A lot of people are still hyped about the Dragon Ball Super series, and it’s understandable. If the wait for a second season of the anime seems everlasting, the manga version seems to be at its best. The Moro arc is gone, and Goku and the gang have to face an even more powerful foe: Granolah.
However, there’s no denying that Dragon Ball Z still has its die-hard fans. These folks will always claim that Dragon Ball Z is better than any other related series, whether we’re talking about Super, GT, Heroes, or the very first Dragon Ball series when Goku was just a child. And we’re definitely not here to prove them wrong, nor to contradict them. We just want to emphasize what Z did better than Super, from an objective standpoint:
More character development
Nobody can deny that Dragon Ball Super focuses too much on Goku and Vegeta. Only in the last arc of the series, known as Tournament of Power, we can say that the writers granted enough credit for other important characters such as Piccolo, Gohan, or Master Roshi.
As for Dragon Ball Z, it’s difficult to say for sure who was the protagonist. Gohan was also the hero of one of the major arcs when he even surpassed his father Goku in strength. Vegeta and Piccolo, for instance, had been through a major transition of being evil characters and slowly becoming good guys.
Let’s not forget about Gohan. He started as an emotive little boy with huge fighting potential. Piccolo decided to train him and exploit his potential, and that was probably the best decision of the famous Namekian. Incredibly enough, a completely evil guy like Piccolo started to develop strong friendship feelings for Gohan throughout their training session, and he even gave his own life to save Goku’s son from being killed by Nappa.
The examples could continue regarding character development in Dragon Ball Z, but it’s time to move on to the next point.
Better story writing
Dragon Ball Super has its own particularities in this area, there’s no doubt about it. The show made Goku and the gang more powerful, it made Vegeta a loving father, more fighting techniques were added, and so on. But overall, Z takes the cake. Let’s face it: when you create three major arcs revolving around three major villains, it surely means that you have a top series.
The animation is simply better
Oddly enough, the animation from Dragon Ball Z seems a little simplistic, but it looks light-years better than the one from Super. The animators from Super seem to have tried to present the show in a more modern way but failed incredibly. The animation in Z is a lot more “credible”, as it emphasizes the emotions and anger of the characters a lot better without getting them to look bad.
The soundtracks are legendary
There are barely any soundtracks transmitting a “serious” vibe in Dragon Ball Super, which is a major downside. As for Z, there are many memorable audio creations thanks to Bruce Faulconer! The soundtracks of Vegeta, Super Saiyan Goku, or Frieza are unforgettable for any Dragon Ball fan out there!
Pretty much the only memorable soundtrack from Super remains the Ultra Instinct theme, but who knows, maybe when the manga version will be adapted for the anime, more legendary soundtracks will be added as well.
Feel free to tell us if you consider Dragon Ball Z better than Super or vice versa! Don’t hesitate to bring your own arguments, as we’ll eagerly read them all!