Media The Dragon Ball Thread

[Rororoark]

I just finished the original Dragon Ball manga... What am I supposed to read now?

 

[Local Dog]

I just finished the original Dragon Ball manga... What am I supposed to read now?

Dragon Ball Super manga
One Piece (it's a little long though)
Other work of Toriyama like Dr. Slump or Sandland

 

[Yung Dramps]

I just finished the original Dragon Ball manga... What am I supposed to read now?

Hmm... See, this is a tricky question because I don't think that anything post-Buu arc is truly essential. There's ups, downs, stuff I really like personally, but none of it is an Andor situation where it's so masterfully written and enriching to the original story's themes that you just have to check it out. If you feel satisfied with what you've read so far, you can stop. If you are really hungry for more from this universe, I will highlight the big picture pros and cons of the current 4 major post-Buu timeline splits:

GT
+Only one that actually fully moves past the original manga's ending, the others are weird midquel type things. Has Super Saiyan 4 and some really interesting arc villains, also features the super intriguing Hero's Legacy special which is about Goku's descendent from 100 years later
-Story starts with Goku being magically turned into a child again, next-generation cast is built up at the beginning but fizzles out in favor of Goku spam, mediocre production values

Super Anime
+Very high highs, imo way more cool character and form additions than GT (Beerus, Goku Black, Hit, Ultra Instinct, etc.)
-Notoriously rocky production (Resurrection 'F' anime version is so ugly to the point you're better off just watching the movie), overreliance on Goku and Vegeta pre-ToP with some iffy characterization, overall suffers a bit from Hype Moments and Aura syndrome

Super Manga
+More consistent and in-line with Toriyama's vision than its anime counterpart with additional arcs, including the very good Moro arc which'll be animated next year
-Literally not a complete product, Battle of Gods is comically rushed and Resurrection 'F' and DBS Broly are flat-out skipped over and relegated to dialogue dumps
?Goku Black arc and Tournament of Power are very different from their anime versions despite following the same basic story skeleton - your mileage may vary

Daima
+Absolutely beautiful, whole series spent on very fun worldbuilding on a whole new setting in the Demon Realm
-Goku turned into a kid again, this time with all his buddies joining in, entire last act is contingent on an especially egregious and poorly set-up bit of fanservice
?Very short, just 20 episodes

Also as Local Dog said, please consider checking out Toriyama's other mangas. Of special note is Galactic Patrolman Jaco, which is set in the world of Dragon Ball and whose title character appears in multiple Super arcs

 

[QuickBH]

I just finished the original Dragon Ball manga... What am I supposed to read now?

Read? I keep being told to check out Hunter x Hunter though I have yet to read it myself. If you like the original Dragon Ball aspect then definitely read Journey to the West. If you want an expansion of the themes laid out by the original Dragon Ball and in the same universe then you'll have to watch GT. If you just want action and increasing power levels then the Super manga is solid.

 

[Yung Dramps]

You get a Dragon Ball tier list because I'm bored. You do not get much elaboration because I'm tired.

All DBS arc placements besides BoG, ResF and Broly are based on their manga versions. Yes, Hero's Legacy is the only GT thing I've watched in over a decade and I like it that much. Haven't finished Daima but atp its clear to me its flaws are too deep to justify a higher placement. ResF at least doesn't outstay its welcome

 

[Yung Dramps]

the people are outraged over the 11th anniversary dokkan animations...

well uh. not anymore

 

[Mex]

yeah, Part 2 is pretty insane so far, hopefully it continues on this trajectory bc the part 1 has had people (pretty justifiably) compaining about there being nothing to do as well as the animations not being as good as they should be

 

[LHF]

Having finally gotten through all of Daima(which I did like a week ago but didn't post), I'm genuinely heartbroken by Toriyama's death all over again. I know Dragon Ball will continue into the foreseeable future, but honestly, this is Toriyama through and through and I enjoyed every second of Daima as the love letter to him and his style that we deserved.

I don't want to be that guy who says "well it'll never be the same without Toriyama," but damn if it doesn't FEEL like this is true. I'm not sure how much I'll follow DB in the future - though I can't imagine I'll ever fully be out of it - but I can never thank Toriyama enough for such an amazing anime/manga to experience as a child.