2025 Dragon Ball Predictions

[FinalForumPodcast]

I'm not even expecting Daima to get a physical media release. That doesn't happen with 2020s streaming shows...sadly.

That would mean we won't get English subs from Steve Simmons, and we'll end up being stuck with Toei's official English subs.

Crunchyroll since the 2022 merger with Funimation has already been treating home video as an afterthought to them.

That's the reality of 2020s media...physical media is reserved for cheap sloppy releases of BIG movies (ie: a bare bones release of Dune) and boutique, feature-laden releases of niche stuff (ie: a Ghoulies box set with 4 commentary tracks, including one from the guy who made the toilet, released by SyntaxVideo through direct-order-only).

There are exceptions, but a streaming-direct Dragon Ball show feels simultaneously too big and too small to get a physical release.

Flipside is that there's slim hope because the home video market is still pretty strong in Japan.

[AliTheZombie13]

• Daima wraps up on Episode 24.

That'll make DB Daima the shortest-lived Dragon Ball anime series after GT (which had 64 episodes).

So? Series length isn't exactly indicative of quality.
If Dragon Ball Z was edited to be paced better, it would give like 80 episodes at best.
Sometimes, short and sweet is better than long, overcomplicated and boring.

[SupremeKai25]

• Daima wraps up on Episode 24.

That'll make DB Daima the shortest-lived Dragon Ball anime series after GT (which had 64 episodes).

So? Series length isn't exactly indicative of quality.
If Dragon Ball Z was edited to be paced better, it would give like 80 episodes at best.
Sometimes, short and sweet is better than long, overcomplicated and boring.

I don't think anyone made that point.

My favourite Dragon Ball arc is the Future Trunks saga and it's "only" 21 episodes.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I'm not even expecting Daima to get a physical media release. That doesn't happen with 2020s streaming shows...sadly.

Not true, especially for major properties.

Disney has nearly released all their Star Wars streaming originals on 4K Ultra HD (exceptions so far are Book of Boba Fett and the Acolyte, but I'm sure the former will come and the latter's too recent). Plenty of popular Marvel shows like Hawkeye, Wandavision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Moon Knight and Loki have also had physical releases. Granted there's only been collectors editions so far and no standard variants for supermarkets and the like but they are out there for people that want them.

If any streaming-intended anime is likely to get a physical release it is Dragon Ball Daima, because TOEI and Crunchyroll know Dragon Ball fans love to own the show.

[PowerPhantom245]

Toyotaro will reach the End of Z only to reveal Super is a whole different timeline/continuity by including Beerus, Whis, Broly and every single other new character in the final tournament, and the original manga remains untouched. That, or everyone's memories are getting wiped out.

I REALLY doubt Toyotaro or anyone would do such a thing.
That's a LOT of contents to retcon.
Unlike GT which was only 1 year, we're talking about decade (if you count from BoG in 2013) worth of material.
You honestly think that's going to happen?
The audience who started the franchise with Super would be very disappointed, frustrated, and confused if that happen.
It would probably be the biggest retcon EVER for any franchise (...that I could think of).

[AliTheZombie13]

I REALLY doubt Toyotaro or anyone would do such a thing.
That's a LOT of contents to retcon.
Unlike GT which was only 1 year, we're talking about decade (if you count from BoG in 2013) worth of material.
You honestly think that's going to happen?
The audience who started the franchise with Super would be very disappointed, frustrated, and confused if that happen.
It would probably be the biggest retcon EVER for any franchise (...that I could think of).

You haven't seen many franchises, then. Different continuities aren't a new thing.
Yes, I honestly think that's what's going to happen.

[PowerPhantom245]

I REALLY doubt Toyotaro or anyone would do such a thing.
That's a LOT of contents to retcon.
Unlike GT which was only 1 year, we're talking about decade (if you count from BoG in 2013) worth of material.
You honestly think that's going to happen?
The audience who started the franchise with Super would be very disappointed, frustrated, and confused if that happen.
It would probably be the biggest retcon EVER for any franchise (...that I could think of).

You haven't seen many franchises, then. Different continuities aren't a new thing.
Yes, I honestly think that's what's going to happen.

I mean, closest thing I can think of from top of my head is Star Wars, where there's Canon (Skywalker Saga movies, Disney+ shows) and Legends (novels and comics that were published BEFORE Disney).
Not exactly the same, but somewhat similar I guess.

[Makaioshin]

Sparking Zero Season 2 announcement during the Battle Hour. It looks like the first season is actually wrapping up pretty quick and think Season 2 could start in the fall 2025 if not summer given that some characters were likely intended for the main game.

Final manga collection of Toriyama's uncollected works.

Long shot guess, another work of Toriyama will get the Sand Land push -- I would say Kajika or pre-Z Neko Majin.

DBSTCG Masters end of service. Having two card games doesn't really seem feasible.

[AliTheZombie13]

I mean, closest thing I can think of from top of my head is Star Wars, where there's Canon (Skywalker Saga movies, Disney+ shows) and Legends (novels and comics that were published BEFORE Disney).
Not exactly the same, but somewhat similar I guess.

Off the top of my head, I can think of Resident Evil and Star Fox, both of which had "main" continuities that included videogames, comics and mangas as canon all at the same time, both of which fell into disarray after new games/remakes/reboots were announced. With Resident Evil, it was especially egregious, because the producers originally intended for both the Remakes and the Originals to be canon at the same time, but eventually retconned so much, the Remakes are now set in an alternate continuity. On the other hand, Star Fox now has 3 different continuities, each borrowing elements from the other, but all of them being somewhat "canon." And the least said about how Western Comics handle things the better.

Now, back to Super: When you have things that blatantly contradict the information and events of a previous installment, it's generally agreed it's set in a different continuity. Otherwise, Super would have to do a very hard job trying to explain how did Goku meet all of these new amazing friends, met with characters and gods who were more powerful than Majin Boo, and yet has never mentioned them, is still interested in Oob, and somehow we still have to buy the claim that Earth had been perfectly safe, peaceful and conflictless for 5 years while Super was happening, and Bulma was wishing to make herself younger while she looks old complaining that Saiyans don't age at the end of the original manga. That makes me assume that, either Beerus, Whis, Broly and everyone else are going to leave forever for good and wipe out everybody's memories and revert every single thing that happened in Super, or Super will rewrite the entirety of Z's ending.

[FinalForumPodcast]

I'm not even expecting Daima to get a physical media release. That doesn't happen with 2020s streaming shows...sadly.

Not true, especially for major properties.

Disney has nearly released all their Star Wars streaming originals on 4K Ultra HD (exceptions so far are Book of Boba Fett and the Acolyte, but I'm sure the former will come and the latter's too recent). Plenty of popular Marvel shows like Hawkeye, Wandavision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Moon Knight and Loki have also had physical releases. Granted there's only been collectors editions so far and no standard variants for supermarkets and the like but they are out there for people that want them.

If any streaming-intended anime is likely to get a physical release it is Dragon Ball Daima, because TOEI and Crunchyroll know Dragon Ball fans love to own the show.

The (sadly) more likely scenario is holding off on a physical release in the hopes of gaining more subscribers for their streaming platform.

We all love Dragon Ball here, but let's not pretend it's on the level of Star Wars or the MCU when it comes to these kinds of strategies. Disney can plop out a limited collector's edition of a show because they're confident the net they cast for the streaming platform gets pretty much everyone EXCEPT for the people who are STAUNCHLY "physical release ONLY" people. Crunchyroll isn't that big...in fact, Disney+ has more than ten times the subscribers.

Is it POSSIBLE? Yeah. I mentioned as much in my original comment. The home video market is more alive in Japan than many other countries, so it could be pretty easy to go from a physical release in Japan to one internationally, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[MasenkoHA]

I'm not even expecting Daima to get a physical media release. That doesn't happen with 2020s streaming shows...sadly.

Not true, especially for major properties.

Disney has nearly released all their Star Wars streaming originals on 4K Ultra HD (exceptions so far are Book of Boba Fett and the Acolyte, but I'm sure the former will come and the latter's too recent). Plenty of popular Marvel shows like Hawkeye, Wandavision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Moon Knight and Loki have also had physical releases. Granted there's only been collectors editions so far and no standard variants for supermarkets and the like but they are out there for people that want them.

If any streaming-intended anime is likely to get a physical release it is Dragon Ball Daima, because TOEI and Crunchyroll know Dragon Ball fans love to own the show.

The (sadly) more likely scenario is holding off on a physical release in the hopes of gaining more subscribers for their streaming platform.

We all love Dragon Ball here, but let's not pretend it's on the level of Star Wars or the MCU when it comes to these kinds of strategies. Disney can plop out a limited collector's edition of a show because they're confident the net they cast for the streaming platform gets pretty much everyone EXCEPT for the people who are STAUNCHLY "physical release ONLY" people. Crunchyroll isn't that big...in fact, Disney+ has more than ten times the subscribers.

Is it POSSIBLE? Yeah. I mentioned as much in my original comment. The home video market is more alive in Japan than many other countries, so it could be pretty easy to go from a physical release in Japan to one internationally, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Completely disregarding Disney, most movies are still getting a bluray release and Crunchyroll did release Super Super Hero on physical format.

[nineko]

Final showdown between our favourite Saiyan duo and Beerus. First, UI Goku and UE Vegeta fuse with the potara to overcome the incompatible differences of their respective forms, but sadly their time runs out in 5 minutes, Beerus still stands while Vegeth defuses. Goku pulls a Taiyou Ken, this gives them time to fuse again, this time by doing the fusion dance in SSB. Gogeta, after eating a senzu for good measure, adds the Kaioh Ken on top of Blue, and after 5 more minutes of fighting, Beerus is defeated.

[FinalForumPodcast]

Not true, especially for major properties.

Disney has nearly released all their Star Wars streaming originals on 4K Ultra HD (exceptions so far are Book of Boba Fett and the Acolyte, but I'm sure the former will come and the latter's too recent). Plenty of popular Marvel shows like Hawkeye, Wandavision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Moon Knight and Loki have also had physical releases. Granted there's only been collectors editions so far and no standard variants for supermarkets and the like but they are out there for people that want them.

If any streaming-intended anime is likely to get a physical release it is Dragon Ball Daima, because TOEI and Crunchyroll know Dragon Ball fans love to own the show.

The (sadly) more likely scenario is holding off on a physical release in the hopes of gaining more subscribers for their streaming platform.

We all love Dragon Ball here, but let's not pretend it's on the level of Star Wars or the MCU when it comes to these kinds of strategies. Disney can plop out a limited collector's edition of a show because they're confident the net they cast for the streaming platform gets pretty much everyone EXCEPT for the people who are STAUNCHLY "physical release ONLY" people. Crunchyroll isn't that big...in fact, Disney+ has more than ten times the subscribers.

Is it POSSIBLE? Yeah. I mentioned as much in my original comment. The home video market is more alive in Japan than many other countries, so it could be pretty easy to go from a physical release in Japan to one internationally, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Completely disregarding Disney, most movies are still getting a bluray release and Crunchyroll did release Super Super Hero on physical format.

Movies =/= shows.

Tons of shows go without physical releases.

I won't be surprised if it happens. I also won't be surprised if it doesn't. I'm not ANTICIPATING it, is all I was initially saying.

[PowerPhantom245]

A very wishful thinking: Blu-ray release for classic series (original, Z, and GT) PROPERLY remastered from 16 mm (and 35 mm for some episodes) films.

It would be a perfect opportunity to celebrate 40th anniversary of anime in 2026, by announcing it in Spring ~ Summer 2025.
It's long overdue for higher quality release of one of the most important and influential anime ever exists.


...please Toei.

[sangofe]

A very wishful thinking: Blu-ray release for classic series (original, Z, and GT) PROPERLY remastered from 16 mm (and 35 mm for some episodes) films.

It would be a perfect opportunity to celebrate 40th anniversary of anime in 2026, by announcing it in Spring ~ Summer 2025.
It's long overdue for higher quality release of one of the most important and influential anime ever exists.


...please Toei.

I agree about the wishful thinking. But don't see likely in 2025 that other things than a movie gets annonced, Naho Ooishi doing Dragon Ball Daima, DBZ Kakarot gets more updates along with Xenoverse 2, and of course Dragon Ball Sparking Zero. Anything else than this is very unlikely. Especially that a new TV series gets annonced or this blu-ray set I want so much.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Yeah Dragon Ball Daima will definitely get priority over the classic series on Blu-Ray. I don't see why it wouldn't be released though, Crunchyroll, despite being a streaming juggernaut knows Dragon Ball fans love physical media.

Hell, as of this month in the US and next month in the UK there's new Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball Z boxsets. The Super boxset is also coming to Australia next month and Z will follow in the new year. Japan has a massive collectors market, so I'm confident Daima will be put out and follow in other territories, most certainly the English-speaking countries.

[Vhanos]

Would it be much of a prediction to say that they will have a new ending song after 12 or 13 episodes? With the unknown of how long Daima will be.

[The Iron Fjord]

I don't think any of my 2024 predictions came true, but here we go:

- Daima will continue until either the Spring or Summer, being about 25-35 episodes. It will stick the landing and be lauded as a beautiful send-off to Dragon Ball, and Akira Toriyama.
- The Daima Train won't stop, with multiple DLC packs for XV2, Kakarot, and Sparking Zero will be released (RIP FighterZ)
- A Souls-like Daima game will be announced and Summer Games Fest, slated for release in 2026.
- Toonami will get Dragon Ball Daima first released, either in January or before winter is finished, then the dub episode will release next day on Crunchyroll, and a week later on other streaming platforms.
- The Dragon Ball Super Manga will be officially cancelled after its announcement at Jump Festa 2024, Toyotaro will work on that Divers thing.

[HarveyPlissken]

As awesome as it would have been to see the original Dragon Ball & GT on Blu-Ray, I don't see that happening in either 2025 or 2026. The reason I'm saying that is because of all the decades worth of poor home releases the franchise has received. Even if those two do end up getting Blu-Ray releases, Crunchyroll would find a way to fuck it up (heavy DNR, cropping the aspect ratio, green/red tint, etc.). It'd be a monkey's paw situation if that were to happen.

At this point, we'd be better off just making our own Blu-Ray copies to fill that void. I sincerely hope and pray that I'm wrong about this prediction. But, we'll see.

[Basaku]

I predict manga to resume at the end of the year (Fall/Winter) for its final arc, probs Black Freeza. When that finishes within a few years I expect all parties involved - Toei, Shueisha, Toriyama estate and Capsule Corp to finally settle things between each other and adapt the 2nd half of Super manga into an anime

Maybe another movie announcement though that would just mean more mess and awkward padding to deal within the current story setup. But if the rights issues ain't resolved then I guess Capsule&Toei will want animation profits and may do another original movie to bypass Shueisha again