Nothing here hints at this being the end, and if anything, he hints at more to come in the future.
Sakurada was the one who planned out this Arc, and put it into episodic format - yet in November said didn't know when Super would end.
I suppose the last couple of episodes could have been written recently, following the decision to end it.
Though I will say, it's possible he forgot about Kitaro lol.
Dragon Ball Super: Is the newest arc safe from power scaling? After all Master Roshi is fighting too... We talk to the producer.
We are entering the TV anime’s new “Universe Survival” arc of Dragon Ball Super, the new Dragon Ball anime inspired by Akira Toriyama’s hugely popular manga. We have seen the series’ hero, Son Goku, take part in many intense battles against tough foes throughout Super so far, but in this new arc, we expect to see even more powerful opponents, assembled from across the many universes to participate in the Tournament of Power. With the stage set on such a magnificent scale, we have fans worrying if the series is safe from “power scaling (literally: power inflation),” after all, there are characters such as Master Roshi and Krillin who cannot hope to keep up with the power levels of these increasingly powerful foes. We asked the anime’s producer at Toei Animation, Hiroyuki Sakurada, a range of questions such as “Is the power scaling going to be ok?,” and “Can Master Roshi really fight in such a stage?”
-Akira Toriyama’s Ideas will Surpass the Power Scaling Worry
Dragon Ball is the name of Akira Toriyama’s famous manga that was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump (Shueisha) from 1984-95. The anime debuted in 1986, and Dragon Ball Super, a completely original story overlooked by Toriyama himself, began in July 2015. It starts after Goku’s fight with Majin Buu and touches on plot points such as meeting with the God of Destruction, Beerus, fighting a revived Frieza and a showdown with Goku Black.
In the new Universe Survival arc, we see a Tournament of Power, in which warriors representing each universe assemble to battle it out. Each universe must assemble 10 warriors to fight in this tournament, and the losing universes will be eradicated. Sakurada tells us that, “Regarding the new grand developments of this upcoming arc, when I asked Mr Toriyama how the series will progress, Toriyama himself proposed this new story. Receiving the bare bones of the story from Toriyama, I fleshed out the story and created what you will be seeing on your screens soon.” He also added that the fact there will be over 100 new characters from each universe was tricky indeed.
Zeno, who stands in a position above each universe’s gods, evaluated each universe, assigned them a rank – the results of which were that Goku’s universe, Universe 7, is second from the bottom. The fact that there are even stronger foes in other universes surprised a lot of fans, and resulted in some voices calling that this power scaling ruins the story.
Sakurada tells us this idea of there always being an even stronger power has been with the Dragon Ball series for a long time. “Each time a new arc or series begins, the fans always worry about how it will turn out in the end, but Toriyama always seems to break through this issue. Although the scale of this next arc is on another level, there is no fear of any power scaling issues. After all, worlds that I can’t even imagine will be created in the future, so we will work our way through this power scaling issue.”
Isn’t Master Roshi Pretty Strong?
In the promotional artwork for the Universe Survival arc, we can see the warriors chosen to participate. The expected fighters, Goku, Gohan and Vegeta are here, but many fans are surprised to see Master Roshi among the roster. Although he was once the strongest fighter in the past, he has seen very little action in the recent series. Even in Dragon Ball Super, although he had a fight scene against Frieza’s army, he hasn’t really had much show time this series.
When we ask whether Master Roshi can keep up with this power scaling, Sakurada tells us: “Isn’t Master Roshi pretty strong? There are things both he and Krillin can do. In addition to the question of Gohan getting his fighting instincts back, we can look forward to how these characters play their roles in this upcoming arc. It was Toriyama’s idea to assemble these ten characters, and I think it’s quite the interesting lineup. But getting all ten members together who are on that promotional image... Please look forward to it!”
In the Tournament of Power, all 10 members from each time fight at the same time in a battle royal. The universe who has the last remaining fighter, or the most remaining fighters at the end of the time limit, will be the victor. As there is a ban on flying, this battle’s focus will move to a primarily tactical based one. Due to this, there will most likely be a place for Krillin and Master Roshi to shine, even though their power level is lower than Goku’s.
In regard to the Universe Survival arc, Sakurada tells us “The series’ popular characters will form a team and participate in a dream match against even more powerful opponents from other universes. We will see who will join the team and how they will play their roles. When Dragon Ball was first serialized it was regarded as the best battle action manga in the world. Even now, there are unique qualities about it, and has a charm that exceeds language, generation and time. I hope I can show this same quality in the new Universe Survival arc. Please look forward to the action and excitement that awaits!” There will be an even more grand story, intense battles in this new arc and we think it’s something to really look forward to. As Goku always says, “I’m pretty excited!”
