Dragon Ball Super builds on the exceptional foundations of its predecessors and explores the continuing adventures of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Each Dragon Ball The series expands on the franchise in rewarding ways, but the progress made by Dragon Ball Super are particularly massive. Dragon Ball Super introduces a whole multiverse of enemies and allies, new divine figures and totemic transformations that trump even Dragon Ball Zthe strongest metamorphoses.
Dragon Ball Super achieved success thanks to its heightened action sequences, suspenseful storytelling, and careful incorporation of nostalgia. That being said, Dragon Ball Super is a series prone to audience assumptions and there are many misunderstandings about its concepts and characters. It’s only natural that a series that draws on decades of storytelling would face inconsistencies and confusion, but those are the biggest details of Dragon Ball Super which is misinterpreted.
10 Dragon Ball Super is not set after Dragon Ball Z
It’s very easy for casuals Dragon Ball fans to jump to the conclusion that Dragon Ball Super takes place after Dragon Ball Zbecause, for all intents and purposes, this is a sequel series. However, Dragon Ball doesn’t make things easy when it comes to its broader timeline. Dragon Ball Z features a mini epilogue after Kid Buu’s defeat, known as the Peaceful World or End of Z Saga, which advances time ten years. Dragon Ball GT picks up five years later Dragon Ball Zof Peaceful World Saga, but this is not the case of Dragon Ball Super.
Dragon Ball Super actually takes place during this ten-year time jump and the entirety of this sequel series takes place before the start of the Peaceful World Saga and the 28th World Tournament. The exact deadline for Dragon Ball Super has not been confirmed and there is debate over whether this will take place four years or six months after Kid Buu’s defeat. Whatever it is, it’s always fixed before Dragon Ball ZThis is the true ending, even if GreatThe timeline is pretty close to these events and it is possible that the next story arc of the manga will address and exceed them. It’s easy for these details to be skewed, given that this means transformations like Ultra Instinct, Ultra Ego, and Gohan Beast were technically available for Dragon Ball Zof the 28th World Tournament, even if they are not seen.
9 Anime and manga are not the same
It is common for an anime adaptation and its source manga to operate in parallel fashion, although differences are to some extent expected to arise, particularly when an anime must resort to material from filler to give more time to his manga. Dragon Ball SuperThe manga began slightly before the anime, but it didn’t take long for the anime to surpass the events of the manga and be considered the “canon” material of the series. Therefore, Dragon Ball SuperThe anime ended much earlier than the manga, which is still ongoing and has featured several major story arcs that follow the events of the Tournament of Power. Even outside of these additional story arcs, there are major gaps between Greatof the anime and manga, where Toyotarou has the freedom to take major liberties with the series’ narrative.
The broader strokes of the anime and manga remain the same, but the manga presents a different interpretation of events several times, such as the climax of Goku’s fight with Beerus and the way Infinite Zamasu manifests and is depicted during the “Future” Trunks saga. The manga also completely ignores the Golden Frieza Saga – although those events are still canon to the story – and heads straight into the Universe 6 Saga. Some of the biggest changes between Dragon Ball SuperThe anime and manga occur during the Tournament of Power specifics. The end result is the same, but the elimination statistics are very contrasting when it comes to who defeated who during the tournament.
8 Super Saiyan Blue isn’t really better than Super Saiyan God
Another major misunderstanding when it comes to Dragon Ball Super applies to the two most significant transformations in the series – Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue. There is a presumption that Super Saiyan Blue is the superior transformation across the board and is basically “Super Saiyan God 2”. It’s easy to draw this conclusion, especially when the transformation is initially called Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. Super Saiyan Blue is the superior transformation when it comes to raw strength, but this raw power comes at the cost of rapid energy drain and considerable loss of stamina. Super Saiyan Blue is the most exhausting transformation and has drawbacks that are not present with Super Saiyan God.
Dragon Ball SuperThe anime largely glosses over this, but their differences are more evident in the series’ manga. Both Goku and Vegeta use Super Saiyan God-to-Blue Switching, a clever combat strategy that helps them consume less energy and be more efficient with their energy. Goku and Vegeta primarily fight in their Super Saiyan God forms, but then switch to Super Saiyan Blue when attacking or defending, so they can hit harder and defend better.
7 Future Trunks does not return to his original timeline
The heroes’ battle against Goku Black and Future Zamasu reaches such an apocalyptic climax that Future Zeno is needed to intervene. Infinite Zamasu is such an immortal mess that Future Zeno decides to cut his losses and simply erase the entire timeline in order to deal with this mess. Future Trunks and Future Mai escape, along with Goku and Vegeta, but they don’t stay there following this fallout.
It would be very easy for Future Trunks and Future Mai to stay in the past timeline, given that they have made many friends there. However, Whis helps send them to another future timeline. It’s not the same as their original timeline, which is now erased, and Whis isn’t just creating a new duplicate timeline. Whis explains that this new timeline will have duplicate versions, but that doesn’t seem to deter them from their decision. They bravely enter this new future timeline and hope for the best.
6 Goku is not the only mortal to have achieved ultra instinct
Goku’s first Ultra Instinct experience is triggered during his fierce battle against Universe 11’s Jiren in the Tournament of Power. Ultra Instinct is a zen state in which the user’s body functions independently of their thoughts and emotions and operates solely based on their intuition. Both Beerus and Whis are shocked to see Goku tapping into this divine power, since it is actually the primary state of angels. This leads one to believe that Goku is an exceptional anomaly and the only example of a mortal who achieves Ultra Instinct power.
However, this turned out not to be the case and a human, Master Roshi, also temporarily accesses Ultra Instinct in small doses. Roshi briefly experiences Ultra Instinct during his own fight with Jiren in the Tournament of Power. Dragon Ball SuperThe manga further develops this performance and demonstrates that it was far from being a coincidence. Master Roshi confidently fights three escaped Galactic Patrol prison inmates, Miza, Kikaza and Iwaza, and uses Ultra Instinct after blindfolding himself. It makes sense, on some level, that a revered martial arts master with over a century of training under his belt would be able to harness this instinctive process.
5 A Super Saiyan divine ritual is not required to achieve this status
Dragon Ball Super hits the ground with an attack from Lord Beerus, a divine figure who possesses unprecedented power. Beerus is a God of Destruction who came to Earth to face a Super Saiyan God and get satisfaction in this matter, otherwise he is ready to erase the Earth and all its inhabitants. The heroes, unaware of this topic, ask Shenron to educate them about the Super Saiyan Gods and he explains that this divine transformation is achieved through a power transfer ceremony that involves six pure-hearted Saiyans.
Goku engages in a Super Saiyan divine ritual with the help of Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Videl – who is pregnant with Pan – and he reaches this incredible milestone. However, Vegeta also later reaches the heights of Super Saiyan God status and he seemingly achieves this on his own, without the aid of any rituals. Shenron doesn’t mention any other circumstances for becoming a Super Saiyan God, but it is clearly possible for someone to achieve this on their own. Super Dragon Ball Heroesa non-canon promotional anime, also features Super Saiyan God Xeno Trunks.
4 Jiren doesn’t just represent pure power with no depth or personality
Toei initially wanted to make Universe 11’s Jiren a more talkative opponent before Toriyama disapproved of this interpretation of his character and many of these ideas were transferred to Top. Jiren is a very stoic individual, which contributes to his mystical side and makes him even more intimidating and inscrutable. However, audiences would be wrong to equate Jiren’s stoicism and tone-deaf nature with a lack of depth, personality, and backstory. Jiren is a much more complex character than fans give him credit for, although many of his specifics are open to interpretation.
Dragon Ball Super reveals that Jiren comes from a tragic past where his parents were killed in front of him. The only reason he survived was because of a powerful savior, Gicchin, who is also killed by a demon. Gicchin’s killing by a demon means he can only be revived with the Super Dragon Balls, which is what Jiren fights for in the Tournament of Power. This tragic experience is also what motivates Jiren to train and become more powerful because he never wants to feel as helpless as he did then.
3 It’s not just divine characters who can sense God Ki
Ki energy is a multi-faceted force and it’s not until very late in the original Dragon Ball that characters like Goku are capable of feeling it. In Dragon Ball Zthere’s even heavy use of scouts during the early story arcs who provide power level readings. Dragon Ball Super builds on this foundation with God ki, which is a divine energy that eludes most mortals. Goku’s friends are largely unable to follow his fight against Beerus and it is explained that God ki is not easy to detect, especially by those who do not possess it themselves. This led to the hypothesis that God ki can only be detected by divine individuals and other gods.
These individuals are naturals when it comes to feeling God ki, but they are not the only ones who can do so. Future Trunks, for example, detects Vegito Blue’s power during his fight against Fused Zamasu. Additionally, Jiren is able to recognize Top’s extreme energy signature after transforming into his Destroyer form, despite not being a God of Destruction himself. Finally, there is a crucial plot point in Dragon Ball Super: Broly where Piccolo is able to sense that Goku and Vegeta are in trouble, even though they use God ki during their fight against Broly.
2 Angels are capable of intervening in mortal matters under specific conditions
Dragon Ball Super heads into tricky territory thanks to the introduction of near-omnipotent individuals like Whis and Beerus, who can seemingly solve any problem the heroes face. Dragon Ball Super justifies their backseat roles through the incorporation of Angel Law, which will lead to their eradication if they violate this pact. Minor interventions are allowed, such as when Whis rewinds time a few seconds with his Temporal Do-Over when Frieza blows up the Earth. However, it is otherwise a strict pact. Angel Law is not a simple scenario and there are actually several circumstances in which Angel intervention is permitted.
Angels can violate Angel Law if they receive a direct order from their God of Destruction, such as when Beerus asks Whis to save Goku and company during the fight against Moro. Angels can also destroy planets if it is at the command of their God of Destruction, which is the case with Vados and Champa of Universe 6. Angels can also fight and help mortals train, provided that they do not use the full extent of their power. The most important rule here is that angels must remain impartial, which is why Whis does not interfere with Goku Black.
1 True Ultra Instinct is not stronger than perfected Ultra Instinct
Goku’s Ultra Instinct journey was a long and difficult process that speaks to the capricious nature of the transformation. Goku first experiences the Ultra Instinct Sign, completely by accident, but he gradually refines his abilities in this area and eventually masters the perfected Ultra Instinct during his battle against Moro. Goku’s intense fight against the Heeter Force gas also ushers in another form of Ultra Instinct, True Ultra Instinct. There is some presumption that True Ultra Instinct is the strongest of these forms, as it is the last stage experienced by Goku. There are nebulous distinctions between these two Ultra Instinct variants that Dragon Ball Super continue to explore.
However, Goku has apparently indicated that Perfected Ultra Instinct is the most powerful of these forms and includes more beneficial perks, such as the ability to wield a giant energy avatar. True Ultra Instinct is Goku’s custom variant that lacks the silver hair and other elements of Perfected Ultra Instinct, but it allows him to use his emotions when in the Ultra Instinct state. For Goku, being in touch with his emotions is incredibly important and sometimes more valuable than greater strength. However, Perfected Ultra Instinct still appears to be the pinnacle of the transformation until more evidence arrives.