Another day, another Rising Sun. And today, we’ll be talking about a show that has been heavily anticipated since April of last year, Dragon Ball Super.

Dragon Ball Super, produced by famed studio Toei, is the official sequel to Dragon Ball Z/Kai. And by official, I mean heavily supported by series creator Akira Toriyama (not like the bomb that was Dragon Ball GT).  In the new series, set six months after the obliteration of Majin Buu, peace has returned to Earth. Goku is (reluctantly) working as a radish farmer, Gohan and Videl are married, and Vegeta is being grumpy old Vegeta as usual. But they’re oblivious to the awakening of the feared Beerus the Destroyer, who in the first episode blows up half a planet, just because the cuisine is “too greasy”.

The fact that the series is starting off by re-doing Battle of Gods and Resurrection ‘F’ can be seen as a sore point for some viewers, but I’m OK with it. By moving the films’ storylines to a television format, Toriyama has the time to give us extra character development, twist things around a little and give us clever in-jokes, like Bulma’s cruise ship being appropriately named Princess Bulma. Not only that, Toriyama’s sense of humor is in full effect here, giving us little moments like Beerus threatening to shrink the already-small planet of King Kai if the food sucks, Vegeta getting inked and Whis coming to a dead stop to remind Beerus that he is “the fastest being in the universe.”

The comedy works, and the movies’ narratives lend themselves well to television, but the animation is just as crucial. For the majority of the series thus far, the animation has been very good. But episode 5 has attracted a little controversy for having poor-quality animation. The episode in question depicts Beerus knocking out Super Saiyan 3 Goku in two hits, and while having a great choreography, the animation suffers. It was still a good episode, and fans should remember that one bad episode does NOT make the entire series bad. Dragon Ball Z had its’ share of bad animation too. What made DBZ good was not just the animation, but its’ relatable cast, positive values and the love put into the story. DBGT had very well done animation, but was so poorly received because it didn’t have Toriyama at the helm and showed it. Dragon Ball Super is like Dragon Ball GT because the storylines are original and did not come from the comics. But Super is the better series because of Toriyama’s narrative skills.

You’re going to have to wait a while for the official American release, but if you like Dragon Ball and can overlook one or two bad episodes, Dragon Ball Super is perfect for you.