"Dragon Ball Super" Series Official Announcement & Discussion Thread

[Vegard Aune]

The manga has never stopped,

Yes, it did. For three months. And the first thing it did when it came back was retell a new movie we recently saw last year...

Taking a pre-planned break for two issues of a monthly magazine is hardly what I meant. That was always a "We'll be back soon!" kinda thing. afaik they never even implied that Super was ending there. Which... I think they did for the anime when the Tournament of Power was wrapping up, actually. Though even then, the movies haven't really been treated as a "Dragon Ball Super is BACK!!!" kinda thing despite the several year gap. And, uh, wasn't the first thing it did to make a manga-exclusive prologue arc? Not that it covering the movie is in any way relevant to my saying that the manga is still ongoing though.

Everything past that... You know what? I should not have said anything. I should not be commenting on DBSSH's merits or lack thereof being that I have not seen it and have no interest in seeing it and so anything I can say about it is entirely judging by just what I hear from other people. Which, what I do hear from other people quite firmly indicates that the show is literally nothing but empty spectacle that barely even tries to justify its own existence, but then what do I know.

[Super Saiyan Swagger]

But it has a "plot", right? Where's that in Dragon Ball Super, aside from just one saga?

…You can’t be serious.

I literally could not continue watching the Heroes web anime beyond that fight with Hearts because there was no story. The whole thing felt like a slideshow of all of Dragon Ball’s worst qualities. Heroes does not feel like Dragon Ball at all.

To say that Heroes has more of a plot than Super might be the funniest thing I’ve read around here in a while.

[sangofe]

The manga has never stopped,

Yes, it did. For three months. And the first thing it did when it came back was retell a new movie we recently saw last year...

Taking a pre-planned break for two issues of a monthly magazine is hardly what I meant. That was always a "We'll be back soon!" kinda thing. afaik they never even implied that Super was ending there. Which... I think they did for the anime when the Tournament of Power was wrapping up, actually. Though even then, the movies haven't really been treated as a "Dragon Ball Super is BACK!!!" kinda thing despite the several year gap. And, uh, wasn't the first thing it did to make a manga-exclusive prologue arc? Not that it covering the movie is in any way relevant to my saying that the manga is still ongoing though.

Everything past that... You know what? I should not have said anything. I should not be commenting on merits or lack thereof being that I have not seen it and have no interest in seeing it and so anything I can say about it is entirely judging by just what I hear from other people. Which, what I do hear from other people quite firmly indicates that the show is literally nothing but empty spectacle that barely even tries to justify its own existence, but then what do I know.

DBSSH has much less of a story than Dragon Ball Super. It's every confusing and got lots of characters crammed in together. It's obvious that it's only made to showcase characters and sell.

[Grimlock]

Everything past that... You know what? I should not have said anything. I should not be commenting on DBSSH's merits or lack thereof being that I have not seen it and have no interest in seeing it and so anything I can say about it is entirely judging by just what I hear from other people. Which, what I do hear from other people quite firmly indicates that the show is literally nothing but empty spectacle that barely even tries to justify its own existence, but then what do I know.

You never watched it, have no interest in it and you base your arguments on other people's opinions? ... Alright. Let's pretend you didn't say anything, and that I didn't read anything.

Although, I thought you were talking about Dragon Ball Heroes in general, not specifically the anime. And to that, you should know that Dragon Ball Heroes is a game, as such, (not only you should have your own opinion) you should base your opinion on it instead. Not on a promotional, eight-minute anime that leaves a lot of stuff out. An anime that isn't even intended for people in the West to watch in the first place. They're region-locked for a reason.

I literally could not continue watching the Heroes web anime beyond that fight with Hearts because there was no story. The whole thing felt like a slideshow of all of Dragon Ball’s worst qualities. Heroes does not feel like Dragon Ball at all.

Read paragraph above.

To say that Heroes has more of a plot than Super might be the funniest thing I’ve read around here in a while.

You said "you couldn't continue watching the Heroes web anime beyond that fight with Hearts because there was no story", right? Well, I think I need only one hand to count all the episodes I watched from Universe 6 and Universe Survival sagas combined. I guess you watched more Heroes than I watched the tournaments...

But let me put it this way: I won't give credits to Dragon Ball Super for Beerus and Golden Freeza. Those ones didn't originate from said anime. There's no plot in the tournaments. So that leaves only Future Trunks saga. So far, Heroes hasn't retold anything, and hasn't had tournaments (well, it had one, but the way it played out didn't really feel like a traditional tournament, also, it was quickly left aside to focus on the main villains. If you want to count that, it's okay). Is there really a contest here? You're gonna need the other movies and the manga sagas to turn the tables. Though we shouldn't be looking at this from a "contest" perspective. In the grand scheme of things, they are all paper-thin plots. All birds of a feather.

[Vegard Aune]

Although, I thought you were talking about Dragon Ball Heroes in general, not specifically the anime. And to that, you should know that Dragon Ball Heroes is a game, as such, (not only you should have your own opinion) you should base your opinion on it instead. Not on a promotional, eight-minute anime that leaves a lot of stuff out. An anime that isn't even intended for people in the West to watch in the first place. They're region-locked for a reason.

...So it's definitely not a successor to Dragon Ball Super the sequel anime written with input by the original creator and should not be a factor at all in anyone asking for Super to continue.

[MCDaveG]

SDBH IS a promotional anime and commercial in the first place and not a proper sequel, that's a fact. But it might be considered a successor in a way from production standpoint. In the same way, I wouldn't call the main TV series a lengthy commercial just because the bussines model in Japan is different from the west in a way, that TV stations do not directly order and pay for shows and there is the need to make money from all the merch with multimedia and sponsors. And it kinda caught up in Europe as well, with companies sponsoring shows by having their short ads aired before those shows as the TV industry changed a lot from the 90s.

From this standpoint, it's mixing apples and oranges and filling up the current TV show void with twisting the narratives around some of the products.

[Grimlock]

...So it's definitely not a successor to Dragon Ball Super the sequel anime written with input by the original creator and should not be a factor at all in anyone asking for Super to continue.

In a way, it is. One of the Gokus transforms into Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan and Ultra Instinct, so that means the events in Heroes take place after Dragon Ball Super. Also, this Goku fuses with Vegeta at some point, which then specifically places Heroes after Dragon Ball Super Broly (in that same way, it is also a sequel to Dragon Ball GT, as the other Goku transforms into Super Saiyan 4 and the Time Patrollers make references to its events).

In another way, it's a moot point. If "written with input by the original creator" was really a deciding factor, we wouldn't have people ignoring the movies in favor of the retellings. Neko Majin and Dragon Ball Online would appear in discussions more often. And then there's the time where Toriyama retires or passes away, will whatever comes out at that point be rendered "not a sequel" by default? Or will people, by that point, finally realize how utterly moronic this all is?

But yes, Dragon Ball Heroes has no bearing in Dragon Ball Super coming back. If they wanted, they would have brought it back already, with or without the Dragon Ball Heroes anime.

[IntangibleFancy]

I recently picked up One Piece, went straight to a few of the newer episodes. I actually liked it, but I spent the entire time wishing they put this level of quality into DB Super. And it got me thinking about the lack of anime, where are we with that? Is it just not financially viable? Are they putting it on the backburner for One Piece and their other projects? It's been gone for 6 years now

[Scsigs]

I recently picked up One Piece, went straight to a few of the newer episodes. I actually liked it, but I spent the entire time wishing they put this level of quality into DB Super. And it got me thinking about the lack of anime, where are we with that? Is it just not financially viable? Are they putting it on the backburner for One Piece and their other projects? It's been gone for 6 years now

They're more focusing on movies nowadays, though I'd love if they could do adaptations of the arcs that have only been in the manga. If they made it a seasonal anime, I think that'd be good for it, honestly.

[TobyS]

...So it's definitely not a successor to Dragon Ball Super the sequel anime written with input by the original creator and should not be a factor at all in anyone asking for Super to continue.

In a way, it is. One of the Gokus transforms into Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan and Ultra Instinct, so that means the events in Heroes take place after Dragon Ball Super. Also, this Goku fuses with Vegeta at some point, which then specifically places Heroes after Dragon Ball Super Broly (in that same way, it is also a sequel to Dragon Ball GT, as the other Goku transforms into Super Saiyan 4 and the Time Patrollers make references to its events).

In another way, it's a moot point. If "written with input by the original creator" was really a deciding factor, we wouldn't have people ignoring the movies in favor of the retellings. Neko Majin and Dragon Ball Online would appear in discussions more often. And then there's the time where Toriyama retires or passes away, will whatever comes out at that point be rendered "not a sequel" by default? Or will people, by that point, finally realize how utterly moronic this all is?

But yes, Dragon Ball Heroes has no bearing in Dragon Ball Super coming back. If they wanted, they would have brought it back already, with or without the Dragon Ball Heroes anime.

It's between Broly and Granolah. As Goku hasn't mastered UI in the prison planet arc but they have met Jiren and co.

I'm not sure if they directly mention being gogeta before or if the super cast identify z broly but if so that'd confirm their Broly version happened.

I'm curious if we can wedge moro in between the final two arcs or not. Granolah we can't because Goku doesnt recognise Bardock. How back to back was moro and granolah?

I guess Vegeta not using evil ki in granolah or moro arc or spirit fission in heroes shows they cant be the same timeline

[Noah]

It is Sand Land that popular to have staff dedicated to produce a movie about it? Also is that just an one-shot by Toriyama, right?

...Of course Heroes will run longer than Super when new episodes come out once every month (and several times it takes more than one month, for instance between ep. 42 and 43 there was a distance of 3 months).

If the Super anime was monthly like Heroes (and didn't take occasional 3 months breaks like Heroes), it would literally be running for 10 years.

I know this doesn't have much to do with the topic you were discussing, but man, imagine how amazing would be to have a real Dragon Ball anime with monthly episodes like that. Imagine the incredible quality we would have in each episode (if Toei Animation committed to assembling a good animation team), probably something on par with the BR or DBSSH Intro.

[Super Saiyan Swagger]

I knew that there was some shit stirring behind the scenes. Turns out Akio Iyoku has left Shueisha and has started his own business called, I shit you not, "Capsule Corporation Tokyo" and wants the rights for the Dragon Ball anime, merchandise and games from Shueisha. I was sipping my tea like Gowasu while reading Herms' translations.

[JulieYBM]

I knew that there was some shit stirring behind the scenes. Turns out Akio Iyoku has left Shueisha and has started his own business called, I shit you not, "Capsule Corporation Tokyo" and wants the rights for the Dragon Ball anime, merchandise and games from Shueisha. I was sipping my tea like Gowasu while reading Herms' translations.

Oh my lord, I am laughing so hard at this.

Mr. Ambition and a bunch of old men who don't want to rock the boat.

hilarious

[PerhapsTheOtherOne]

Now see, this suddenly explains A LOT.

If the rumours and BTS insider info about a slated anime return were indeed accurate at the time, this could be one of the reasons why they didn't pan out.

An internal power struggle for control over the distribution and production of the anime side of things with one of the heads of the Dragon Room would certainly make for a very difficult pre-production planning phase.

Regardless of if it's an explanation or not, this is probably the spiciest news to come from the Dragon Ball IP in a while, now.

[Mr Baggins]

To see the state of this franchise reduced to corporate infighting over rights and control and money and yada yada just further lowers my respect for anyone not named Toriyama. My eyes couldn't roll any farther into the back of my skull if they tried.

What a complete shitshow.

[Kazuya Mishima]

To say this site is supposed to be a Dragon Ball News site it's pretty useless at it isn't it?

[FortuneSSJ]

I knew it! I knew something was happening behind the scenes. Otherwise we wouldn't waste an entire year with a retelling that is obviously just buying time until they have the next arc decided.

They don't agree which direction the series should go. Shueisha wants one thing and Iyoku wants another.

[Noah]

I read this on a brazilian DB site, can anyone tell me if it's true?


"BOMBSHELL!! The Betrayal of Akira Toriyama's Right Hand! Full transcription of the Shūkan Bunshun magazine article, which reveals Akio Iyoku's departure from Shueisha and the founding of a new company that threatens the control of the franchise as we know it!

In summary: Akio is obsessed with the past, things like Broly, Future Trunks, and forms like Gohan Beast and even Cell, are materials that originated from Akio, which is why we've had a long history of reusing things from the past in DBS. But with Akio's departure, things may change...! Unfortunately, he is founding the "Capsule Corporation Tokyo" to take control of the anime, games, and other aspects of the IP, while Shueisha will remain in charge of the manga...! This is a real struggle that could result in poor management of the work, and at this rate, reusing many things already seen in Z! The obsession of one man who couldn't let go of the past. We're lucky that Toriyama made everything at least minimally interesting."


Well, I believe it's false, but if it's true... it might even absolve Toriyama of blame for the constant recycling of ideas that the franchise has gone through, but I'll wait for better information.

[IntangibleFancy]

I read this on a brazilian DB site, can anyone tell me if it's true?


"BOMBSHELL!! The Betrayal of Akira Toriyama's Right Hand! Full transcription of the Shūkan Bunshun magazine article, which reveals Akio Iyoku's departure from Shueisha and the founding of a new company that threatens the control of the franchise as we know it!

In summary: Akio is obsessed with the past, things like Broly, Future Trunks, and forms like Gohan Beast and even Cell, are materials that originated from Akio, which is why we've had a long history of reusing things from the past in DBS. But with Akio's departure, things may change...! Unfortunately, he is founding the "Capsule Corporation Tokyo" to take control of the anime, games, and other aspects of the IP, while Shueisha will remain in charge of the manga...! This is a real struggle that could result in poor management of the work, and at this rate, reusing many things already seen in Z! The obsession of one man who couldn't let go of the past. We're lucky that Toriyama made everything at least minimally interesting."


Well, I believe it's false, but if it's true... it might even absolve Toriyama of blame for the constant recycling of ideas that the franchise has gone through, but I'll wait for better information.

I did not like Superhero one bit, but I thought Future Trunks and Broly were a pleasant surprise, even if I think Future Trunks' arc could have been done better. and I personally want to see Cooler and Janemba come back, as well as a canonized Dragon Fist.

As long as they continue to add in original arcs in-between the reusing - like U6 and the ToP, I'd be alright with it. I just want the anime to come back. Besides Tenkaichi 4, which we probably won't see again until Jump Festa or 2024, this has been a bit of a dull year for the franchise. Especially compared to what's been happening to Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and AoT.

[Grimlock]

I find extremely "weird" that just after that article goes up, a bunch of people randomly show up from all places telling everything going on behind the scenes. Now we reached a point where we are able to point fingers to a single person in specific? Why didn't any of this come up before the article was posted if some people in the "fandom" knew about it?

Anyway, to comment on the article itself, I'd be a bit possessive if I had a valuable gem in my hands too. I don't know at what point it became a "problem" in Akio Iyoku's case, but that's only because I'd care a lot about it. I'd treat it a lot better than the current situation, though. Sporadic movies, a monthly manga, an anime with little to no pre-production and no sign of it coming back after a five-year "hiatus" is definitely not how you should treat your valuable gem.

Creatively speaking, if Akio Iyoku was one of the very few that tried to innovate Dragon Ball, then it's very unfortunate this whole thing. However, if it's true that he's one of the responsible ones for holding Dragon Ball back by recycling ideas, tournaments and other things from the past that should stay in the past, then good riddance.