Eight years following the end of the Dragon Ball Super anime, the series is finally set to return with the release of Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol. Before that, though, Dragon Ball Super is resetting with a full remake of the anime, starting with Dragon Ball Super: Beerus‘ debut this fall.
6 Dragon Ball Z Movies That Are Actually Canon to the Anime (& 4 That Fit)
Some of the best Dragon Ball Z films not only fit cleanly into the timeline, they’re actual canon to the anime.
A lot has happened in the Dragon Ball Super manga since the anime’s version of the Tournament of Power, and several characters have grown stronger than ever. Historically, the Dragon Ball adaptations have made a habit of making characters stronger in the anime, but with Dragon Ball Super being so far ahead, the anime just can’t compete even more. Even then, certain Dragon Ball characters have pulled off incredible feats in the manga that blow their anime counterparts clean out of the water.
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Teen Goten Can Still Turn Super Saiyan in the Dragon Ball Super Manga
Goten in the Dragon Ball Super anime is such a joke that he can’t even turn Super Saiyan anymore in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Neitther can Trunks, for that matter, but the situation honestly looks a little worse for Goten considering he’s both Goku’s son and was the youngest Super Saiyan in history. At his introduction, he was already as strong as Gohan despite being a child.
The Dragon Ball Super manga fortunately buffs Goten back up, making him strong enough to at least turn Super Saiyan again. He’s hardly the most powerful Saiyan (and is implied to be weaker than Trunks), but he was strong enough to join the Super Saiyan battle royale in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103 and spar with Broly. He doesn’t look too worse for wear at the end of the fight, either, which is more impressive than anything he accomplishes in the anime.
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Teen Trunks Was Strong Enough to Hurt Cell Max in the Dragon Ball Super Manga
Like Goten, Trunks isn’t treated particularly well by the Dragon Ball Super anime. He eventually loses access to Super Saiyan as a teenager and doesn’t do much in the final battle against Cell Max. The Dragon Ball Super manga is much kinder to Trunks, giving him Super Saiyan back, making him the main character of the High School Saga, and even allowing him to do some actual damage to Cell Max (albeit with help from Goten and the Gammas).
In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Goten and Trunks train by fighting surviving Cell Juniors on Android 17’s island. This was the same training that helped Android 17 grow to Goku levels of power. Considering each Cell Junior is as strong as Perfect Cell, it makes sense both Goten and Trunks would be a lot stronger in the Dragon Ball Super manga. Like Goten, Trunks also participates in DBS Chapter 103’s battle royale, even getting to fight Broly.
Dragon Ball: Every Saiyan’s Best Transformation
There are dozens of Super Saiyan forms, each stronger than the last – but not every Saiyan has the power to make use of their race’s strongest forms.
8
Bardock is a Beast in the Manga
Bardock died with a Power Level of 10,000 in the Dragon Ball Z anime, and while he doesn’t seem to be all that much stronger in the Dragon Ball Super manga in his base form, he does pull off one of his greatest feats during the Granolah the Survivor Saga. In a flashback to the final days of Planet Cereal, Bardock fights Gas to protect a young Granolah.
During the fight, Bardock experiences a Zenkai-esque boost that triggers a massive power-up in him similar to Ultra Instinct (or at least close enough to remind Gas of Bardock when he fights True Ultra Instinct Goku). Despite being weaker than Gas by all accounts, Bardock ends up doing massive damage to him during their fight, and basically gives the Heeter PTSD from how bad of a beat down Bardock gave him.
7
Kale Eliminates Several Universes By Herself in the Manga’s Tournament of Power
Kale is already plenty strong in the Dragon Ball Super anime, but she’s somehow even more powerful in the manga. When Kale turns into a Legendary Super Saiyan in the Dragon Ball Super manga’s Tournament of Power, she utterly pulverizes most of the competition. She not only manhandles Golden Frieza, she eliminates Universes 2, 3, and 4 more or less single handedly.
Legendary Super Saiyan Kale also ends up eliminating several of her own teammates, showing just how unstable her transformation is. Interestingly, while Kale is much stronger in the Dragon Ball Super manga, both Caulifla and Kefla are weaker than their anime counterparts. Kefla, in particular, goes from just as strong as Ultra Instinct Sign Goku in the anime to about on the same level as Ultimate Gohan.
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6
Master Roshi Teaches Goku Ultra Instinct in the Dragon Ball Super Manga
Master Roshi gets one of the biggest buffs out of any Dragon Ball characters in the Dragon Ball Super manga. During the manga’s version of the Tournament of Power, Roshi is actually skilled enough to square off with Jiren. By channeling his centuries of martial arts experience, Roshi taps into his own version of Ultra Instinct, effortlessly dodging Jiren’s blows and earning his praise.
Roshi also uses this as a teaching moment for Goku. After focusing on raw power for so long, Master Roshi reminds Goku why he’s the master. Tapping into Ultra Instinct can’t be done like any other transformation, it is the culmination of a martial artist’s training in every respect. Roshi’s not weak in the anime, but the Dragon Ball Super manga treats him like a genuine legend.
5
Gohan Doesn’t Fall Off Nearly As Hard in the Dragon Ball Manga
Gohan is one of the biggest victims of the anime’s power scaling. In the Dragon Ball manga, Ultimate Gohan is far and away the strongest unfused character in the series. In the Dragon Ball Z anime, however, it’s stated that Ultimate Gohan is actually weaker than Super Saiyan 3 Goku (even though it makes no sense whatsoever). The Dragon Ball Super anime isn’t much kinder. In the Dragon Ball Super anime, Gohan’s gotten so rusty that he can barely turn Super Saiyan in the Resurrection F Saga.
Even worse, Piccolo has to train him back up to speed for the Tournament of Power, where he really doesn’t get any major fights. By comparison, Gohan in the Dragon Ball Super manga was strong enough to defeat Kefla, before going on to unlock his overpowered Beast form in the Super Hero Saga. While Gohan does unlock Beast in the movie version of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, the manga continues for a few more chapters after the movie’s ending, having Gohan Beast actually beat Perfected Ultra Instinct Goku in one his best fights.
Dragon Ball: 10 Best Sword Users, Ranked
Between Future Trunks, Vegito, and even Gohan, Dragon Ball has featured some amazing swordsmen across the series’ run.
4
Manga Jiren Beat the Ultra Instinct Out of Goku
In the Dragon Ball Super anime, unlocking Ultra Instinct is enough to make Goku strong enough to defeat Jiren. The only reason he doesn’t end up finishing Jiren off in the Tournament of Power is because Ultra Instinct runs out of juice and throttles Goku’s body. Their fight plays out very differently in the Dragon Ball Super manga.
In the manga’s Tournament of Power, Goku’s unrefined version of Ultra Instinct just isn’t enough to keep up with Jiren. Jiren quickly adapts to Goku’s growing power and is able to out-maneuver Ultra Instinct. Jiren outright knocks Goku out of Ultra Instinct before the fight is over, and would have eliminated Goku via ring out if Vegeta hadn’t caught him in time. The fact Jiren is able to effectively tank Ultra Instinct Goku in the manga power scales him much higher than what he’s capable of in the anime.
3
Goku Has Fully Mastered Ultra Instinct in the Manga
While the Dragon Ball Super anime ends with Goku unlocking Ultra Instinct, the manga dedicates a lot of time to Goku training the form and finally perfecting it. Between the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga and Granolah the Survivor Saga, Goku goes from being unable to activate Ultra Instinct unless he’s in the right head-space to being able to turn the form on and off like any other Super Saiyan transformation.
As of the Dragon Ball Super manga’s Super Hero epilogue, Goku’s Perfected Ultra Instinct is immensely powerful. He’s capable of stacking his different Supre Saiyan forms on top of Ultra Instinct, astral project his Ki, and tank hits that would kill lesser fighters. Perfected Ultra Instinct Goku in the manga would run circles around his anime counterpart, who couldn’t even tap into UI while he was fighting Broly in Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
Dragon Ball Super: The 10 Most Powerful Characters Who Don’t Need God Ki
God Ki in Dragon Ball Super is basically a cheat code to get stronger, but it’s hardly necessary for the series’ most powerful mortals.
2
Vegeta’s Strongest Form in the Manga is Ultra Ego, Not Super Saiyan Blue Evolved
At the end of the Dragon Ball Super anime, Vegeta’s strongest form is Super Saiyan Blue Evolved, which he unlocked during the Tournament of Power. In the Dragon Ball Super manga, however, Vegeta begins training with Beerus during the Granolah the Suvivor Saga. Beerus gifts Vegeta one of his God of Destruction earrings as a sign he’s taken him on as a true pupil. During his battle with Granolah, Vegeta awakens his destructive powers and triggers Ultra Ego.
Ultra Ego is Vegeta’s equivalent to Goku’s Ultra Instinct. Unlike Ultra Instinct, Ultra Ego is focused on raw power above all else. Ultra Ego allows Vegeta to grow stronger the more damage he takes and the longer he fights, making the form akin to Legendary Super Saiyan. Unfortunately, using Ultra Ego makes it difficult for Vegeta to moderate how much damage he’s taking, resulting in him exhausting himself before he can actually defeat any of his opponents.
1
Frieza is the Strongest Mortal in the Dragon Ball Super Manga Right Now
In the Dragon Ball Super anime, the last time fans saw Frieza was in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, where he was hopelessly beaten by Broly for over an hour in his Golden Form. The Dragon Ball Super manga reintroduced Frieza at the very end of the Granolah the Survivor Saga. After traveling the multiverse and finding a Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Frieza trained for ten years straight.
At the end of his training, Frieza perfected his Golden Form into Black Frieza. Black Frieza is currently the single strongest character in Dragon Ball who isn’t a god, and might honestly be more powerful than most of the gods. Black Frieza was so strong, he killed Awakened Gas with one strike and knocked out both Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta. Compared to his anime counterpart, Frieza in the manga is ridiculously overpowered.
- Created by
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Akira Toriyama
- First TV Show
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Dragon Ball
- Latest TV Show
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Dragon Ball DAIMA
- Upcoming TV Shows
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Dragon Ball DAIMA
- First Episode Air Date
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February 26, 1986
- TV Show(s)
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Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball DAIMA
