Dragon Ball AF is Better Than Dragon Ball Super
And It's Not Even Close!
Welcome back to the absolute peak of anime discourse! It’s your girl, Ultima Ultear, the mastermind behind Peak Aura Anime, and today we are entering the trenches. Grab your senzu beans and prepare your scouters because I am about to commit a level of heresy that would make Zamasu look like a pacifist.
We are talking about the "forbidden" scripture: Dragon Ball AF.
While the mainstream masses are busy gobbling up the neon-colored, low-stakes, "God Ki" buffet of Dragon Ball Super, those of us with true culture know that the real evolution of the Saiyan race happened in the fever dreams of the early 2000s internet. Dragon Ball AF isn't just fan-fiction; it’s a spiritual successor born from the raw, unadulterated angst of a generation that thought Dragon Ball GT was too "soft." It’s unhinged, it’s edgy, and frankly, it makes Super look like a Saturday morning cartoon for toddlers.
Buckle up, because here are the first few reasons why the legendary AF clears Super with a single finger.
1. Design Philosophy: Pure Nightmare Fuel
Let’s be real: Dragon Ball Super’s design philosophy is basically a Photoshop "Hue/Saturation" slider. Oh, Goku is stronger now? Make him red. Even stronger? Make him blue. Ultra Instinct? Okay, silver. It’s clean, it’s marketable, and it’s BORING!.
Dragon Ball AF didn’t care about your marketing meetings. It gave us Super Saiyan 5. We’re talking silver fur, hair that reaches the stratosphere, and eyes that look like they’ve seen the heat death of the universe. It took the primal, Oozaru-infused aesthetic of SSJ4 and cranked it up to eleven. It felt like a transformation that would actually break a man’s soul to achieve. Super gives us "tingly back" feelings; AF gives us "I traded my sanity for this power" vibes.
When you look at the villains like Zeel or Ize, they look like they crawled out of a heavy metal album cover. They don’t want to host a tournament; they want to erase your lineage. It’s that raw, 2000s-era edge that Super is too "polished" to touch.
2. The Stakes Aren’t Just High; They’re Absurd
In Dragon Ball Super, death is a minor inconvenience. We have two Zenos, a bunch of Angels who can rewind time, and Dragon Balls that have essentially become a "Get Out of Jail Free" card with no cooldown. There is no tension when Whis is standing in the corner eating a parfait while the world ends.
In the world of AF, everything feels like the final stand. When Xicor (Goku’s secret, illegitimate half-god son—yes, we’re going there) shows up, he doesn't want to spar. He is a walking existential crisis. The stakes in AF feel like a natural progression of the "War" mentality I talked about in DRAGON BALL Z WAS WAR, SUPER IS A PLAYGROUND.
AF understands that Dragon Ball is at its best when the heroes are backed into a corner, bleeding out, with no "God of Destruction" mentor coming to bail them out. It’s about the struggle, the grit, and the absolute insanity of power scaling that goes so far off the rails it circles back to being brilliant.
3. The "Legacy" of Goku’s Sin: Xicor vs. Goku Black
Look, I love Goku Black. The "Subarashii" memes are top-tier. But let’s compare the two "Evil Gokus." Goku Black is a disgruntled Kaiyoshin who stole a body because he had a god-complex.
Xicor (Zaiko), on the other hand, is the result of a Western Supreme Kai stealing Goku’s DNA to create the ultimate lifeform. He calls himself Goku’s son. That is some Shakespearean-level drama mixed with pure fan-fiction madness. The dynamic of the Z-Fighters having to fight the literal "offspring" of their greatest hero while Goku is trapped in the Dragon Realm is infinitely more compelling than "Zamasu got mad at mortals."
It forces characters like Gohan and Vegeta to step up in a way Super only recently remembered they could do. Speaking of which, if you want to see how the ladies of the franchise actually rank when they aren't being sidelined by "God forms," check out my TOP 10 Strongest Dragon Ball Waifus list. Spoilers: none of them are as terrifying as Xicor’s "mom."
4. The Transformation Escalation is Hilariously Peak
Is Super Saiyan Infinity ridiculous? Yes. Is it physically impossible for a humanoid to have that much hair? Absolutely. But that’s the point! Dragon Ball has always been about breaking limits, and AF took that literally.
While Super is trying to be "refined" with concepts like "Ultra Ego" (which is just Vegeta losing his eyebrows again), AF was out here giving us transformations that looked like the character was literally becoming a god-beast. It embraced the absurdity. It didn't try to explain it with "divine ki" physics; it just said, "He’s really mad, so now his hair is gold-plated and he can destroy a galaxy by sneezing."
That is the energy I need. That is the energy that makes Dragon Ball GT better than Dragon Ball Super in so many ways—it’s about the vibe, the mystery, and the "What happens next?" factor that Super lacks because we already know the status quo will never truly change.
5. Gohan is Actually a Main Character (The "Alpha" Gohan We Deserved)
Let’s talk about the absolute disrespect Dragon Ball Super showed Gohan for years. They turned the man who humbled Super Perfect Cell into a guy who can’t even find his gi without a GPS and a permission slip from Videl. Sure, Super Hero gave us Beast Gohan, but it took how many years?
In the AF mythos—specifically the Young Jiji and Toyble versions—Gohan didn't just sit in a library. When Goku left with Shenron at the end of GT, Gohan realized he was the shield of Earth. In AF, we get Super Saiyan 4 Gohan. Let that sink in. The intellectual brilliance of Gohan mixed with the primal, shadow-clad ferocity of the SSJ4 form. It’s the perfect synthesis of his character.
He isn't just a backup dancer for the Goku and Vegeta show. In AF, Gohan has to lead. He has to be the tactical mind and the heavy hitter. He doesn't need a "Beast" transformation that looks like he fell into a vat of purple hair dye; he needs the gritty, fur-covered, "I will end your entire bloodline" energy that AF provides. It’s the version of Gohan that actually honors the legacy of Z. If you want to see where else Super dropped the ball on the intensity, you need to read my deep dive: 100 Ways To Save Dragon Ball Super Remake from Being MID as F*ck.
6. The Villains Have "Actual" Motivations (Beyond Just Being Bored)
In Super, why does Beerus fight? He’s hungry and bored. Why does Hit fight? He’s a mercenary doing a job. Why does Jiren fight? Because he’s a giant thumb with trauma who hates teamwork.
In Dragon Ball AF, the villains feel like consequences. Take Xicor again—he is the physical manifestation of Goku’s greatest "sin": being too strong and attracting the attention of a rogue goddess. He’s not here for a tournament; he’s here to claim his "birthright." Then you have the Shadow Dragons in the AF sequels, which double down on the idea that using the Dragon Balls has a literal cost.
AF villains aren't just obstacles; they are the bill coming due for all the times the Z-Fighters cheated death. It creates a dark, gothic atmosphere that makes the battles feel heavy. It’s not a "fun" fight; it’s survival. This is exactly what I was talking about when I wrote Dragon Ball Super Remake: 50 Ways to Save It From Itself. We need stakes that make us sweat, not another "friendly" exhibition match where everyone goes for ramen afterward.
7. The Power Scaling is So Broken It Becomes Art
People complain about Super’s power scaling—how 17 can suddenly trade blows with Blue Goku because he "protected an island from poachers." Yeah, it’s messy. But AF? AF looks at power scaling and says, "What if we just stopped using numbers and started using cosmic concepts?"
By the time you get to Super Saiyan 10, we aren't talking about "power levels" anymore. We are talking about characters who can punch holes through dimensions, who exist in multiple timelines simultaneously, and whose presence alone causes the fabric of reality to warp. It’s unhinged! It’s ridiculous! It’s... Peak.
It’s like the creators were in a constant arms race with their own imagination. "Oh, you have a form that turns your hair blue? Well, my form turns my hair silver, gives me black tattoos, and I can summon a spirit dragon with my mind." It’s that "playground playground" energy but dialed up to a 2000s-era "War" intensity. It’s glorious because it doesn't try to be logical. It tries to be cool. And in anime, sometimes "cool" is the only logic you need.
Speaking of cool, if you're tired of all these buff dudes and want to see who the real powerhouses are, check out my Ultimate Dragon Ball Waifus Tier List. Believe me, some of these women would wipe the floor with a Super Saiyan 2.
8. The Return of the "Forbidden" Lore
Super gave us Broly (who is great, don't get me wrong), but AF was doing the "bring back the legends" thing decades ago, and with way more "edge." We’re talking about the return of Raditz and Nappa but as Super Saiyans. We’re talking about King Vegeta coming back from the dead to see what his son has become.
AF is a love letter to the entire franchise’s history, but written in the blood of a thousand fan-theories. It doesn't care about "canon." Canon is a cage! AF is the bird that broke out of the cage, ate the cat, and then grew five extra wings. It explores the "What Ifs" that Toei is too scared to touch. It’s the ultimate "What happens if we stop caring about what the editors say and just do what the 14-year-old inside us wants?"
9. The Dragon Realm and the Philosophical Weight of Power
In Dragon Ball Super, the gods are essentially civil servants. Beerus is a lazy boss, the Grand Priest is a middle manager, and Zeno is a toddler with an "Off" switch for reality. There’s no mystery left. Everything is cataloged, neat, and color-coded.
But Dragon Ball AF? It introduced the Dragon Realm.
When Goku left at the end of GT, AF posits that he didn't just go to "heaven" or "train with a god." He entered a higher state of existence where he had to battle the personification of the Dragon Balls themselves. It treated the Dragon Balls not as wishing machines, but as ancient, eldritch entities that require a balance. Goku becomes a guardian, a legend, a myth.
In AF, when Goku finally reappears, it isn't just "Oh, hey guys, I’m back with a new hair color." It is a Cosmic Event. The ground shakes, the sky changes color, and even the strongest villains feel a primal fear. It captures that sense of awe that Super lost by making Goku "just a guy who wants to fight." AF understands that Goku isn't just a martial artist; by the end of the series, he is a force of nature.
This level of world-building makes the "multiverse" of Super feel like a collection of theme parks. If you think I’m being too harsh on the current state of things, just look at my comparison in Dragon Ball GT is better than Dragon Ball Super. GT and AF share a DNA of consequence that Super is simply too afraid to touch.
10. The Unfiltered Passion of the "Fan-Creator"
The number one reason Dragon Ball AF is better than Super is simple: It has no limits.
Dragon Ball Super is a product. It has to sell toys, it has to pass television sensors, it has to be "brand safe." Dragon Ball AF was born in the trenches of the early internet. It was made by people who stayed up until 3:00 AM drawing silver-haired Saiyans because they loved the characters so much they couldn't let them go.
That raw, unhinged passion is why we got things like Super Saiyan 5, the Evil Containment Wave being used in ways that actually matter, and the return of characters like Future Trunks in roles that weren't just "traumatized survivor #4."
AF is a fever dream where anything is possible. Do you want Vegeta to reach a level of power that turns him into a literal shadow-wraith? AF did it. Do you want Pan to actually become a Super Saiyan instead of just being a plot device? AF did it. It’s a series where the answer to "Should we do this?" was always a resounding "YES, AND MAKE IT EDGIER."
It’s the same energy I bring to my blog every single day. We don't do "mid" content here. Whether I'm ranking the Ultimate Dragon Ball Waifus Tier List or telling you exactly Dragon Ball Super Remake: 50 Ways to Save It From Itself, it’s all about that "Peak Aura" energy.
Embrace the Madness
Look, I know what the "purists" will say. "Ultima, it’s not canon! Ultima, the art in the early chapters was shaky! Ultima, Super Saiyan Infinity is literally just a ball of fur with eyes!"
To them, I say: Who cares?
Dragon Ball AF represents a time when the fandom was a wild west of creativity. It took the "War" of DBZ and the "Adventure" of GT and smashed them together into a chaotic, beautiful, and absolutely unhinged masterpiece. Dragon Ball Super is a clean, well-lit hospital room; Dragon Ball AF is a neon-lit, underground fight club in a dystopian future where everyone has 15-inch biceps and silver hair.
I know which one I’m picking.
Dragon Ball Super might have the budget, the animation teams, and the official seal of approval, but AF has the Soul. It has the edge. It has the sheer, "I-don’t-care-if-this-makes-sense" bravado that made us fall in love with Shonen in the first place.
So, next time you see a blue-haired Goku struggling against a guy who looks like a purple cat, just remember: somewhere out there, in the depths of the internet, a silver-haired Super Saiyan 5 is currently punching a hole through the multiverse just to prove he can. And that, my friends, is Peak Aura.
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