Dragon Ball Super Producer Teases New Anime Release in 2022

There may be more Dragon Ball anime this year besides the upcoming Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie.

Dragon Ball anime producer and V-Jump manga editor Akio Iyoku dropped a hint about the future of the series in a new video posted to the official Dragon Ball website. Following segments that updated fans on current developments regarding Dragon Ball video games and the on-going Dragon Ball Super manga, Iyoku appeared to discuss the production of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Iyoku's message was clipped and subtitled by Twitter user @DBSChronicles, where he reminds viewers of the movie's Japanese premiere date of April 22 and says that series creator Akira Toriyama is pleased with the new animation style. He ends his message by teasing more announcements in the future, saying "Also there's a chance that something besides the movie might come out this year too," Iyoku said.

Speculation has already begun about what Iyoku's final statement could mean. Most fans seem hopeful that this could mean the return of the Dragon Ball Super anime series, which concluded its original run in March of 2018. Since the anime's conclusion, the manga has published the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga and is nearing the end of the current Granolah the Survivor saga, neither of which have received an animated adaptation yet. Iyoku could possibly be teasing a smaller release, such as an OVA (original video animation,) or some kind of TV special, as well.

The full video on the official Dragon Ball website also offered updates on the other branches of the franchise. More DLC and additional updates were teased for the video games Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. The video once again confirmed that the Dragon Ball Super manga's current Granolah the Survivor arc will come to an end soon, but teased that the manga still has a "massive turn of events" in store for Goku and friends.

Further details about this mysterious new release probably won't be announced until after Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero's Japanese premiere. A new trailer for the highly anticipated new movie was shown at this year's Jump Festa. The trailer featured a heavy focus on Gohan, who will return to wearing the classic Piccolo-inspired purple gi and white cape that he wore throughout the Saiyan and Android sagas in the Dragon Ball Z anime. An international release date for the movie has yet to be announced, but Iyoku previously promised at last summer's virtual Comic-Con that he was working hard to ensure that the gap between the film's Japanese premiere and its international release was as short as possible.

Source: Twitter, official Dragon Ball website