Planet Sadala Should Be Dragon Ball Super's Next Arc, With Goku and Vegeta as Coaches

If I were writing the next arc of Dragon Ball Super, I would take the story to Planet Sadala, with Goku and Vegeta stepping back from the fighting to coach a new group of Saiyans in Universe 6. That was my answer when I was asked what I would write next in this Q&A.

I had collected these questions about a month and a half earlier, but all the movie news came out and I was too busy, so I had to postpone it. The rule was one question per person. They ranged from where the story should go after the end of Z to Beerus, Frieza and Toyotaro, and even an old PlayStation RPG.

Planet Sadala and a Universe 6 tournament with Goku and Vegeta as coaches

I have been talking about Planet Sadala a lot lately, and I think it would be a great next arc. The way I would do it, Goku and Vegeta decide to pass their knowledge on to other Saiyans, so they go to Universe 6 to reunite with Cabba, Caulifla and Kale, and maybe meet some new characters. You introduce a few new Saiyans, maybe six or maybe eight, whatever works, and Goku and Vegeta become their trainers.

That turns into a challenge of sorts: a little mini tournament with Vegeta's team of four against Goku's team of four. Goku and Vegeta will not fight. They will just be the coaches, training these Saiyans and teaching them how to become better martial artists. It starts off as a friendly competition between the two of them, but then an enemy shows up in Universe 6 and causes a major problem.

I do not know who that enemy is. I could sit here and come up with something, maybe Frost with a new form, but the point is that somebody evil shows up to interrupt the tournament, and away we go. I would kick off the arc this way because it gives Goku and Vegeta a chance to still be characters without being the main fighters for a little while, and it can lead into Goku becoming a trainer with Uub later on. When I was separately asked whether the next manga arc should feature the other universes, or at least Universe 6, I said I do think so, because there is a lot of potential there.

A Goten and Trunks arc would be hard without Goku, Vegeta and Gohan

Another question asked whether we will ever get a future arc focused on Goten and Trunks, with the idea that there is a good story to tell with them. My first response is: what is that story? Not even the Buu arc was focused on them. The midpoint of the Buu saga was about them, but after that it was not, so they were never really the focus. It was usually Goku and Gohan, and then of course Vegeta and Future Trunks.

I would not be against them doing it, and it would be something new. But it is going to be hard to do an arc without Goku, Vegeta and Gohan.

After the end of Z, Goku should start by training Uub

One question pointed out that Dragon Ball Super was nearing the end of the original manga, the peaceful times at the end of Z, and asked what I hoped for with Uub's newfound importance, Gohan's potential, Goku's Ultra Instinct, and maybe further training with the Grand Priest. The Grand Priest is something they can keep in their back pocket for later on. That is only my opinion, but I think the Grand Priest should come after the end of Z.

As for what happens there, if the story is going to reach the end of Z, I would like it to begin the way GT began, only not with Pilaf and Goku becoming a kid. It would begin with Goku training Uub. You start there, move on from there, and come up with a new enemy. Hopefully it will be an angel tier villain, or somebody who is really going to challenge them, so that it is a tough fight. And when someone else asked whether Super should go beyond the end of Z, my answer was simple: I have only been talking about that for years now.

I want the next arc to scale back on Goku and Vegeta

I was asked whether it would be more fun if Goku and Vegeta focused less on raw power and learned more techniques and abilities. They kind of did that in the Moro arc, where Vegeta learned a bunch of new techniques, so I would like that.

But with the way the Granolah arc has shown so much of Goku and Vegeta, I want the next arc to not show that much of them. I really hope it scales back. I love those two characters, but it is time to maybe give Gohan and Piccolo a little spotlight after Super Hero for a bit, or come up with something new. As I put it, "I'm looking for something new in Dragon Ball that hasn't been done yet."

Zamasu was a special case, but the scale has to go up

Another question asked whether it was time for much bigger events, since each arc we see Goku and Vegeta get stronger but we do not actually feel it. The question suggested this is because villains are always a threat to the world or the galaxy, and that the biggest villain of Dragon Ball Super was Zamasu, because he was becoming one with the universe.

Zamasu was a special case. You cannot do something like that with every villain. Him becoming one with the universe was one of the craziest, most absurd feats, and it took the Omni King to beat him. The immortality plus what he did made him probably the most powerful villain they faced, because they could not do anything about him and Zeno had to do it. So I do think the scale has to go up, and I guess I am looking for something new.

Beerus has become a moving goalpost for Goku and Vegeta

One question asked whether Goku and Vegeta have surpassed Beerus in raw power, noting that it depends on who you ask and suggesting Beerus might have gone back to training once he saw how powerful both Saiyans had become. Yes, that is possible, but we have not seen it on screen, so it might not be likely.

The truth is that Goku surpassed Beerus a long time ago, but they changed their minds with the manga and decided to scale it back and make Beerus the goalpost. We have statements and tons of evidence that show Goku surpassed Beerus a while ago, but people have a problem accepting that, and then the series itself went back on it. So Beerus is like a moving goalpost, and Goku and Vegeta are constantly trying to chase it. We will see what happens. Maybe Beerus is actually stronger than all of us thought, but that remains to be seen.

Frieza has had no development, and I did not expect him in the Granolah arc

Asked how I feel about Frieza's development in Super, my answer is that there has not been any. He came back to life, he worked with Goku a couple of times in the Tournament of Power near the end of Super, and now he is off doing his own thing. I think we need to see more of him, but I do not think there is going to be any more development. I think he is going to stay a bad guy forever, and he is going to end up being the kind of villain in Dragon Ball who appears to cause havoc and then somehow escapes.

On whether Frieza would appear in the Granolah arc, the more time passed, the more I did not think he would. I did not think he would appear in that arc, though he might make a cameo at the end. It felt like they might be building up to him, but what is he going to do? Granolah does not really want to kill him anymore, so I do not think he is the target.

The Granolah arc is my least favorite in the Dragon Ball manga

Someone asked whether this was my least favorite arc of all time. No, but when it comes to the manga, it is. In my opinion, the Granolah arc is my least favorite arc in all of the Dragon Ball manga, meaning the original Toriyama works, including Z and Super. It has just been very inconsistent.

Letting Toyotaro write alone could be a good gamble, but I do not think he is that good a writer

One question brought up the rumour from a few weeks earlier that Toriyama was not involved with Super's next arc. That was fake, and I debunked it on Twitter at the time. The follow up was whether an arc without any of Toriyama's involvement in the general story, leaving it all to Toyotaro, would be more or less interesting.

"I don't think Toyotaro's that good of a writer." That is how I feel. He has not impressed me at all with what he has come up with. Toriyama is not perfect either, especially this Toriyama compared to the original one. I feel like it would be a good gamble to let Toyotaro write something on his own, but I genuinely do not think he is that good of a writer.

What I would like is for them to bring somebody else in, some fresh blood to come up with new ideas, because we need new ideas. Dragon Ball has had a lot of rehashes. We have seen old characters come back in new ways. We really need something new.

I do not know how I feel about the anime adapting the Broly movie

I was asked whether I leaned toward the anime adapting the Broly movie when it returned. I do not know how I feel about that. I do not want them to, because the movie looks so good. But if they are going to adapt the full three hour script, and there is something interesting Toriyama wrote that was cut from the movie, maybe they should adapt that.

The same person also raised the moment when Goku pleads with the people of Earth to give their energy to defeat Buu, and some characters, like Baba's fighters, do not do it until Satan asks, even though they should have recollection of Goku. That was always weird to me, but Satan was obviously Earth's hero.

Off topic: Xenogears and Monty Python

Have I played Xenogears on the PS1? Yes, it is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. I do not know if it is top three for me, but it is definitely one of the best RPGs ever, with one of the craziest storylines ever. If you play it, try not to be spoiled. When I was in high school I loved it but did not really appreciate it. I appreciate it a lot more now.

As for whether I am a Monty Python fan, I have seen Holy Grail and Life of Brian, a long time ago, and I have seen some of the episodes. I liked what I saw, but I have not watched it in so long that I do not know if I would call myself a fan. It is not like I am a fanatic, which is what the word fan means.

Would you rather see Goku and Vegeta step back as coaches on Planet Sadala, or should the next arc go straight to an angel tier villain?