After three years, Dragon Ball Super is back with another feature-length adventure. This time the focus has been taken off series protagonist Goku and placed squarely on his son Gohan, along with his mentor Piccolo, as they face off against the returning Red Ribbon Army. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods set a precedent for Dragon Ball movies being canon to the overall plot, but does DBS: Super Hero continue that trend? Here’s everything we know about whether Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is canon.
Is Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Canon?
The short answer is, no, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is not canon. While it does have the blessing of Akira Toriyama, an interview translation with the creator, via Twitter user Cipher_db, revealed that the movie runs parallel to the main story in the anime.
This means that the forms presented in the movie and the Red Ribbon storyline aren’t an official part of the canon, at least not yet. The interview goes on to say that things that took place in the movie may be relevant to the storyline at some point in the anime, though Orange Piccolo and Beast Gohan are indeed going to be exclusive to just Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
When Does Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Take Place?
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero takes place after the most recent events of the Dragon Ball Super manga. While the Dragon Ball Super anime wrapped up in 2018, the manga has continued over the years with The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, which showed the Z warriors in a desperate struggle against the deadly sorcerer, Moro.
The manga is currently wrapping up its latest arc, the Granolah the Survivor Saga. Neither of these two arcs have been adapted in anime form, which has led many fans to ponder when exactly Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero takes place in the timeline.
Prominent Dragon Ball reporter DBS Chronicles responded to a fan on Twitter and confirmed that DBS: Super Hero takes place after the Granolah the Survivor saga.
This would line up with the aged-up versions of Pan, Goten, and Trunks seen in trailers. Dragon Ball: Super takes place in the ten years between the defeat of Majin Buu in Dragon Ball Z and the world martial arts tournament at the end of the series. The time jump in DBS: Super Hero suggests that the series is set to close the ten-year gap. That’s everything we know about whether Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is canon.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is currently out now in theatres, be sure to check out the rest of our Dragon Ball coverage below.
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