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Jan 13, 2017
**This review might contain spoilers but I will try to warn**
Dragon Ball Super is the third canon sequel of the popular Dragon Ball series. This anime has been bothering me both by its content and by the extreme reactions its getting. Either fans are considering it a masterpiece or they are really disappointed. And as I was reading a lot of reviews were either full of praises or by people who dropped the series before actual content got any development so I decided to write a detail review (till episode 73).
First comes the question whether this series is recommended. If you have been a die
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hard DB series fan and loved it all these years in spite knowing its flaw then you definitely should give it a try. If you are just some one who liked the series or find it OK, well you may or may not watch, you can judge after reading this review and if you are someone alien to this series and thinking about starting from this part, don't bother because it is really not worth it. Rather you should either start from Dragon Ball (IF you like those adventurous type anime with somewhat an idiotic MC who somewhat becomes mature) or Dragon Ball Z (If you are into bad ass characters and intense fighting and not lengthy character development stuff).
Second from which episode should you start watching. As many of you might already be familiar that Dragon Ball Z had 2 new movies named "Battle of Gods(BOG)" and "Ressuruction of F(ROF)" and also a lot of you might also know that Dragon Ball Super that Super actually uses the content of its movie thus annoying fans by presenting them the content they have already watched. So unless you have a lot of time or you wanna note every single detail in series I would say just watch both of these movies, watch episode 1 and then start from episode 28 as movies have better animation and pacing.
Art (5/10)
Dragon Ball Super animation was stuff of memes at its release the animation of horrific,especially animation of episode 5 was so bad that it can probably give cancer . In next arc the animation became somewhat consistent but still really poor but since than it has improved and became a lot consistent by somewhat near episode 45. Though there are still noticeable flaws (in some frames) if you notice like unbalance eye level, some background characters not having eye but most of these are is scene of fast motion and some may also miss that old art style, but overall its not really that bad now (6 or 7 stuff).
Music (5/10)
The opening is somewhat ok, mostly nostalgic. The first ending was basically nostalgic as well. The second and third were really good but ever since that all ending basically looks like those of a comical gag anime (though super had been that way sometimes). The sound track in series has just been disappointing. There hadn't even been a noticeable sound track till fourth arc in which I liked few but overall the sound track had been worst in all canon and also GT. Also I am not really a big fan of DB Japanese voices but probably dub might be able to fix some problem.
Story (6/10)
Again just like GT, Dragon Ball Super senselessly end up borrowing content from Dragon Ball.
(Spoiler: Read next line only if you have seen BOG or relevant episodes)
Among one common trait, they both introduce return of Emperor Pilaf out of oblivion.
Though unlike each other where Dragon ball GT adopted kid goku from DB, here the series takes the comical theme and which is by any means a horrible mistake. I mean seriously while in DB the theme was more comical but as the story progressed the theme becomes intense signifying growth and maturity but dropping it back to comical gag anime just was a change too big. Not to mention it is one of reasons why series hasn't been able to obtain as much intensity as its predecessors(not the major reason though).
Another thing Super has failed is the creativity of transformations. Even Toriyama admitted that. I am not saying they are concept wise the least creative but the execution really gives the sense. (The rest paragraph will contain some minor spoilers). The SSG is by far the most creative in terms of concept of achieving but the looks don't go with it and on top of that as soon as Goku transforms we hear someone say, you look the same. Oh this has got to be the worse way to bring down excitement seriously, in DBZ even on some new power up characters were like Holy shit what happened, though it was exaggeration but it did raised intensity. And then SSGSS, to be honest now some die hard fans will admit that series feel like they are just changing hair color and its in some words admitted by Toriyama as "Since I used red in BOG so it had to be blue.", seriously lacks creativity and also no proper explanation. Honestly Ascended Super Saiyan is by far the least creative transformation ever (considering u just trained in an isolated chamber for an year with changing physical condition and u receive a boost) it seemed still more creative than SSGSS which is actually the forth least creative transformation.
Now I will just generally discuss arcs since I cant spoil contents. The first arc adapts BOG lasting till episode 13 to 14. The overall story of BOG was interesting and I really don't have much issue with it except some power level plot holes that anime generated.
The Second arc was pathetic. They just brought back an old villain and use that color changing strategy as lousy excuse for transformation and I don't even wanna start on all detailed plot holes(one example will be breaking of one year revive limit of dragonball). The only good thing that Z warriors actually get a chance to shine.
Third arc bring a battle between two universe but following Budokai Tenkaichi rule (not referring to game but tournament style (u will understand by episode 28)) thus making it like world martial art tournament so again a rip-off plot, the new character design lacked creativity. So majorly tournament wasn't really creative but it somewhat gets interesting near end.
The fourth arc follows some messing in timeline and DBS after all these years finally introduce a villain with a background and reason for turning evil. The arc actually had a better track, better animation, more intensity and better fights but powers level had been inconsistent through out this arc and the end makes entire arc pointless.
The next proper arc is still to start. Overall the story lack consistency but its enjoyable after second arc.
Characters (5/10)
For old characters, I am really disappointed. Goku became comparatively immature to Z though he wasn't really mature much anyway. Vegeta is a huge let down sure in some ways he has evolved but generally I recognize Vegeta as a symbol of pride but now he is just completely ignoring it rather being more of a Tsundere. Role of rest Z warriors have been negligible.
Ok generally talking about new characters. I already have mentioned that villain with actual reason for going evil and has reasons making him the third DB villain (after Tao and Cell) who just doesn't wanna rule, destroy something(for no creative reason) or have revenge and first villain who basically desires to achieve good but has a twisted philosophy of it. So this is a positive change.
The third arc actually also introduces 2 characters with actual interesting potential.
Now for character that you probably know if you have watched BOG.
Beerus the God of Destruction. Its basically him, who is keeping the show interesting but what some fans don't realize that he is also a key cause in bringing the show down. As you all shall know he is oppressively strong and Toriyama as he said don't plan to make Goku anyway near his level. And this very fact takes the intensity of the show away. Bcz in show like DBZ, we know heroes had to go all out bcz everything used to be at stake and there was no one beside them who can handle danger. But now we know that even if Z-warriors can't defeat someone, Beerus or some stronger Deus ex machina can come for saving and this knowledge really takes out intensity of show. So basically there are few possibilities that can bring the shows intensity back (a good idea for this is being used for next arc)
Enjoyment (7/10)
My recommendation for enjoying this show. Just enjoy the action and comedy and don't try (too hard) to find explanation for new plot holes and power scaling. I am still unable to enjoy it bcz of it.
In general the series basically relies on nostalgia, comedy and action. Also u might consider this Goku and Vegeta shows in some ways.
Overall (6/10)
So well the average would be 5.6 so almost 6. The show is enjoyable but honestly so far I will say its a worse follow up than GT because I have generally been disappointed be recycled plot, characters and transformation and yes the lack of intensity. GT was horrible too but compare to DBS it was intense and transformation were cooler though recycled plot and characters are there too. But I hope DBS gets better with next saga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 18, 2016
**This is a review of Sword Art Online season 1. Though I have avoided and warned where possible but still it might contain spoiler **
Sword Art Online is one of the most hyped anime series of 2012. Though after it finished airing the viewers had mixed remarks about it and the anime is now heavily criticized by critics and often described by some people as “worst anime ever”. Though the anime has totally failed to live up to its standards and has one too many flaws, still some of hate it gets is pretty irrational.
SAO (A short form used for Sword Art Online) is basically
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a gaming anime. As pretty much obvious from description, SAO uses the concept of going into a virtual world, which has been used throughout the series.
Before analyzing each detail, I will present some general positive and negative aspects of SAO.
Sword Art Online introduced its initial game concept in quite detail and a lot of fascinating gaming concepts have been introduced that can impress gamers and make them get into watching it. The sword fights in Sword Art Online and are undeniably one of bests one. Also SAO provides a lot of fan service stuff for light entertainment.
Now, as for negative factors, first of all SAO is “Non-Classified Generic Harem”. In easy words, it’s not an anime that can be actually classified as harem but SAO has literarily all qualities of harem. It’s entire story is rushed. The author has focused more on introducing more and more story arcs and what one would say waifu characters. Even the main love relation was rushed. Not to mention there are too many plot holes.
Generally its not an anime I recommend though if you are into gaming anime or you are someone new to anime and just want to watch some light-hearted entertainment, you might like SAO. Also you might also like it if you really love sword fights but if you are really into anime with plots, SAO basically doesn’t comes in that stuff
(Art: 10)
One of the things that I actually love about Sword Art Online is its animation style. Its character designs have been overall quite good especially the art style used for female characters. It does not have the best use of CGI but I really love the bright graphics, background effect and interaction between 2D and 3D models.
(Sound: 7)
Well overall sound track of SAO has well just been good. The opening and ending have just been fine, I personally prefer the second ones (“Innocence” and “Overfly”). The best parts of soundtrack for me are some of piano tones, especially the one that is repeatedly played at start of episode in earlier episodes.
(Story: 3)
SAO started by putting a great plot impression in first episode. It gave sense of a death game. However the series totally fucked up the concept.
What author tried to introduce was a psychological phenomenon in which first a person when separated from its native origins strive to escape the changed surrounding. He wants to cling on to his native identity. However with time he slowly starts accepting after observing the good things about changed surrounding and somewhat develops a place in his heart for it still loving the original even more. But for such a concept to effectively work, the story needs to be developed really gradually. So it was a risky experiment and SAO failed but I will give some credit for trying. In one episode we see character rushing to escape SAO and in next we have them completely relaxed.
Sword Art Online is also a love story between two main characters Kirito and Asuna which are the main character as you can tell from the opening. However it was executed really badly. In fact it’s rushed story and a forced relation. One can tell this by just comparing it with other love stories in SAO. You will realize others make more sense. For people who want to say, “Love can happen anytime and anywhere.” they should realize that in numerous top quality romantic stories, love started for no reason too. But in story the gradual development of feeling for someone is shown. How it started, with first sight or certain moment (Not necessarily with the character or even good moment). The story gradually reveals how characters feel in their heart as their feelings bloom. Kirito x Asuna pretty much ignored it all and if you compare it to other love relation, a lot of them at least gave an idea or showed more aspects of it.
It’s natural for an anime to have some plot holes but if one starts pointing out all plot holes from start, he might end up with more than 50 plot holes. I will just present few major and noticeable ones (The bullet points might contain spoiler):
• The villain never had a solid reason for what he did.
• In SAO, Kirito and Asuna were told that they were the first people in game to fall in love however the concept of in-game love and marriage was already presented earlier in series.
• In SAO, it was shown how players level can discriminate players and how high level players are literary invincible for low level players but this concept was completely ignored in later part of series especially extremely strong obstacle was defeated by single hit of something of lower level.
• The events of second story arc as told in anime were meant to begin about more than an year ago but if one connects, it could not even possibly be more than 4 months.
And SAO plot still has even more problems especially when you consider the later parts.
(Characters: 2)
Character development is the worst part of SAO. It is obviously evident from how story progressed that Reki Kawahara had practically no idea how character development is used. SAO used a cheap tactic to escape character and story development. It just kept introducing new characters and use them to make story progress. The result is a story in the form of multiple small story arcs. This is clearly an idiotic thing to do as the plot clearly demanded a continuous story showing gradual changes in personality. I am not saying anime using small story arc concept are bad but whether you use this or not depends on plot and is more effective for those anime that don’t require character development. An effective way of using these arcs for a plot like SAO is by linking episodes such that each arc is joined to form a continuous story. This can also be done by using an extra episode or part of episode showing how character has been influenced by each arc or simply using them to link each arc. However continuous story was still best way with occasional use of arcs as its not easy to write a completely continuous story.
OK now lets see how the characters are written (might contain slight spoiler)
The main character Kirito is an average teenage boy who is fond of gaming. He is good with technology and stuff and in fact was able to build PC at the age of 7 and also works as Beta tester. It’s actually his mysterious past that got it into gaming as he never find himself linking with his family due to it. For Kirito, MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) is a platform that allows him to connect with people so he felt lively there. So his background has some worked done and its actually not bad. The initial part of story actually also develops his personality a bit but then just fucks it up. So for majority of series we have our average whinny over powered protagonist that either completely over-whelms his opponents or keeps getting saved by plot armor. He has pretty much no fix personality. His role is simply that of a playboy who basically wins heart of literary every girl he meets or at least impress them in some way but in the ends just reveals that he is in love with someone else. Kirito could have been a potential character if a dark factor was introduced in his personality in but author probably realized it would make him less friendly for female characters as well as for some fan girls, so he didn’t bother changing. So just to sum it all up, Kirito is a character who has some past but have a pathetic personality in the actual story. Just an average hero; which have a decent gentleman personality. Somewhat like a versatile prince charming.
Now, let’s discuss the female lead. Well Asuna is pretty much your everyday tsundere. Her background does not have much to with the plot of season 1, at least for the personality factor. Her personality is generally caring and loving. Comparing with some of other characters, Asuna personality has remained quite according to her part of plot. Though nothing really creative here either rather her role has been simple. She is basically waifu material and probably a reason that Japanese anime fan included her in the list of top ten anime female characters that they want as their wife, third if I remember correctly. In the end, I would conclude her personality does not have much flaws in it. But her role has been inconsistent. She started as a strong and main character but as story continues she pretty much becomes a secondary character in story in fact reaching to the status of Damsel in Distress at a point.
Ok, the third or second and sometimes even the most important role in any anime is that of antagonist. But SAO didn’t do any good in that department either. Potentially speaking, Akihiko had the potential of being the most creative character but in the end he is more of a confused personality.
As for rest, well pretty much some have been better but majority have been worse and I don’t even wanna get started on the despicable shit king or kawaii killer of plot.
(Enjoyment: 6)
SAO is poorly executed anime. Poor plot development, poor characters and poor character development. So for an anime with plot, SAO is no way near good. But a good plot isn’t the only standard of an anime being enjoyable, but not generally. An important factor while considering how much enjoyable an anime is to consider how it appeals to audience that aren’t much concerned about plot, character development or quality entertainment, rather they are just watching to pass their time, to relax and have a little bit of entertainment. So for such audience SAO, offers a jolly entertainment. It gives you light love stories, fan service, few jokes (mostly non-offensive ones). Also as I mentioned the virtual world (At least initially) is presented quite creatively and sword fights are really good. Probably all these factors are reason why SAO still has so many fans.
(Overall: 6)
Well according to this analysis, 6 is a fair rating for the SAO season 1. Just a reminder this is for season 1 only and if it was for whole series than it’s somewhat between 4 and 3. Now, depending on one’s standard the series rating can be varied between 4-6 but 7 or higher rating is quite illogical for it. Personally it is 4.5 stuff for me because I weigh plot and character development a lot higher.
Anyone who feels like criticizing it rationally or suggests improvement, please feel free.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 15, 2016
(This review needs to be updated, I will update when I get time)
If you are a 90s kid and haven't spent your time trying to become a super saiyan or using Kamehama, I don't know what you have been doing with life. I would say go use a time machine because you missed an important part of growing up. Goku is the iconic hero that many kids might have even idolized.
But then why would I just give it 8 rather than 10.
First of all the pace of plot, it has been too prolonged literary sometimes you waste an entire episode waiting for a fight but
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you just see them hysterically screaming, charging attack or transforming and when you think something is about to happen, you hear that voice saying "Find out in the next episode of Dragon ball Z". But this isn't the only reason.
Second is lack of character development. OK there are few developed characters but other are just forgotten. In fact Launch is completely forgotten. But let's talk about characters with great personality development that would be Vegeta, Piccolo and Gohan.
We saw Gohan grew up and gradually becoming the lovable super saiyan 2 that defeated Cell. Almost a perfect continual of a great legacy. And then what we saw an unforgiving excuse called Great Saiyaman. I mean seriously how badly you can make a character fall. Ok Mystic Gohan somewhat covered up in Z at least but not to mention him in Super.
Second Piccolo, a badass demon prince we knew and in fact my favourite character and Toriyama, well accd to what he said. Well apparently he is not demon just from slug people but that isn't the issue. I love his character development but he has been so embarrassingly pushed a side. He can't even be recognized as a main character. Just a baby sitter and trainer
Vegeta, he wasn't as cool as many assume him to be. I spoiled proud brat who got his ego hurt by being defeated by someone of lower race, typical racist. Making a badass entry and then getting thrashed. But eventually we saw him evolve and he became a legend known as Majin Vegeta we all admire. At least he is the only developed character who hadn't fallen in Z, though he do fall in Super.
The second would be same typical shonen fighting style and under developed villains. The only developed villain in Z is Cell or Dr.Gero. Cell in spite being best is basically a cry baby who when strong acts like an arrogant willing to show his power when strong and pitifully begging when weak. But still DBZ is a landmark in its era in this case and foundation of better anime future.
So this isn't half of my disappointment. The greatest disappointment is Goku. Sorry to break it to you, but Goku isn't the heroic character you know, not at least as much as many think. Beside being a terrible father, he is basically a simpleton who is obsessed with fighting strong opponents and is in fact pretty much selfish. If you find what I just said awkward, I think you would not have not wondered why Goku personality is so much different in Super. I would recommend you to read manga or watch DBZ sub and u will realize how much Dub has changed his personality into something heroic. Seriously unlike DB, there is negligible personality development and its truely disappointing
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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