Granolah Arc Review - Dragon Ball Super (SURPRISINGLY good)

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Time to review Dragon Ball Super's manga's latest arc entitled: The Granolah Arc!
I loved the Moro arc and the developments it made to the main cast as well as the direction of the story is helped to facilitate!
Today we are here to take a look at the latest Dragon Ball Super arc! What did I think? Sit back and see!
MUSIC USED
Prologue II (DBZ)
Granola Song (Granola Song)
M1705 (DZ)
The Alien (My Friend Pedro)
Clarification (VLR)
Sogeki! Buru Shogun (Path to Power)
M919 (DBZ)
Dead Stare (Hotel Dusk)
Undersea Palace (Chrono Trigger)
Cell Theme (DBZ)
Monster Freeza (DBZ)
SSJ Vegeta (Metal Cover by 94Stones)
Desperate Assault (Pokemixr92)
The Indomitable Fighting Spirit (DBZ)
All-Out Battle (Cover by Pokemixr92)
Bardock Falls (Cover by MajinBlue)
Solid State Scouter (DBZ)
M1020 (DBZ)
Broly (DBZF)
New Planet Vegeta (DBZ)
M1514 (DBZ)
Golden Freeza (Metal Cover by Friedrich Habetler)
MY PATREON: / totallynotmark
MY TWITTER: / totallynotmark
Edited by: Editor-San

[@TotallyNotMark]

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[@matthewpatrick7964]

Is Goku dumb or smart in this arc?

[@drtenma8]

Read Hajime no ippo

[@thewafflepan4538]

This is the arc which convinced me that dragon ball is taking it's non-cannon material and repurposing it for super

[@magnesium3273]

FINALLY!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR VIDS. Also DBS SUER HERO safe to assume it's coming soon

[@ZeroX7649]

I read this month to month and I HATED this arc enough to consider dropping the manga altogether. I'm glad you got a different experience than me but six months of nothing but fighting, and then going to a flashback that's nothing but fighting drained me. I was pumped for this at start and by the end I think it's the worst arc in Dragonball. The Bardock wish especially left a sour taste in my mouth.

[@skullknight4579]

I really like how while everyone were wishing to be the strongest in the universe, freeza actually worked hard to reach that threshold lol

[@Deathmare235]

He might’ve trained the most in the series as well Edit: my bad I forgot how sayains train at least half of their life but it might’ve been the most someone trained for in one session

[@RacingSnails64]

The irony! Mister "sit on my hands and wish to be immortal" is now a terrifying force of willpower!

[@sidecharacter3193]

Yep kinda ironic considering who frieza was at first

[@slightlytoxic069]

yes, would've like to see how powerful frieza really is hopefully Frieza vs Vegito

[@JamesW609]

He got tired of being bullied by monkeys

[@Slasher9485]

I also loved the twist that despite being the one shouting orders and sending everyone to do this and that, Elec was actually the weakest one in the entire group. And the fact that no one in the group realized that just goes to show how good he was at planning and manipulating others.

[@leultrainstinct406]

The heeters are the greatest villain group in dragon ball

[@awalfarran8061]

@@leultrainstinct406 The heeters are the ONLY villain group in dragon ball. Frieza force and red ribbion are official military powers, not villain organizations.

[@manrix6]

@@awalfarran8061 yeah... I guess that's true... Kinda weird huh

[@trsamisari]

@@leultrainstinct406 So are we gonna forget the Elite Warrior themselves, The Ginyu Force?

[@Tektabyte]

@@trsamisari they're an elite squadron in the Frieza force, calling them a villain group is like calling Itachi and Kisame group within Akatsuki a villain group

[@woodchipdust]

I really like the idea of Goku pushing Ultra Instinct by embracing his excitement for battle. That’s actually an important finding in performance psychology research: often when we try to calm ourselves down for a performance, it backfires and we become more anxious and less focused. But when we embrace the anxious feelings of performance situations and interpret them as excitement, we tend to perform better and have an easier time reaching a flow state.

[@JustinBobby-di9zt]

Cool, yeah I agree especially for a technique like ultra instinct or ultra ego they definitely play off of and benefit from their willingness and excitement to fight.

[@Vespyr_]

Goku getting stronger because he likes fighting? Riveting innovation...

[@Vespyr_]

@@JustinBobby-di9zt No shit. It's been that way since Dragon Ball. Since when hasn't their excitement to fight not enhanced their abilities? You guys are really easy to please lol.

[@abhisheknambiar162]

i see

[@quasarRei]

​@Vespyr_ I don't think that's what they meant, Goku has always been like this and now he uses UI in a way that can use that trait of his

[@projekttaku1]

I love the varied fighting style's toyotaro is giving everyone. Goku dodging and being analytical, vegta being a tanky brute, granolah being a sniper, and gas being a fusion of the teenage mutant ninja turtles. Also, a good way to think about bardock's wish is that it simply allowed goku to survive planet vegeta's destruction, not allow him to beat any enemy he face's or ensure his survival throughout his entire life, especially since he died 2x and his brother, who the wish also affected, survived but couldn't beat freeza and still died.

[@sul_9999]

It either didnt really have any effect, or it judt helped them escape the planets destruction

[@maagic2031]

Honestly, even by the Cell saga I was starting to get a little bored of how homogenized the cast was when it actually came to fighting, so I absolutely love this new direction. I also think it subtly forces Toyotaro to write Goku in a smarter, more mature manner a la Buu saga because the silly, stupid version of him is such a drastic change from the personality he needs to take to use UI or to keep Vegeta's berserker style in check.

[@projekttaku1]

@@maagic2031 same. It forces our heroes to have to come up with interesting work arounds to their abilities. Although I'm not sure I would call buu saga goku smart or mature, I'd say the arguably smartest goku was cell games goku.

[@leultrainstinct406]

@@projekttaku1 in the broly movie raditz said “we’re lucky we didn’t respond to frieza’s order” The wish just helped them avoid planet vegeta’s destruction

[@jjjjjaabari313]

There are so many things out of Gokus control that we accept as just luck or coincidence so if there were because of the dragon balls that'd make no difference to me. If the balls really were just meant to make goku live long he'd have not hit his head and just obliterated everything on the planet. Maybe all the wish did was make him reach earth and let Grandpa Gohan meet him.

[@doofers5003]

I love how they basically turn a running gag of Vegeta's (getting his ass beat mercilessly) into a power source for Ultra Ego it's really funny

[@cicada8981]

I know. It feels a little funnier to me when you look back at the Universal Survival Arc. I believe people began speculating that because Goku got the defensive version of Ultra Instinct versus Jiren, Vegeta might get the offensive version of it. Of course, that never happened but I imagine Ultra Ego is kinda what Offensive UI would've looked like: terrible defensively but terrifying offensively. So in a weird way, we still kinda got what we wanted from that arc lol

[@projekttaku1]

vegeta really went and said "if I'm going to get my ass beat I might aswell get stronger while I do it." and make ultra ego.

[@voganimperium9975]

I think it's even better. We saw a human, Master Roshi, being able to style on Jiren in the TOP for a little bit and it was said he was able to tap into Ultra Instinct if only for a little bit to do so. For Goku to continue down his own path is almost like an affirmation of his human heritage as an earthling. Meanwhile Vegeta, a saiyan born and raised on his planet, taps into a divine power that increases his power while he takes damage. Which is exactly what saiyans are notorious for: the Zenkai boost. Both Goku and Vegeta are effectively weaponizing their heritages to reach greater heights in battle that we haven't seen before!!

[@user-je2zy6vw6t]

@OnePlayer480 uh... sorry to burst your bubble, but "Ultra Ego" is a Vegeta exclusive form as of now. It's a form that combines the Saiyan nature of getting stronger during a fight with the god of destruction energy that Vegeta learned from Beerus. Maybe another saiyan could use it if they learn GoD (god of destruction) energy but Beerus and Toppo definitely can't use it as they don't have the saiyan exclusive characteristic. Toppo's form is called "Destroyer Form" or "God of Destruction Mode" with the latter name being a direct translation of the Japanese name (Hakaishin Modo). This is the form attained by GoDs in training when utilizing GoD energy. This form was only shown in the anime version of DBS as, in the manga, Toppo used "Aura of a God" instead. All GoD probably have this form without any drawbacks as it seems to be attained through training to be a GoD. Vegeta's "Ultra Ego" is most likely a modified version of this form where he added on his saiyan nature to allow him to get stronger when taking damage. Beerus being so strong is just because he is meant to be that unsurpassable wall that Goku and Vegeta must keep chasing after to surpass eventually, similarly to how Frieza was the wall for Goku to surpass during the Namek saga.

[@OuterHeaven_iVenom]

he doesnt get more power from damage.

[@thelastwindwaker7948]

Vegeta training with Beerus instead of Whis is something I never expected, but now it just feels so perfect. At least it gives Beerus something to DO for once.

[@projekttaku1]

honestly should've been like that from the start. Goku trains with a wise but strange experienced master like he always has to achieve ultra instinct, while vegeta trains with the man who once terrified his father and relearns the way of destruction.

[@thelastwindwaker7948]

@@projekttaku1 Vegeta seems like the type of person who needs tough love, and I don't think Whis has that in his personality. Referencing him "teaching" Cabba to go Super Saiyan, Vegeta has his own Vegeta.

[@jasonnewbery]

Agreed. Beerus can be such an interesting anti-hero and they keep him on the sideline as almost comic relief most of the time and it always makes me roll my eyes

[@projekttaku1]

@@thelastwindwaker7948 yeah. Goku is very easy to convince but vegeta needs force to do something, and beerus can give him that kind of rough training. Plus fits as he was always destroying planets in his early days.

[@projekttaku1]

@@jasonnewbery and he just never does things because "he's lazy". Such a lame excuse. Would've been cool to see him fight moro.

[@gio78954]

Frieza’s return to the story was just perfect. Everything he does in his very short time on the pages is just incredibly faithful to his character, I can’t wait to see more of him

[@obliviongigan6360]

1 I hope they don't do him dirty like in Resurrection F and I honestly hope they bring Cooler into the main canon, it may sound like they would put too much fan service in the series but now that Frieza is back in action it may be the perfect time to introduce him in the story and explore more about Frieza's race and history.(Also, maybe they could give an official name for his race for once). 2 I like your profile picture, FW is very nostalgic for me.

[@smilelydogge2821]

@@obliviongigan6360 Can you people just shut up about cooler? There is no way to implement him into the story in a way that makes sense .

[@asssnatcher4759]

@@obliviongigan6360 he couldve trained with him

[@obliviongigan6360]

@@smilelydogge2821 He is a popular character and a fan favorite of many, they would most likely bring him back eventually and if the future arc is revolved around Frieza it would be a miss opportunity to not introduce him here. About "There is no way to implement him into the story in a way makes sense" people said that about Broly but they managed to find a way to bring him into the main canon and while not being anything amazing it was way better than what we got in Z.

[@greatarchitect]

@@obliviongigan6360 "not being anything amazing" did you watch the broly movie

[@Mr-Moron]

The best part of this arc, in my opinion, is that Goku isn’t *the* main character. He’s *a* main character.

[@slimmy478-6]

Thats the worst part of this arc second fiddler.

[@stereokuuji]

The duality of man 😂

[@BioshockDrill]

Cuz DBZ has never done that before

[@manipulatortrash]

​@dougrichards8017 we're probably grading this based on what a dbz sequel scale. Gt was notorious for making goku the only important character. Super is also known for ridiculous characterizations for its characters. Having competent enough writing to incorporate more than just "goku time" is honestly something to praise super at least. No doubt, Z is was the better series for making this standard a given, and being more competently written than either of its sequel series.

[@BioshockDrill]

@@manipulatortrash no, praising something for the bare minimum is dumb.

[@nixuniverse5240]

I love this new form for Vegeta. It encompasses his brash nature turns it into it’s own thing, and it’s also ironic that he has the power of the exact same thing he was sent on Earth to be, a destroyer.

[@spritvio639]

Vegeta's form is cool in concept to me. Execution? Ehhh that's where it kind of falls apart. Vegeta did nothing but be a punching bag this arc to the point where he had to get side-lined by Goku, AGAIN. I get the point of it being new and Vegeta still having a ways to go with it but. He really did look pathetic alot of the time.

[@ramkindalethal732]

@@spritvio639 I totally agree toyotaro gave vegeta this form just so granolah and gas can beat him up

[@HerculePyro]

It reminds me of Goku black, how he got stronger so much quicker from taking hits than the other saiyans. Fitting that he as the "Destroyer" to zamasus "kai" and the rose colour was close to Egos purple.

[@valentds]

vegeta: i feed everyone, with this form, i have comeback for my failures!

[@JetowTone]

Also calling it ultra ego is hilarious and perfect

[@NoiriumIdk]

Honestly Frieza's appearance gave me Akaza vibes, I love when characters just suddenly land on the battlefield and completely dwarf everyone else in power. It is awesome.

[@evanlight2550]

It’s like a reminder that while the characters are stronger, they still have a long way to go. Like Vader at the end of Fallen Order where he shows up just to tell the player they are no where near Vader’s level

[@dankerbell]

dragon ball's use of the worf effect is absolutely glorious

[@s3studios597]

I love the idea of someone using the dragon balls to wish to be stronger, because of course. It just makes sense a villain would do that and it runs completely counter to the core themes of the series and the philosophies of the main characters. It also shows how to them, fighting and power are simply a means to an end rather than the goal. I also love how we then have Frieza, the guy who originally scoffed at training show up and body everyone after doing 10 years in the time chamber.

[@sul_9999]

Ppl always call bringing frieza to super is lazy, but his inclusion was never hated because it kinda makes sense, he is gokus opposite his arch nemesis so it would make sense for him to return. Also how super gave him a character other than dbz villian. He feels more unique he acts smart outsmarting frost to get him out and tricking everyone into thinking he will backstab u7, as much as he hates goku he still knows goku is trustworthy and sacrificing himself against jiren. And getting some saiyan rubbed off of him and training for a whole 10 years learning about its wonders

[@deonterector7424]

@@sul_9999 So he's becoming another vegita? This is a case of if it ain't broke don't fix it(Or revive it) Hell he's becoming more of a joke in some parts of Super...But at the same time he's actually the best thing about Super because everything else is in Super is really boring to a point that I forgot what ideas they can come with.

[@sul_9999]

@@deonterector7424 sure lets say that. I start to think i am talking with a brick wall, if you dont like duper sure be my guest

[@connoc5078]

It just doesn't really make any sense at all that they could actually wish for that considering what we know about the dragon balls

[@sul_9999]

@@connoc5078 why? The dragon explained that he is too weak to grant him that wish so he exchanged almost all of granolahs life span (which should be large since ceruleans can get very old) so that much power. Gas had even less than an hour. But ofc dragonball fans dont read ir watch the show

[@fireironthesecond2909]

Notice how Granola only looks to the destroyed and dangerous ruins of his past and not the clean and utopian city that he presently lives in. Also notice how Vegeta during their fight pushes Granola out of those very ruins and into that city, the same as how he would later help Granola fight Gas.

[@sebastianpedrozadesantos9078]

I can't help but chuckle whenever Mark says Granolah and then shows a literal bowl of granola. It's always those little edits that give a video more charm than it already has. PS: Seriously, the editing is top notch in this video, specifically the ending. I was concerned my phone was glitching

[@AlexGabrijel]

I mean it goes really well with db....can't belive how creative toriyama is with names while using food and alcohol as a start point

[@beard6329]

@@AlexGabrijel the briefs family names are my personal favs lmao

[@AlexGabrijel]

@@beard6329 my have to be saiyans imagen broly a buff MF that will fuck you up any second and then you remeber he is broccili ☠️

[@brucewatkinson5254]

It wouldn't be Dragon Ball without a character (let alone a group of characters) name being fairly punny. For example, Demon King Piccolo and his family's naming scheme must have been his obsession with musical instruments (Tambourine, Cymbal, Drum, etc.), with his own name based on the woodwind half-flute. Then you have the Ginyu Force various names based off of dairy products. But I have to give Toriyama credit where it's due. Even when Dragon Ball had gone into a more Action/Battle-Focus story with Z and Super, using puns on regular words (often the names of various foods) is a fun strategy to come up with character names.

[@shonenbois]

I really love the duality between Goku and Vegeta’s form. Goku’s represents his calm martial artist skills while Vegeta’s represent his brash and violent nature

[@sincere0727]

Yes that’s true but we now see Goku new utilization of sign allows him to take on that more violent and aggressive fighting style due to emotional responses he is able to utilize this when he’s in a life or death battle and he just needs to survive he’s found balance with both of those styles

[@projekttaku1]

@@sincere0727 lol no, goku's still calm and a martial artist, but he doesn't have to hold back his emotions anymore. He's not getting a aggressive style like UE. He's just making instinct his own.

[@sincere0727]

@@projekttaku1 he’s getting hit and it’s creating an emotional response in turn his body instinctively makes him aggressive bc of his emotions he is getting aggressive that blatantly stated to be his issue earlier that he is unable to be and of course he’s still a martial artis that will never change I agreed to that part

[@sincere0727]

@@projekttaku1 And I also said in a life or death situation he becomes aggressive because he needs to be not a ordinary fight And not sure what you mean by “he’s making instinct his own”

[@projekttaku1]

@@sincere0727 bro, that's vegeta thing. Vegeta gets hit and strikes back aggressively, goku isn't aggressive but now he can express his emotions, allowing him to fight without worry about maintaining his cool, letting him fight free style. In life or death situations he still doesn't become aggressive, and the entire point of true ultra instinct is him making ultra instinct his own, not finding a balance, that was already done.

[@conrspowrt6691]

Another thing I very much enjoy is the implications that Frieza bringing down everyone and then LEAVING has. It has two main interpretations that I’ve seen: one being that he isn’t worried that if the saiyans survive and train as hard as they want, he will NEVER have to worry about them being stronger than he is, and the other being that he has become more concerned with fighting them on equal footing than he has with actually defeating and killing them. Both of which would honestly make a lot of sense with where his current character is since the tournament of power

[@sul_9999]

I like the idea that he knows if he killed them he would lose his purpose, he learned of the wonders of training and knows if both vegeta and especially goku died off he wouldnt train anymore he would never know what his limits are, he doesnt train because he enjoys it, he trains to surpass goku and if goku remains the same he too would remain the same

[@patrickwillis13]

That first one wouldn't make sense at all. Frieza spent his life in fear of saiyan potential. Him becoming stronger and surpassing the saiyans wouldn't make him cocky enough to not care enough to get rid of them. Especially since they killed him 2Xs

[@tylerthompson3075]

@@patrickwillis13 They also brought him back too. Frieza is a very, very prideful individual. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Vegeta and Goku aren't just dirty monkeys to him anymore. They are dirty monkeys with which he has a score to settle.

[@mat.quantum2671]

Also keep in mind, he saw them fuse in the broly movie. With that clear goal in mind, he knew he would have to get significantly stronger if he wanted any chance of truly beating them. Not to mention we don’t know how UI/UE augment their fusion.

[@jameshollister8294]

A new fusion will come

[@wutguycreations]

The way he introduced Frieza gave me an indescribable amount of chills. Great review!!!

[@kapayasiame3632]

Mark: at least frieza does things personally. Frieza: speak of the devil and he’ll appear.

[@chiller858J]

I thought I was the only one thought this. I was literally scrolling through comments like *WHO IS GONNA SAY IT?*

[@Mendrawza24]

I knew it was coming but I still got a little scared when Frieza dropped in. A very well-done review as always!

[@hunterhorsehelmsley7315]

It's a shame TeamFourStar can't do Abridged anymore. They'd do wonders with that scene when it gets animated.

[@FalangeRevolutionary986]

@@hunterhorsehelmsley7315 They would ruin it

[@wheeledion]

I always assumed Bardok's wish was a way for them to write around the fact that both Raditz and Goku survived the destruction of planet vegeta

[@isauldron4337]

In japanese the wish suppossedly said i want my sons to grow Up to manhood

[@j.i.k2.044]

Same here, I ve always assumed it was to survive Planet Vegetas destruction.

[@joxyver]

@@isauldron4337 I really hope that’s the case because oh my god that will make it one of the worst mis-translations ever that they have done but at least it’s a mistranslation and not a retcon

[@isauldron4337]

@@joxyver it could also be translated to apparently i want my sons to grow up to Big men

[@joxyver]

@@isauldron4337 Hmmm, maybe? That sounds like that could work too.

[@jantheking7028]

I really enjoyed this arc. I'm not sure if I enjoyed it more than the moro arc, both arcs have their pros and cons but you can clearly see Toyotarou's improvement in various aspects such as art, paneling, and new characters.

[@botandtrollhunter6694]

The character designs in this whole arc was FIRE!!! Vegeta in Ultra Ego with only his black shirt on gives black air force energy vibes. Granolah with his shirt torn off looks awesome as well. Also, Gas looks cool as an adult, but for some reason, I prefer his child design from when he fought Bardock. Elec had a great design as well, reminded me of Dio.

[@redrage369]

In terms of final fight I prefer the granola arc, I really think Moro first appearance was more dominant and felt like a an innovation

[@broryku]

Art, paneling and new characters go to waste if the story isn't good enough

[@awalfarran8061]

@@broryku Well then its a good that isn't the case for this arc.

[@broryku]

@@awalfarran8061 you can lie to yourself all you want 👍🏼

[@TheNotoriousWSG]

I like the parallel between the eyepieces. Granolah has a mechanical eyepiece that tries to keep him from straying the right path, and Goku and Vegeta are led back to their correct path by listening to the recording on the saiyan eyepiece.

[@burhaan9017]

I think one thing you kinda mentioned but didn’t rlly in this arc that I absolutely loved was the scene where gas is decaying right before his clash with frieza and stumbles over to the river, where he sees his harrowing, decaying, horrendous body and realizes that he is dying and was wasting away for his brother and before he can do anything about it, before he can say anything, frieza appears. I honestly felt bad for gas throughout the arc knowing how much elec used him for almost every goal.

[@OND30]

Even though a lot of people didn't like Gas, I personally really loved his unique fighting style. Most db villains just use ki blasts and their fists and I love how he use different types of weapons and objects

[@spoof2062]

It was entertaining to see gas constantly hit goku with trains ngl

[@spritvio639]

He's alright at best to me. He didn't really have much of a character to him. He's less flavored then Jiren.

[@maagic2031]

I think Gas' relation as a tool to Elec makes him more interesting than Jiren, even if they are both just "raaaah im the strongest" guys on the surface. Jiren did have flaws, he couldn't see the value in teamwork unlike universe 7, so he ended up losing to Goku, Freeza and 17 despite being stronger than all of them, but in my opinion, it's much more interesting that Gas' flaw is that he had too much trust and respect for his brother. He was happy to serve as the family's muscle and was deeply hurt by anything that got in the way of him fulfilling what his brother expected from him. His biggest mistake is just assuming that Elec had as much trust and respect for him as he had for Elec. Gas really could have blown Elec to pieces even before the wish, but decided to trust his brother. It's also cool that by the end of the fight, Goku, Granolah and Gas are all fighting to honor family, but Elec's relationship is completely toxic.

[@AlchemyKirby]

Gas is homie, i really loved him

[@cachecolZ]

Gas also uses reality warping

[@Matthew_Murray]

I don’t mind Bardock’s wish because the two star Dragon is depicted as rather weak with how Granola had to sacrifice his life in order to get his power up, meaning that Bardock’s wish probably only guaranteed Goku safe arrival on Earth at the most.

[@lilhanhan]

Not just that he wishes for his 'sons', meaning that he wished for Raditz to thrive as well... And look where that got him. To be fair the wish worked as he worked with a Prince and survived Freiza's attack of Vegeta due to that reason, but again due to his own actions in life it resulted in his death in the end. So it's probably safe to say that Goku's achievements are entirety his own and this story development doesn't diminish his achievements of the past.

[@edmatias5609]

​@@lilhanhangoku and raditz actually died together. In the end, they thrived until both of their ends, but destiny (plot) had something else in mind for Golu and Earth

[@jasonkeith2832]

It isn't really weak so much as they can only work with a cost to the one wishing upon them. I could easily see Goku (and Raditz) living beyond Planet Vegeta's destruction only happening because Bardock's life was lost, and thus giving enough karmic counterbalance to make the wish come true.

[@BenSlashes]

If you hated the arc after reading it monthly, i can only recommend reading the whole arc in a row. I did it yesterday and it took me 7 hours, but damn. I cant believe how much i enjoyed this arc. This arc and the Moro arc are by far the best arcs from Super. Since the Tournament of Power the series gets better and better.

[@juanluna8853]

True, i hate it first but when i reread both arc it's actually good.

[@betia4915]

Honestly the pacing between months is the least of its problems, like the pacing in the chapters itselfs

[@BenSlashes]

@@betia4915 nope the pacing in chapters is totally fine.

[@betia4915]

@@BenSlashes honestly toyo has gotten better with that, like the 2nd to last chapter, if it had the same pacing the chapter would have a lot more of fighting and it would have ended with the reaveal that granola was back to fighting. But great part of the arc, specialy the middle suffers of that form of pacing of going from point a to a1 to a2 to b instead to point a to b

[@ligerade3536]

The manga version of the Goku Black arc was peak as well, but many people haven't read it.

[@lucidmind9676]

The best thing about both this arc and the Moro arc is that it shows Vegeta’s growth as a character, even tho the continuations are different, even in the Super Hero movie, Vegeta had a more calm and wise tone to him similar to how he is in this arc. I’m really curious to see where Toriyama and Toyotaro take the story in the next arc especially with Vegeta’s Ultra Ego form

[@foggyinc724]

freeza showing up at the end to flip the entire world upside down is such an amazing way to finish the arc and perfectly set up the next one

[@Astro1789]

Goku is cool

[@solaris804]

a fact.

[@accomplishedbelt7hollowsno21]

I just think he's neat

[@matthewpatrick7964]

So is Vegeta

[@mega_manoy17]

True True

[@najibosman6497]

He sure is

[@four-en-tee]

My biggest gripe was about how i initially thought "True Ultra Instinct" was just a form above MUI, and I had dropped the story because I thought it was a dumb decision. Learning that it was just a misunderstanding and that this new form is basically equivalent to Ultra Instinct Sign mechanically speaking relieves me a bit.

[@sul_9999]

Toyotaro did state in a interview that the best thing abt ui is that you can just give it more perfection states, so now we have uio with the emotions of a saiyan, next arc we could have mui with emotion ect ect. Until he reaches full ui which is what whis stated gou should aimt to achieve

[@leultrainstinct406]

True ui and silver ui are two different versions of the same power. Both are useful in their own ways and have their advantages and disadvantages

[@Gigglesisafish]

the silver haired state will always be better, it's just that Goku couldn't use it to its full potential against gas due to his emotions being all over the place. Because of this, created the 'True UI' form to make use of his emotions.

[@projekttaku1]

@@Gigglesisafish still hope that they keep TUI omen. I really don't like the silver haired design.

[@derek2288]

@@projekttaku1 yeah, they really should make the silver one the trump card when the things goes wrong

[@blur7491]

I really adore the fact that Toyotaro's biggest weakness was his usage of the manga medium, only to become one of the best at it in terms of modern manga artists. He really does care.

[@cicada8981]

That's the power of hard work and dedication for you. Still a nice sight to see every time.

[@MrBlanko6]

I disagree he overuses speed lines ,has bad paneling ,no flow ,has bad atonomy and draws uncreative fights. The panels that look good are copied from Toriyama.

[@WolfXGamerful]

@@MrBlanko6 Those look good to you? Lol

[@NoSoapp]

Don't say that too loud, 4chan circlejerkers will hear you

[@francescoradesic1468]

lol what?? he certanily is not one of the best modern manga artist hahahahah he is very far from it

[@Caernunnos]

What I really liked about this arc is that Ki blast finally look like what they did in classic DB.

[@shaolinfantastic9118]

ki blasts were never that impressive, even in classic dragon ball. The only reason they look impressive here is because Granolah uses them to hit pressure points.

[@thacobell4700]

Super seaizure lights?

[@leultrainstinct406]

Dbs uses ki better than any other series did

[@supereststinger]

Goku's True Ultra Instinct, when seeing it, sent chills down my spine. I thought that was perfect for him and was the highlight of the arc for me.

[@warmateo6261]

No colors or anything, but a form stronger than stacking SSGSS and UI technique. It's its own form because he doesn't have to calm his heart and can use his emotions. I do think PUI is stronger, but TUI is perfect for saving energy and not losing stamina, and being able to use emotions if goku isn't able to calm his heart perfectly. Because if I remember, PUI could only be used at full strength is goku's heart is completely calm, though I may be wrong.

[@jasonkeith2832]

@@warmateo6261 Doesn't Whis mention that what we know as PUI is merely Goku's attempt at imitating Whis and the Angels' form of Mastered Ultra Instinct, which is why it is so much less accessible to Goku and not his own True form?

[@tylerpetersen6226]

I find it interesting that Freeza and his father were the sort of apex species of the galaxy aside from Buu and the gods; however, the sheer fact of him being the apex species/power has never once caused him to push himself making him the sort of skinny guy who has never lifted weights in his life. However since his revival he has started to work to improve himself and train. The fact that he is making so much growth in power to the point every month of training = like a year for Goku and Vegeta reveals how much growth potential his species has is interesting and makes me wonder if there are more of his kind out there.

[@takunchinx9000]

There aren't freeza and king cold are hybrid mutants of their species

[@desertsandfly2277]

I definitely think that the monthly release schedule is the main reason why the granola arc got so much criticism. The fights are good but they would be more fun to enjoy if we didn't need to wait for an entire month for every chapter.

[@Originul_]

I think the happy medium would be every two weeks, because it being weekly is just unnecessary for these Mangaka and usually leads to a decline in their health and burns them out, which intern leads to worse story overall. Every 2 weeks at the least - Every Month at the Most, is the way I think it could be done well, but I think the best way would be for the Staff to do six months of working the manga and the other six months they release the chapters weekly and during then, rest up and they can write done or do little work on the series if they want to, but it's not required. It's similar to how CW shows were run, and I think it's a pretty good system.

[@firionkaiser8291]

They felt that way about Moro too. Honestly, makes you wonder why they complain knowing it'll be better after it's complete and you can read it from beginning to end.

[@s3studios597]

Counterpoint: If you're writing a monthly manga, it's your job to pace it accordingly

[@mjm3091]

I like that Toriyama isn't scared to switch the focus of the series once again. As he moved from martial arts to alien adventure, now we have more magical aproach to the series and the use of the powers. This made especially characters like Vegeta feel fresh.

[@Keurgui1]

Honestly. Toriyama’s world building holds up really well even in Super and everything post ToP has allowed it to shine immensely

[@projekttaku1]

You also have to give praise to toyotaro, the one putting toriyama's notes to paper, as he's managed to blend everything together very well.

[@leultrainstinct406]

@@Keurgui1 dbs has the best world building out of any of his series’s.

[@cradodragmire1563]

@@leultrainstinct406 Well to be fair his other series were gag mangas. World building probably wasnt much of a priority.

[@bigfan8660]

Bro, I was having such a rough day. Came home depressed as hell and full of self-loathing. Started watching this video and it made my day 100 times better when you brought up that our pasts don't define us. I love Dragon Ball and it's saved my life a few times. Thank you Mark for being a huge part of the community.

[@chanic4621]

Yeah this was outta nowhere. Hope you ended up having a better day

[@marethyumoros1741]

The narrative writing in this arc is way better than I hoped it to be. I already have a lot of respect for Toyotaro's narrative writing, as that's what draws me in further than the anime in the first few arcs, despite me experiencing the anime first. But the amount of narrative "trinkets" that filled the sections of the Granolah arc, while I'm not able to explicitly point out while reading it, with a few pokes here and there from this video brought it to the forefront of my attention. I think that while many people may think that Bardock's wish detracts from Goku's upbringing, I think the wish can be interpreted as each of his sons thriving up to what they believe themselves to be capable of. Raditz died so early on and so weak is because he had believed in the Saiyan/Freeza force ranking system all his life. He didn't think that he could've broke past the "cap" that he placed on his own limits. So while he died relatively early and weak, he did died at the point that he thinks is his peak ------ weaker than Nappa and Vegeta, but stronger than "lower class saiyans". In contrast, Goku having been thought that there's no such thing as limits and that everyone could become better than themselves by tomorrow, continues to grow with no end in sight, even death not being the end point for him. Just my two cents tho, thanks for the great video!!!!!!

[@sf00212]

I think the Bardock wish could also be interpreted as a reason why Goku & Raditz died together. Since the wish saved them from Planet Vegeta's destruction, the consequence of this from the Cerealian dragon balls would be them having to die on the same day when they're grown up. The reason why Goku managed to live after that is Goku's influence on other people is what brought him back to life and saved him. Goku also managed to influence Bardock to make the wish in the first place so ultimately his effect on others is what kept him alive.

[@derekosoriomartinez5974]

The thing I like about Granolah was his sad backstory, you rarely see any of that in Dragon Ball, except with Future Trunks, Jiren, and Broly

[@freezasama5802]

The Granolah arc has one of the best arc endings I've ever seen in db period plus I love the whole arc and dynamic especially the reveal of Ultra Ego for Vegeta damn great arc

[@spoof2062]

Ofc you would say that😂😂

[@superthorc6894]

Still prefer Moro over granola arc but it much better than I and fandom give it credit for

[@stygy9929]

It still lacks repurcussions. Another character died and got revived again. Like why do they keep doing this? Edit: the way they do it too is just using whis again instead of the dragonballs. I know this isnt new but why cant we have real stakes for once.

[@Xeno574]

@@stygy9929 We can never truly have real stakes in Dragon Ball. They gave us HUGE stakes in the Tournament of Power but like.. Did you actually think Universe 7 was gonna lose? Because I sure as hell didn't. The good guys always win most of the time and it's pretty rare for that to not happen.

[@stygy9929]

@@Xeno574 top was fine. I expected the protagonist to win ofcourse. And top did have repurcussions. Frieza. So far friezas the only thing keeping these arcs together since top. Everything else about them is standalone and disconnected.

[@CCharmanderK]

It's amazing that even this late in its existence -- with stories like Super Broly, Super Hero, and the Moro and Granolah Arcs of the manga -- that Dragon Ball is still capable of creating interesting, engaging, and even meaningful story and character progression in a fashion we haven't seen before. The issue I think many of us had with the Super anime was that, while it delivered some fun action scenes and the occasional inspired story decision, it often was content to spin its wheels and simply rehash character beats and iconic moments for the sake of nostalgic pandering without regard for depth or nuance. That's not to say it was bereft of impact or meaning, but what it did manage to achieve in 131 episodes was woefully under-served for the vast runtime it had. Comparatively, the post-Tournament of Power story material in both the movies and the manga offer significant and bountiful, meaningful development and additions in ways that the previous post-Z storylines sorely lacked. It arguably feels like a second rennaisance in a lot of ways. Maybe not to the same heights as, say, the Freeza or Cell sagas, but it delivers in ways that the franchise has been sorely lacking for a good number of years now. It's wonderful to see.

[@leultrainstinct406]

I disagree with the first part of your argument. In 131 episodes dbs managed to make a name for itself. Unlike a sequel like gt where it was too afraid to pave it’s own path so it latched onto the nostalgia of db and z Dbs found a way to create its own. There are iconic moments, characters, and fights that can not just be found only in dbs, “but are moments that contend with some of the best in the entire franchise. The rehashes” were just love letters to pay respect to the original series. But I noticed that people who don’t fully appreciate dbs are those who only focus on those callback moments.

[@awalfarran8061]

@@leultrainstinct406 Dbs didn't really make a name for itself until SSB Kaioken moment. And then the anime fell off for a little until Goku Black appeared. But after Goku Black appeared dbs only got better and more popular to the point where it broke the internet and the phrase "ultra instinct" has become almost iconic as the phrase "super saiyan" among the new generation.

[@thephantommarauder7748]

I think this arc proved Akira still has good story-writing in him. Edit: Toyatoro wrote some of this arc he's getting good.

[@LindoXulu-ge5sy]

Good writing?????? This arc is terrible if you want me to tell you why just reply

[@thephantommarauder7748]

@@LindoXulu-ge5sy Nah it was great I read it consecutively in an hour the villains were great the transformations were great the writing improved I liked the setting even the art and manga paneling improved this arc. My only complaint would be the whole idea of the dragon balls being able to make you the strongest mortal in the universe that seems ridiculous but how many million year old monsters can Akira keep writing in? (Moro)

[@LindoXulu-ge5sy]

@@thephantommarauder7748 bro how can call the granola great first of all what is the point in goku & vegeta training if they can just wish to be the strongest in the universe because granola did that & can easily surpass goku & vegeta so ultra ego & true ultra instinct goku are just for decoration & ultra ego vegeta lost what was the point in introducing the form oh because goku has two new form’s above vegeta so toriyama had to even it out somehow heck ultra ego vegeta was so useless goku had to pick him up like a bitch and get him to safety then tui goku comes goku because his mad in ui he surpasses vegeta which ruin vegeta’s presence and also goku was angry in the tournament of power when he was in Mui if you remember the “is gonna pay” moment why didn’t he go into tui because toriyama is running out of idea’s y’all kept hyping ue all so it could lose no be ass ue vegeta is ass and black frieza? How did frieza get this no no no I’m done

[@LindoXulu-ge5sy]

@@thephantommarauder7748 oh and gas sucks ass

[@jugglenaut1955]

@@LindoXulu-ge5sy I think the main problem with TUI is that it backtracks everything Goku worked for in the last 2 arcs, the whole point of it being about a state of mind and all that, and Merus's sacrifice is pointless when they've been working so hard to achieve MUI (even if he got revived, but that's besides the point). Merus literally points out to Goku about his form being more stable than ever once he passes away, and then all of a sudden he has trouble controlling his heart during Granola??? Truly a bruh moment

[@th3azscorpio]

This and the Morro arc are just sooo damn good. The transition to this arc was just so smooth also. It just grips you right from the opening. Granolas a fantastic character, with an interesting motivation, and transformation during this arc. I love that we're also getting some more morally grey villains and characters/motivations. I want to see more of this type of storytelling from the future of Super.

[@alter1578]

To me, with this arc's strong first portion being so focused on exploring each character and the personal conflicts they are facing when coming into these fights, I am utterly baffled as to why this approach wasn't used with Gas, who takes over the second half as antagonist. You really could've set him up the moment they fetch Goku, develop him as a character and double down on the interpersonal conflicts that could heighten the decision of staying on the Celerian planet to fight against the gang. This is as much his story as anyone elses, so it feels like such a waste with him, especially when his dynamic with Elec could also be made twice as strong as his rivalry with Granolah and contempt for Goku (And even heighten his arc further) could've been. This arc is entirely carried by the personal motivations of these people to fight. So boiling it down to a good guy vs bad guy conflict at the tail end with no depth beyond that sucks so hard all the fun we were having during the fight with Granolah.

[@shaolinfantastic9118]

If you look at it as a whole story arc, then moro is slightly better than this arc. But if you look at the granolah arc for what it is (an exploration of Goku, Vegeta, and Granolah as characters) then this arc shines. The level of character writing in this arc is far more deep and interesting than anything else we have seen in the DB franchise since Gohan's moment in the cell saga.

[@alter1578]

@@shaolinfantastic9118 Beyond it's intentions being ambitious and the concept being so good, that's exactly what bothers me about it's second half because it's greatly reducing stakes when it comes to carrying this through by them. Progression is now a real concern because instead of having the fight prove to work along each of the character's development and being able to flow as much as it needs to, it stagnates with a bad guy who does not budge and the plots are put on hold to accomodate. Which is a real shame because character work could've continued if we pushed the Goku vs Gas angle by constrasting them further. Still, that is not to say ALL exploration is wasted, it's just that in execution it stumbled a notable bit.

[@dinogt8477]

worst arc

[@purplemamba5510]

@@dinogt8477 I'm curious why you feel that way lol. It's not the best arc but its a nice evolution for dragon ball.

[@purplemamba5510]

@@alter1578 Dragon ball is so good at setting stuff up and never fully getting the perfect situation to play out. It always flops at some point. The arc could of added some stuff and made an absolutely amazing arc that sets up so much for the future but it just didn't get there entirely. Still a solid arc but damn does it suck missing out of the possibilities.

[@jg5004]

I forget just how good Totally Not Mark is when he’s covering Dragon Ball. I’ve missed this.

[@ralsei3157]

He better be careful, wouldn't want another December disaster

[@meatb4lls404]

Bardock, "i wish for my sonz to thrive" Raditz fucken dies

[@kailin2017]

The thing about the Bardock stuff is that while Bardock: The Father of Goku was originally non-canon material, Toriyama draws it in a panel that's taken practically shot-for-shot from the special with the armor and the headband. The fact that what Minus did is derivative of Superman is one thing, but the fact that it makes what many consider to be an inconsistency within the manga itself is what upsets us

[@Asi-Lives46]

My biggest gripe with the Granolah arc is that Ultra Ego wasn't there enough, otherwise I loved it. But month to month was grueling.

[@75JUNAKI]

Personally Ultra Ego look’s weak to me.

[@CasualSpec]

@@75JUNAKI He doesn't look weak, he is weak. His coming out party, debut form got embarrassed by 2 nobodies that used a pair of balls to wish to be strong. "But it's like a Monkey's Paw." Who cares? You can just gather other balls to wish for that life back or immortality. Wow these balls would have been helpful for Zamasu or even Helping Universe 7 with obtaining stronger fighters, you know? Since the balls are in Universe 7 already.

[@Asi-Lives46]

@@75JUNAKI In terms of design or in terms of power?

[@leultrainstinct406]

@@Asi-Lives46 when goku got ultra instinct for the first time he didn’t win Vegeta fans need to be patient

[@Asi-Lives46]

@@leultrainstinct406 Oh I know that, I was just asking them how is Ultra Ego weak.

[@_sindrus.]

frieza turning black was the most defining moment in manga history from 2022

[@chadfishfruit]

gear 5

[@chadfishfruit]

gear 5

[@shadowsnake5133]

Is it just me, or does frieza feel more like his first form self from the namek saga? I don't know how to word it, but he feels like he's gone full circle. Like he regressed what traits have been failing him since he met Goku on namek and that everyone is beneath him again, even if he knows they'll get stronger. It feels like he should be gaining a new Ginyu force esc possy sometime soon, that's how much I feel like he's changed back into that old mindset. And that's honestly more terrifying than him being so tunnel visioned like he has been for a decade. He's on his game again, and God am I interested to see how he keeps himself on it despite anyone's best efforts if he does.

[@vikingfromnorth45]

Well after his twice revivals and the events of top and broyl he decided that hard work does pay off and learned to be mature and calm beings schemer better one than elec

[@awilddeadlyqueenhasappeare5237]

That editing leading up to Furiza (Frieza) is amazing, the video getting a bit glitchy as if to foreshadow Furiza's reality-shattering power (atleast to the eyes of the characters) and the music building up to when Furiza reveals himself is amazing. The glitchy part might be something I'm overanalyzing but I just can't get enough of it.

[@Tyree42069]

I love in depth reviews like this specifically about dragon ball. Brings to light the things the manga actually does right instead of being a bandwagon of people who say how it’s “so bad” or it’s “mindless and boring” this is literally the best review of this arc I’ve seen yet

[@Amplifymagic]

Yep the arc had flaws but if you look into the themes and character development it’s been a fantastic arc, not to mention the non stop action. Mark also didn’t have issues with the pacing since he got to binge it.

[@Tyree42069]

@@Amplifymagic exactly. Sucks that dragon ball has the pacing issue on a month to month basis which in turn can leave a slightly more negative first impression. But the weird thing is that I only ever see this being brought up with supers manga and not others who have the same exact issue. I feel like when the anime returns it’ll be way more positive since it’ll most likely be a week to week thing and stuff will flow more naturally on a first go through.

[@sun332s7]

Cause people don’t ducking read db man.

[@s3studios597]

@@Tyree42069 It's really not just a Dragon Ball thing. I remember when Dressrosa was going on in One Piece, everybody bitched about the pacing only to say that it was much better binging. Same with MHA's joint training. And those are just the two examples I've actually paid attention to.

[@Tyree42069]

@@s3studios597 ahhh I see I see. I just see it brought up more with super for some odd reason than many other shonen animes. Like maybe it’s just me but I honestly thought wano was dragged the hell out(really good arc tho) but I don’t really hear about that pacing from anyone. I just honestly feel like it went on too long and while it’s definitely great for binge reading, it felt like a slog from time to time…..then again this is just my personal opinion and probably not something everyone would agree on

[@spithhead]

The Granolah arc is one of my favorite arcs, despite the way some of the characters are handled. The arc itself delivers some interesting and sometimes questionable moments and plot pieces, but overall, it’s really fun with all the forms and my beloved bardock lmao. I recommend people who read monthly to go back and read it though, the pacing is not as bad as monthly serialization makes it seem!

[@ZeroX7649]

I've heard this a lot, but that month to month experience was so horribly painful for me that by the end I wound up settling on Boruto instead of all things. Yeah. This arc was so exhausting Boruto was good by comparison.

[@logan7805]

@@ZeroX7649 No it wasnt. I dont even like the arc as much as Mark did and even I think your crazy for even comparing it to Boruto. The modern boruto manga has been some of the worst shonen I have ever read, at least the granolah arc was readable up from chapter 67-80. On the otherhand the whole boruto manga since Isshiki vs Baryon mode Naruto is barely readable or interesting.

[@ZeroX7649]

@@logan7805 Eh, I kinda liked the dynamic between Eida, Amado, and Code. We never really had truly warring villain factions in Naruto and watching that fallout was pretty interesting. Hasn't really been good since the break but I thought it was a lot more engaging than Bardock blabbering about saiyan pride and surpassing your limits for 4 months which has been Super ad nauseum. My problem with the arc is it's a very static story, limited in scope and it's narrative is confined from having any impact when you spread it across months and months of chapters. I have no doubt in my mind it's easier to read in one sitting, but that's simply not how I consume manga. I don't wait for arcs to end or purchase volumes. I read the release, and it's grating to have a once a month release where you get nothing but Gas and Goku hitting each other. It doesn't matter if the narrative theme is good if I can't sink my teeth into the narrative theme because all I can see is endless fighting for 6 months. It was just too much.

[@TuskyBaby]

@@ZeroX7649 it sounds more like you're impatient than anything else...

[@logan7805]

@@ZeroX7649 Sorry, but you lost me at "I kinda liked the dynamic between Eida, Amado, and Code". Literally all those characters are terrible and have horrible dynamic. Your really trying to tell me that Amado somehow created andriods stronger than literal gods in Naruto? That literally makes no sense. The reason why powerful andriods works in the DB verse but doesn't work in the naruto verse is hecause andriods in DB were an ALREADY established idea. Andriods had been a thing since Goku was a kid, and the ones in DBZ were just vastly improved versions of the ones we saw Goku encounter as a kid. Meanwhile in Boruto, it just comes out of nowhere. Powerful fighting andriods had never been a major plotpoint in Naruto, but then all of a sudden some random scientists can somehow create an andriod stronger than the literal TEN TAILS??? Those 3 characters are literally the reason why modern Boruto is horrible. It was actually decent until those characters came into play. Another reason why andriods works in dragon ball but not in naruto is because dragon ball has always had futureistic technology. There is flying cars, capsules that can store any object, and time machines. But the Narutoverse is supposed to have MODERN technology, so these all powerful andriods literlly just dont fit into the the theme. Eida, Daemon, and Amado ruined the story and they just dont fit in as well.

[@KarmaEpsilon]

That Instant Transmission flex was one of the funniest and smartest things I've ever seen Goku do mid-battle

[@neoshenlong]

I think Bardock's wish could be saved by using it to explain a couple of things: 1. How Goku managed to escape planet Vegeta unharmed and how he managed to survive his massive fall when he arrived to Earth. 2. Why Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta survived by coincidentally being somewhere else at the time. Perhaps you could say the wish ensured Raditz would survive and it just made sense that his companions where there with him. In that case everything else doesn't lose any merit and I think it would be logic and nice consequences of Bardock's wish.

[@__Insanity_]

That's not "Totally Not Mark" but rather "DEFINITELY not Mark"

[@MasterGeek-mk5ne]

I loved Vegeta’s Ultra Ego and Black Freeza. Now with Orange Piccolo and Beast Gohan, I wonder what’s the next step in the series. Maybe Cooler will finally appear in Super, maybe another tournament of power, maybe some kind of new and terrifying villain

[@Leg1503]

Are there any colors left? Unless it’s multicolor like beast Gohan, Toyotaro is going to have to repeat

[@weird6758]

@@Leg1503 tan

[@MasterGeek-mk5ne]

@@Leg1503 we still need super-haired Krillin and Ultra God Yamcha, SiX Arms Asura Tien and Adult Chiaotzu to complete it.

[@smilelydogge2821]

I love Ultra Ego and Orange Piccolo, but Beast Gohan is a little far fetched to me in terms of how strong he got, and Black Frieza's design isn't as good as the other transformations.

[@MasterGeek-mk5ne]

@@smilelydogge2821 yeah, I enjoyed the Beast Gohan color scheme. But Black Freeza seemed more like a different colored version from Golden. Still, I am enjoying Dragon Ball these past months.

[@ultrainstinctgoku1926]

You nailed it when you brought up Goku remember Bardock and Gine and the compelling resonance behind it. I felt the same way as well. 😅

[@silvapop9666]

I think Bardok’s wish for his children to grow up was just in reference to the destruction of the saiyan world from Frieza, hence why they were able to grow up.

[@theclown5763]

For me, there are 3 main issues with this arc: 1. Gas as an antagonist. While Granolah had a great introduction and his personal conflict and backstory were established before the fight, Gas didn't have that which is sad because his final moments and seeing the "strongest in the universe" power more as a curse was really great and dark stuff. 2. Vegeta not being given any win AGAIN. I believe Vegeta should've defeated Granolah in a fair fight and then we would introduce Gas as a ultimately antagonist. It wouldn't have been Vegeta's winning the final battle but his own personal win, against an opponent that Goku lost to, may I add. If Super Hero had that small victory then we could've had that. 3. Pacing. I feel like this manga is going with the a bit of wrong pace for the monthly manga and as a result this arc feels way better when read once finished but when experiencing it monthly, it dragged so much for me. But honestly, this is a problem I have with many mangas.

[@spritvio639]

Vegeta got embarrassed monthly.

[@MarcosGarcia-em2qf]

Tbh those aren't very big problems in my opinion

[@joaquis456]

I think the pacing of the story as a whole is fine...like, if you binge read it it's actually really good. But the monthly release hurts a lot to those reading, well, monthly. The manga is fine, just...it should be a weekly affair, like dragon ball was. But that is not a pacing problem of the story itself, but of the guys who decide its release...

[@KingJinzo2125]

@@joaquis456 if they went weekly they’d have to cut down on pages, and tbh I personally like the 30 page chapters

[@Dasaltwarrior]

I had that same experience with MHA and BLEACH recently I really enjoyed MHA, even the more recent material towards the end that people seem to hate (with one exception) I read Bleach right around when scanlations were catching up with the Ichigo and Ulquiorra, and the pacing of that arc WEEK to WEEK just was not worth keeping up with Nowhwere near as bad re-reading it after the fact recently

[@sanjaynambisan2538]

I reread the arc once the arc was finished and it read so much better when I binged it than month to month. It feels like nothings happening when it’s month to month but pacing is so much better as a binging experience

[@TheSkaOreo]

Yeah I suspect a lot more people who waited and will just binge it will be far more positive on it than people who were reading it month to month.

[@dullahan_of_light6047]

Definitely. I always tell people to binge sections when i see complaints about pacing. Both Whole Cake Island of One Piece and the last fight of My Hero Vigilantes are perfect examples of this. Week to week they took soooooo long. But reading them at once they flow so well. MHV's final fight feels like a sprint compared to the crawl (heh) of its original week to week release.

[@sanjaynambisan2538]

@@dullahan_of_light6047 ye I binged dressrosa and the villain arc and wholecake island so I never felt any pacing issues it’s always better to binge than week to week. Wano will be the same too

[@rocketjimmy9238]

The scene where vegeta throws the planet destroying blast at granola, also reminds me of when Beerus did the same to goku in battle of gods. Both saying “this will destroy the planet” more so as a challenge than a decoration of destruction

[@Jushy_]

Man it's such an understatement to call frieza's entrance even amazing. It goes so far beyond that. For me it was an even greater surprise because before turning the page after frieza's touchdown i took a moment and thought "wow! That was really cool! But wait, isn't frieza still only around super saiyan blue's level?" Then BOOM turn page and frieza kills gas, elec, and obliterates goku and vegeta without trying. What an absolute badass, this is dragon ball.

[@Originul_]

I don't agree with the concerns people have with Bardocks wish of have his "Sons" thrive, because Raditz sure as he'll didn't thrive and on top of that Raditz died, and Goku had died multiple times now, which I would say isn't someone "thriving". There's also the people that say that the actual translations of what Bardock said is for them to be Healthy, which again they both died, so by any two of those to happening, I would think it got canceled after they both had died. But to each their own.

[@scorpionflame6]

what will always get me is that the trio went through all of this arc to brutal extents then frieza just shows up and goes "my turn" showing off a form that will probably be unmatched for a while and showing just how powerful this form clearly is by one shotting both goku and vegeta at their maximum

[@Sagamanz89]

I love this arc! Goku finally SEEING OR MEETING Bardock, his father was something I desparetly wanted to come true since childhood.

[@CaptainProx]

As much as I already liked both the Moro and Granolah arc, I think they’d be even better in a well made anime production that have a weekly release

[@dankerbell]

they better animate these, imagine the internet's reaction to frieza's entrance in this arc

[@CaptainProx]

@@dankerbell both Frieza Black and Ultra Ego Vegeta in the same Arc is gonna be generational levels of hype in the anime world

[@The_NJG]

Reading this month to month was pretty agonizing, but going through it again in a straight shot made it far easier to appreciate and makes the pacing way better. Short and sweet arc, probably the best in Super. Sucks that Vegeta didn't receive a win, again. Freeza went "This has gone on long enough" and ended the arc right then and there when he showed up.

[@nadegeromulus325]

He didn’t lose tho, so I’ll take what they’ll gave us.

[@zachadams6660]

Goku didn't win either I think one of the thems of arc is Goku and Vegeta still have long way 2 go

[@futurevision7283]

This is one of those arcs where i feel like Vegeta shouldn't of gotten the W, how they beat Gas was fitting for how the plot was building up to it (not counting Gas' death but his loss in the fight)

[@leultrainstinct406]

Goku didn’t win when he first got ultra instinct either. That’s not a valid criticism

[@logan7805]

@@leultrainstinct406 Yeah but at least he dominated Jiren multiple times throughout their fight. Vegeta didn't even get the chance to dominate anyone with Ultra Ego yet. And if the enemy in the next arc is stronger than Gas and Granolah, Vegeta may NEVER get the chance to dominate someone with Ultra Ego which would honestly be a let down

[@Ripmav]

The moment Frieza appeared in the manga I was ... "NO WAY! He (Toyotaro) didn't do that. WTF!" I never thought about the possibility and I love it.

[@RegretMSTRPWN]

I think this arc is brilliant in that it takes FULL advantage of being dragonball. Transformations are common, so now the main character needs to become powerful without thinking of a transformation. Deatruction and death happens from all sides and peoples morals and mindsets change, so vegeta leans into destruction only to use his knowledge of fighting, the one thing he has always been cinsistently shown to have. Granola becomes good upon realize his mistakes and vengance mindset. And of course frieza dominating everything in the end, but only by becoming a new character to actually trains. also, the like... dragon balls matter a lit and do insane things but arent over powered with the age absorbing shenangians. Awesome arc for db!

[@jordandrinkwater1345]

For the Bardock's Wish scene, the dragon could've said, "My power is only limited to short-term wishes. Changing fate is a long-term wish, so I can't grant it."

[@dutchielander2478]

100% agree. Everybody got love, not just Goku this time. Really excited to see what the Freeza storyline is going to bring us.

[@michaelpeak2438]

I really appreciate this review. I’ve been one of the people who felt there was a lot to complain about with this arc. But your breakdown of it somehow managed to ease up and balance out my feelings towards it. I’ll have to run it back at some point. And I’m excited for what’s to come as well

[@tyleraguilar2474]

I’m surprised how you didn’t mention the foreshadowing of Friezas return in the Broly movie by Vegeta

[@lyme1030]

That transition to Freeza was ***PERFECT***!!! I got unreasonably hyped as soon as i heard his theme slowly chiming in to the increasing glitch noises... Amazing choice!

[@m0002856]

Definitely a little late to comment on this video, but I wanted to point out that I absolutely agree with your take on the ending of the fight with all three heroes (and the AI buddy) trying to desperately defeat the bad guy: I think it's one of the first fights that truly felt like a Toriyama fight. I believe this is something you specifically pointed out in a not-so-positive review of Super, but Toriyama was always really good at creating a whole host of sudden problems that are suddenly taken care of. It leads to a lot of exciting things happening rapidly as the fight shifts in some capacity probably best exemplified in the Vegeta vs Goku fight on Earth. Things constantly go from good to bad like a real wrestling show match. Goku is outclassed by Vegeta, he boosts up the Kaio-ken, he starts to get the upperhand, Vegeta throws out a blast towards the Earth that Goku can't use his speed to dodge without blowing up the planet, he has to go all out and use a stronger level of Kaio-ken that ultimately leaves his body mostly useless afterward. Vegeta looks for the moon wanting to turn into the Oozaru form. He realizes he can't because Piccolo blew up the moon previously. THEN he reveals that they have a technique that circumvents this very issue. So on and so forth. I'm sure we're familiar with the fight, but that's just a handful of the numerous, "Oh no! Oh yes! OH NO! Oh, wait we're fine. OH NO! OH, HE WON! OH, HE'S NOT DEAD?!" moments that Toriyama was pretty good at writing. The point is that the ending of this climatic fight follows a similar path. The heroes have a chance to win, they don't have a chance to win, they have a last ditch effort all out attack planned that needs to have some time bought for it similar to the Raditz fight. They have a chance, but Goku has to defend. Goku loses. It's over. Except then Vegeta throws himself into the fight again! Then Goku has to give Granolah a clear shot without repercussions, BUT THEN HE CAN'T AIM BECAUSE HIS EYES GOT MESSED UP leading to his little AI buddy coming to the rescue. It's all very much in the style of Toriyama I think, and I think it's executed well.

[@frtd12345]

I haven't paid attention to DBS since the Broly movie and I must say, between this and the Moro arc I've been pleasantly surprised how fun the manga has been. Hopefully the anime returns at some point to cover these arcs because they're far more interesting than the stuff the original Super anime covered.

[@andrewfortunatte7137]

Coming here after hearing about Toriyama's passing hits different. RIP Toriyama sensei

[@FlipsideVA]

I do genuinely believe that the month to month releases drag down the story telling for Dragon Ball Super's manga The long 30 day wait for 75-80 pages SPECIFICALLY for DBS makes it feel like the story isn't doing much, But when you look at it in chunks (like Mark did) You really get to just read the story properly and appreciate it more because it feels like it's paced better (because you yourself are pacing out the story) Dragon Ball should go back to a weekly released manga rather than stay with the month to month.

[@isauldron4337]

Maybe biweekly basis to not stress the artist so much?

[@firionkaiser8291]

@@isauldron4337 I'd be cool with Bi weekly. Chainsawman has done that a few times as it is.

[@jahnaviketha6300]

75-80? It's only 40-59 btw

[@YungandRekless545]

I recently rewatched Kai. And while it was briefly mentioned, Goku actually was relectant to accept his heritage, right before Vegeta died and he fought Frieza.

[@SCP01986]

I actually liked the reasoning for this. I dropped out of Super a while ago because I was tired of all the god stuff but this brings us back to an overlooked theme of how intelligent, scheming villains can be a lot more interesting than SUPER POWERFUL AND UNDEFEATABLE EVIL TERROR!!1 Batman-level antics over the Hulk stuff was a nice change.

[@likeamanagersbossper]

This review gave me new perspective on this arc and actually made me like it more. Thank you Mark

[@mortado28parkour]

im so glad you made another dragonball review i was so tierd of all the smooth brain youtubers and people. did you know people actually belive dragon ball doesn't have good writing or a plot lmao.

[@jarondratman]

I always love seeing your Dragon Ball reviews, you always point out things that I’d never otherwise see or consider that help me appreciate stories in this series a lot more than I otherwise would.

[@NurseValentineSG]

If there is one thing I am grateful for, it is how dragonball super has handled freeza. Ressurection F and GT had done alot of damage to how scary he was supposed to be, but since the tournament of power, super broly and now the ending of the granolah arc, he has turned into one of my favorite characters.

[@Libtardo123]

My prediction is that he will fall in love with Whis

[@jantheking7028]

Frieza was still pretty scary in resurection F tho. He shoots holes into Gohan, kills Piccolo, and blows up the entire earth. The only medium where Frieza is objectively non-menacing is in GT and DBZ Fusion Reborn.

[@superdupersomething]

Frieza not scary in GT? You can say that again lol, Goku made them both look like a joke after the first 2 minutes of the fight Edit: spelling mistake on Goku

[@NurseValentineSG]

@@superdupersomething can you read?

[@superdupersomething]

@@NurseValentineSG I agreed with you?

[@MikeAruba69]

When Frieza appeared and revealed his new power, it gave me goosebumps! They way he effortlessly defeated Ultra Instict Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta with a single punch was mind blowing! I'm definitely looking forward for the next Dragon Ball Super arc.

[@nickcutler3802]

Um...are we all forgetting Goku has already died?...TWICE? If Goku is still thriving it's not because of a wish.

[@jackw5105]

Mark, a while back you made a video explaining how you drew dragon ball, since then you’ve made a number of new videos related to the art of dragon ball, and your essay covers get more impressive every video. I was wondering if maybe you’d do an updated art process video? I would love to see that!! I’m a huge fan!

[@Narutou01]

Another thing to consider about bardock's wish is that his son's grew up to end up killing each other. Makes his wish seem like a monkey paw situation

[@marcelocapeljunior3579]

I love how Freeza's power literally warps and causes interference on the video. The characters' speaking of him serving as the foreshadowing for his eventual arrive, with the final trigger being Mark's lambasting Elec for being a coward while Golden Freeza's theme slowly swells up... and then? Boom! Freeza returns. Perfect transition. Flawless edit work.

[@DPGBehler]

I know a lot of words have been said about Bardock’s wish, but at the moment we simply don’t know precisely what it implies, so it’s either a “wait and see” or a matter of theories. But that doesn’t even address the fact that we don’t KNOW that that was the wish the dragon granted. We never get confirmation on it.

[@moro-og-739]

That ending is the hypest thing I've seen on the channel. Truly amazing

[@arthurmorgan835]

I've always wanted to go back to the days of power levels being in the 10 thousands with the Oozaru and scouters and while this arc didn't quite have my nostalgic fanfic of the good ol days of DBZ i still really enjoyed the call backs to the Saiyans and especially Bardock.

[@aquelgamermexicano]

When it comes to Goku and Vegetta's training, i really like how they handled the very hyped revelation of Beerus being the one that suggested the Planet's destruction. Beerus tells that to Vegetta not so much for the sake of pushing him to the edge and make conflict, which is what a Lot of people were speculating since RoF, but to teach Vegetta to let go of the past. Vegetta thought the destruction of his race was something they deserved, and Beerus tries to make Vegetta realize that's not necessarily the case, or at least, that's not something he should care about. Things just happen and if he really wants to move forward, he must stop thinking of what's behind him.

[@spoof2062]

My main gripes with this arc are the whole wishing to be strong thing and that some of the fights drag a lot which made reading it month to month painful sometimes 😅

[@deathglock496]

That's the entire point. Wishing something like that has consequences and how they faced it. Granolah has a few years left of his life and Gas was turning into a horrific abomination with his body rotting and decaying.

[@ItchRevenge92]

@@deathglock496 Could have been done better. Becoming stronger than motherfucking UI goku because "you made a wish to some bootleg dragonballs with no cooldown period" grossed me out

[@projekttaku1]

@@deathglock496 not to mention that it was the perfect set up for freeza, this historically lazy strongest who wants to wish for something, training for 10 years straight to attain a new level of power.

[@solaris804]

This is the first time i’ve actually seen the granolah arc, i haven’t seen anything beyond the moro arc until now

[@SamsarasArt]

Also i love the choice of using Chrono Trigger music. It's made me realize Granolah has some similarities to Magus too. Especially with his role in relation to the other characters. He starts out as an antagonist who eventually becomes an ally and is motivated by revenge over something that happened many years ago. His character design kinda looks like Magus in terms of his attire too.

[@th3azscorpio]

I find it interesting how Dragonball begins to resemble Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest the longer it progresses.

[@alexlogan4074]

I’m glad you’re still doing all this, it’s great to see your perspective and your simple but enjoyable way of breaking it all down narratively

[@ligerade3536]

This is one of my favorite arcs! I loved Gas and Granolah's character

[@braydeno4189]

I unironically hope another full arc goes by without Frieza being challenged by the Saiyans. It would be really interesting to have the next arc utilise the knowledge that Frieza is out there and monstrously powerful to create a darker tone and increase the tension by a massive amount, all without even having him as the main threat of the arc.

[@katomamundara8106]

It already did - the Super Heroes arc.

[@xenoprinceomni9474]

God the editing in this is spectacular. My favorite moment had to be the ending with the glitching and the combination of frieza’s theme slowly building up until the eventual climax with him showing up with his theme front and center! Amazing video!

[@Agent-57]

That glitching effect, the slow and subtle music in the background and then BOOM the Bass drop with Frieza's cake in the frame. BEAUTIFURU.

[@Kusanjosh]

That segue to the Frieza portion was top tier 🤘 gave me chills. Great video!