In 2018, when news dropped that a newDragon Ballanime was set to begin, fans were filled with both excitement and concern. On the one hand, some fans hoped that the new seriesSuper Dragon Ball Heroes(Dragon Ball Heroes) would tell the stories fans have dreamed would one day be addressed in the franchise. On the other hand, other fans feared that the series would dilute and corrupt the coreDragon Balllore. Six years on, as the series exits stage left, the fears certainly seem to have won out over the excitement.
Super Dragon Ball Heroesis not an entirely originalDragon Ballseries. Instead, it is an adaptation of the immensely popular Bandai video card gameDragon Ball Heroes, which debuted in 2010, and its updated version,Super Dragon Ball Heroes, released in 2016. Produced by Toei Animation, theSuper Dragon Ball Heroesanime premiered in July 2018 and recently concluded in August 2024.
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The video game — and by extension, the anime — takes placeoutside the officialDragon Ballcontinuity. This gave the creators significant artistic license and freedom to explore whatever ideas they wanted, as long as they were rooted in theDragon Balluniverse. As a result, the anime features a number of interesting team-ups, never-before-seen villains, and powers that fans of the officialDragon Ballseries could only dream of witnessing.
Despite an author’s intentions, fans of any popular manga series often develop their own hopes and wishes for the story and its characters.Dragon Ball is no exception — in fact, due to its popularity and longevity, it’s safe to say there are millions of preferred outcomes that fans have hoped to see in the franchise. While the ultimate direction remains in the hands of creator Akira Toriyama,Dragon Ball Superprovided a platform to explore fan interest through “what if” scenarios, without affecting the officialDragon Balltimeline.
Dragon Ball Heroesbecame exactly what its critics expected
Unfortunately, instead of being a creative sandbox to explore interesting ideas and theories about the franchise and its characters,Dragon Ball Heroesbecame exactly what its critics expected — an unwieldy nod to some of the more random and extreme tendencies of theDragon Ballfandom. When the anime was originally announced as a “promotional anime,” many fans saw it as another example of Bandai and Toei exploiting theDragon Ballfan base to, essentially, sell a video game.
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Vegeta’s delicate peace is shattered by Goku’s thoughtless words, reigniting their fierce rivalry and instantly unraveling his transformation.
AlthoughDragon Ball Heroesavoided the crass consumerism that some fans feared, it’s clear that the series falls short of the standards set by the original manga and officialDragon BallTV shows and movies. While the series is generally enjoyable to watch, it suffers from technical and content issues that critics predicted. For example the animation has been widely criticized as subpar compared to official releases.
Dragon Ball Heroes’ Focus On Big Powerups & Villains Is A Contrast To Toriyama’s Tight Character Development
Dragon Ball Heroes Often Features Little Character Development, Missing The Franchise’s True Heart
One major criticism ofDragon Ball Heroesis its departure from a hallmark of Akira Toriyama’s officialDragon Ballfranchise: robust character development. Toriyama’s stories typically feature characters undergoing significant personal growth, maturing into better versions of themselves as a result of the story’s events. A prime example isVegeta’s transformation throughoutDragon Ballfrom a narcissistic, ruthless Saiyan prince to a selfless, people-oriented hero. This kind of character evolution is a key element missing fromDragon Ball Heroes.
Dragon Ball Heroesfocuses heavily on the series’ power system, with a constantly updated roster of villainous opponents. While this makes sense given the story’s video game origins, it feels more like infotainment when adapted into an anime. For instance,with villains like Fu, Cumber, or Cooler, the focus seems to be on showcasing their power and upgrades rather than offering compelling origin stories, meaningful background content, or thoughtful integration into the narrative. Their existence appears to serve more as a reason for Goku and Vegeta’s development than as a creative extension of the story.
For All Its Faults, Super Dragon Ball Heroes Is Harmless Fun (So Long As You Don’t Take It Too Seriously)
Super Dragon Ball Heroes' Non-Canon Status Allows Displeased Fans To Easily Ignore It
This is not to say thatSuper Dragon Ball Heroesis unwatchable or unworthy of watching. On the contrary, it’s quite enjoyable, especially if fans understand that it exists in its own self-contained universe. In thisDragon Balldreamworld, anything can happen, fromGoku fighting his father BardocktoVegito battling Gogeta, and a never-before-seen Future Gohan fighting his old friend Trunks. These are the fights and situations fans have wanted to see for years but never had the chance to witness in the officialDragon Ballcanon.
All episodes ofSuper Dragon Ball Heroesare available to watch, for free, on Youtube.
Put another way, the series allows fans to see how the story might have developed if different creative choices were made, or different events were emphasized. Essentially, the series operates without the limits imposed by the core continuity. The creators were able to take big risks without fear of criticism if an idea flopped. Moreover, the fact that these “blue sky” ideas couldn’t appear in the official story doesn’t mean that creators in the core continuity aren’t influenced by what they see inSuper Dragon Ball Heroes. Indeed, Toriyama has admitted to being influenced by non-canonical works.
Super Dragon Ball Heroesis, above all, moreDragon Ballfun for any fan who doesn’t take it too seriously
Super Dragon Ball Heroesis, above all, moreDragon Ballfun for any fan who doesn’t take it too seriously or isn’t a hardcoreDragon Ballpurist. It will especially appeal to fans of the video game who are looking for a deeper dive into its lore. Most importantly,Super Dragon Ball Heroesis for the casualDragon Ballfan who enjoys the action-packed fighting that the manga series is so well-known for.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
