It’s Officially A New Era For Dragon Ball

The time has finally come for the greatest anime franchise of all time to be reborn like never before. Beginning next week, Dragon Ball is ushering in a new era that’s about to rival the heyday of Dragon Ball Z in terms of scope and popularity. The Dragon Ball series is about to receive two new anime (potentially within the span of one year), a canon video game set in the far future with a story and lore from Akira Toriyama, and an imminent announcement that the Dragon Ball Super manga is coming out of hiatus for the Black Frieza Saga.

For the first time since Dragon Ball DAIMA, Dragon Ball is about to become a weekly series with more content than ever. More importantly, the Dragon Ball franchise is heading in a new direction the series has never gone down before. Goku and Vegeta are being phased out, powerful new transformations are introduced with every arc, and each saga brings the story closer to the End of Z. By the end of 2027, Dragon Ball will be unrecognizable as a series.

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Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is the Series’ First Anime Since Toriyama Died

The fact that Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is the series’ first anime since Akira Toriyama passed away is significant, if only to show that the franchise is not stopping anytime soon. The marketing for Dragon Ball Super: Beerus has placed a heavy emphasis on the anime aiming to be as close to Toriyama’s original vision as possible, and just going off the animation in the trailers, Toei is not cutting any corners in doing Toriyama’s legacy justice.

Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is expected to run for 19 episodes, remaking everything between Battle of Gods and the Universe 6 Tournament. Following that, there’s no telling when the Goku Black arc and Tournament of Power will be remade. Based on leaks, however, the rest of the Dragon Ball Super remake will be out much sooner than most fans realize – as will the actual anime everyone is waiting for: Dragon Ball Super 2.

Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol is Coming Out Sooner Than Anybody Expects

If production leaks are to be believed, the reason Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is ending prematurely is so the staff of the remake can assist with the production of Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol. Dragon Ball Super 2 is obviously the much bigger and more important anime. The series is currently rumored to have a movie-quality animation, so it makes sense to draft other animations and artists working on the B-Tier Dragon Ball projects.

Assuming One Piece does not take its time slot back when Dragon Ball Super: Beerus ends in February 2027, we could potentially see new episodes of Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol by March. If One Piece does return, however, the anime will only run for a few months, allowing Dragon Ball Super 2 to easily begin before the year wraps up. With Toei no longer airing Dragon Ball and One Piece simultaneously, we may see the franchises trade time slots.

In this scenario, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus would be followed by a new season of One Piece, which would then transition into Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol. Once the Moro Saga ends, One Piece would get another season, followed by the rest of the Dragon Ball Super remake. After another season of One Piece, Fuji TV would finally air the Granolah the Survivor Saga. This is all hypothetical, but feels more than likely given Toei and Fuji TV’s current scheduling patterns. With this in mind, Dragon Ball Super 2 could very well start in 2027 and run well into the 2030s.

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Xenoverse 3 is Finally Canonizing Toriyama’s Age 1000 Timeline

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 is a much bigger deal than a lot fans realize. Before there was Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Z’s real sequel was Dragon Ball Online. Set in Age 1000, Dragon Ball Online focused on the Time Patrol (long before they were introduced in Dragon Ball Heroes and Xenoverse) going back in time to fix the timeline and save it from Towa (another Xenoverse and SDBH staple who originated here).

What makes Dragon Ball Online so interesting is that Akira Toriyama wrote the story himself, including a complete timeline that detailed everything that happened to the Z-Fighters following the end of Dragon Ball Z. Most notably, Goku and Vegeta fly off into outer space for one final battle where they kill one another in a blaze of Super Saiyan glory. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 is the first project in the series since DBO to be set in Age 1000 and the game seems to be inheriting a lot of details from Dragon Ball Online.

Considering that Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 takes place in the far future, features Piccolo as the only surviving Z-Fighter just like Dragon Ball Online, and contradicts nothing from the main canon (even including Gamma 1 as a way to bridge Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero to the game), all signs point to XV3 being canon – especially since Toriyama extensively worked on the game before passing away.

The Black Frieza Saga Is Going To Change Everything

Above all else, Dragon Ball is going to radically change once the Dragon Ball Super manga returns. Where the story left off, the heroes are training for the battle with Black Frieza, who is expected to be the series’ next villain. The Z-Fighters are stronger than ever, Gohan is currently the main character, and Broly’s been set up for a great arc. When Dragon Ball Super comes back, Toyotarou will be taking the manga in directions it’s never gone in before.

After the Black Frieza Saga, there will only be one place left to go: past the End of Z. Toyotarou has a chance to finally flesh out what happened to Goku and Uub for real after they flew off together. Goku also still has to have one last rematch with Beerus to settle the score and bring the series full circle. No matter how you cut it, Dragon Ball as we knew it is going away forever.