerful aliens and threats of destruction, Dragon Ball Z actually told the same story three times.
Dragon Ball and the “Shonen Formula”
While Dragon Ball didn’t exactly invent many of the elements that are today considered part of the typical shonen manga formula, it has a huge importance in the manga industry, and the series has also been responsible for spreading this formula worldwide due to its massive global success. While other shonen anime may have debuted and become very successful before Dragon Ball in many countries around the world, most of them weren’t able to become a hit in as many countries as Dragon Ball.
Therefore, while Dragon Ball didn’t come up with many of the typical shonen tropes, it played a key role in helping to establish these as part of what is called “the shonen formula.” Furthermore, it inspired many artists in Japan and internationally.
Many DBZ Sagas Follow a Similar Structure
Saiyan Saga, Frieza Saga and Cell Saga follow similar narrative structures.
The Buu Saga also contains many elements of this formula, but Toriyama did a few new things there.
Still, Dragon Ball isn’t known for having a deep, complex plot. In fact, many of the elements considered today as the core of the franchise were not planned, but ideas Toriyama had while he was writing the manga. Dragon Ball Z introduced many of these elements, such as the Saiyan race and its transformations, and the idea of several powerful alien races out there.
However, while some things have gotten a bit more complex, the narrative still follows a simple structure plot-wise, to the point we could even say that Dragon Ball Z tells the same story at least three times: a powerful enemy arrives, Goku and other Saiyans train to defeat him, getting a massive power-up, and then they are able to defeat the enemy in an exciting battle where the Z Fighters need to combine their efforts. Toriyama drafted this structure in the Saiyan Saga, where Kaioken would be the most prominent power-up Goku got, but then he made this structure even better by introducing Super Saiyan in the Frieza arc. Then, the Cell arc follows this formula quite well. While the Buu arc also contains many elements of this formula, Toriyama tried to do things a bit differently this time.
Dragon Ball Z’s Formula Remains in Dragon Ball Super
Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and Dragon Ball Daima all follow this formula, at least to some degree. Among these, Dragon Ball Z fans generally prefer Dragon Ball Super over others, especially since the series brings transformations to a brand-new level. Super not only introduced many powerful Super Saiyan forms but also created unique transformations that match the fighting style and personality of the characters. Furthermore, the series also gave Piccolo an amazing power-up.
And, once again, fans are excited about Frieza. Since Black Frieza was introduced in the Granolah the Survivor Arc, fans have been eagerly waiting for the moment when Goku and the others will have to fight the villain again, with the stakes probably being much higher than they were back in Namek.
When Will Dragon Ball Super Return?
Unfortunately, Dragon Ball Super has been on hiatus for months, and, according to V-JUMP editor Victory Uchida, it won’t return this year. But there’s still some hope, as Toyotaro stated that continuing the series without Toriyama would be difficult, but not impossible.
Toyotaro believes that continuing without Toriyama-sensei would be “not easy, but not impossible.”
— DBTimes via Venixys
For now, Dragon Ball Super fans can’t help but wait for more concrete news, or perhaps news about the potential Season 2 of the anime.
