‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’ Everything We Know So Far

Fans have long-argued whether Superman or “Dragon Ball Z” lead Son Goku would win in a fight, but the latter has never been called a “super hero” until now. That will potentially change with the upcoming animated film “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.” Son Goku and friends will face off against another world-ending threat that will require a good deal of punching, some fireballs, and perhaps a new form of Super Saiyan to defeat.

“Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” is the most recent film in the long-running “Dragon Ball” franchise and the 21st feature film in the entire series, which has been running on Japanese television since 1986. It’s also the second film in the current “Dragon Ball Super” series, following 2018’s “Dragon Ball Super: Broly.”

Well, there used to be a rather straightforward answer to that question, but things have changed recently. “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” was originally planned for a Japanese release on April 22, 2022 with a subsequent North American release this Summer. Those plans changed on March 18, when Toei Animation decided to postpone the film’s release indefinitely.

Why? On March 6, Toei Animation was the victim of an online hack, according to reporting by Crunchyroll. The company is still investigating the full scope of the hack, trying to figure out if any personal information or do

cuments related to current projects was accessed. During the investigation, Toei has shut down several internal systems to probe for further issues.
The company released the following statement, translated by Crunchyroll:

“As it was previously announced, Toei Animation, the production company of the movie ‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’, which was scheduled to be released nationwide on April 22 [inside Japan], experienced unauthorized access to its network by a third party, making it difficult to produce the movie. As a result, we have no choice but to postpone the release of the film. We apologize to all those who have been looking forward to the release of the film. We will announce the new release date in the near future. Thank you for your understanding.”
There has been no subsequent word on when the Japanese or North American releases are taking place.

Given that this is a “Dragon Ball Super” film, most of the standard cast from the television show will be reprising their roles. Voice actress Masako Nozawa is providing the voices of Son Goku, Son Gohan, and Son Goten. The release art from the film shows a stronger focus on Son Gohan, Goku’s eldest son, and his mentor Piccolo, compared to Broly’s singular focus on Goku and Vegeta. Piccolo will be voiced by Toshio Furukawa, Ryo Horikawa is still Vegeta, and series mainstays like Mayumi Tanaka (Krillin), Aya Hisakawa (Bulma), Takeshi Kusao (Trunks), and Miki Ito (Android 18) are returning.

Videl, Gohan’s wife, is an interesting omission here. Voice actress Yuko Miinaguchi will be voicing Gohan’s daughter Pan, but despite also voicing Videl, the latter isn’t listed as part of the cast. Another interesting addition is Broly, who returns from the previous film still voiced by veteran voice actor Bin Shimada.
In terms of new characters, we have the villains of the film. Miyu Irino, a voice actor some will know of as the Japanese voice of Sora in the “Kingdom Hearts” video games, will be the evil Dr. Hedo.

His antagonistic android creations, Gamma #1 and Gamma #2, will be voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya and Mamoru Miyano respectively.
It’s worth noting that “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” is written by series creator Akira Toriyama. This is the fourth film produced with Toriyama’s direct input. It’s also going to be the first “Dragon Ball” film produced primarily with 3D animation, with “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” CGI Sequence Director Tetsuro Kodama stepping in as the main director this time.

Big, flowing colored hair and bigger Kamehamehas, of course! To be more clear, “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” will feature the return of the villainous Red Ribbon Army, an organization that has been bugging Goku and crew since the original “Dragon Ball” manga and anime. The Red Ribbon is back at work creating new android threats, similar to Androids 16, 17, and 18. Dr. Hedo will put the organization’s resources to work to craft Gamma #1 and Gamma #2.

Goku and Vegeta will be off-world for the film, leading to the heroic focus moving to Gohan and Piccolo. After an attack by the Gamma androids, Piccolo will attempt to sneak into a Red Ribbon base to find out what’s going on. When the Red Ribbon Army kidnaps Gohan’s daughter Pan, it’ll be up to him to regain his fighting strength to bring her safely home.

The official site points to Piccolo’s “latent power” leading to a new form. Hopefully, Gohan will likewise achieve a brand-new power, considering his father and Vegeta are both up to the mega-powerful Super Saiyan Blue forms. More forms, more power! That’s the “Dragon Ball” way!

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