"Dragon Ball Super" Series Official Announcement & Discussion Thread

[Miracles]

TOEI did say their staff was burnt out out doing the high quality production of the Broly movie.
I'm not surprised a DBS TV series hasn't been announced so soon.

[RecolorSaiyan]

All the series Toei is doing right now combined won't make them nearly as much money as DB would with a weekly series so it makes no sense from a financial standpoint to have not brought it back yet. THe script for broly was done in summer of 2017, its been 2.5 years since then, you mean to tell me toriyama didn't come up with any drafts over that time period?

[FortuneSSJ]

TOEI did say their staff was burnt out out doing the high quality production of the Broly movie.
I'm not surprised a DBS TV series hasn't been announced so soon.

It's not like the staff is on vacation. They are working on other projects...

[JulieYBM]

TOEI did say their staff was burnt out out doing the high quality production of the Broly movie.
I'm not surprised a DBS TV series hasn't been announced so soon.

One producer said that but that is besides the point. Maybe he personally was but everyone else moved right along to their next projects.

[Miracles]

TOEI did say their staff was burnt out out doing the high quality production of the Broly movie.
I'm not surprised a DBS TV series hasn't been announced so soon.

One producer said that but that is besides the point. Maybe he personally was but everyone else moved right along to their next projects.

TOEI did say their staff was burnt out out doing the high quality production of the Broly movie.
I'm not surprised a DBS TV series hasn't been announced so soon.

It's not like the staff is on vacation. They are working on other projects...

Understood. However, is that same staff putting in the same kind of work on other projects they did on Broly?

[sangofe]

All the series Toei is doing right now combined won't make them nearly as much money as DB would with a weekly series so it makes no sense from a financial standpoint to have not brought it back yet. THe script for broly was done in summer of 2017, its been 2.5 years since then, you mean to tell me toriyama didn't come up with any drafts over that time period?

Sales would suggest different. They haven't been exactly weak for 2019.

[Mister_Popo]

If there is no staff, there is no staff. Honestly i first thought the next movie was scheduled for December 2020 / January 2021. Now knowing how the animators are occupied, which comes down to the same key people as the anime series, that movie could very well be even further away. Iyoku couldn't say anything more about the project. I wouldn't be surprised we're talking summer 2021 or later here for release of the new movie.

[RecolorSaiyan]

All the series Toei is doing right now combined won't make them nearly as much money as DB would with a weekly series so it makes no sense from a financial standpoint to have not brought it back yet. THe script for broly was done in summer of 2017, its been 2.5 years since then, you mean to tell me toriyama didn't come up with any drafts over that time period?

Sales would suggest different. They haven't been exactly weak for 2019.

2019 sales were down significantly from 2018 and that trend will only continue as no series again and a movie probably won't come until 2021.

[IntangibleFancy]

All the series Toei is doing right now combined won't make them nearly as much money as DB would with a weekly series so it makes no sense from a financial standpoint to have not brought it back yet. THe script for broly was done in summer of 2017, its been 2.5 years since then, you mean to tell me toriyama didn't come up with any drafts over that time period?

Sales would suggest different. They haven't been exactly weak for 2019.

2019 sales were down significantly from 2018 and that trend will only continue as no series again and a movie probably won't come until 2021.

Wait is that true? An extra two or three years of hiatus is only going to make it worse then.

[Mister_Popo]

Bandai Namco Holdings has posted a ¥34.607 billion (approximately $318 million) profit for the first half of fiscal year 2020, compared to a ¥34.188 billion profit the same half last year.

Dragon Ball once again handily came in as the company’s best-performing franchise for the half-year, pulling in ¥61.3 billion (a jump over last year’s ¥58.6 billion in the same time period); Dragon Ball beat out the number-two franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam, by about ¥23 billion. The company is holding on its projection of ¥115 billion for full fiscal year 2020, which would be slightly down from last year’s ¥129 billion.

In terms of general toys and hobby merchandise (non-video games), the franchise also jumped from ¥9.9 billion for the first half of 2019 to ¥11.6 billion this year’s first-half, with a similarly-held-projection for the full year at ¥20 billion.

(source: Kanzenshuu website)

[Nanatsu88]

I have a theory and it may seem crazy but thinking about it may even be possible.

If you look at Toei's history when they announce new series they always do it with very little time for their premiere: Kitaro, Super, Digimon, Tyger Mask, Toriko ...
The announcement of Dragon Quest with 1 year in advance is very strange. They never usually advertise with so much prior time. They even had a trailer animated by Shida when there were almost 11 months to go. This is nothing common. They usually announce their series with 3 or 4 months prior and do not have a video ready until 1 month before its release.

This gives me to think that Toei after restructuring and entering their new offices, they are changing their method of work to have more production time until the premiere of their series. That way they won't have problems like Super.

It is rare that Toei has started the production of Dragon Quest with so many months prior to its premiere. And here is my theory with Super:

Super if I am not mistaken I have 12 supervisors or more and due to production problems they normally had 2 animation supervisors per chapter and more support animators when it would be normal for them to have 1 supervisor and a smaller team of animators. What if half have gone to Dragon Quest and the other half to Super? Don't call me crazy yet, let me explain.

Dragon Quest is in production and there is almost 1 year left for its release. Remember that those who leaked the premiere of Super in July commented that it was information provided by people who were working on the production and that they showed them graphic material that showed that they were starting with the animation process. (Ajay can tell us this if he wants to)

These people who worked on it told them that they believed that the premiere was in July and after the leak and everything else, the sources did not give more information. Or they could not give it.

And if the material provided by the workers who leaked the information is real and is the series being made since the beginning of 2019?

It is possible that the premiere planned by Toei really was not 2019, which made no sense that it was like that when Kitaro had already announced more episodes from many months before.

Maybe Toei is producing the series from the first months of 2019 to release it when Kitaro finishes in 2020 and thus have 1 year of preproduction until its premiere.
it's crazy! Toei is not going to be preparing a series with so much previous time! Do not? Dragon Quest is going to have that time.

Maybe Toei has learned from mistakes and is producing Super and Dragon Quest with a lot of pre-production time to be able to develop the 2 series well.

Having so much time, they don't need so many supervisors and less urgent help from external animators. Moreover, with so much time, it is normal for the important animators to go to Stampide and then continue preparing Super. Takahashi when I just worked on One Piece published a message like "break" with a drawing of Dragon Ball.

I know that all this may seem crazy but if you think it makes sense. The pre-production of 1 year of Dragon Quest shows that Toei may be preparing a series with 1 year in advance of its premiere.

Moreover, it is possible that Ryo Horikawa met with Toei to start with the dubbing of the series and have already been producing all these previous months.

It is possible that Nakamura is directing the series, has been an assistant at Stampide and then has followed with Super. I repeat, with so much production time what I comment is possible.

I would like to know that you think and excuse the text so long but this is a theory that I have been thinking and makes a lot of sense.

[IntangibleFancy]

I just realized something. Ajay did say some staff members from both Japan and the Philippines showed him proof that they were working on Super. And I don't see any reason why VAs and that other company I can't remember were so sure DBS was going to return if they haven't even started it yet.

Does that mean things like character sheets and the like are just sitting there collecting dust on some desk or computer right now in Japan?

[Miracles]

I don't think anyone truly doubts that the TV series will return. Even the man himself, Toriyama stated that the show would not be running "for the time being."

That means the absence is only temporarily.

[IntangibleFancy]

I don't think anyone truly doubts that the TV series will return. Even the man himself, Toriyama stated that the show would not be running "for the time being."

That means the absence is only temporarily.

I feel like I'd feel better if I knew why.

[Mister_Popo]

I don't think anyone truly doubts that the TV series will return. Even the man himself, Toriyama stated that the show would not be running "for the time being."

That means the absence is only temporarily.

We cannot know for certain.
Yes, we might get another tv-series, but it could be as well over a decade away and something brand new that is not Super.

We don't really know if Super is ever going to return as tv-series.
They could have decided to go for movies only, or solely bring the show back as a last resort if the sales numbers really start to drop. They may just not explicity state that as such for marketing purposes.

[emperior]

I feel like Toriyama lost trust in Toei after the disaster Super was, and has thus decided that in the future they will have to go back to adapting the manga as they did back in the 80s.

Honestly this could be a good decision, especially for those of us who seek a more consistent product between both mediums. And if they finally decided to make a seasonal DB, it could have incredible quality.

Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia are two extremely popular seasonal animes, and they are proof that the format works very well.

[Mister_Popo]

I feel like Toriyama lost trust in Toei after the disaster Super was, and has thus decided that in the future they will have to go back to adapting the manga as they did back in the 80s.

Honestly this could be a good decision, especially for those of us who seek a more consistent product between both mediums. And if they finally decided to make a seasonal DB, it could have incredible quality.

Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia are two extremely popular seasonal animes, and they are proof that the format works very well.

TOEI never literally adapts the manga, and thereby denies itself the right to change things about the story itself. Moreover, they want to bring the scoop of 'how the arc ends according to Toriyama' themselves. With other manga / anime the traditional way of working still happens, but the DBS anime has clearly opted to deviate from this as 'world anime'. Just because TOEI first wants to bring the scoops itself.
To be honest, if we first get an anime movie set in the timeline after Moro, then the chance is rather small that they will adapt Moro later as the story is written in the manga. Simply because the scoop and the news value are gone for TOEI. No more hype can be made with the anime about "how the story would go on", because that is already known.

I still think that Toriyama alone no longer determines the progress of this franchise. He will still have his say, but I think the big decisions are made together. After a discussion at the table where all stakeholders (TOEI, Bandai, Toriyama, Shueisha ...) come to a compromise. Don't forget that Toriyama alone cannot stop more DB from being made. The other stakeholders can continue as usual, even after Toriyama dies. Toriyama can, if he so wishes, step out of the franchise and demand that his name no longer comes under products. I think that will not happen soon.

At first glance you might think: "Why don't they immediately invest back in the anime, because they still have to sell their merchandise?" Of course the franchise has every interest in that. But they also have every interest in stretching the revival effect for as long as possible without saturation. A round table discussion between stakeholders might have gone like this:

TOEI: "The franchise actually earns more than enough money at the moment with Dragon Ball, without us forcing ourselves. Should we really invest in a new anime? We would rather invest that money in anime that is important for our own Japanese market. Then our best animators have their hands free to make more One Piece and also the new anime Dragon Quest, which is still very hot here in Japan. We also want to prioritize a number of other projects.
By the way, if we bring a new anime now, we run the risk of a saturation effect occurring sooner. In other words, we produce more, but run the risk of losing the revival effect faster.
We propose to make a big film once every two years. And in the meantime, we continue to bring Heroes once a month to keep DB under the attention. "

Toriyama / Shuiesha: "I can agree with that. A film every two years enables me to prepare the end product well, together with TOEI. It gives me more control over the end product as an author, which I DBS had less. I also agree with the formula. I suggest that we just let the DBS manga go. That keeps the story alive in the fans' minds, while there is no anime. "

Bandai: "The most important thing for us is that sales continue to run. As long as Heroes, films and manga are enough to keep selling enough merchandise, then we are part of this story. Keep the door open for a new DBS anime anyway If the sales start to decline, we have one last stick behind the door. "

[Baggie_Saiyan]

I feel like Toriyama lost trust in Toei after the disaster Super was, and has thus decided that in the future they will have to go back to adapting the manga as they did back in the 80s.

Honestly this could be a good decision, especially for those of us who seek a more consistent product between both mediums. And if they finally decided to make a seasonal DB, it could have incredible quality.

Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia are two extremely popular seasonal animes, and they are proof that the format works very well.

DBS was not a disaster for goodness sake. One vague comment from Toriyama and you come up with this theory? You jump to conclusions way too much.

There is no rush for a new DB series I do not know why people have such a hard time grasping this. Jeez.

[Miracles]

I don't think anyone truly doubts that the TV series will return. Even the man himself, Toriyama stated that the show would not be running "for the time being."

That means the absence is only temporarily.

We cannot know for certain.
Yes, we might get another tv-series, but it could be as well over a decade away and something brand new that is not Super.

We don't really know if Super is ever going to return as tv-series.
They could have decided to go for movies only, or solely bring the show back as a last resort if the sales numbers really start to drop. They may just not explicity state that as such for marketing purposes.

I have no problem with a Super TV series not airing. There is a good reason. If they decided to go movies only route for now and let the manga continue the series in between those movies, cool. If it ever decides to come back they have a storyboard to follow based off the movies/manga.

In the meantime they can make quality movies if they feel like they can't do a TV series with consistent production for now.

[emperior]

I feel like Toriyama lost trust in Toei after the disaster Super was, and has thus decided that in the future they will have to go back to adapting the manga as they did back in the 80s.

Honestly this could be a good decision, especially for those of us who seek a more consistent product between both mediums. And if they finally decided to make a seasonal DB, it could have incredible quality.

Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia are two extremely popular seasonal animes, and they are proof that the format works very well.

DBS was not a disaster for goodness sake. One vague comment from Toriyama and you come up with this theory? You jump to conclusions way too much.

There is no rush for a new DB series I do not know why people have such a hard time grasping this. Jeez.

I should have specified how I meant a “quality disaster”. Which Super clearly was up until the Tournament of Power arc where things picked up a little.
Even Toriyama had complained about the quality of the show, and it’s possible that the drastic artstyle changes seen in Broly happened due to Toriyama demanding such changes.

Considering how much he has praised the manga, and how we basically only know for sure of it’s involvement with it (while Toei has generally been silent about Toriyama’s role with the anime) it’s possible that Toriyama likes Toyotaro so much that he would rather keep on helping only with the manga while Toei adapts it instead of having to supervise two products.