Dragon Ball Super’s New Anime Won’t Succeed Without 5 Major Changes

Dragon Ball Super is officially set to return in 2026 with a soft remake that will tackle the series' first arc, before continuing on into the all-new Galactic Patrol Saga. Since the Tournament of Power's 2018 conclusion, the series' ever-expanding fan base tirelessly speculated and theorized about a potential return, and, finally, Goku will be returning to screens.

It's unique that Dragon Ball Super, only a little more than a decade on from its premiere, is already being revisited in an attempt to bring its quality up to modern standards. However, most fans would agree the 2015 series needs help, and these are five changes that will help the new Dragon Ball Super become a success when it airs later in 2026.

Upgrade the Series' Visual Quality

Dragon Ball Super Became Infamous for Its Inconsistent and Poor Visual Quality

The announced Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, while set to revisit the Battle of Gods arc for the third time, will not be a full remake. Instead, the series will be similar to Dragon Ball Z Kai, which cleaned up the 1989 anime's original visuals and sound. Though new scenes will be added and dialogue will be re-recorded, fans shouldn't expect an entirely new production.

This sort of soft remake, however, will address Dragon Ball Super's most glaring issue. Throughout the majority of the series' 131 episodes, its visuals were not up to industry standards, let alone able to match fan expectations. A number of episodes, including the infamous episode #5, featured wildly off-model characters and janky animation.

While Dragon Ball Super's visuals did eventually improve as the series progressed, its first two arcs are not enjoyable viewing experiences, and viewers shouldn't have had to wait through dozens of episodes before the quality of the series became acceptable.

Fortunately, the first teaser trailer for Dragon Ball Super: Beerus showcases improvements made to scenes that weren't exactly eye candy back in 2015, including a moment from episode #5 as well as Vegeta's iconic rage moment while fighting Beerus. If Dragon Ball Super is being fixed arc by arc as fans are speculating, improvement of visuals will be its most important change.

Incorporate Differences from the Manga Version of Dragon Ball Super

The Two Versions of Dragon Ball Super Feature a Number of Key Differences

Though the Dragon Ball Super anime and manga ran concurrently, the two versions of the series feature quite a few major differences from one another. And with the announcement of Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, an adaptation of the manga's Moro arc, it might be beneficial for the upcoming remake to incorporate some of those differences.

Early in the series, when Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' were being handled weekly in the anime, the two versions of the series didn't deviate from the source material all that much. In fact, the manga skipped Resurrection 'F' altogether after Earth's heroes dealt with the arrival of Beerus.

Once both versions reached the Future Trunks Saga, however, the manga began to deviate from the anime's version of events, and continued to do so until it reached its current ongoing hiatus.

While any lore changes or differing events likely won't be found in the upcoming Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, getting both stories on the same track later down the line would be far less confusing for fans.

Reference Dragon Ball Daima

The Latest Dragon Ball Series Took Place Prior to the Events of Dragon Ball Super

While the world awaited the return of Dragon Ball Super, 2024's Dragon Ball Daima took the series' fan base on an all-new anime original adventure that ultimately became the final work of creator Akira Toriyama. Dragon Ball Daima took place just after the defeat of Majin Buu and before the arrival of Beerus.

As fans would come to learn, certain developments in Dragon Ball Daima created continuity issues with what would come later down the line in Dragon Ball Super, specifically the introduction of Super Saiyan 4. The form was never referenced in the 2015 anime, and during Goku's first confrontation with Beerus, he claimed Super Saiyan 3 was his limit.

Fortunately, this issue can be an easy fix for Dragon Ball Super: Beerus. Rather than stopping at Super Saiyan 3, Goku can tap into Super Saiyan 4 for a short time, and still be defeated with ease. A simple, short appearance would solve any issue the form caused in its debut.

Fix Power Scaling Issues

Dragon Ball Super Is Plagued by Odd Power Scaling Issues

Though it's never been one of Dragon Ball Super's main problems, inconsistent and illogical power scaling is present throughout the 2015 anime. If Beerus is truly as strong as the series has made him out to be, even Super Saiyan God Goku wouldn't have been enough to give him a workout. Their battle in space is also somewhat contradictory.

Frieza, going from Planet Namek Saga level of power to matching Goku and Vegeta in Super Saiyan Blue, has always been a little absurd, and becomes even more so when it's revealed that he trained for only a few months. Goku being severely damaged by a laser during that very same arc has also been a point of contention among fans.

It's unlikely any massive changes are coming in the Dragon Ball Super reboot, though the series does have a chance to fix some of its inconsistencies.

Remove the Super Saiyan Portion From Goku's Fight with Beerus

This potential change might not be a hit with fans, as Goku continuing to fight with Beerus in his Super Saiyan form has long been a fan favorite moment in the Battle of Gods arc. It's also a moment that's never made much sense. Without Super Saiyan God, Goku wasn't able to land a hit on Beerus.

Just because he spent some time in the form shouldn't mean Goku gained the ability to keep up when not a Super Saiyan God. It wouldn't take much to change the scene, as simply allowing Goku to tap back into Super Saiyan God would fix any sort of power-scaling confusion.

Dragon Ball Super will return to screens later this year, and only a few small tweaks are needed to make its comeback a masterpiece.