While the summer 2024 anime season is in full swing, there's still plenty of upcoming anime to be excited about later in 2024. Iconic '90s anime movie Ninja Scroll is returning to theaters and home media in the fall. One of the most exciting upcoming releases of 2024 is the next entry in the legendary Dragon Ball franchise: Dragon Ball DAIMA.
Originally announced at New York Comic Con 2023, Dragon Ball DAIMA has since been confirmed for an October 2024 debut. Crunchyroll has reported that the anime will premiere in Tokyo at the Daimatsuri event as part of celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the debut of the original Dragon Ball. At this point, the specific plot details of Dragon Ball DAIMA are still sparse, but based on the footage shown in the trailers so far and the key visuals made available, the main cast will somehow be turned back into children.
Akira Toriyama's legacy lives on
Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama died March 1, 2024 and continues to be mourned by anime and manga creators and fans alike. While Toriyama did step back from the franchise for Dragon Ball Super, with the art taken over by illustrator Toyotarou, he was directly involved in the writing of the story of Dragon Ball DAIMA. Previously, the Dragon Ball GT anime series was produced without the direct involvement of Toriyama. However, GT was divisive with the fanbase and the events of its plot have been replaced in the franchise canon by Dragon Ball Super – however, the GT timeline has been established by several of the Dragon Ball video games to continue to exist as a parallel universe.
Since the debut of the original Dragon Ball manga in 1984, Dragon Ball has gone to become one of the most popular anime and manga series of all time. Thanks to airing on popular North American networks like YTV in Canada and Cartoon Network in the United States, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were among the first anime series many North American fans ever watched. The franchise has been going strong ever since and Dragon Ball DAIMA has the potential to introduce an entirely new genre of fans to the franchise.
Information about when and where Dragon Ball DAIMA will be released on streaming for international viewers is not currently available, but we here at Anime Away will provide updates as they become available. However, the bulk of the Dragon Ball franchise is streaming on Crunchyroll, with the original Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and 16 of the franchise's movies all available. Interested fans can sign up for Crunchyroll here.