Toei Animation Fiscal Data Unpacks the War Between Dragon Ball, One Piece

The anime industry is reaching new highs thanks to its global surge, and of course, that means executives are keeping a close eye on returns. From budgets to profits, every anime studio is looking to profit off the industry’s rise. For the team at Toei Animation, money is coming in hot this fiscal year, and a new quarterly report is unpacking its ongoing war between Dragon Ball and One Piece.

The whole thing came to light as Toei Animation posted its Q1 data for the 2025 fiscal year. The new data breaks down the IPs that are performing best at Toei in terms of licensing. After a dip in the last fiscal year, Dragon Ball is on top of the latest fiscal report with a staggering 5.67 billion yen. However, the Straw Hat crew is on Goku’s tail in second place with 5.54 billion yen.

Talk about a close call, you know? Dragon Ball is in first, but One Piece is chomping at the bit to take the lead. Son Goku better watch his back!

Looking at the fiscal report, Dragon Ball came in first place this quarter for domestic licensing with One Piece following. The latter series then dominated the overseas film market with nearly triple the earnings of Dragon Ball. Things were spread more evenly with general overseas licensing as Dragon Ball took first place with 2.98 billion yen as One Piece nabbed the second spot. As for Toei Animation’s other top IPs, projects like Sailor Moon, Digimon, Pretty Cure, and Gegege no Kitaro earned shoutouts in this latest fiscal breakdown. 

Clearly, Dragon Ball and One Piece are warring for the top spot at Toei Animation these days. Now, the question is which IP will dominate the 2025 fiscal year. One Piece has had a strong showing with its weekly anime, and of course, Netflix’s live-action adaptation has brought major attention to the IP. However, Dragon Ball has its own plans at Toei Animation. The anime is slated to drop a new canon anime this fall with Dragon Ball Daima, after all. So as the year moves forward, Goku and Luffy will have their work cut out for them.

What do you think about this latest Toei Animation report? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!