Dragon Ball to Open First Official Store

The Dragon Ball franchise isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, even with no new anime adaptations confirmed and the shonen manga’s return date remaining a mystery. As Z-Fighter enthusiasts count the days until Goku and company make a comeback, Shueisha has swung open the doors for the first official store focusing on the series. While it’s hard not to find Dragon Ball merchandise out in the wild, the Dragon Ball store that is set to open in Japan has far more than you might expect when it comes to honoring the series.

The Dragon Ball store will officially open in Japan’s Tokyo Station, joining quite a few other anime franchises that are a part of this locale. To date, the station has stores dedicated to One Piece, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and more, so the outlet focusing on Goku and his fellow brawlers will fit right in. The official store is planning to open on November 14th next month, and here’s how the shonen franchise describes the merchandise-filled location: “The world’s first DRAGON BALL store, DRAGON BALL STORE TOKYO, will offer fans a special experience with exclusive merchandise that can only be purchased here, as well as interior decorations that express the world of DRAGON BALL.”

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Dragon Ball’s Potential Return

While the store is preparing to open its doors, the same cannot be said for Dragon Ball in general, as far as we know. Anime fans were stunned when it was announced earlier this year that the creation of Akira Toriyama would not be coming to Jump Festa. Luckily, the franchise had other big plans in mind as they are touting a major event that will reveal the future of the series in January of next year. A 40th anniversary event titled “Dragon Ball Genkida Matsuri” is promising to reveal some big plans for the series’ future, not just related to the anime, but the video games as well.

The last time we saw the Z-Fighters animated was thanks to Dragon Ball Daima, the spin-off series that takes place following the end of Dragon Ball Z and the beginning of Dragon Ball Super. While anime fans were more than happy to explore a new tale under the shonen umbrella, many didn’t see some of the surprising reveals coming. The spin-off included Goku transforming into Super Saiyan 4, making the GT form canon for the first time, with Vegeta breaking through to reach Super Saiyan 3 himself.

When it comes to the official store, there are currently no plans for the anime locale to arrive in North America, though the popularity of the medium overall might eventually bring the location to the West. Numerous anime elements from Japan are slowly trickling to the United States, so fingers crossed that we’ll one day see a “Dragon Ball Store” open its doors in the States.

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