Despite heavy fan anticipation, Dragon Ball’s big Genkidamatsuri conference was ultimately a disappointment in one major way. From a new anime series, an anime remake, and a slew of game news, the festival was a huge sigh of relief for fans of the franchise. The lack of one crucial announcement, though, has some on edge.
Unfortunately, despite heavy fan anticipation, the Genkidamatsuri festival contained no new information on the Dragon Ball Super manga. Given the lack of an announcement, fans are understandably concerned that 2026 will be a year with no new chapters of Dragon Ball Super.
Dragon Ball Super’s Lack Of An Update Is Cause For Concern
The manga’s last chapter that moved the story forward was published in March 2024, while a one-shot spin-off chapter of Dragon Ball Super was published a year later in 2025.
Rumors have buzzed about Dragon Ball Super’s return ever since the manga went on hiatus following series creator Akira Toriyama’s passing in 2024.
Unfortunately, the long hiatus seems to be stemming primarily from disputes between the various stakeholders in charge of the Dragon Ball IP. Dragon Ball publisher Shueisha famously removed Akira Toriyama’s right-hand man, Akio Iyoku, from his position as director of Dragon Ball in 2023.
Iyoku is now the head of Dragon Ball anime and video game rights holder Capsule Corporation. While Shueisha still holds the rights to all Dragon Ball manga projects, an unwillingness to collaborate with Capsule Corporation may be making them hesitant to continue the Super manga.
The Chances Of Dragon Ball Super’s Manga Continuing Are Still Probably Good
Despite the potential breakdown in communications between Capsule Corporation and Shueisha, however, it’s still likely that Dragon Ball Super’s manga will continue at some point, possibly even as early as mid to late 2026.
Despite the poor optics of Super‘s manga not appearing at the Genkidamatsuri festival, Dragon Ball Super’s new The Galactic Patrol anime appears to be adapting the manga’s first original arc.
Given this, it’s likely that the anime will eventually continue with an adaptation of the Granolah The Survivor arc. After that, though, the anime will either need more manga to adapt to complete the series’ story or will need to create its own conclusion.
Despite the lack of news regarding the return of Dragon Ball Super’s manga, fans have good reason to expect that the manga will make its return. It might take time for the legal issues to be settled, but when they are, fans should feel relatively confident that Dragon Ball Super’s return will be one for the ages.
- Release Date
-
2015 – 2018
- Network
-
Fuji TV
- Directors
-
Ryota Nakamura, Masanori Sato, Kenichi Takeshita, Takao Iwai, Hideki Hiroshima, Masato Mitsuka, Kazuya Karasawa, Ayumu Ono, Takahiro Imamura, Tatsuya Nagamine, Kôjiro Kawasaki, Kouji Ogawa
-
Masakazu Morita
Whis (voice)
-
Masako Nozawa
Son Goku/Goku Black/Son Gohan/Son Goten (voices)
