New York Comic Con 2023 is just around the corner and Dragon Ball fans are hoping big news is in store for the seminal Shonen series. The franchise has a big presence at this year’s event, with both a booth and a panel scheduled. We don’t yet know what the panel will be focusing on, but the mystery has the Dragon Ball community hyped up for a major reveal.
It’s been more than five years since the conclusion of Dragon Ball Super, the latest series in the long-running anime. Since then, two hugely successful movies have pushed the story of Goku and his friends forward, while the Dragon Ball Super manga is now on its third arc following the end of the Tournament of Power that closed out the anime.
With so much material waiting to be adapted, it feels like the time is right for a revival of the anime. The question fans are all asking is will a new series follow in the footsteps of Dragon Ball Super and begin with an expanded version of the events of the last two movies – Broly and Super Hero – or will it dive straight into bringing the manga’s Moro and Granolah arcs to the screen?
Then there’s the possibility that neither will happen. Rumors are running rampant across X that an entirely new series, as distinct from Super as that series was from Z, GT, or the original Dragon Ball. This is par for the course for Dragon Ball fans, who love to dream up new transformations and villain returns. But, with major, franchise-defining events such as a newly powered-up Frieza threatening the universe(s) once again in the manga, it seems unlikely this won’t get adapted for the wider global audience of the anime.
The announcement of a new anime series would undoubtedly be a huge event, but there are other possibilities for what could be revealed at NYCC. With the huge box office returns of the latest movies, it’s a sure bet that a new one will be coming before too long.
Then there’s the long-awaited new entry in the Budokai Tenkaichi videogame series. Revealed in a short teaser earlier this year, fans have been desperate for more news on the game ever since. Rumors that the game will be launching sooner than expected, along with a recent trademark filing for “Sparking! Zero” (the Japanese titles for the series all fall under the Sparking! banner), suggest that a bigger gameplay reveal could be on the horizon.
More Dragon Ball game news is also likely, with the final DLC for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot still to be unveiled, while fans of Dragon Ball: FighterZ await the promised update that will add Rollback Netcode functionality. Finally, we may also learn more about the upcoming digital edition of the Dragon Ball Super Card Game.
Speaking of the wildly popular DBS CCG, new reveals for upcoming sets are a certainty for NYCC. Those lucky enough to attend the panel can pick up a trial deck for the forthcoming Fusion World spin-off card game that aims to be a more accessible version of the main game. The latest set in the DBS CCG, Critical Blow, landed earlier this month, and with a release date set for December, an NYCC announcement for the 23rd set in the series seems like a sure thing.
In a reveal that might have the biggest reach of all, however, Toei Animation’s X account has stated that a new Goku balloon is making its first appearance at NYCC. The Super Saiyan Blue Goku balloon has been a staple of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2018, so could this new balloon be replacing it in the 2023 parade? With a Monkey D. Luffy balloon already announced to make its debut this year, it’s sure to be one to remember for Shonen fans.
New York Comic Con 2023 is taking place between October 12-15, with the Dragon Ball Panel set for October 12 at 12:45 pm local time. Regardless of what we learn about the future of the franchise, it’s great to see Dragon Ball continuing to grow on a global scale even after all these years.
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James Crosby
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