Toei Animation announced on Oct 12, 2023 at NYCC that the Dragon Ball franchise will be returning next year with a brand new anime as a part of its 40th anniversary.
The new anime is titled Dragon Ball Daima and is set to release in Fall 2024 according to reports. A new trailer for the anime was also streamed at NYCC during the announcement.
Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama’s involvement in the anime was also confirmed, as he has overlooked the the story and designed the characters for the upcoming Dragon Ball Daima anime.
“There are some things I can’t say but one thing I can tell you in this production is that Akira Toriyama has been deeply involved beyond his usual capacity overseeing the original work, story, character design, and more,” executive producer Akio Iyoku said at NYCC. “Additionally, [Toriyama] has planned entirely new episodes for the storyline so please look forward to the start of the series.”
Dragon Ball Daima is stated to be an original anime with the plot revolving around Z characters along with the Supreme Kai who were turned into children by a nemesis. More details about the plot, cast and staff of the anime are yet to be unveiled officially in January 2024.
You can check out the trailer of the new Dragon Ball anime streamed at NYCC below:
Though the plot shares similarities with Dragon Ball GT, it is said to be very different from it.
Rumors had previously surfaced that a new Dragon Ball web anime series will be announced at NYCC this year and that its plot would involve Goku and Kaioshin (Supreme Kai) who are turned into kids by a demon and they subsequently travel different realms and planets, battling new enemies, in a bid to regain their original form.
Additionally, there is a possibility that animator and character designer Katusyoshiu Nakatsuru, who has worked extensively on Dragon Ball anime (he also designed Super Saiyan 4), will be a part of the new anime series. Meanwhile, director Aya Komaki said to be helming it.
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters collected into 42 tankōbon volumes by its publisher Shueisha.
Toriyama’s manga was adapted and divided into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which together were broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1996. Additionally, the studio has developed 21 animated feature films and three television specials, as well as two anime sequel series titled Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super.
Twenty animated theatrical films based on the Dragon Ball series have been released in Japan. The most recent films, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013), Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ (2015), Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018), and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022), were produced as full-length feature films and were given stand-alone theatrical releases. They’ve also been the first movies to have original creator Akira Toriyama deeply involved in their production.
Source: Twitter, Kotaku
