Dragon Ball Super: What Should The Manga's Next Arc Be?
What should Dragon Ball Super's Next Arc Be? It's suddenly become a question that has a lot of intriguing possible answers. At the time of writing this, Dragon Ball Super's manga is getting to the climax of one of the series' longest arcs, "Granolah The Survivor", which has been nothing short of a total game-changer for Goku's backstory and Saiyan heritage. While that is going on, the next Dragon Ball Super movie is about to drop, which will, itself, be a game-changer for Gohan and Piccolo. With all of this going into canon, there are a lot of ways for the next manga arc to go!
The most obvious route for the next Dragon Ball Super manga arc to follow would be the continuing serialized story format the series has adopted. The Granolah Arc made the rare move of continuing immediately after the preceding manga arc, "Galactic Patrol Prisoner".
The defeat of the villain Moro created the conditions that kicked off the Granolah Arc – a storyline which has brought Goku closer than ever to his father Bardock and his Saiyan heritage. Goku's limit break process may ultimately unlock an entirely new kind of power, as Goku merges Bardock's special Saiyan power with the angelic Ultra Instinct technique. For once in Dragon Ball, Goku's new power and/or transformation can be more than just a novelty and color change: it can instill him with new purpose.
We've broken down why Dragon Ball Super Needs a Saiyan Arc, which would see Goku and/or Vegeta refocused on gathering and rebuilding their shattered culture. Now, Dragon Ball Super has made all kinds of moves to make such a story arc a possibility, including reconnecting Goku with his Saiyan roots; firmly establishing Vegeta as an anti-hero who wants a better legacy for Saiyans; bringing back Broly; and introducing heroic Saiyans of alternate realities. All of this has left Dragon Ball Super primed and ready to make Saiyans its focus – and would help to bring things around to explaining why Goku ends Dragon Ball Z by effectively retiring as Earth's protector.
On the other side of the coin, a lot of fans are very happy that the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie will be putting Gohan back to the forefront of the franchise. The Broly movie was a major springboard for Goku and Vegeta's next chapter in the Moro Arc; Super Hero could similarly be used as a springboard to make Gohan, Piccolo, and other Earth-based Z-fighters the focus of the next arc.
Or, both things are possible: Goku and Vegeta leave Earth to find Saiyans (one arc) and the Z-Fighters have to finally step up to DBS levels to keep Earth protected.
What do you want to see happen next in Dragon Ball Super?