Is this the most concurrent DB storylines we have had in the franchises history?

[TobyS]

We currently have:

The Super Manga.
SDBH Manga.
Xenoverse DLC.
Legends.
Dokkan (shit and incoherent but not finished?)
**Daima** later this year

--
SD
Fighterz.

Has there been a point where there were more simultaneous storys at any point in the franchise's history?
We probably had the GT comic and Reincarnated as Yamcha running at the same time as Supers manga right? But GT was a retelling.

[Basaku]

Don't think there was ever a point like this, especially with Super manga/movies and Daima which are as close to "THE main" storylines as we will prob get, with both being co-written with Toriyama.

It's also a proof of concept enough IMO that the franchise has a very wide appeal and can do multiple stories at once, appealing to different sections of the audience and whatnot. And that it CAN potentially move onto other characters in primary role in the future, aka the Next Generation

I mean it will kinda have to eventually. We're probs reaching the end of the mid-EOZ period, they squeezed in as much in it as they possibly could and the big looming question 'what's next' is getting closer and closer. Along with what to actually do with GT. Not sure if the answer "more Goku time for the next 40 years" is the correct one, at least not just that IMO. All those various concurrent projects proved enough that this franchise is bigger than just Goku, at the very least Gohan and Trunks proved that enough. Heroes did its job too with the Player Characters not being Goku/Vegeta

[VegettoEX]

The perfect question for me, and perhaps me alone!!!

The short answer is: "now" isn't even close.

We have to start looking at just Saikyo Jump, because that's the single place where the most Dragon Ball content runs at any given time. The most Dragon Ball manga that have run simultaneous in Saikyo Jump at any time is six, but it didn't start that way.

For a while we were capping out at five, which happened multiple times (and the magazine actually made kind of a big deal about). The first instance was the May 2016 issue. This happened again a few times as Discross and Fusions cycled out, with Nagayama's various SDBH series then coming in.

We then finally hit SIX different series when Dark Demon Realm Mission returned to run alongside Universe Mission in the May 2019 issue (released in April). That's when we had:

- Dragon Ball SD (chapter 59)
- Dragon Ball GT Anime Comic (chapter 37)
- DeSpo FighterZ (chapter 5)
- SDBH: God Charisma Mission!!! (chapter 3)
- SDBH: Dark Demon Realm Mission! (chapter 12)
- SDBH: Universe Mission!! (chapter 7)

It was at six series for a while until DDRM and UM ended in the March 2020 issue, with just Big Bang Mission!!! taking its place, and stuff cycling from there.

So what else was going on in April 2019 (which is when the May 2019 issue of Saikyo Jump came out)? Not a whole lot other than chapter 47 of Dragon Ball Super itself in the June 2019 issue of V-Jump. That gives us seven manga series alone at one specific point in time, which I believe is the winner so far.

Reincarnated as Yamcha has been brought up, which was a digital premiere across December 2016, May 2017, and August 2017. There was no Dragon Ball SD chapter in Saikyo Jump that month, so that's just a one-for-one swap meaning it doesn't matter. Saikyo Jump was bimonthly at that time and there was no issue released in May, so that also doesn't matter. August 2017 was interesting, since Saikyo Jump was out (the September 2017 issue), and that had five series in it (SD, GT, Fusions, Charisma, DDRM), ... but that would still bring us to six total plus Super (chapter 27 in the October 2017 issue), so maybe that's a technical tie here at seven in the same month?

So for manga alone, we're looking at August 2017 and April 2019 as the winners, with seven different manga series releasing within their respective calendar months.

So then if you want to bring in video game storylines:

- You can definitely include the overall (Super) Dragon Ball Heroes arcade game
- Incidentally, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission released that same month (!!!)... but it didn't really have DLC that continued its storyline beyond its base release. It DID have its own original storyline, so... maybe you want to count it for something...?
- Jump Force came out two months prior, but I dunno that I would count it here, as it also had character-only DLC that didn't continue its storyline.
- You can definitely include Xenoverse 2, since that released back in 2016 and has continued this whole time
- Same goes for Dokkan Battle, which was a 2015 release.
- If you want to include Dragon Ball Legends on mobile, you can't do August 2017 since it wasn't out yet. That knocks that out of the lead, but May 2019 is still good for all of the above, including Legends!

I would strike FighterZ, as it's a single, one-off story; its content didn't continue past its singular release product (character DLC alone doesn't count). I would strike Kakarot... maybe? I guess kinda spoilers, but it has Towa and Mira and therefore it counts as its own unique storyline... but none of the DLC continues that storyline, so I wouldn't personally count it alongside these others.

But what about animation, you say? Well, the Super TV series ended in March 2018, so I guess you could swap a thingie around somewhere in the lists... but I don't think it overall helps contribute to a new leader. There was no Saikyo Jump that March due to the bimonthly schedule, and Fusions is gone by the next month, so we're down to only four series in that magazine.

We DO have the Super Dragon Ball Heroes Promotional Anime by this point, though! In our current leader month of April 2019, we've got episode 10 that month!

So I think April 2019 is the leader, with:

- Dragon Ball SD (chapter 59)
- Dragon Ball GT Anime Comic (chapter 37)
- DeSpo FighterZ (chapter 5)
- SDBH: God Charisma Mission!!! (chapter 3)
- SDBH: Dark Demon Realm Mission (chapter 12)
- SDBH: Universe Mission (chapter 7)
- Dragon Ball Super (chapter 47)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes Promotional Anime (episode 10)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes (arcade; Universe Mission 8ish?)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission (maybe?)
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (in between Extra Pack 4 in December and Ultra Pack 1 in July?)
- Dokkan Battle (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
- Dragon Ball Legends (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Even if you wanted to strike, say, the GT Anime Comic from that list because it's derivative of something that came prior... I think we still have a winner here in early/mid-2019!

Am I missing anything?!?

... I should turn this into a website feature. Thanks!

[SupremeKai25]

Spring/Summer 2019 definitely felt like the time when the franchise was at its busiest. Lot of internet traffic and hype around the franchise, especially since the ToP arc was still relatively fresh in people's mind and the Broly movie had just come out.

That was also before all the failed leaks about the return of the Super anime. Back then, people were very optimistic that Super 2.0 would come in 2019/2020.

People were also hyped for the upcoming Kakarot videogame.

The Year 2019 felt like the peak of internet traffic and hype around the franchise.

[Basaku]

Well, from the technical POV Mike already broke down the full list and he's correct but... I doubt most people actually consider different SDBH stories/missions as separate entities at least I know I dont and rather think of it as a singular project/ongoing story (or "story" given Heroes' rather questionable narrative base). Still tho, it is a substantially different line from the Super anime/manga or Daima and in that regard I think the franchise is proving itself to be able to run multiple narrations at once, like Star Wars, which is a testament to how BIG its audience is to begin with to be able find the viewers/readers for all kind of various projects, but also how rich and vast its lore and worldbuilding got to allow it at all

[Saiya6Cit]

hahaha I was thinking something along those lines, about how many stories are running currently under the dragon ball universe or at least... copyright

I have said it before but I guess I will say it again (Somebody else also said it here): dragon ball is the starwars of anime. We just need to remain strong and faithful to what Dragon Ball represents. A story about improving yourself and friendship. As long as they keep that message I don't mind the new stuff as long as newer generations still know who Goku is.


Thank you for the summary, VegettoEX, you should definetly turn it into an article within the website.

[TobyS]

The perfect question for me, and perhaps me alone!!!

The short answer is: "now" isn't even close.

We have to start looking at just Saikyo Jump, because that's the single place where the most Dragon Ball content runs at any given time. The most Dragon Ball manga that have run simultaneous in Saikyo Jump at any time is six, but it didn't start that way.

For a while we were capping out at five, which happened multiple times (and the magazine actually made kind of a big deal about). The first instance was the May 2016 issue. This happened again a few times as Discross and Fusions cycled out, with Nagayama's various SDBH series then coming in.

We then finally hit SIX different series when Dark Demon Realm Mission returned to run alongside Universe Mission in the May 2019 issue (released in April). That's when we had:

- Dragon Ball SD (chapter 59)
- Dragon Ball GT Anime Comic (chapter 37)
- DeSpo FighterZ (chapter 5)
- SDBH: God Charisma Mission!!! (chapter 3)
- SDBH: Dark Demon Realm Mission! (chapter 12)
- SDBH: Universe Mission!! (chapter 7)

It was at six series for a while until DDRM and UM ended in the March 2020 issue, with just Big Bang Mission!!! taking its place, and stuff cycling from there.

So what else was going on in April 2019 (which is when the May 2019 issue of Saikyo Jump came out)? Not a whole lot other than chapter 47 of Dragon Ball Super itself in the June 2019 issue of V-Jump. That gives us seven manga series alone at one specific point in time, which I believe is the winner so far.

Reincarnated as Yamcha has been brought up, which was a digital premiere across December 2016, May 2017, and August 2017. There was no Dragon Ball SD chapter in Saikyo Jump that month, so that's just a one-for-one swap meaning it doesn't matter. Saikyo Jump was bimonthly at that time and there was no issue released in May, so that also doesn't matter. August 2017 was interesting, since Saikyo Jump was out (the September 2017 issue), and that had five series in it (SD, GT, Fusions, Charisma, DDRM), ... but that would still bring us to six total plus Super (chapter 27 in the October 2017 issue), so maybe that's a technical tie here at seven in the same month?

So for manga alone, we're looking at August 2017 and April 2019 as the winners, with seven different manga series releasing within their respective calendar months.

So then if you want to bring in video game storylines:

- You can definitely include the overall (Super) Dragon Ball Heroes arcade game
- Incidentally, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission released that same month (!!!)... but it didn't really have DLC that continued its storyline beyond its base release. It DID have its own original storyline, so... maybe you want to count it for something...?
- Jump Force came out two months prior, but I dunno that I would count it here, as it also had character-only DLC that didn't continue its storyline.
- You can definitely include Xenoverse 2, since that released back in 2016 and has continued this whole time
- Same goes for Dokkan Battle, which was a 2015 release.
- If you want to include Dragon Ball Legends on mobile, you can't do August 2017 since it wasn't out yet. That knocks that out of the lead, but May 2019 is still good for all of the above, including Legends!

I would strike FighterZ, as it's a single, one-off story; its content didn't continue past its singular release product (character DLC alone doesn't count). I would strike Kakarot... maybe? I guess kinda spoilers, but it has Towa and Mira and therefore it counts as its own unique storyline... but none of the DLC continues that storyline, so I wouldn't personally count it alongside these others.

But what about animation, you say? Well, the Super TV series ended in March 2018, so I guess you could swap a thingie around somewhere in the lists... but I don't think it overall helps contribute to a new leader. There was no Saikyo Jump that March due to the bimonthly schedule, and Fusions is gone by the next month, so we're down to only four series in that magazine.

We DO have the Super Dragon Ball Heroes Promotional Anime by this point, though! In our current leader month of April 2019, we've got episode 10 that month!

So I think April 2019 is the leader, with:

- Dragon Ball SD (chapter 59)
- Dragon Ball GT Anime Comic (chapter 37)
- DeSpo FighterZ (chapter 5)
- SDBH: God Charisma Mission!!! (chapter 3)
- SDBH: Dark Demon Realm Mission (chapter 12)
- SDBH: Universe Mission (chapter 7)
- Dragon Ball Super (chapter 47)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes Promotional Anime (episode 10)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes (arcade; Universe Mission 8ish?)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission (maybe?)
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (in between Extra Pack 4 in December and Ultra Pack 1 in July?)
- Dokkan Battle (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
- Dragon Ball Legends (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Even if you wanted to strike, say, the GT Anime Comic from that list because it's derivative of something that came prior... I think we still have a winner here in early/mid-2019!

Am I missing anything?!?

... I should turn this into a website feature. Thanks!

Hmm I was thinking about the two heroes mangas but yeah mentally I don't count all 3 versions of heroes just the manga.

It's probably still the month Mike said unless a random game release like fighterz trumps it. But I suspect it's still this one with two manga chapters of heroes.

Yeah it'd be a cool feature for the site.

[Steve]

The perfect question for me, and perhaps me alone!!!

The short answer is: "now" isn't even close.

We have to start looking at just Saikyo Jump, because that's the single place where the most Dragon Ball content runs at any given time. The most Dragon Ball manga that have run simultaneous in Saikyo Jump at any time is six, but it didn't start that way.

For a while we were capping out at five, which happened multiple times (and the magazine actually made kind of a big deal about). The first instance was the May 2016 issue. This happened again a few times as Discross and Fusions cycled out, with Nagayama's various SDBH series then coming in.

We then finally hit SIX different series when Dark Demon Realm Mission returned to run alongside Universe Mission in the May 2019 issue (released in April). That's when we had:

- Dragon Ball SD (chapter 59)
- Dragon Ball GT Anime Comic (chapter 37)
- DeSpo FighterZ (chapter 5)
- SDBH: God Charisma Mission!!! (chapter 3)
- SDBH: Dark Demon Realm Mission! (chapter 12)
- SDBH: Universe Mission!! (chapter 7)

It was at six series for a while until DDRM and UM ended in the March 2020 issue, with just Big Bang Mission!!! taking its place, and stuff cycling from there.

So what else was going on in April 2019 (which is when the May 2019 issue of Saikyo Jump came out)? Not a whole lot other than chapter 47 of Dragon Ball Super itself in the June 2019 issue of V-Jump. That gives us seven manga series alone at one specific point in time, which I believe is the winner so far.

Reincarnated as Yamcha has been brought up, which was a digital premiere across December 2016, May 2017, and August 2017. There was no Dragon Ball SD chapter in Saikyo Jump that month, so that's just a one-for-one swap meaning it doesn't matter. Saikyo Jump was bimonthly at that time and there was no issue released in May, so that also doesn't matter. August 2017 was interesting, since Saikyo Jump was out (the September 2017 issue), and that had five series in it (SD, GT, Fusions, Charisma, DDRM), ... but that would still bring us to six total plus Super (chapter 27 in the October 2017 issue), so maybe that's a technical tie here at seven in the same month?

So for manga alone, we're looking at August 2017 and April 2019 as the winners, with seven different manga series releasing within their respective calendar months.

So then if you want to bring in video game storylines:

- You can definitely include the overall (Super) Dragon Ball Heroes arcade game
- Incidentally, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission released that same month (!!!)... but it didn't really have DLC that continued its storyline beyond its base release. It DID have its own original storyline, so... maybe you want to count it for something...?
- Jump Force came out two months prior, but I dunno that I would count it here, as it also had character-only DLC that didn't continue its storyline.
- You can definitely include Xenoverse 2, since that released back in 2016 and has continued this whole time
- Same goes for Dokkan Battle, which was a 2015 release.
- If you want to include Dragon Ball Legends on mobile, you can't do August 2017 since it wasn't out yet. That knocks that out of the lead, but May 2019 is still good for all of the above, including Legends!

I would strike FighterZ, as it's a single, one-off story; its content didn't continue past its singular release product (character DLC alone doesn't count). I would strike Kakarot... maybe? I guess kinda spoilers, but it has Towa and Mira and therefore it counts as its own unique storyline... but none of the DLC continues that storyline, so I wouldn't personally count it alongside these others.

But what about animation, you say? Well, the Super TV series ended in March 2018, so I guess you could swap a thingie around somewhere in the lists... but I don't think it overall helps contribute to a new leader. There was no Saikyo Jump that March due to the bimonthly schedule, and Fusions is gone by the next month, so we're down to only four series in that magazine.

We DO have the Super Dragon Ball Heroes Promotional Anime by this point, though! In our current leader month of April 2019, we've got episode 10 that month!

So I think April 2019 is the leader, with:

- Dragon Ball SD (chapter 59)
- Dragon Ball GT Anime Comic (chapter 37)
- DeSpo FighterZ (chapter 5)
- SDBH: God Charisma Mission!!! (chapter 3)
- SDBH: Dark Demon Realm Mission (chapter 12)
- SDBH: Universe Mission (chapter 7)
- Dragon Ball Super (chapter 47)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes Promotional Anime (episode 10)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes (arcade; Universe Mission 8ish?)
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission (maybe?)
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (in between Extra Pack 4 in December and Ultra Pack 1 in July?)
- Dokkan Battle (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
- Dragon Ball Legends (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Even if you wanted to strike, say, the GT Anime Comic from that list because it's derivative of something that came prior... I think we still have a winner here in early/mid-2019!

Am I missing anything?!?

... I should turn this into a website feature. Thanks!

Wow, your comprehensive breakdown of Dragon Ball content timelines is impressive! It's clear you've delved deep into the intricate world of manga, games, and animations. April 2019 does seem like the peak month with that diverse array of releases. A website feature sounds like a fantastic idea to document and share this detailed analysis with fellow Dragon Ball enthusiasts!

[Thanos]

The dark ages of 1997-2013 with no new ongoing stories (not counting the 2008 special) seem like a distant fever dream now. It's wild to think the idea of new Dragon Ball content seemed impossible and a ship that had sailed. A lot of people were skeptical about the Battle of Gods announcement. I guess this was before nostalgia was weaponized in entertainment as a whole, because even if Dragon Ball had someone still remained dormant up until now I'm sure it would've always been a matter of time.