Summary
Dragon Ball Superdoes at least one thing better thanDragon Ball Z, at least in the minds of creator Akira Toriyama and artist Toyotarou. That one thing, perhaps surprisingly, is actually its villains, whom Toriyama praised for their “inner conflict.”
Even more so than other shonen manga,Dragon Balllargely ensured that its villains were incredibly evil, making it all the more satisfying when Goku finally gave them their comeuppance. While these ruthlessly evil villains are a good fit for a series that needs a lot of fighting, they tend to have very simple characters. Looking atDragon Ball Z’sthree biggest threats, Cell, Buu, and Frieza, all three are unrepentantly evil, with no reservations or ulterior motives; they only care about either enriching themselves or just outright destruction.
That’s something that they decided had to change when the series moved on toDragon Ball Super.
Dragon Ball Super’s Villains Are More Complex
Super’s Villains Are More Interesting Than Z’s
In an interview forDragon Ball Supervolume 4,as translated by fan site Kanzenshuu, Toriyama and Toyotarou were asked about the origins of the Future Trunks arc ofSuper. Toyotarou responded by saying,“Zamasu’s personality was also something we hadn’t seen before. The villains ofDragon Ballare typically absolutely evil, so there’s nothing wrong with defeating them, but Zamasu was a slightly more complicated case of ‘warped justice’.“Toriyama agreed, but insisted that the psychological complexity of Zamasu was all Toyotarou’s doing, and that “If this was back when I was drawing the manga myself, then I doubt if I could have done it.”
Zamasu as a rogue god is certainly an interesting case;Zamasu makes it very clearthat what he’s after is his brand of “justice,” which is a very different sort of motivation than senseless destruction or destruction in the name of profit. Zamasu represents the dangers of a fanatic, as what he ultimately believes isn’t truly evil, but his zealous dedication to it has led him to do evil things. It gives a level complexity to the character that just isn’t present for many ofZ’s villains, and Zamasu is far from the only one.
Even before Zamasu, there was Beerus, whose destruction is not meant to be cruel, but rather a natural part of the universe. Yet, despite his destructive tendencies, Beerus has become one of Goku’s greatest allies, instructing him and Vegeta in even higher level martial arts. Later characters inSuper, like Jiren and Granolah, are even more complex, as they’re not really bad guys at all, but rather have a very specific problem that’s forcing them into conflict with Goku and Vegeta. Of course, there are still exceptions–Moro is pretty much just evil, like Buu.
This kind of more complex villain is almost a necessity in the modern day shonen genre, with villains from other manga, likeMy Hero Academia’s Shigaraki, having even more complicated and even tragic characters. If Toriyama felt that he couldn’t provide those kind of villains, then it’s certainly a good thing that he had Toyotarou there to help give them depth. Looking back onDragon Ball Super, it’s clear that there’s been a marked increase in the complexity of Goku’s foes, and that’s a good thing for everyone.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
