8 years later, anime's greatest rivalry is finally being revived by Toei Animation

Toei Animation is a phenomenal anime studio that was founded in 1948 and has since brought many popular manga series to life. The two most popular works she has adapted are undoubtedly those of Eiichiro Oda One piece and Akira Toriyama Dragon Ball. As for the former, fans know it as the world's best-selling manga that follows the story of Monkey D. Luffy and his adventures to find the ultimate treasure called One piece. Meantime, Dragon Ball follows the story of Son Goku who faces many powerful enemies and becomes stronger with each challenge.

For decades, One Piece and Dragon Ball have enjoyed a very exciting rivalry. However, 8 years ago Dragon Ball Super ended and this rivalry quietly ceased to exist. Now in 2026, Dragon Ball vs One Piece is being revived once again as the former is getting not one but two new anime projects as officially confirmed at Genkidamatsuri on January 25, 2026.

Dragon Ball Super officially returns to rival One Piece as Toei Animation's biggest anime franchise

Earlier this year, the largest Dragon Ball there has been an event for the past few years called Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri. On January 25th, 2026, we went into this event without much expectation, but we were quite surprised as Toei Animation revealed not one, but two major anime projects for the Dragon Ball franchise.

The first project was less exciting, called Dragon Ball Super: Beerus. As the name itself makes clear, Beerus is not a new anime, but rather a remastered version of the original anime that aired in 2016. This anime already has a release date and will be released in late 2026, probably around October. This new anime will give us a chance to experience Goku Vs Beerus after many years to bring out the nostalgia all over again, only this time with cutting edge modern animation.

The second announcement was an even more exciting project and that is Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol. This is a brand new anime that continues the story of the Dragon Ball Super manga. The entire Dragon Ball fandom experienced frustration after the anime was pulled from airing in 2018 and stopped watching Tournament of Power. We are now delighted and can't wait to see the brand new adventure that Goku and the Z Warriors go on as the Moro arc finally comes to life. 2026 is definitely going to be an amazing year for Dragon Ball fans, and so will the next few years.

Dragon Ball and One Piece will once again compete for top honors

Dragon Ball is an iconic series and its main character, Son Goku, is often featured as the face of the anime. Some fans even call him the father of all shonen anime. After all, Toriyama's work was groundbreaking and industry-shaping, and the likes of One Piece and Naruto couldn't exist without it. With that in mind, not many series can stand up as a rival to this monumental franchise. However, One piece has proven itself several times over as a franchise on the same scale as Dragon Ballif not even bigger. When it comes to selling mangoes, One piece she absolutely blew up Dragon Ball out of the water and became the best-selling manga of all time with over 600 million copies sold worldwide.

Both in Japan and around the world, Dragon Ball and One piece were often rival series. Unfortunately, this rivalry came to a halt when Dragon Ball the franchise was a big hit. On the other hand, it's exciting for us to know One piece and Dragon Ball they're almost guaranteed to air side-by-side later this year. As previously announced by Toei Animation, the Elbaf arc One piece After starting in April 2026, 13 episodes will air. After 3 months, One Piece will pause again. Then, after a three-month hiatus, the anime will start airing again in October 2026, as confirmed by a new strategy deployed by Toei Animation aimed at improving the quality of the series.

Dragon Ball Super: Beerus does not yet have an exact broadcast date. We only have confirmed information that it will air in late 2026. That said, rumors suggest that this highly anticipated remaster will be released around October 2026. In other words, it's highly likely that the Elbaf and Beerus arcs will air together, and fans are definitely excited to see two of the greatest shonens side by side again.

October 2026 is set to reignite Toei's greatest anime rivalry of all time

Image by Toei Animation

Dragon Ball anime content has slowed down over the past decade, and Toriyama's death was something that heavily affected the franchise. But now that the Dragon Ball revival is officially confirmed at Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri, it's safe to say that the rivalry with One Piece will soon be reignited. That being said, the Elbaf and Beerus arcs will air together, but it doesn't end there.

Fans can't forget the true official anime return of Dragon Ball Super with The Galactic Patrol arc. This arc is expected to come out around 2027 and it is likely that it will also air alongside Elbaf. Thanks to Toei Animation, the Dragon Ball franchise will now get a major boost, and that only means that its revenue will increase significantly and compete with One Piece.

Despite the return of Dragon Ball, One Piece will continue to dominate as Toei's flagship series

While Dragon Ball and One Piece are definitely two of the biggest hits Toei Animation has ever worked on, One Piece should still remain Toei's flagship series. Dragon Ball Super, while exciting, isn't technically illustrated or fully written by Toriyama. More than that, the story simply isn't as engrossing as One Piece and lacks depth in various areas. Additionally, One Piece is only growing at a tremendous pace worldwide with its new projects such as a live-action adaptation and now a new anime remake is set for February 2027.

The story of One Piece keeps getting more exciting as the Final Saga gets richer. Big reveals are coming soon in the anime and fans can't wait to see it all. Dragon Ball is unlikely to surpass One Piece in ratings either. After all, Dragon Ball had a Dragon Ball Daimo recently, but it wasn't nearly as popular as the One Piece anime. Still, seeing these series go head-to-head again will definitely be fun.

Both Dragon Ball Super and One Piece are available to stream on Crunchyroll.