Although Dragon Ball Super isn’t technically over, the anime has been quiet for quite a while now. The series officially continued with Dragon Ball Super: Broly and has been chugging along comfortably in the manga as the Moro arc transitions into its next major phase. The anime may not be around, but Dragon Ball Super is still active.
Unfortunately, all these different continuities do mean that Dragon Ball Super as a whole feels far messier than Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball GT in some areas. Specifically, the anime ended with a number of plotlines left unresolved—plotlines that Super likely won’t get around to in either the movies or manga.
The Trip To Planet Sadla
Planet Sadla has been teased since the Universe 6 Tournament arc, and it seems unlikely Veget and Goku will actually visit their alternate homeworld anytime soon. While Sadla does appear in both the anime and manga, it’s only to establish Cabba, Caulifla, and Kale’s characters leading up to the Tournament of Power.
Considering just how often Planet Sadla would become a point of discussion for both Vegeta and Cabba, it’s strange that Super would use primarily as motivation for Vegeta. But that’s really what it is, though. Planet Sadla was always built as a means to push Vegeta in the Tournament of Power, for better or for worse.
Twin Universes
Twin Universes really should have been a bigger deal than Dragon Ball Super made them out to be. The series hits the ground running with the Universe 6 Tournament, a story arc that focuses almost exclusively on the concept of Twin Universes, but it does so without getting into the specifics. By the Goku Black arc, the concept is all but thrown out.
It’s a disappointing turn of events, especially considering how much fanfare Twin Universes were given. It seems like Toriyama and Toyotaro didn’t want to stick with the idea, instead opting to make each remaining universe has its own identity.
Yamoshi’s Identity
To Dragon Ball Super’s credit, it’s perhaps for the best that Yamoshi wasn’t revealed at any point during the story. Modern Dragon Ball has a very bad habit of romanticizing Saiyan lore to the point of recontextualizing the entire franchise as an interconnected epic that begins with Freeza taking over Planet Vegeta.
Of course, there’s still plenty of time for Toriyama to reveal Yamoshi’s identity if he so chooses to. It would more than likely be a mistake since further Saiyan lore more often than not thins the franchise’s scope, but this is just what Dragon Ball is like these days.
The Namekian Book Of Legends
Many fans theorized that this would be Piccolo’s get out of free card during the Tournament of Power—the key item that allows him to fight on the same level as the gods. Instead, it goes completely ignored as Universe 6’s Namekians all merge together and Piccolo is unceremoniously knocked off by an invisible foe.
What makes the Namekian Book of Legends so interesting is the fact that it’s brought up casually, only to be more or less immediately forgotten. It’s the most important piece of worldbuilding the Namekians have seen since the Namek arc. Hopefully, the Moro arc dives a bit deeper into this detail.
The Dangers Of Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken
Goku using Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken against Hit stands out as one of the most important moments in Dragon Ball Super. It was the moment the anime became more than just a lackluster continuation. Which made it all the more surprising that the manga veered in a completely different direction.
While the anime does follow up on the dangers of Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken, the fact that the former is a Toei invention and thus not in Toriyama’s outline means that there’s no room in the actual narrative to comment or develop the form’s downsides. It immediately becomes just another tier of Super Saiyan Blue for Goku.
Goku And Hit’s Rivalry
Hit is one of Goku’s more interesting rivals in that he doesn’t actually do much expected of a rival. Outside of a filler mini-arc, Goku and Hit’s rivalry is ignored completely by Toriyama and Toyotaro. In the manga, the two never have their rematch, and the anime version of the Tournament of Power acts like the Hit mini-arc never happened.
Worse yet, Hit doesn’t even bother resolving his rivalry with Vegeta before the series is over. He’s eliminated from the Tournament of Power before he can properly settle the score with Goku or Vegeta. As far as rivals go, Hit is probably Goku’s least active foil.
Future Trunks’ Fate
While Future Trunks’ story reaches a conclusion, it doesn’t exactly reach a real resolution. He’s shipped off to another timeline by Whis, and that’s the last fans see of him. It would be as if Dragon Ball Z simply ignored Trunks after he went back to his timeline instead of dedicating the end of the Cell arc to wrapping up his story.
Bizarrely, the manda adds a bonus chapter that features Trunks deciding to stay in the main timeline only for Gohan to convince him to leave. All things considered, it’s a rather sloppy and undignified way of kicking Future Trunks out of the main cast.
Goku And Toppo’s Rivalry
Goku’s rivalry with Toppo being unresolved is way worse than his rivalry with Hit considering Toppo was the character who formally kicked off Goku’s pursuit of Ultra Instinct. The Universe Survival arc starts with a rivalry between Goku and Toppo, not Goku and Jiren. Which makes it more disappointing when Vegeta ends up competing against Toppo while Goku fights Jiren.
Certainly not helping matters is the fact that Toppo is an infinitely more interesting character than Jiren. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t have as natural of a connection with Vegeta as he does with Goku. The Universe Survival arc should have simply left Toppo in the main antagonist role.
Goku’s Mastery Of Ultra Instinct
The second half of the Tournament of Power sees Goku trying to activate Ultra Instinct time and time again, each instance getting better at using the technique. By the end of the Tournament of Power, it seems like Goku has actually mastered the form. This is something both the anime and manga focus on.
Both the anime and the manga to reveal that Goku can’t master Ultra Instinct just yet. Where Dragon Ball Super: Broly ignored Ultra Instinct completely, it seems that the Moro arc is finally bringing it back into focus. So, if nothing else, this little bit of DBS may not be unresolved for much longer.
Everyone’s Arc In Dragon Ball Super: Broly
Dragon Ball Super: Broly represents the best and worst of modern Dragon Ball. It has an undeniable sense of style and feels appropriately fresh, breathing genuinely new life into the series after decades of cash crabbing. It also barely does anything with its plot or cast, instead opting for what feels like non-stop action.
The action is good, granted, but it results in every single character in the movie failing to complete anything resembling a proper character arc. Even Broly, who the film basically dedicates its first hour to, says nothing of value once he transforms into a hulking brute. A good first half followed by an entertaining, if substanceless, second.
