By Julio Sanchez
Dragon Ball Super ended the series after five seasons within the last three years with a series finale that was nothing short of being too good.
Since the series started with the introduction of the God of Destruction Beerus and his quest of finding someone worth fighting, the lives of Goku and his friends were once again in danger only now by a threat in the form of a deity.
The encounter with Beerus ultimately led the audience right back to where Dragonball Z left off without missing a single note. Dragonball Super doesn’t have nearly as much blood as its predecessor but it makes up for it with its amazing character development and well-done storytelling.
DBS had all the excitement and built-up cliffhangers that left most people watching the show in suspense and anticipation for the next episode in the same way one would watch Dragon Ball Z when new episodes would come out on Toonami on Cartoon Network back in the early 2000’s.
With every season of the show, the audience was introduced with many new characters as well as reintroduced to old ones, new fighting techniques and even new transformations that, when introduced, were done in such a way that made it feel like watching the Super Saiyan transformation for the first time while in awe of its power.
Even the antagonists in the show had such unbelievable storylines that made their pure hatred be known with such grace that at the same time made their dark intentions more shocking to watch over the course of the season.
The series did have some faults as its animation would sometimes lack details and quality. Throughout the series many scenes looked as if the characters were rushed making them look awkward and less polished.
Characters like Goku would sometimes look as if he was drawn by a fan rather than a professional animator. Still, over the course of the show the animation did improve with slight instances of poor animation quality but far less than it had in the beginning seasons.
The show’s final season ended with yet another tournament but only this time instead of contestants being the strongest in the world and the prize being money, the contestants consists of the strongest 10 warriors from eight different universes where elimination means death.
Having the final season end with a tournament is like coming full circle because in the Dragonball series, the World Martial Arts tournament was the main motivation for Goku to become stronger. Now after several decades later, Dragon Ball Super takes a whole new outlook for what it means to be the winner of the tournament.
With episode 131 being the final episode, it focuses on the importance of trust and hope. The episode spotlights the impact of every single friend and enemy that Goku had met throughout his life and how each one has made it possible for him to become as strong, both mentally and physically, as he is in the end of the show.
The animation, the score, the fighting, the humor and character development was done in such a way that left no true fan unsatisfied with the series coming to a close. Although, it is a bittersweet feeling to watch such a great series come to an end, it is great to see a show surpass every expectation that one had in the beginning.
With the show going on hiatus until the release of the movie later on this year, the return of the show is yet to be certain. What is certain is that if it comes back then fans around the world will be there every step of the way to see what happens next on Dragon Ball Super.