Dragon Ball Super: What To Expect From The Return Of The Manga

The Dragon Ball Super manga went on an indefinite hiatus following the untimely passing of the legendary creator of the series, Akira Toriyama, in early March 2024. Since then, the manga skipped its monthly release schedule for April 2024 as a sign of respect for the revered mangaka, prompting most fans of the series to question whether the franchise will even return at all.

However, recent news has confirmed that Dragon Ball Super will be returning, sending fans of the series into a joyous uproar. The return is speculated to continue with its monthly release schedule from May, but nothing has been confirmed as yet. So, with the series confirmed to eventually return, let’s take a look at all the things fans of Dragon Ball can expect from the future of the franchise.

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The Black Frieza Saga

The story of Dragon Ball is far from over and there are a lot of plot threads that the series can cover once it makes its return. However, none are more obvious, or more anticipated, than the long-awaited Black Frieza Saga, which was teased back in August 2022. At the very end of the Granolah Arc, fans were treated to the return of Frieza in his new form which far supersedes both Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego.

This has left a massive power vacuum in Universe 7, as the most iconic villain of the series has made his return and is now stronger than ever. Whether it is now or a few years from now, the clash between the heroes and the Galactic Tyrant is inevitable, and this is one thing that fans of the series have been theorizing and raving over since 2022. Even if it’s the last arc of Dragon Ball, the Frost Demon will definitely meet the Saiyans in battle once again.

Multiversal Adventures

One of the biggest contributions that Super made to the overall franchise was the revelation of the multiverse. It was shown that there are a total of 12 universes that are all governed by their Gods of Destruction, Kais, and Angels and that each of them is paired with a corresponding universe whose numbers add up to 13, for example, Universes 6 and 7, Universes 12 and 1, etc.

However, despite this addition expanding the world and implications for the future of the series, the application of the multiversal aspect was only limited to 2 tournament arcs. The first was when Universe 7 took on Universe 6 and then again in the Tournament of Power, where all universes, except 4, participated in a battle royale for survival.

The story can go so many ways with the multiverse. There could be a brand-new tournament arc including the 4 previously exempted universes, or one of them could be facing a threat so powerful that they would need the help of the Z-Fighters. The possibilities truly are endless here, and they would make for amazing arcs that all fans would love to see, perhaps even taking elements from certain fan mangas.

An example of this is the fan manga Dragon Ball: Kakumei, a project that is famed for its beautiful art and captivating story. The story deals with the 6 previously destroyed universes that Zeno eliminated eons ago and how they have returned to wage a war against Zeno and his Divine Hierarchy, introducing powerful and menacing new characters for the heroes to go up against.

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Introducing Non-canon Aspects

Although this was a trend that technically started with Akira Toriyama still overseeing the story, the future of the series may just include a ton of non-canon aspects that are slowly being worked back into the main timeline. There is quite a high fan demand for seeing characters like Cooler again or seeing forms like the iconic Super Saiyan 4 somehow introduced into the canon story.

In the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie, fans got to see one of their favorite characters from the Z movies finally get worked into the canon, though done in a way that was fresh and far superior to the one before. Broly now actually felt like an actual character, while retaining what made him so cool and powerful in the first place; his Legendary Super Saiyan form. The film also brought Gogeta back into the series, as the fusion was now stronger than ever and was the only person powerful enough to defeat Broly.

There is also a certain direction that the series is going in terms of transformations. Now, each of the main characters has a unique transformation that makes them incredibly powerful, and Chapter 103 of the Dragon Ball Super manga showed Broly’s Super Saiyan form. This form was as powerful as everyone else’s ultimate forms, but seeing Broly’s next transformation look similar to Super Saiyan 4 would be perfect due to who he is as a character and how much sense that would make for him exclusively.

Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the earth with his group of  friends. A recent title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action style game where 7 players have to survive being hunted by the Raider.

Created by

Akira Toriyama

Latest TV Show

Dragon Ball Super

Upcoming TV Shows

Dragon Ball DAIMA

First Episode Air Date

February 26, 1986