It’s been rumored and all but confirmed that there are more Dragon Ball Super episodes on the way, and with the powerhouse of animation and storytelling that Dragon Ball Super: Broly was, we’re definitely excited to see more. The recent boom of the franchise, from the success of FighterZ and, of course, Broly, has reinvigorated fans’ love of Dragon Ball more than ever, and if new Dragon Ball Super episodes are done right, we could be in for some awesome new content. There are two ways to ensure that the new Super episodes are awesome; the first being that the animation is brought up to standards— it doesn’t have to be the movie-budget-quality of Broly, but it should be better than most of Super’s sub-par animation— and second, there are good and bad ways to go with the story.
On top of the Super manga laying out a new arc for the anime to adapt, there are plenty of story seeds planted by the end of Super and in Broly, all of which would make for perfect ways to continue the long-running franchise’s narrative. Additionally, there are a few storylines that could go wrong or make the series staler if they were to be pursued, so we definitely have a few ideas that should be avoided. There are a lot of ways that new Dragon Ball Super episodes can go wrong, but there are just as many, if not more, cool places that the franchise can go with the right choices.
SHOULD: A NEW DESTROYER
There are quite a few points throughout Super wherein Whis has shown interest in training Vegeta to be a God of Destruction, yet there has never really been any explanation as to why. Perhaps Beerus is looking to retire or Whis wants someone more productive to serve the role. Either way, there is definitely story potential here, especially since Whis asked Goku about becoming one as well in Broly.
We’re not sure exactly how this potential arc would unfold, but we sure as heck want to see it. Perhaps Vegeta could be offered the role of Universe 7’s newest GoD, which causes a rift between him and his family, as well as Goku.
SHOULD: RETURN OF JIREN
Jiren was one of the coolest parts, if not the coolest part of the Tournament of Power, and not just because he was super powerful– though that was definitely part of it. No, Jiren was the perfect foil for Goku, someone who was alone and believed his strength to come from being alone, and in presenting Goku’s biggest challenge, he made for an awesome fight.
Suffice to say, the character has a lot of further story potential and we really hope he comes back in the new rumored episodes of Dragon Ball Super, perhaps so he can settle the score with Goku?
SHOULD: FUTURE TRUNKS RETURNS (AGAIN)
Everyone loves Future Trunks, there’s no denying how popular the character is— he’s from the future, has a cool jacket, and uses a sword, what’s not to love?! Due to his popularity, the character returned in Dragon Ball Super, and his arc ended with some great future (pun definitely intended) story potential.
After Trunks and Mai’s timeline was destroyed, (which they sure seemed fine with,) they traveled to another future in which they already exist, but we don’t really know what happened to them there. Maybe future episodes of Super could explore where they ended up or even depict Goku and friends visiting them in their new timeline home.
SHOULDN’T: GOKU’S ORIGINS
Dragon Ball Super: Broly gave us just the right amount of Goku’s backstory; it’s not like we don’t want to know more about Goku’s past, but we don’t really need him to get in touch with his Saiyan heritage, since he was raised as, and sees himself as, an Earthling first and foremost. Introducing too much Saiyan culture to his character would have the same effect as the over-saturation of Kryptonians and Kryptonian culture in Superman comics.
Suffice to say, we don’t want any future episodes of Super to explore Goku’s origins or his connection to his heritage, since that would pretty much ruin the point of the character. This storyline and other related storylines should be avoided.
SHOULD: TRAINING BROLY
While Goku shouldn’t get further in touch with his Saiyan heritage, he should get in touch with a particular Saiyan, Broly, since the end of the film left the two on good terms. Specifically, Goku offered to teach Broly a few things in return for training and fighting with him.
It was a generous offer that definitely leaves some room for some great story potential, namely a training arc where the two frequently meet up and even become friends along the way. Heck, even watching Broly become friendlier with (and less angry at) Vegeta has some great story potential.
SHOULD: BROLY AND CHEELAI
Broly and Cheelai definitely had some chemistry when they first met, and it didn’t take long for fans to ship the two characters. If these two do indeed have some romantic potential, then there is also story potential in their relationship growing, making for a great filler arc.
Think back to Krillin’s and 18’s moments together during the Cell arc, they were cute, interesting, and served as great character explorations. Were there to be a similar romantic arc for Cheelai and Broly’s relationship, we’d definitely be interested in it, especially since the two characters’ interactions have been quite adorable thus far.
SHOULD: MORE ANDROID 17
Android 17 is definitely a fan-favorite character, and when he returned in Super it was a big deal, so much so that we imagine he’ll be back for good in future episodes. At the end of the series— or rather, the perceived end— 17 was seen on vacation with his family, a reward for winning the Tournament of Power, and we hope that when it’s all over, he’ll come back into the main cast.
We’d also like to learn more about and meet his family, since family has been a relatively big part of the series ever since Gohan was first introduced. Suffice to say, there is a lot that can be done with the character.
SHOULDN’T: A NEW SAIYAN FORM
In Dragon Ball Super: Broly, there was a moment in which Vegeta’s hair turned green for a second before turning into the red of Super Saiyan God. Fans have already speculated if this is a new form for the character, and if it is, we say don’t incorporate it into new episodes of Super.
The reason for this is that, well, there are just too many Super Saiyan forms already and the franchise doesn’t need more. Super should explore new facets of the forms that already exist rather than stacking new forms onto the already bloated list of Super Saiyan types.
SHOULD: FRIEZA STRIKES AGAIN
Frieza made two returns in Dragon Ball Super and a third in Broly, and though this might lead one to believe that the character is becoming overplayed, he still has quite a bit of story potential. Broly specifically left behind quite a few narrative breadcrumbs.
Frieza stated he’d be back for Earth at the end of the film, and he also still planned to recruit Broly into his empire, hoping that after being “domesticated,” he’d be of service to him. Additionally, Vegeta stated that he had been training to fight Frieza when he comes back, so clearly there are plans to have the villain make another epic return.
SHOULD: GALACTIC PATROL PRISONER ARC
We mentioned in the introduction of this list that the Dragon Ball Super manga had started a new original arc that has yet to appear in the anime, the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc. We don’t know much about the saga thus far, but we can’t imagine that the rumored Super episodes would ignore this story arc, as it will probably be the first arc of the new episodes.
The arc follows Goku and the Galactic Patrol as they seek the help of the Grand Supreme Kai, whose magical power is needed to stop an escaped intergalactic villain. In order to get the help of the Grand Supreme Kai, they must extract him from Buu, who absorbed him many years ago.
SHOULD: UUB
We’re pretty certain that Uub is by no means anyone’s favorite character, but he does have potential, and he was teased in the Super manga. Though we don’t think Goku should train Uub, since he’ll have his hands full with training Broly, we still think that Uub could make for some interesting stories.
One way that the character could be reimagined in new episodes of Super is by possibly playing a part in the Galactic Prisoner saga, since he is the reincarnation of Buu, so perhaps he has a tie to the Grand Supreme Kai as well, maybe he could even get dragged into the adventure at some point.
SHOULDN’T: ULTRA INSTINCT
Ultra Instinct was cool, it was one of the coolest new forms that had been introduced to the series, both because it was very different and because it’s not something exclusive to Saiyans. What made the form work so well was that it was something that Goku accomplished in the heat of battle, which is why it shouldn’t make a return.
Every other form that Goku has achieved has made a return and become a big part of the franchise, so much so that the character transforming has become overplayed, so keeping Ultra Instinct as a one-time-deal makes it more important moment for the character.
SHOULD: TRUNKS AND GOTEN
Gohan’s character arc over the course of Dragon Ball Z is similar to that of Goku’s; we saw him grow up and learn who he was as a fighter, themes that were further explored in the character’s appearances in Super. Suffice to say, we got to see Gohan change and grow as time went by, so why haven’t we seen the same development for Trunks and Goten?
The characters have remained static since the Buu arc, despite being teenagers by the time of the Tournament of Power. If Dragon Ball Super truly is getting new episodes, then these two should definitely get their own character development, because they desperately need to grow up.
SHOULD: RETURN OF GREAT SAIYAMAN
We’ll be honest, this one is mostly a personal preference, but we really want Gohan to don the Great Saiyaman persona again in future episodes of Super. Sure, we got filler episodes about the Great Saiyaman movie, which was awesome, but how awesome would it be if Gohan was still actively fighting crime?
Goku and friends are always so concerned with keeping their lives a secret, so more super-heroics with Gohan is the perfect way to balance that out, the adventure of Great Saiyaman also serves as a fun way to show the city life that is often left out of most Dragon Ball sagas.
SHOULD: COOLER SAGA
The new Dragon Ball Super episodes shouldn’t go crazy with bringing back and rebooting movie villains, but there is one villain who could make for an interesting arc: Cooler. The character would have to be heavily reimagined, but there is a lot of potential in Frieza having a brother that shows up at some point.
Maybe instead of being a villain, Cooler could have defected from his and Frieza’s father and formed a resistance against the Frieza Force? Making the character a good guy would be an awesome way to reboot him into the main canon, but bringing him into the main canon in any form would make for a great arc.
SHOULDN’T: VILLAIN RESURRECTIONS
Frieza’s resurrection worked for the story of Dragon Ball since he was a major part of the franchise and the movie that resulted from his return was nicely done. Even the character’s return in Broly worked well, but he’s probably the only villain that should be brought back from the dead.
If there are more episodes of Super on the way, one thing to avoid is resurrecting more past villains; it was a risk that paid off with Frieza, but it shouldn’t be rehashed further for characters like Cell or Nappa or any other deceased villains. Any way you look at it, more villains from the past would just be messy and overplayed.
SHOULD: UNIVERSE 6 SAIYANS
Despite being a major part of the Universe 6 and Tournament of Power arc, the Saiyans of Universe 6 have yet to be fully explored, and if there are more Super episodes on the way, they could make for a great filler arc. Specifically, we’d love to see two or three episodes teaching us about Universe 6 Saiyans, their culture, their differences from Universe 7 and, of course, what’s going on with Kale, Caulifa, and Cabba.
There is still so much story potential with these characters and we hope that new Super episodes deliver on it, especially when it comes to the character that we’ve met and the overall differences from the Saiyans of Universe 7.
SHOULD: BROLY MEETS KALE
Speaking of the Saiyans of Universe 6, there is a ton of story potential for Kale, a berserker Super Saiyan with power very similar to Broly’s. In fact, their similarities is why we’d want to see the two meet in the future of Dragon Ball Super. Perhaps they could learn more about each other’s power by interacting and even training together, maybe even fighting one another in an epic brawl.
Honestly, we just want to see these characters interact because it would at least address the fact that they are so similar, something that has been hanging over the characters ever since Kale was first introduced.
SHOULD: THE SECRET IS OUT
We mentioned before that Goku and friends are always fairly concerned with hiding their power and ensuring that their identities are kept secret. But we think it’s time that the facade was abandoned, since a great saga idea for upcoming Super episodes could be the discovery of the Z-fighters and superhuman martial artists as a whole.
Think about how much fun could be had with the premise of Goku and Vegeta suddenly becoming famous, especially the latter, since he would probably both hate and love the attention of others, as he is a prideful prince after all.
SHOULDN’T: REBOOT MORE MOVIE CHARACTERS
The final thing that the new episodes of Dragon Ball Super should avoid is rebooting too many villains. Broly worked well and there is potential for Cooler, but the series shouldn’t go crazy. They can choose other villains to reboot, but it shouldn’t exceed a certain number, since it would oversaturate the main canon with movie villains.
There are definitely other villains with reboot potential, like Janemba or Bojack, but the rebooting shouldn’t be overdone, especially since there are so many new places the franchise can go without relying too much on rehash old ideas, most of those new ideas coming from what Broly has laid the groundwork for.
