Dragon Ball: How Did the Anime’s CG Design Come to Be?

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero made the leap from traditional 2-D animation, which the Shonen franchise has used in the entirety of its history, to CG animation, leaving many nervous about the decision. Luckily, the movie was able to excel expectations and has become the most successful film in the series to date. Recently, a producer on the film went into detail when it came to how the decision was made when it came to this risky venture for the return of the Red Ribbon Army.

In chatting with Shuiesha, the company responsible for Weekly Shonen Jump, Hayashida addressed the original decision to try using CG animation, while surprisingly noting that many at Toei Animation were originally against the idea:

“There was a lot of opposition to the adoption of 3D expressions within Toei Animation, but there were several people in the upper management who said “try it”, so in June 2014 production of the pilot version began I was. It was around 2016 that I was able to show it to Shueisha’s Dragon Ball room and Toriyama-sensei for the first time. We made a total of 4 pilot films, checked them each time, and gave them the GO sign.”

Dragon Ball CG

Hayashida also went into detail when it came to the original pilot that used CG animation for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, as director Tetsuro Kodama had created a “pilot” to help show both creator Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation how the movie would look in this new style:

“The good parts of hand-drawn animation and the action full of reality unique to new expression are well combined, and the teacher praised it. Mr. Kodama is one of the few people in the industry who has researched 3D cel-look animation for a long time, so I think that experience was put to good use.”  

At present, the future of Dragon Ball Super’s anime is anyone’s guess, but the manga recently returned with a new arc that will take place prior to the events of Super Hero, focusing on Goten and Trunks as they become the new Saiyamen on the block. While the television series has yet to reveal when it will return following the conclusion of the Tournament of Power five years ago, there is plenty of material for the adaptation to cover when it does decide to return. 

Via Shueisha