After nearly eight years of waiting, and countless rumor-fueled false starts, official confirmation of the Dragon Ball Super anime’s continuation was finally delivered at last night’s exciting Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri 40th Anniversary Celebration event in Japan.
The Dragon Ball Super TV anime concluded on March 25, 2018, with Episode 131, “A Miraculous Conclusion! Farewell, Goku! Until We Meet Again!”, bringing theTournament of Power arc to a close in Toei Animation’s adaptation of the Dragon Ball Super manga.
In the years since, fans have seen the franchise continue through two Dragon Ball Super theatrical films and the Dragon Ball Daima TV anime special.
Nevertheless, that hasn't been enough to satiate the appetite of the global Dragon Ball fan community, as a large portion of the fandom has been eagerly waiting for one thing above all else: the long-overdue return of the Dragon Ball Super TV series.
Our sister site, AnimeMojo has tracked every rumor and wave of fan speculation ahead of the 40th Anniversary Event, and it’s safe to say the hype paid off. Genkidamatsuri lived up to, and in some cases exceeded, everything fans were promised.
It was officially announced that the anime is finally moving past the Tournament of Power arc and will begin the Moro arc as Vegeta and Goku join Jaco's Galactic Patrol to help capture some dangerous criminals that escaped from a galactic prison, including the evil wizard Moro, who has powers that prove tricky for Goku and Vegeta to handle.
Per the official Dragon Ball Super website, the description for the sequel anime series reads:
This will be the story following the “Universe Survival Arc” of the anime Dragon Ball Super, which aired between 2015 and 2018. It also appears in the manga Dragon Ball as the “Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc.” The main character, Son Goku, and Vegeta, work together with the members of the Galactic Patrol, the peacekeepers of the galaxy, to begin a SUPER scale battle against a new enemy, “Planet-Eater” Moro!
Check out the official teaser trailer (which features music composed by Hans Zimmer) and key visual for Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol. The video goes through the complete history of the Dragon Ball anime franchise before ending with a brief teaser for The Galactic Patrol.
There was no word on when Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol will start airing but a second Dragon Ball Super anime project (more on that later) was also announced at the event, which might provide some context clues for when the sequel anime could premiere.