Dragon Ball Super Announced
A new Dragon Ball anime series called Dragon Ball Super is coming to Japanese TV in July, 2015. The story and characters are developed by Akira Toriyama, and the veteran voice actors will return.
After 18 years of waiting, Shenron has granted our wish!
Name
The title of the show is Dragon Ball Super, pronounced in Japanese as Doragon Bōru Sūpā (ドラゴンボール超).
Production
http://youtu.be/Pm1Meu47DGY
Dragon Ball Super will be directed by Kimitoshi Chioka, a story-boarder on Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. The series will be produced by Osamu Nozaki at Fuji TV, who said in the official press release by Tōei:
“Having loved Dragon Ball since childhood, it is very exciting to be a part of this project. Mr. Toriyama has developed a plot that’s not only a dream come true for Dragon Ball‘s millions of fans, but one that will foster in a new generation of viewers.”
Story
The story of Dragon Ball Super is canonical and written by Akira Toriyama. It’s set during the 10 year time gap between Goku’s defeat of Majin Buu and the 28th Tenkaichi Budōkai at the end of the series. According to the press release:
“Dragon Ball Super will follow the aftermath of Goku’s fierce battle with Majin Buu, as he attempts to maintain earth’s fragile peace.”
But keep in mind that the latest theatrical films, Battle of Gods and Resurrection of ‘F,’ are also canonical and created by Akira Toriyama. So it’s unlikely that Toriyama would retell the story of his latest films in the weekly anime.
Instead, it’s likely that Dragon Ball Super will take place after the story of these 2 films concludes. This suggests that Super Saiyan God will play a role.
Since nothing else about the story has been announced, we don’t know if this will continue past the 28th Tenkaichi Budōkai and into the territory of Dragon Ball GT. It may negate GT, and then again, it may not.
We also don’t know how many episodes there will be. 24? 64? More?
Masako Nozawa, the voice of Goku, Gohan, and Goten said in the Dragon Ball Super press release:
“I hope that this series will last a long time and have the same impact around the world as its predecessor.”
We’ll have to wait and see.
Premiere
The show will premiere in July at 9am in Japan, on Fuji TV. It will take the time slot of Dragon Ball Kai.
A new Dragon Ball anime premieres in 3 months!
Never thought I’d say that.
And it’s a continuation of the series, in new territory, with new villains, and new battles.
What more could you ask for?
Experience
We are in the middle of a Dragon Ball renaissance. Or perhaps it’s just the beginning?
Tōei and Shūeisha know that Dragon Ball is their cash cow, and seeing the international fandom, they are banking on Dragon Ball to continue bringing in the bucks.
The most amazing thing is that we don’t know what’s going to happen.
This is an all new story, and we’ll get to experience it week to week, just like the Japanese did back in the 1980s and ‘90s.
When we first saw the show on TV, it was every weekday. Now we’ll have to wait an entire week to see each new episode. And we may end up watching it with millions of other people at the same time, depending on if they simulcast it.
This also means new Dragon Ball Z video games, new action figures, posters, calendars, T-Shirts, and everything else the merchandise machine can create.
And as someone who makes their living by writing about Dragon Ball… well, this is good news.
It’s an exciting time to be a Dragon Ball fan.
Are you ready to go Super?