Why is Dragon Ball ruining its own success? It’s a fair question to ask at this point. In the last five years, the Dragon Ball Super anime series had a meteoric rise to become the series biggest mainstream breakthrough since Dragon Ball Z. Even if you didn’t understand the sight of Goku and Vegeta sporting new hairdos, the rumblings of what was going on in DBS reached far in wide. By the time the anime reached its climactic arc with the Tournament of Power, the entire global fandom was on board for seeing Goku finally achieve his Ultra Instinct power-up, and battle the strongest warriors in the multiverse.
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…And then it all came to a screeching halt.
Dragon Ball Super On Hiatus
Dragon Ball Super aired its final episode in Japan on March 25, 2018; the English Dub followed suit on October 5, 2019. That’s been a two-year span in which Toei Animation has given fans virtually no new Dragon Ball Super anime content; nor have we been given any kind of official announcement about whether or not the DBS series will continue, or whether there will be a new installment of the franchise launched under a new title. When the Dragon Ball Super hiatus was first announced, Toei gave fans hope by saying that Dragon Ball Super would continue – though to be fair, statements by other executives (including Akira Toriyama himself) were much vaguer.
Dragon Ball Super Movies
For a moment, there was a shift in interest as Toei ended the Dragon Ball Super anime, but pushed forward with the first-ever Dragon Ball Super movie. That film, Dragon Ball Super: Broly was a major event, which both introduced the character of Broly to official canon, and reinvented Dragon Ball lore regarding the Saiyan race, as well as the series’ visual style (now known as the “Shintani Style”). After Broly‘s release, Toei teased fans that another Dragon Ball Super movie was on the way – one that would be very different from Broly. But again, there’s been no word on that front, since the initial promises.
The Manga Is Not Enough
While things have stalled on the Dragon Ball Super anime front, the Dragon Ball Super manga has pushed forward. The manga is doing some big things in its current “Galactic Patrol Prisoner” arc, including introducing a powerful new villain; eliminating entire worlds, and giving both Goku and Vegeta their own, respective, big new power-ups. Indeed, there is much in the “Galactic Patrol Prisoner” storyline that seems like stage-setting for a big shift in Dragon Ball. However, that build-up (and that eventual shift) will be somewhat muted if it only occurs on the manga page. Dragon Ball fans have been very clear that they want more anime content, so even the most epic manga story isn’t enough.
When Will Dragon Ball Super Anime Return?
We simply don’t know. No matter what rumors you may hear – officially there is no confirmed continuation of either Dragon Ball Super anime or movies. The franchise has been exploring other forms of media (namely gaming) while seeming curiously uninterested in the main art form that brought its popularity in the first place.
How long will the dedicated Dragon Ball fandom wait around – especially when so many new hot anime are now making their mark (Demon Slayer, Promised Neverland, My Hero Academia)? We’ll leave it to the comments for you to tell us…
