In 2018, when news broke that a Dragon Ball anime is set to begin, fans are filled with both excitement and anxiety. On one hand, some fans hope that the new series Dragon Ball Superhero (Dragon Ball Heroes) will tell stories that fans dreamed would one day be covered in the series. On the other hand, other fans were concerned that the series would dilute and ruin the core storyline of Dragon Ball. Six years later, as the series comes to an end, fear certainly seems to have won out over excitement.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes is not a completely original Dragon Ball series. Instead, it is an adaptation of the hugely popular Bandai card game Dragon Ball Heroes, which debuted in 2010, and its updated version, Super Dragon Ball Heroes, which debuted in 2016. Produced by Toei Animation, the Super Dragon Ball Heroes anime debuted in July 2018 and recently ended in August 2024.
Dragon Ball Heroes is exactly what the harshest critics thought about all of Dragon Ball
Super Dragon Ball Heroes' Merchandising Origins Raise Concerns the Series Will Never End
The video games—and by extension, the anime—take place outside of the official Dragon Ball timeline. This gives the creators a lot of freedom and artistic license to explore whatever ideas they want, as long as they're rooted in the Dragon Ball universe. As a result, the anime features some interesting team-ups, never-before-seen villains, and powers that fans of the official Dragon Ball series could only dream of witnessing.
Regardless of the author's intentions, fans of any popular manga series often develop their own hopes and desires for its story and characters. Dragon Ball is no exception—in fact, due to its popularity and longevity, it's safe to say that there are millions of fan-favorite outcomes that fans hope to see in the series. While the final direction remains in the hands of author Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Super provides a platform to explore fan interests through “what if” scenarios.without affecting the official Dragon Ball timeline.
Dragon Ball Heroes has turned out to be exactly what critics expected
Unfortunately, instead of being a creative sandbox to explore interesting ideas and theories about the series and its characters, Dragon Ball Heroes has become exactly what critics expected—an awkward nod to some of the more random and extreme tendencies of the Dragon Ball fandom. When the anime was initially announced as a “promotional anime,” many fans saw it as yet another example of Bandai and Toei exploiting the Dragon Ball fan community to, essentially, sell a video game.
While Dragon Ball Heroes avoids the crude consumerism that some fans feared, it is clear that the series falls short of the standards set by the original manga and the official Dragon Ball TV shows and films. While the series is generally enjoyable to watch, it suffers from the technical and content issues that critics expected. The animation, for example, has been widely criticized as being inferior to that of the official releases.
Dragon Ball Heroes' focus on big power and villains contrasts with Toriyama's tight character development.
Dragon Ball Heroes often has little character development, lacking the real core of the series.
A major criticism of Dragon Ball Heroes is how it differs from the hallmark of Akira Toriyama's official Dragon Ball series: strong character development. Toriyama's stories often feature characters who undergo significant personal growth, maturing into better versions of themselves due to the events of the story. A prime example is Vegeta's transformation throughout Dragon Ball from a ruthless, narcissistic Saiyan prince to a selfless, humane hero. This type of character development is a major element missing from Dragon Ball Heroes.
Dragon Ball Heroes focuses heavily on the series' power system, with a constantly expanding roster of villains. While this makes sense given the story's video game origins, it feels more like infotainment when adapted to anime. For example, with villains like Fu, Cumber, or Cooler, the focus seems to be on showing off their power and upgrades rather than providing compelling origin stories, meaningful background content, or thoughtful integration into the plot. Their existence seems to serve as a reason for Goku and Vegeta's development rather than a creative extension of the story.
Despite all its flaws, Super Dragon Ball Heroes is still a harmlessly fun game (As long as you don't take it too seriously)
Super Dragon Ball Heroes' unofficial status allows dissatisfied fans to easily ignore it
That's not to say that Super Dragon Ball Heroes isn't watchable or worth watching. On the contrary, it's quite enjoyable, especially if fans understand that it exists in its own standalone universe. In this Dragon Ball dream world, anything can happen, from Goku fighting his father Bardock to Vegito fighting Gogeta, and a never-before-seen Future Gohan fighting his old friend Trunks. These are the fights and situations that fans have wanted to see for years but never had the chance to witness in the Dragon Ball canon.
You can watch all Super Dragon Ball Heroes episodes for free on Youtube.
In other words, the series allows fans to see how the story could have developed if different creative choices had been made or different events emphasized. Essentially, the series operates without the limitations imposed by the core continuity. Creators can take big risks without fear of criticism if an idea fails. Furthermore, the fact that these “out of the blue” ideas cannot appear in the official story does not mean that creators in the core continuity are not influenced by what they see in Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Indeed, Toriyama has admitted that he is influenced by non-canon works.
Above all, Super Dragon Ball Heroes is a more fun take on Dragon Ball for any fan who doesn't take the game too seriously.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes is, above all, a more fun take on Dragon Ball for any fan who doesn't take it too seriously or isn't a Dragon Ball purist. It will especially appeal to video game fans looking for a deeper exploration of its lore. Most importantly, Dragon Ball Superhero is for ordinary people Dragon Ball Fans love the action-packed fighting sequences that the manga series is famous for.
