Excitement is sky-high right now for fans of Dragon Ball. The death of Akira Toriyama in 2024 left the future of his creation in an uncertain state, despite the release of Dragon Ball Daima that year. Now, we know that Dragon Ball Super is coming back, after an announcement during the Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri event this weekend.
The sequel franchise is returning in the fall of 2026 with a “remaster” of the first arcs of the anime, titled Dragon Ball Super: Beerus. It will be followed by the Golden Frieza arc, also enhanced with modern animation techniques. Then, in 2027, Dragon Ball Super will return with something new: The Galactic Patrol arc, an adaptation of the Moro arc from the manga, which has never been adapted into anime.
The Dragon Ball Super manga, however, was the big absentee from the event. The latest chapter was released in February 2025, and it was a one-shot special that arrived 11 months after the conclusion of the Super Hero arc, an adaptation of the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero that included original additions to the story. For almost two years now, it’s been unclear when (or if) the manga will come back. Fans were also surprised not to see Toyotaro, the manga’s artist, credited during Genkidamatsuri’s presentation of The Galactic Patrol anime, which he created almost alone for the manga, as confirmed in interviews.
The creative relationship between Toyotaro and Akira Toriyama, as well as the one between the Dragon Ball Super anime and the manga, is complex enough that they warrant an explanation. It’s necessary to understand the genesis of the sequel franchise in order to predict its future, in light of the latest announcements.
Dragon Ball Super began neither as an anime nor a manga, but as movies. The success of 2013’s Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods, Toriyama’s first major involvement in the franchise in decades, warranted a sequel, 2015’s Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’. Both movies were titled and marketed as part of the Z franchise, but they kickstarted a new phase of the story. The times were ripe for a full return of Dragon Ball. In July 2015, a new anime, Dragon Ball Super, began broadcasting, produced by Toei Animation. It started by adapting the content of the two movies, then moved into a wholly new story with the Universe 6 saga.
At this point, Toriyama’s involvement in the anime was marginal, especially compared to the two movies. Toriyama developed the concept of Battle of the Gods as an answer to the disastrous Dragon Ball Evolution movie, and then, for the first time in the franchise’s history, he wrote the screenplay for Resurrection ‘F’. But working on a weekly anime is a whole different beast.
According to a 2018 interview with Dragon Ball Super producer Satoru Takami and director Ryota Nakamura (translated here by Kanzenshuu), Toriyama provided rough drafts for the story and characters, which were later expanded by the anime staff. When the anime ended in 2018, he established a similar creative relationship with the manga’s artist, Toyotaro.
The Dragon Ball Super manga started in 2015 as a mostly faithful adaptation of the anime, reversing the usual relationship between the two media. It was only in 2018, after the anime ended, that the manga was allowed to spread its wings. It all started with the critically acclaimed Moro Arc, followed by the Granolah the Survivor arc. Both stories delivered in terms of action and character development. Just in the Granolah arc, fans got to see Goku and Vegeta get a new understanding of their Saiyan heritage through a new flashback starring Bardock, Goku’s father and a beloved character.
Then, the manga entered a lull due to having to adapt the contents of the Super Hero Movie, but the final chapter of that arc showed again how great the Dragon Ball Super manga can be, and that Toyotaro is the right person to carry the torch. As a devoted fan who got started by drawing Dragon Ball fanfiction, the artist has a real veneration for the franchise, its creator, and its legacy. He gets Dragon Ball, and has proved he can create exciting new stories, even if he was supervised by Toriyama.
If the manga doesn’t pick up again quickly, this anime revival will be short-lived. After the remaster airs in late 2026, the Galactic Patrol saga will air (possibly in two cours) in 2027. Following One Piece’s example, Dragon Ball Super has also transitioned into being a seasonal anime. This means that 2028, or even 2029, will be the year of the Granolah saga. But then what? That story ends with one of the biggest cliffhangers in the franchise’s history, and we still don’t know how it will continue. The answer should lie in the Dragon Ball Super manga, which is still suspiciously absent.
The announcement of the manga’s return could be coming in the near future, but I’m also worried about the behind-the-scenes struggles that have hindered the franchise in recent years. The rights to Dragon Ball are contested between Shueisha (the publisher of the original manga), Toei Animation, Bandai Namco (for the games), and Akio Iyoku, the president of Capsule Corporation Tokyo who was Toriyama’s right-hand man. Every new project has to come out through an agreement between these parties, and I’m afraid that the manga, as the least profitable property, will be left on the sidelines.
I hope that the people in charge will remember that, without an influx of creative energy and new content, any franchise is destined to wither. Perhaps the plan is to continue with an anime-first approach and let it develop new stories without going through the manga first, but Dragon Ball GT should be a stern reminder of the risks of that strategy. Finally, while the appeal of Toriyama’s name is understandable, Toyotaro should have been at least credited during the presentation of the Galactic Patrol anime. He’s proved his worth, and Toriyama trusted him, so we should too.
