Even though Dragon Ball Super went off the air in 2018 with no news of its return, the hype around the franchise is higher than ever. This is because following the hiatus of the series, fans have been treated to two feature films, an entirely separate non-canon show, many video games, and the monthly manga. The manga has been relatively consistent in terms of its monthly release schedule, with a new chapter released every month since its launch in June 2015 except for a 4-month period from August to December 2022.

One complaint among the fandom, however, is that the series has become a little repetitive in terms of its storytelling for each arc and that there isn't much of an overarching plot. Though loved in their own right, the Galactic Prisoner/Moro arc and Granolah arc have led many fans to argue that these don't really push the overall narrative forward and that these arcs would be way more captivating if there were a central story that connected them all like One Piece. This is where Dragon Ball: Kakumei comes in. This is a doujinshi written by Reenko, and it fixes many of the problems that the canon story of Dragon Ball Super faces, as well as featuring some absolutely stellar art and a darker tone.

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What is Dragon Ball Kakumei about?

Kakumei picks up right after the end of the Tournament of Power arc after Android 17 wishes for all the universes to come back from erasure. However, what seemed to be a benevolent act seemed to have backfired, as this wish also brings back universes 13-19 which were all erased by Zeno before the setting of the main series. This is important because despite being only a throwaway line said by Whis in Dragon Ball Super episode 47, "SOS From The Future! A Black New Enemy Appears", it brings continuity and a call back to earlier on in the series, setting up an overarching story.

However, there is a twist. For much of this shonen action series, Goku is a player that has been taken off the board. Though the decision to do this may come as a shock to most readers, it puts a very interesting spin on the Dragon Ball formula to have the main character trapped in a mysterious location and seemingly taken out of the story for a good amount of time. While initially jarring, this ends up being a great decision for the story as it allows for all the minor characters in the story to flourish, something which Dragon Ball has had a tendency to look over in the past.

The main antagonists of the story are the Gods of Destruction and the Angels of the previously destroyed 7 universes who have banded under the leadership of The Grand Priestess in order to bring down the reign of Zeno and the Grand Priest. The heroes of the story must then come together and join forces with many familiar faces in order to defeat the threat and rescue Goku from imprisonment.

How Kakumei is Different From Super

A commonly held critique of the series as of the two latest manga arcs is that they feel relatively small in scale.While the Tournament of Power was a massive event that contained the best fighters of every universe fighting for survival from every corner of existence, the Moro and Granolah arcs were limited to just Universe 7, so they felt way more self-contained than the latter. With so many more possibilities open for the Z Fighters to travel to new universes, it was frustrating to see the writers not explore this avenue where they could tell all sorts of interesting stories. This, coupled with the fact that the manga releases only one chapter a month, can make it seem like the series is going at a slower pace.

The main difference when it comes to Dragon Ball Super and Kakumei is the tone. Kakumei is a series that does not shy away from darker topics, gore, and strong language and is made much better for doing so. Right off the bat, the series takes place with Goku and Beerus having a rematch after their fight in Battle of the Gods. This entire duel is bloody and intense, with an inhabited planet being destroyed and a ki-blast from Beerus completely searing the skin off of Goku's back, exposing all the muscle underneath.

This darker and more serious tone really adds to the storytelling of the series as the rest of the themes tackle heavier subjects such as isolation, torture, revenge and death. While Dragon Ball Super doesn't necessarily need to feature such gratuitous violence, it would really benefit with mature themes for their audience who have been fans of the series for years. And this is quite apparent as Kakumei has become a smash hit with fans.

Moreover, the best aspect of this doujinshi is the fact that every character gets their own moments to shine. Reenko has seen to the fact that every single character is important in one way or another in the battles to come, with all the Z Fighters undergoing some sort of training to prepare them. This is most evident through Vegeta and his team traveling to Universe 6 in order to train the Saiyans, bringing back fan favorites like Cabba, Kale and Caulifla into the main story and also introducing new characters like the imposing King Sadala and all the new villainous Gods and Angels.

Not only this, but Kakumei sends every Z Fighter on a quest to get ready for the war by sending them to different universes and recruiting characters from the Tournament of Power to train with them. For example, Piccolo goes to Universe 6's Namek, Gohan goes to train with Jiren and the Pride Troopers in Universe 11 and Goten and Trunks train with Whis on Beerus's planet. Also, Yamcha, Tien and Krillin go to Universe 9 to train with Bergamo, further reinforcing the point of everyone getting their time to shine.

Should You Pick Up Kakumei?

Dragon Ball Kakumei is a series that is perfect for every fan of Dragon Ball. It consists of a mysterious and engaging story, incredible art that makes it look like an official release and shining character moments that make everyone in the entire series shine at different parts of the story. All the characters are very well written, and they all feel like themselves instead of entirely new people.

While this may not be the canon timeline or arc, it is an expertly written and beautifully drawn rendition of Dragon Ball Super and serves as an incredible side reading to the official manga. Most of all, Kakumei has all the perfect elements of being the final arc of Dragon Ball Super as it provides a great amount of finality to the series and is something that the writers themselves can take a lot of inspiration from when making the official final arc of Dragon Ball Super.

Dragon Ball Super is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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