Dragon Ball celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Akira Toriyama’s iconic manga and anime have changed the course of both their respective industries. The franchise is arguably the most iconic and influential manga and anime of all time, bridging the gap between Eastern and Western cultures across decades of work.
The franchise has inspired not just manga and anime, but also video games, music, fashion, and much more across the world and many cultures. The announcement of the return of the anime and other projects across media at this worldwide event, titled Genkidamatsuri, has set the internet ablaze.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the event was held at Makuhari Messe, with several major announcements across anime, video games, and merchandise. This monumental event captures everything that makes the franchise special. Genkidamatsuri was a free, ticketed event for fans, also live-streamed worldwide for everyone to enjoy.
To highlight this special occasion, Toriyama’s original manga artwork was brought to life with an animated recap of Dragon Ball, building up to the latest announcement of the return of Dragon Ball Super.
Dragon Ball Super Returns With The Galactic Patrol
Announced to be in production, the Dragon Ball Super anime is continuing from where it left off in 2018 with “The Galactic Patrol Arc.” Fans of the manga are familiar with this arc, which will introduce the new villain Moro to the anime, along with other new characters and some phenomenal moments. Known as both “Planet Eater” and “Consumer of Worlds,” Moro brings an entirely different scale to the franchise.
Fans can expect to see some of the franchise’s biggest action brought to life through animation, along with amazing voice acting from the sub and dub teams. Masako Nozawa, who voices Goku in the Japanese sub, was present at the announcement and expressed her excitement, while Sean Schemmel, Goku’s English dub voice actor, held a live stream for the announcement. While the series is still in early production and has no release date yet, fans are excited about the anime’s return after an eight-year hiatus.
Beerus’ Story Gets a Brand-New Twist
To everyone’s surprise, not only is the Dragon Ball Super anime continuing with newer arcs, but in the fall of this year, the anime will return with a remaster of the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods movie titled Dragon Ball Super: Beerus. Although this was originally portrayed in the Dragon Ball Super anime, the production and development team have stated that the quality was lacking, and this remaster will remain faithful to what Akira Toriyama originally had envisioned.
The project is reported to be six episodes long, adding to the original movie while also removing unnecessary moments. This is similar to Dragon Ball Z Kai, a shortened, filler-free remaster of Dragon Ball Z that adapts more closely to Toriyama’s manga. With a trailer already out for the Beerus remaster, fans can only anticipate the changes that will be made while also staying true. Dragon Ball Super: Beerus will be streaming later this year on Crunchyroll.
New Dragon Ball Games and DLC’s are Coming Soon
Expanding across media, a new Dragon Ball video game was announced for a 2027 release with a working title Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000. Reportedly set 200+ years after the end of Dragon Ball Z, taking place in the future era of the franchise. The game is set to feature a new, original, and massive story from Bandai Namco with some of Toriyama’s input before his untimely passing.
Another highlight from Genkidamatsuri was the announcement of more content for the video game Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero. After its October 2024 release, fans have given the video game a mixed reception, citing its lack of content and support compared to previous games in the franchise. Things like missing characters, stages, and more have left fans feeling unsettled.
Thankfully, Bandai Namco announced a roadmap for major DLC for the video game, including new characters, stages, costumes, battle customization, new game modes, and more. This gives fans the perfect opportunity to dive right back into the video game and experience more from the franchise while waiting for the anime’s return.
Rise Shenron, It’s a Great Time to be a Dragon Ball Fan
The massive Genkidamatsuri event gave fans all something to appreciate. Whether a fan of the manga, anime, video games, and more, there was something for everyone. Merchandise was on sale, including some manga box sets, apparel, toys and figures. The official Dragon Ball website has been redesigned to celebrate the 40th anniversary, the overall event, and related announcements.
As more information comes out, the hype for Dragon Ball is at an all-time high. 40 years later, and Dragon Ball still sets the standard for manga and anime fans, while continuing to push the needle forward for what it means for the overall medium.
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