The Dragon Ball franchise is officially returning to television with a brand-new anime. During the “Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri!” 40th anniversary celebration held on Sunday, organisers announced Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, a new series that continues the long-running saga created by Akira Toriyama.
The announcement was accompanied by a special promotional video that traced the history of Dragon Ball through animated panels and artwork inspired by Toriyama’s original manga. The music for the video was composed by Academy Award–winning composer Hans Zimmer, while direction was handled by Naoki Miyahara at Toei Animation.
Alongside the video, the event unveiled the first official visual for the anime and confirmed key story details.
According to Toei Animation, Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol follows Son Goku and Vegeta as they join forces with the Galactic Patrol, the galaxy’s interstellar peacekeeping force. Together, they face a new large-scale threat in the form of Moro, a powerful villain known as the “Planet-Eater.” The series is positioned as a high-stakes battle that expands the cosmic scope of the Dragon Ball universe.
© © BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION
Narratively, the anime serves as a direct continuation of Dragon Ball Super following the “Universe Survival Arc.” It adapts the “Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc” from Toyotarō’s Dragon Ball Super manga, bringing one of the manga’s most anticipated storylines to animated form for the first time.
Dragon Ball Super originally aired from July 2015 to March 2018, running for 131 episodes. The series was streamed internationally during its broadcast run and later received an English dub that premiered on Adult Swim’s Toonami block in 2017. The accompanying manga launched in 2015 and continued to expand the story beyond the anime, though the two versions diverged in structure and detail.
The manga entered an indefinite hiatus in April 2024 following the death of franchise creator Akira Toriyama, who passed away in March 2024 at the age of 68. Since then, Shueisha has released limited special content, including a one-shot published in early 2025.
The Dragon Ball franchise most recently returned to television with Dragon Ball Daima, which aired from October 2024 to February 2025 and streamed globally on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
At this time, a release date for Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol has not been announced. Further details regarding broadcast plans and international distribution are expected to be revealed at a later date.
