'Dragon Ball Super' To End Soon And Remain On Indefinite Hiatus
After it was revealed that "Dragon Ball Super" is ending in spring, many fans expressed their dismay with impassioned reactions on social media. But why is the series suddenly going on break in what many see at the height of its popularity?
According to Japanese website Sanspo (via Kotaku), the fifth anime in the beloved series is, for now, concluding this March. Fuji TV has already said that a new TV production is currently TBA (to be announced).
However, a glimmer of hope does remain for the series' continuation with Fuji saying that "it's like not the series is finished." It's unclear if this refers to the "Dragon Ball" series as a whole or the "Dragon Ball Super" anime in particular. So why was the anime suddenly put on hiatus?
One possible factor is the limited resources Toei Animation currently has at its disposal. Now that's not to say that the company is in dire straits, but with a new "Dragon Ball" movie is coming this year, the studio's assets namely directors, writers, and animators, can only be stretched so far.
There's also the fact that the series has been pumping out episodes almost non-stop since its 2015 debut. While the people working on the series may not be the same ones working on the movie, the crew is still entitled to a well-deserved break. Anyone who has an inkling of the current state of the anime industry will likely understand.
A hiatus isn't all too bad though as it gives Toei the opportunity to chart a new course for the series. The "Universal Survival" Saga has opened the "Dragon Ball Super" mythos up to an entire multiverse of new possibilities with entire new universes now set up for exploration.
The series' grand scale presents a new challenge for writers and animators to come up with characters and story arcs that will resonate with viewers while at the same time keep up the excitement in a way that only "Dragon Ball" can deliver.
"Dragon Ball Super" airs on Crunchyroll Saturday evenings at 7:15 PM CST with the English dub airing during Adult Swim's Toonami block every Saturday evenings at 9:30 PM.
