Why ‘Dragon Ball Super’ Should Get Rid of Super Saiyan God

Dragon Ball Super‘s latest story arc, “Galactic Patrol Prisoner” has introduced some bold new elements to the franchise, which have the potential to fundamentally re-shape Dragon Ball in some unexpected ways.

After fans got a chance to read the latest issue of the Dragon Ball Super manga, a major topic of discussion quickly popped up: There’s distinct foreshadow that the “Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc” could do away Super Saiyan God, and Super Saiyan Blue, Dragon Ball Super‘s most iconic transformations!

The question now is: should Dragon Ball Super get rid of those power-ups? Scroll below for the full breakdown!

Godly Sacrifice

The “Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc” introduces a new villain called “Planet-Eater Moro,” an ancient sorcerer and fighter, who threatened Universe 7 with his genocidal power to absorb the life forces of entire planets of beings, to add to his own strength and magical might. 

In a flashback to millions of years in Universe 7’s past, we see Moro in his final battle against Universe 7’s Grand Kai Daikaioh and South Supreme Kai – a planet-shattering space battle that ends with Daikaioh sacrificing most of his Godly Ki powers to seal Moro’s magic away. It was the only measure to take, as the seemingly immortal Moro couldn’t be fully killed. 

Now that Moro is back, fans are reading the road ahead and seeing a clear destination: Goku and Vegeta having to sacrifice their own Godly Ki powers, in order to seal Moro away again. That would take the Saiyans’ ability to access divine power like Super Saiyan God off the table, which would eliminate Super Saiyan Blue (and likely Ultra Instinct) along with it. 

It would be a big change (for Dragon Ball Super in particular), but here’s why it could be a good one: 

Too Much Power

The first reason that it may be good to cut the Saiyan access to Godly Ki is that, ever since Super Saiyan God first debuted in the “Beerus Arc” that began DBS, the series has arguably overpowered Goku and Vegeta to the point of the transformations becoming a gimmick. 

If the Saiyans were to lose those transformations, then it would take things back to a more even-keel level, where Goku and Vegeta’s power could only rise so high. That would open the door to some other big opportunities, which you can read about in detail, below…

End to Color-Coded Powerups

As stated, SSG/SSB have been the iconic distinguishers of what makes Dragon Ball Super different from previous series. If you don’t think so, just look up how many fans (who haven’t yet seen DBS) inquire about why Goku and/or Vegeta now have red or blue hair. 

While a lot of fans have enjoyed the epic new battles these transformations have brought to the series, a lot of other fans have expressed that these color-coded powerups are the type of gimmicks that go against the core essence of Akira Toriyama’s manga. If you happen to be one of those fans, then getting Dragon Ball’s powerups away from bright color signifiers and into more rich and meaningful transformation processes, would be very welcome. 

Return to SSJ Form

Going off the heels of what’s stated above, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z managed to offer much more restraint and meaning when it came to transformations (Great Ape, Super Saiyan), and it’s a kind of depth that has been lost to the series, as it moved into the more modern iterations of Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super. 

Well, there’s already indication that Toriyama and Toei Animation are pulling Dragon Ball‘s transformation mythos back towards something more significant, as the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie is already tweaking what a Saiyan transformation looks like, and how it is tied to the larger mythos of the warrior race. 

Broly is a great example of this tweaking: gone is all the convoluted “Legendary Super Saiyan” lore, and instead, this new canon version of Broly is simply tapping into a limitless “Ultimate Super Saiyan” power, that doesn’t require any color-coded gimmicks or other tweaks to make it seem “new.” And as Dragon Ball Super: Broly reactions indicate, the change doesn’t take anything away from the epic action and excitement of the Saiyan-on-Saiyan battles. 

SSJ already has so much depth built into it (different levels, with different looks) that layering on new things like SSG or SSB always did feel somewhat excessive. Goku and company can still reach new limits, without having to get a whole new design (see: Gohan’s latent powers). Just saying. 

New Ideas

Here’s an exciting thought: if we clear SSG and SSB away, there’s still plenty of room for some kind of new (and better designed) power-up to take their place! 

The tease of Ultra Instinct was probably the biggest point of intrigue in Dragon Ball in years, and its arrival was probably the biggest milestone event in the series since Dragon Ball Z first debuted Super Saiyan! There’s still so much we don’t know about UI, but it already has clear room for more depth and levels to be explored. If UI gets wiped off the table by the loss of Godly powers, there’s still an entire new Saiyan mythos (thanks to Broly‘s backstory retcons) that could lead Goku and Co. to some kind of new power-up, that’s more closely tied with the canon of Saiyan pride and limit-breaking. Once again having big stakes tied to the idea of transformation (like going savage, or needing serious trauma as a trigger) would also be welcome! 

Better Battles

If Goku and Vegeta have to sacrifice their godly abilities to stop Moro, it could scale Dragon Ball Super back to the series’ true roots: fighters outmatched by a superior foe, having to go through hell and back (sometimes literally) in order to break limits and overcome the challenge. 

Too often these days there’s some kind of gimmickry trick to get Goku, Vegeta, and co. out of a tight spot – be it SSB Fusion, a deus ex machina device (Future Trunks Spirit Bomb Sword), or ridiculously powerful new transformations (Ultra Instinct). However, Dragon Ball Z gave us battles that were much more harrowing in their edge-of-your-seat suspense, as it often didn’t seem like there was a safety net or clear path to victory for the Z-Fighters. 

Taking away some of Goku and Vegeta’s power in a Dragon Ball Super multiverse context would pit them in for some much harder fights and possible losses – which is exactly the kind of thrill die-hard fans want! 

Continuity

Finally, as some fans have pointed out: Losing SSG and SSB may not just be an option: it may be a requirement of Dragon Ball continuity! 

In the official canon, the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament that serves as Dragon Ball Z‘s epilogue is actually set after the events of Dragon Ball Super. By the time Goku steps into the ring to face Uub (aka the human reincarnation of Majin Buu), there seemingly isn’t any SSG/SSB powers in play – and Kid Buu had to be reincarnated.

Fans have long wondered how DBS would have to twist and bend to sync with the end of DBZ – and now we may have one clear piece of that puzzle, if godly ki powers get elminated before the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament ever took place! 

Bonus: it would also allow Dragon Ball to possibly retcon events of the Dragon Ball GT era, within a new official canon context (much like Dragon Ball Super: Broly). 

*****

What do you think? Should Dragon Ball Super get rid of Super Saiyan God powers? Let us know in the comments!

Dragon Ball Super: Broly is now in theaters in Japan. Funimation will be bringing the film to theaters in the United States on January 16th. Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.