Dragon Ball Super Can Never Become as Dark as Other Akira Toriyama Shows Because of Toei Animation’s Scrutinizing Restrictions

Owing to Dragon Ball‘s immense influence, Akira Toriyama is considered a legend not only in Japan but worldwide. Not to mention, Goku and Vegeta’s rivalry, along with the iconic Super Saiyan’s transformation, has inspired awe across the generations.

From compelling characters to terrifying antagonists, Akira Toriyama added every key factor to make Dragon Ball Z recognized as the greatest masterpiece of all time. While Dragon Ball Super did take over Toriyama’s legacy and featured many iconic transformations like Ultra Instinct, Super Saiyan God, and many more, DBZ has created a deeper emotional connection with the audience.

Team Universe 7 | Credit: Toei Animation

With Dragon Ball Daima making its highly anticipated premiere later this Fall, Toei carries forward Akira Toriyama’s lasting legacy, ensuring it lives on forever. Although some fans may regard DBS as a superior anime due to its high animation quality and intense fight scenes, it simply cannot surpass Toriyama’s old classic series in terms of violence.

Why Dragon Ball Super Can’t Surpass Akira Toriyama’s Classics

Dragon Ball Super brought back the fan-favorite characters on big screens, leaving several fans thrilled with the franchise’s return. The franchise’s return met a positive reaction from the fans, who were eagerly awaiting fresh glimpses of Goku and Vegeta’s iconic rivalry.

Besides the new Super Saiyan God transformation, true DB fans noticed that the latest installment in the Dragon Ball franchise lacks blood scenes, unlike its predecessors DBZ or DBGT. Akira Toriyama‘s narrative behind DBZ featured tons of violence and blood scenes which would connect many fans emotionally with Goku’s struggles and pains.

Frieza dying in DBZ | Credit: Toei Animation

Blood highlights the wear and tear in fights, and can add significant drama to a scene. Not to mention, DBS manga is also on the bloodier side, but nothing quite as graphic as the original Dragon Ball manga. Why did Toei Animation suddenly decide to shift to a lighter approach when blood and violence played a pivotal role in DBZ‘s immense success?

The reason is that the production studio has changed its target audience to a younger demographic, broadcasting around 9 AM in Japan with a +10 age rating, officially making it a show for kids. Apart from that, an animator working for Toei also explained that the TV Broadcasting Code has become harsher towards gory violence, leading the production studio to create DBS a kids-friendly show.

Majin Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z | Credit: Toei Animation

Indeed, Dragon Ball Z was a pretty bloody show for its time, but the manga was gorier than the anime. Akira Toriyama was drawing actual organs being ripped apart, captivating many fans with the series’ violent and gory scenes. The blood scenes returned with DBS: Super Hero, where fans got to witness Gohan’s intense fight scenes filled with rage and blood.

How Frieza’s Menace Faded in Dragon Ball Super

Frieza’s evil personality was the key factor behind his immense popularity in the community. Although Frieza continued planning evil schemes to dominate the entire universe, his return to the Tournament of Power arc left fans a bit disappointed.

Despite playing a pivotal role in taking down Jiren and securing Universe 7’s victory in the Tournament of Power, Frieza failed to win the crowd’s love. Sadly, reintroducing the iconic villain after over 20 years has set some challenges and failed to attract fans’ attention to Frieza’s character. 

Frieza during the Tournament of Power Arc in Dragon Ball Super | Credit: Toei Animation

One reason DBS struggled was its lack of compelling villains; thus, reviving Frieza twice became a crucial move to sustain fans’ interest in the series; however, his return didn’t meet fans’ high expectations. However, Toei Animation can shift the fans’ opinion if they decide to animate the much-awaited clash between Black Frieza and Vegeta’s Ultra Ego.

Dragon Ball is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.