'Dragon Ball' turns 40 and celebrates it with a new season and a new video game

BarcelonaThis Thursday marked the 40th anniversary of the first broadcast of Dragon Ball, the television series that marked a generation of Catalans when it was shown on TV3. After 8 years without publishing new episodes and after several negotiations, the franchise has given the green light to a new season, Dragon Ball Super: Galactic Patrol, created by Toyotaro, disciple of Akira Toriyama, original author of the story of the monkey boy and who died in 2024 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. In this new installment, we will see how Goku and Vegeta join the galactic patrol with the aim of defeating the antagonist Moro.

The announcement of the publication of the new season took place on January 25th, at the Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri macro-event, held in the city of Chiba, Japan. On the occasion of the anniversary and, in addition to the production of a new season, at the same event, the launch of a new video game was also announced at Genkidama, Dragon Ball: Age 1000. The game began development 5 years ago and features the last character created by Toriyama. It is rumored that the new video game would be a continuation of the saga Xenoverse and that, therefore, it would be athird installment of the franchise.

After Toriyama's death, Dragon Ball remained in suspense for approximately two years due to the dispute over the franchise rights between Capsule Corporation Tokyo, the company that manages the artist's work; Toei Animation, the production company responsible for the animated adaptations; and Shueisha, the owner of the magazines where the original manga comics were published.

Finally, the negotiations have ended in agreements with clear main objectives: to continue generating economic returns from Dragon Ball and to reach younger generations in order to further expand its trajectory and influence. In Catalonia, Dragon Ball marked a before and after in the childhood of many viewers. The animated series began to be broadcast on TV3 on February 15, 1990, and became an iconic animated product. Initially, only 26 episodes had been purchased, but the audience success forced the management of TV3 to move heaven and earth to get more. Currently, on 3Cat, several seasons of the series can be watched, such as Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super, which equate to a total of 575 episodes. On the TV3 platform, there is also Light, Fire, Destruction, a documentary that analyzes the impact the series had in Catalonia.