An Enhanced Cut of a Story Fans Already Know
Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is not a new arc. Toei Animation is rebuilding the Goku versus Beerus conflict that anime viewers first saw in the 2013 theatrical film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and in the 2015 TV series Dragon Ball Super. Japanese anime news site Anime Hack describes it as an "enhanced version," built from extensive new animation, redrawn footage and a restructured story.
The premise stays where it started. A few years after the brutal fight with Majin Buu, Earth has settled into a short stretch of peace. Beerus, the God of Destruction whose power can wipe out stars, wakes from a long sleep and arrives on Earth.
The late Akira Toriyama is credited with the original work, story and character designs behind Dragon Ball Super, and that credit carries over to this version. Masako Nozawa returns as Goku, with Kōichi Yamadera back as Beerus. The series' official English site lists Matsuto Seya as director, Tadayoshi Yamamuro on character design and animation direction, and Norihito Sumitomo on music, with Toei Animation producing.
Megatera Zero and Vicke Blanka Take the Theme Songs
The opening theme is "ONOGAMI" by Megatera Zero, a singer-songwriter with more than 1.6 million YouTube subscribers. The ending is "Kanpeki no Peki" by Vicke Blanka, who marks his tenth anniversary this October. Dragon Ball's official English site credits him as VK Blanka. The trailer carries the first partial previews of both tracks.
Megatera Zero said Dragon Ball has shaped his life since childhood, and that he wrote "ONOGAMI" about fighters who rely on nothing but their own strength, villains very much included. In his comment to Anime Hack, Vicke Blanka said he pulled out everything inside him for the song: not only the strength and courage Dragon Ball has always drawn, but the sadness and unfairness that have sat in its shadow.
The Trailer Looks Past Beerus
The trailer widens the roster far beyond the God of Destruction himself. Goku appears in Super Saiyan God form, and Beerus turns up with his attendant Whis. Frieza, Hit and Frost then arrive in quick succession, a lineup that reaches past the Beerus fight alone.
The key visual keeps things tighter. Beerus wears a confident smirk while Goku squares up against him, with Frieza slotted between the two. The Anime Hack report notes that a new threat aiming at Earth is also pictured, though the announcement does not name it.
Looking Ahead
The premiere lands Sunday, October 11 at 11:15 p.m. JST on Fuji TV and its national affiliates, which works out to 10:15 a.m. EDT. Prime Video and Japanese streaming service U-NEXT carry the earliest streams an hour later, at 12:15 a.m. Every other streaming service picks it up from Thursdays at 12:15 a.m.
No international streaming partner has been announced for the enhanced edition. The original 2015 Dragon Ball Super streams on Crunchyroll, which makes the missing Western home for this recut conspicuous.
English-speaking fans do get one early look. Dragon Ball's official English site says episode 1 gets a world-premiere screening at New York Comic Con on Thursday, October 8, three days ahead of the Japanese broadcast. Jason Douglas and Ian Sinclair, the English dub voices of Beerus and Whis, join the panel, hosted by Monica Rial.
© Bird Studio/Shueisha, Toei Animation