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Dragon Ball Superfans have been waiting to hear any official announcement regarding the anime’s return with Season 2. However, it has been seven years since we’ve heard anything aboutDBS. Toei Animation went on to release movies likeSuper HeroandBrolyto keep the fandom entertained, but fans are now growing desperate for the series to make a full-fledged return with a continuation.
AfterDaima’ssuccessful run, the community has been hopeful that someday, they might hear something aboutDBSmaking a return. However, a recent social media post from Toei Animation has left fans worried about the anime series' future.
Toei Celebrates Seven-Year Anniversary OfDragon Ball SuperFinal Episode
The Celebratory Post Talks About The Series' “Last Episode”
Toei Animation released the final episode ofDragon Ball Superback on March 25th, 2018— it has been exactly seven years since the final aired on our screens. So, the animation studio went on to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the seven-year anniversary with fans. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the anniversary of an incredible final episode, but somehow,the X post from Toei has fans concerned, as they think that the anime series, specificallyDragon Ball Super, might never return with a new season.
Apparently, the X post from Toei reads,“On this day in 2018, we said farewell to Goku and his friends on the last episode of Dragon Ball Super! Like and repost to celebrate.“Everything was fine for the community until they readthe"last episode of Dragon Ball Super.“The post didn’t saythe"last episode of Dragon Ball Super Season 1;“instead, the text reads like they are talking about the entire series.Dragon Ballfans wonder if, by writing those words, Toei has bid farewell toDragon Ball Superfor good.
Of course, Toei Animation is motivated to keep theDragon Ballanimation alive with original projects (Daimais the latest example). On top of that, the studio might very well releasemore standalone movies featuring untold series likeBroly. However, it’shard to say when or if the studio will animate the further story arcs ofDragon Ball Super.
The Future Of Dragon Ball Super Anime Series Is Uncertain
Things Won’t Get Better Until The Disagreement Over The Franchise’s Rights Is Settled
It’s understandable that fans wish to seeDragon Ball Superback on their screens alongside all the original content likeDaima— they want to experience what’s canon to the manga series. That being said, there’s an ongoingdisagreement between Shueisha and Iyoku over the rights toDragon Ballmanga. And unfortunately, thefuture ofDragon Ball Superwill remain uncertain until the dispute between the two parties is settled.
For the unacquainted, Akio Iyoku, former editor-in-chief at Shueisha and friend of Toriyama, left Shueisha after some disagreement with the company in 2023. He started his own venture, Capsule Corporation Tokyo, and received Toriyama’s blessing to overseeDragon Ballprojects. As expected, this didn’t land well with Shueisha, as the company thinks they still hold the rights to theDragon BallIP. Unfortunately, things got even worse after Toriyama’s passing, and it’s still unclear who will get the rights to oversee upcomingDragon Ballprojects.
Toei holds the rights to theDragon Ballanimation projects, butthey can’t adapt the events fromSuperuntil Shueisha gives them a green light. Things can go two ways moving forward. Firstly, Toei gets the approval toonlywork on the originalDragon Ballseries afterDaimaunder Akio Iyoku, but in this case, these stories will not be canon toSuper. The second possibility is for Toei to get the authorization to work on theSupercontent, after all. However, that can only happen once the legal battle between Shueisha and Iyoku is settled.
