Dragon Ball has something big brewing for 2026, with a major event set to reveal new details for the shonen franchise’s future. While the story of Goku and the Z-Fighters will be skipping this year’s Jump Festa, the “Genki Dama Festival” will arrive next January to spill the beans on the popular anime series. Before this event takes place, now seems like a great time to make a “wish list” of what we are hoping to see from the anime’s future. With quite a few characters not having detailed origin stories, we chose seven that would work well at having far more backstory added to the anime series.
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7.) Gine: Goku’s Mother
Dragon Ball Super: Broly didn’t just reintroduce the legendary Super Saiyan to the franchise proper in continuity; it also gave fans their first look at Goku’s biological mother. Featured in the era that took place before Planet Vegeta was destroyed by Frieza, viewers get the chance to see Gine for the first time, as well as learn more about the Saiyan culture as a whole. The Saiyan race is one that prides itself on its strength, but it doesn’t mean that every warrior goes out into the field of battle, as Gine was shown as more of a homebody, preparing meals for Bardock and watching their home while he was away on missions. We’d personally love to see how Gine and Bardock met, how Gine handled her responsibilities as a mother to both Goku and Raditz, and just the general state of women in the Saiyan culture. Gine deserves to have more of her story told, especially with arcs like the Granolah The Survivor Arc diving further into the Saiyans’ history.
6.) King Cold: Frieza’s Father
Frieza might have run an empire across the galaxy that was filled with thousands of loyal soldiers and untold numbers of planets, but the Dragon Ball Z villain wasn’t the one who first started this regime. Frieza’s father, King Cold, was seemingly stronger than his son originally, and seeing how he became so powerful and how he built this criminal organization would make for an interesting story. To say nothing of examining the family dynamic between Cold, Frieza, and Cooler (should they make Frieza’s brother canon), that could be introduced as a deadly anime version of HBO’s Succession. Cold’s passing of his empire to Frieza was seen during the events of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and we’d love to see more of the passing of the torch.
5.) Turles: Goku’s Bizarre Doppelganger
There are plenty of movie-only villains who were given the briefest of backstories before being set loose to challenge the Z-Fighters and threaten the Earth. One of the most confusing to us remains Turles, the Saiyan fighter who came to Earth with an alien collective to plant the Tree of Might, eat its fruit, and gain serious power in the process. As a Saiyan, it’s pretty easy to under why Turles did what he did, but the fact that he is the spitting image of Goku remains a mystery that needs to be solved. Turles recently returned, thanks to the non-canon spin-off series, Super Dragon Ball Heroes, but bringing him into the main canon might work well in creating a new dark Goku to follow in Goku Black’s shoes.
4.) Dr. Gero: Red Ribbon Army’s Smartest Scientist
Honestly, of all the characters on this list, we think that cracking into Dr. Gero’s story would be the most interesting origin story of the bunch. The Dragon Ball Z villain might have had the biggest impact on the Z-Fighters thanks to creating Androids 16, 17, 18, and Cell, but there was far more to his backstory that was hinted at. In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, viewers got the opportunity to see that Gero had married a woman who would become Android 21, and their son was apparently the basis for Android 16. There are many questions surrounding this villain and his original connections with the Red Ribbon Army, leaving us wanting more from this villain’s past.
3.) Tarble: Vegeta’s Brother
Often thought of as the “Poochy” of the Dragon Ball universe, Vegeta’s brother Tarble appeared in a one-shot special that brought back the Z-Fighters prior to their big return in Dragon Ball Super. Completely out of nowhere, the Prince of the Saiyans reveals that he has a younger sibling who had never been mentioned by Vegeta before his arrival on Earth. Ultimately, if it were up to us, Tarble would be sent back to anime limbo to never return, but adding more backstory to make him a better character would work if we’re stuck with him forever. From what we’ve seen, Tarble has been exploring the universe for years, leaving the chance for some interesting stories to flesh out the character and add a “cool factor” that he’s been lacking.
2.) Bojack: Universe 7’s Most Powerful Pirate
Bojack does get more backstory than the likes of Turles and Cooler, while also being a Dragon Ball Z movie villain, but we’d love to learn more about how this space pirate became the powerhouse who threatened Gohan and the Z-Fighters in Bojack: Unbound. The villain was originally locked within a planet by the Supreme Kais, which would make for an amazing fight to see animated. Much like Broly, it might be worth it to bring Bojack into the main canon and spruce up his origin story, especially with the Moro Arc leaning far heavier into what the Kais were up to in the past. Space pirates aren’t exactly a thing in the main continuity of the season, and perhaps, with Bojack being introduced, he could open up a whole new side of the universe.
1.) The Heeters: Dragon Ball’s Planet Brokers
This one could be wrapped in the story of King Cold, as these planet brokers appear to have a long empire with Frieza’s family. The Heeters, which include members Elec, Oil, Macki, and Gas aren’t all powerhouses, but their story could provide some interesting stories from Universe 7’s past. While the Heeters’ part in the Granolah The Survivor Arc did have various flashes to their past, it feels as though this is an onion with many layers, as we’d love to see what shady business dealings this criminal organization was performing years before half of them were murdered by Frieza. While we don’t know when they’ll finally get the chance to hit the anime adaptation, we can’t wait to see how they are brought to life by Toei Animation.
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