Dragon Ball Franchise still remains one of the most popular franchise to date with tons of merchandising, pop culture references, and huge fan base. It is impossible that you visit a comic con or any pop culture event and not see a bunch of cosplayers dressed as DB characters. So, yeah even though it had been 5 years since we last saw it on screen, its pop culture presence was still overwhelming. But that was till last year aka 2022 when there was some hype around Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero as well as the end of Granolah arc. Since, the fall of 2022, however, the hype around Dragon Ball has quickly died down and Toei really needs to up its game!
Why Is There A Decline in Dragon Ball Super’s Popularity?
Dragon Ball has been here since the inception of anime culture in the first place. First we saw, Dragon Ball and then we saw the arrival of most classic and popular anime of all time in 1989 – Dragon Ball Z. After DBZ, DBGT, and its numerous spin-off films ended the franchise continued to gain more followers and fans owing to international anime releases and Dragon Ball Z Kai. Due to all this the demand for more Dragon Ball content in 21st century increased so much that Toei came up with two films – Battle of Gods and Resurrection F which were received pretty well and paved the way for the franchises’ future. Then in 2015, came Dragon Ball Super which united DB fans all across the globe who broke the internet every week its new episode aired!
Then after the anime’s end came Dragon Ball Super: Broly which went on to become the highest grossing film in the franchise. Due to this Dragon Ball, succeeded in creating a new generation of fans but the end of 2022 and entire 2023 hasn’t been so great for the franchise. After the release of DBS: Super Hero and the end of Granolah/Gas arc, the manga as well as the popularity of the franchise has been dented badly. The reasons behind this are as follows.
First of all, fans weren’t quite impressed with the Granolah Arc itself as it was overly long and the concept of True Ultra Instinct was just too messy. Secondly, fans also were split about Gohan and Piccolo’s unexplained transformations in DBS: Super Hero. Moving on, since the end of Granolah arc, they have come up with a filler Trunks-Goten Super Hero prequel arc and a re-adaptation of Super Hero movie which began last month and will probably continue till September 2023. Also, the last chapter saw the manga debut of Broly and again, fans were really disappointed with his design and lack of his iconic scar. So, with no movie coming up and uninteresting and faulty ongoing manga arc, the popularity of the franchise is dying and there is only one thing that could save it – Dragon Ball Super anime return!
DBS Season 2 – When Will the Anime Return?
As confirmed by reliable Dragon Ball leakers, @DBSChronicles, @DBSHype, and @SLOplays, Dragon Ball Super is all set to return and continue Z fighters’ journey post Universe Survival Saga. In fact, leakers went as far as to say that the anime is already in production and will star airing in 2023, but that most likely won’t happen. We still have to hear the official announcement and title for the anime and till then let’s call it Dragon Ball Super Season 2. A few months ago, we heard from multiple sources, that Akira Toriyama, aka the creator of the Dragon Ball series, is involved in the production of the anime.
One thing is clear from all this information though, which is that the anime is definitely happening but not in 2023. Why? Because Toei is currently busy with One Punch Man season 3 which is all set to release by the end of 2023. Again, no one knows when but it has at least been officially confirmed for 2023. So, Toei is definitely not going to release two of its biggest productions near each other. Therefore, there is absolutely no chance that Dragon Ball Super Season 2 will release in 2023. But all fans want right now is an official announcement that the anime will return and that would be enough to bring the lost Dragon Ball hype back on track! They have a lot of content already which could easily last a 100 or so episodes and if you include the Super Hero arc, we can get even more.
Dragon Ball Super Season 2 will most probably begin with a story retelling of Dragon Ball Super: Broly. It would then follow the manga and we’ll see the Galactic Patrol Prisoner saga and The Moro Arc. But we have often seen anime diverting from manga and Dragon Ball series tend to do it in a positive way. But if it follows the Manga, we’ll see the rise of a new supervillain called Moro who will give the Z fighters a run for their money. Moro has the terrifying power to steal life force from planets which makes him the biggest threat they’ll face since Frieza.
Talking about Frieza, you might be aware that he was resurrected at the end of the Universal Survival Saga of DBS. This would kickstart the next arc after Moro, called the Granolah the Survivor Arc. Granolah is a Cerealian whose home planet was destroyed by Saiyans under the command of Frieza. So, upon hearing about Frieza’s resurrection, he will be out for revenge which will also make him clash with Goku and Vegeta. So, the anime does have some interesting arcs lined up and it would be fun to see them translate to screen, under the supervision of the Toriyama! If you want to know more about the anime return, the arcs, and transformations, check here!
If you have any questions regarding the Dragon Ball Franchise, feel free to ask in the comments below and stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
