Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama responds to the record-breaking success of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The Dragon Ball anime franchise has now been going strong for over 30 years. The original series ran from 1989 to 1996 and has since been succeeded by a number of spinoff shows and films. The latest adventure in the Dragon Ball universe, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, is the 21st film in the franchise overall and the first to be created using primarily 3D animation. The new film is directed by Tetsuro Kodama from a script written by Toriyama.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was released in theaters last week to very positive reviews from audiences and critics. The latest film follows Gohan, Goku’s son, as he teams up with Piccolo, his former master, to face off against the recently revived Red Ribbon Army and their two new androids. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero features voice performances from Masaka Nozawa, Toshiro Furukawa, Yûko Minaguchi, Ryô Hurikawa, and Aya Hisakowa, among others. In addition to the positive reception from viewers, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has performed exceptionally well at the box office, with its $21 million opening weekend box office the highest of any anime film ever.
Now, per a new post from @DbsHype on Twitter, Toriyama responds to the record-breaking success of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero with a heartfelt letter, praising Kodama and all the hard-working animators and voice actors who helped bring the film to life. Toriyama walks fans through his thought process during the film’s initial stages and the fears that he had about how the story would be received, but explains that the end result has far exceeded his expectations. The Dragon Ball creator ends his letter by encouraging fans to go see the movie, claiming it will leave them “feeling pumped.” Check out Toriyama’s full comment below:
Even though it’s been decades since Dragon Ball Z first premiered on television, it’s clear that the anime is still just as popular as ever, if not more so. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is evidently an especially special project for Toriyama, who has only been directly involved in four of the 21 Dragon Ball films. The creator previously wrote the scripts for Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’, and Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, all of which were received well critically but weren’t record-breaking successes at the box office.
Although a sequel to the latest Dragon Ball film is not yet confirmed, it feels like a pretty safe bet considering how popular the latest film has been. If Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero 2 does happen, it’s likely Toriyama will return to pen the script, especially considering how involved the creator has been with the franchise in the last few years. For now, however, fans celebrating the success of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero are joined by Toriyama himself, who seems both surprised and honored that his latest film has resonated so much with so many people.
