When do you think the Super anime is returning? Should I read the manga while waiting for the anime?

[Hellspawn28]

2026 is earliest that I can see Super returning for the 40th anniversary of the original anime. Otherwise, we might not ever see it again.

[Civic]

I was waiting for the manga to be adapted but it's been almost ten years since the anime began and there's no confirmation on it restarting, plus DB Daima will be the next series so who knows when or if it will happen, so I'm just gonna go the manga.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

If you already bought it then you might as well enjoy what you paid for.

[Basaku]

There was a rumor that Shuiesha wanted Toei to wait until more manga arcs were completed before continuing the anime. It was from the same leakers who first revealed Daima so could be true. I think that makes sense since it seems unlikely Toei could ignore arcs involving Toriyama. They added filler to Toriyama's outlines in Super but the only original arc was copy Vegeta and a few episodes long.

Maybe possibly. But if that is actually true then they will soon have enough material for a good 2 years worth of a weekly TV show to cover anyway, assuming that Moro+Granolah is around 25 chapters each, 10 for Super Hero, around 10 for Broly readaptation and then some 3rd major arc around 25-30 chapters again.

Really if we think about it, another 100 episodes or so of Super is nuts in itself. Combined with the previous 131 eps, this show/current revival is starting to approach the lenght of the original Dragon Ball Z...all while still stuck in the same brief time period. How much can they squeeze in prior to EOZ until it becomes just ridiculous? And then there's Daima wich will have to somehow fit into this timeframe too...

[Skar]

Maybe possibly. But if that is actually true then they will soon have enough material for a good 2 years worth of a weekly TV show to cover anyway, assuming that Moro+Granolah is around 25 chapters each, 10 for Super Hero, around 10 for Broly readaptation and then some 3rd major arc around 25-30 chapters again.

Really if we think about it, another 100 episodes or so of Super is nuts in itself. Combined with the previous 131 eps, this show/current revival is starting to approach the lenght of the original Dragon Ball Z...all while still stuck in the same brief time period. How much can they squeeze in prior to EOZ until it becomes just ridiculous? And then there's Daima wich will have to somehow fit into this timeframe too...

I think the rumor was that Shuiesha wanted Toei to wait until the manga was over before adapting it. I guess it depends how long the manga has left. A lot of manga series announce when they've entered their final saga so Toyotaro might do the same. It is crazy how much has happened in what was originally an uneventful timeskip but each saga brings us a little closer to EoZ.

[sangofe]

2026 is earliest that I can see Super returning for the 40th anniversary of the original anime. Otherwise, we might not ever see it again.

I think even 2026 is too early, with the announce of Daima. I hope all this material won't remain in manga only format.

[Basaku]

2026 is earliest that I can see Super returning for the 40th anniversary of the original anime. Otherwise, we might not ever see it again.

I think even 2026 is too early, with the announce of Daima. I hope all this material won't remain in manga only format.

Well, it may not be too soon IF Daima remains just a one-off 20-ish eps web series and IF their plan IS to have (mostly) the same team move straight onto 2uper production after completing all of Daima episodes and that would be the logical conclusion of the original leaks talking web series first then TV return.

Logistically speaking it wouldn't even make sense to gather the team and launch the whole production machine for Daima and then disperse it and assmble from scratch quickly again IF the plan is to follow with a TV series soon after.

The fact that the original Magic leaks even mentioned TV after the web series tells me that despite their adamancy THAT they're not thinking for a second about anything else than Daima they do in fact, even if they're not yet actively working on anything else yet until Daima completes.

Unless plans changed of course but we can't know that.

[Cipher]

There's no guarantee we'll see the manga-only arcs animated, especially thinking about what audience a potential adaptation would even be for. They're deep into the continuity of a sequel series the target demographic (from the first airing of Super) has already aged out of. Since Toei isn't in the business of animating niche projects simply for completion's sake, we'll probably have to wait until such time as it makes financial sense as a project, and who knows if it mightn't make more sense to readapt Super as a whole at that point. I don't see any of this happening in the near future.

I know it seems unthinkable to some to have unadapted DB content, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time it happened to a major JUMP property--let alone the belated sequel to one. How long did Bleach wait just to see its final arc adapted? It's not a "never," but it'd likely be a similar case of waiting for whenever the moment is right down the line, if indeed it ever is.

Hope you forget about after 25 years of waiting.

[Basaku]

There's no guarantee we'll see the manga-only arcs animated, especially thinking about what audience a potential adaptation would even be for. They're deep into the continuity of a sequel series the target demographic (from the first airing of Super) has already aged out of. Since Toei isn't in the business of animating niche projects simply for completion's sake, we'll probably have to wait until such time as it makes financial sense as a project, and who knows if it mightn't make more sense to readapt Super as a whole at that point. I don't see any of this happening in the near future.

I know it seems unthinkable to some to have unadapted DB content, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time it happened to a major JUMP property--let alone the belated sequel to one. How long did Bleach wait just to see its final arc adapted? It's not a "never," but it'd likely be a similar case of waiting for whenever the moment is right down the line, if indeed it ever is.

Hope you forget about after 25 years of waiting.

While I agree that 6 years is already pushing it when it comes to releasing a sequel/continuation of a story, at the same time we're also talking a billion dollar legacy franchise that's positioned even better than it was in say, 2012 before Battle of Gods. The standard rules dont apply/are much of an issue for DB. From a technical POV, Super 1 will be good enough for another 10 years or so to just reair/restream as needed if Super 2 gets released. If it's later than that then yeah, perhaps it would make more sense to readapt the whole thing along with Z remake and whatnot. But they're good for a few more years and likely in no rush to remake anything that's not absolutely needed, as it's a high cost un itself too. We'll just have to see if they decide to act now soon

Saint Seiya is in a position closer to what you're talking about IMO. Next Dimension manga is about to end and Toei will have to make a decision whether they remake the much older 80s anime arc first and maybe Hades too, or go ahead and simply adapt&release ND as is

[sangofe]

There's no guarantee we'll see the manga-only arcs animated, especially thinking about what audience a potential adaptation would even be for. They're deep into the continuity of a sequel series the target demographic (from the first airing of Super) has already aged out of. Since Toei isn't in the business of animating niche projects simply for completion's sake, we'll probably have to wait until such time as it makes financial sense as a project, and who knows if it mightn't make more sense to readapt Super as a whole at that point. I don't see any of this happening in the near future.

Hope you forget about after 25 years of waiting.

I think they would rather redo Dragon Ball from scratch than Dragon Ball Super.

[SupremeKai25]

It's funny, when the Anime ended in 2018, I was in the (very large) camp that wanted Super to return, but now, after 6 years and 2 Manga-only arcs as well as one movie, I don't want Super to return at all.

When I look at Episode 131, it is the perfect conclusion to "Mainstream" Super, and I suspect this is why Toei chose to end the Anime here. Because, when you look at how the Anime sets up things, Ep. 131 is pretty much the end of the line for Super:

- Goku masters and perfects Ultra Instinct, implicitly surpassing Beerus who has to stand in respect and praise him;
- The mortal stronger than *all* Gods of Destruction (Anime doesn't single out Belmod) is defeated by Goku, which means that Goku has surpassed Beerus too;
- It makes sense that Goku surpassed Beerus at the end of ToP, because, at the end of U6 Tournament, Beerus was worried that SSB Kaioken was getting close to him. So, it's only natural that Perfect UI surpassed him;
- You cannot replicate the hype and traffic the Anime ToP arc got, with huge city squares live-streaming the final episodes.

The Episode 131 was a perfect conclusion for Super, it's the Manga that should have stopped there too instead of continuing to milk the brand.

It's very funny how Super Hero movie kept the ToP status quo largely intact and basically ignored the Manga-only arcs.

Really if we think about it, another 100 episodes or so of Super is nuts in itself. Combined with the previous 131 eps, this show/current revival is starting to approach the lenght of the original Dragon Ball Z...all while still stuck in the same brief time period. How much can they squeeze in prior to EOZ until it becomes just ridiculous? And then there's Daima wich will have to somehow fit into this timeframe too...

Also, This, and I think that this point is very underrated by the community.

Super was originally meant to take place in a largely uneventful period of peace for the Earth.

That is why the three first arcs of Super, those that were featured in the Anime, took place faraway from the Earth, in another universe, another dimension, or another timeline entirely.

The Broly movie, Moro arc, and Super Hero movie really pushed it too far. This is still meant to be a period of peace for the Earth. There's not much "peace" if the Earth is getting threatened by another chain of supervillains like in DBZ.

This is why the first three arcs of Super worked the best. Because the main conflict is faraway from the Earth, without diminishing it, but at the same time without breaking the peace that interim period between Buu saga and End of Z is supposed to have for the Earth.

[Basaku]

When I look at Episode 131, it is the perfect conclusion to "Mainstream" Super, and I suspect this is why Toei chose to end the Anime here. Because, when you look at how the Anime sets up things, Ep. 131 is pretty much the end of the line for Super:

- Goku masters and perfects Ultra Instinct, implicitly surpassing Beerus who has to stand in respect and praise him;
- The mortal stronger than *all* Gods of Destruction (Anime doesn't single out Belmod) is defeated by Goku, which means that Goku has surpassed Beerus too;
- It makes sense that Goku surpassed Beerus at the end of ToP, because, at the end of U6 Tournament, Beerus was worried that SSB Kaioken was getting close to him. So, it's only natural that Perfect UI surpassed him;
- You cannot replicate the hype and traffic the Anime ToP arc got, with huge city squares live-streaming the final episodes.

Yeah TOP is a good moment to end the Super series if needed.

However, I would say though that I could easily see a scenario like the hypothetical grand Black Freeza saga finale showdown setting up the world on fire akin to the city stream parties with TOP. Freeza became the arch nemesis of the entire franchise, a stample on its own and the original Namek showdown made DB the phenomenon it is. A final resolution that built up for decades could very well be this once in a lifetime cross-generational event that pulls in everyone.

And I'm saying that as someone not that particularly interested in another Freeza arc but I can't deny the character's popularity, impact and that after the awful F movie they actually redeemed/turned out the whole narrative about his return with a creative implementation of the character in TOP arc. Perhaps it is the only appropirate/fitting ending to the whole Super saga, even if a predictable one.

I would say that if the upcoming 3rd manga-original arc is announced as the last one then yeah, go ahead and adapt it all into 2uper. 230+ episodes is pushing it but would still be somehow acceptable for a 'midquel/interquel' to DBZ. And it would at least form base form of canonicity in the franchise with the same main core arcs both in anime and manga.

But if they plan to milk more neverending Super manga stories for the next 5 or 8 more years then nah, TOP should remain the anime finale.

[Xeogran]

a scenario like the hypothetical grand Black Freeza saga finale showdown

I don't even think that's gonna happen. Black Freeza already met Goku and Vegeta once, could kill them but let them go. This is as close as we'll get to Freeza being now a rival who appears here and there, instead of a main arc villain.

[Basaku]

I don't even think that's gonna happen. Black Freeza already met Goku and Vegeta once, could kill them but let them go. This is as close as we'll get to Freeza being now a rival who appears here and there, instead of a main arc villain.

Definitely possible, worse things happened but I personally don't see a narrative point in a character like this. So like, the entire cast of heroes and a pantheon of gods is just suppoused to act like it's business day as usual with Freeza conquering/killing half the galaxy while everyone ignores it and says hi when he appears every so often? And maybe even occasionally goes for help to him? Or accepts getting the annual punch in the guts? I mean, I don't see how this can narratively work at any level much longer. Look how quickly Toriyama had to turn the literal God of Destruction into a lazy couch dweller to avoid the audience getting too conflicted feelings about him and his regular presence in the franchise. And that was actually a character that from a mythological POV would be just doing his job anyway.

[ZombieVito]

It's funny, when the Anime ended in 2018, I was in the (very large) camp that wanted Super to return, but now, after 6 years and 2 Manga-only arcs as well as one movie, I don't want Super to return at all.

When I look at Episode 131, it is the perfect conclusion to "Mainstream" Super, and I suspect this is why Toei chose to end the Anime here. Because, when you look at how the Anime sets up things, Ep. 131 is pretty much the end of the line for Super:

- Goku masters and perfects Ultra Instinct, implicitly surpassing Beerus who has to stand in respect and praise him;
- The mortal stronger than *all* Gods of Destruction (Anime doesn't single out Belmod) is defeated by Goku, which means that Goku has surpassed Beerus too;
- It makes sense that Goku surpassed Beerus at the end of ToP, because, at the end of U6 Tournament, Beerus was worried that SSB Kaioken was getting close to him. So, it's only natural that Perfect UI surpassed him;
- You cannot replicate the hype and traffic the Anime ToP arc got, with huge city squares live-streaming the final episodes.

The Episode 131 was a perfect conclusion for Super, it's the Manga that should have stopped there too instead of continuing to milk the brand.

It's very funny how Super Hero movie kept the ToP status quo largely intact and basically ignored the Manga-only arcs.

Really if we think about it, another 100 episodes or so of Super is nuts in itself. Combined with the previous 131 eps, this show/current revival is starting to approach the lenght of the original Dragon Ball Z...all while still stuck in the same brief time period. How much can they squeeze in prior to EOZ until it becomes just ridiculous? And then there's Daima wich will have to somehow fit into this timeframe too...

Also, This, and I think that this point is very underrated by the community.

Super was originally meant to take place in a largely uneventful period of peace for the Earth.

That is why the three first arcs of Super, those that were featured in the Anime, took place faraway from the Earth, in another universe, another dimension, or another timeline entirely.

The Broly movie, Moro arc, and Super Hero movie really pushed it too far. This is still meant to be a period of peace for the Earth. There's not much "peace" if the Earth is getting threatened by another chain of supervillains like in DBZ.

This is why the first three arcs of Super worked the best. Because the main conflict is faraway from the Earth, without diminishing it, but at the same time without breaking the peace that interim period between Buu saga and End of Z is supposed to have for the Earth.

Broly and Super Hero still kinda work because the Earth never even notices them since they happen in a remote part of the planet. Moro definitely can't work because of the invasion taking place around the world and the energy absorption Moro does when he possesses the planet.

I really hope the next movie deals with Freeza so we can move past EoZ if we get another series down the line. The movie can be the debut of animated Black Freeza and Ultra Ego Vegeta. No need to adapt Toyo's nonsense aside from those 2 things.