How Long Will The New ‘Dragon Ball’ Anime Last?

If you have been out of the loop for a bit, you may not know the latest Dragon Ball news. Not long ago, reports confirmed a brand-new anime was coming to the franchise, and details about the series have since gone live. Still, fans are wanting to know how long this new anime may be, and conflicting answers have gotten everyone a bit lost.

At this moment, there is no word on how long the Dragon Ball Heroes anime will be. No episode order has been attached to the project, and Toei Animation has kept mum about the series with Bandai Namco following suit.

For now, fans are working on the idea that the anime will be a short standalone. Since the series is based on the Dragon Ball Heroes games, the anime’s canon status is already in question. As it was with Dragon Ball GT, the new anime doesn’t seem to involve creator Akira Toriyama, so its story will likely be pushed aside by fans as non-canon. Toei Animation should know this, giving the studio every reason to approach Dragon Ball Heroes as a mini-project.

Of course, Toei Animation has also said this project will be a PR one. The classification means Dragon Ball Heroes will be a promotional anime, a kind of show made specifically to promote a title of some sort. Dozens of franchises have done this sort of thing before, and the results always vary. In the past, everything from One Piece to HENNEKO has dabbled with PR series, and their lengths can vary.

On average, your everyday PR anime is often a single episode. The venture may be longer than a usual episode slot, leaving the OVA to feel more like a movie. However, other PR anime can last up to 15 episodes. Given the busy schedule Toei Animation runs by, fans expect this Dragon Ball Heroes anime to be a one-and-done, and its website seems to back that.

If you check out the site for Dragon Ball Heroes, you will see a side bar filled with information. The page updated its synopsis and introduction not long ago. Aside from these updates, a link for a ‘Movie’ that is coming soon was also added. The text is blacked out for now, but fans think the OVA will be shared online once its drops this summer. And, if it is really a movie per say, then it seems the Dragon Ball Heroes venture will house a single installment.

Are you excited for this Dragon Ball title? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!