Is Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol Canon?

Akira Toriyama's "Dragon Ball" is a cultural institution. It is beloved around the world and is practically synonymous with the entire medium of anime. Son Goku has been the archetypical anime protagonist for the last 40 years, with his spiky hair, cheerful personality, and habit of eating at every opportunity. And yet, despite its incredible reputation, the original "Dragon Ball" run is somehow even better than its legacy would suggest.

After two years, "Dragon Ball" is back with a new anime, which was announced during a special event commemorating the 40th anniversary of Akira Toriyama's manga. "Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol" is a big deal for fans. Even though we just got a "Dragon Ball" anime last year in "Daima," this one is a continuation of the "Super" series that stopped abruptly in 2018. The "Super" series started with a series of movies before expanding to a TV anime and a manga as well. The manga went on indefinite hiatus after the passing of Toriyama in 2024, while the last movie, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" was a box office hit.

Like many popular action anime, "Dragon Ball" has grown beyond the original manga, which had a definitive ending in 1995. The franchise now encompasses several TV shows and movies, not all of them canon. The announcement of "Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol" therefore raises the question of whether the show will be part of the official canon or not. The short answer is yes, the show is canon. The slightly longer answer is a bit more complicated than that.

The "Dragon Ball" franchise as written by Akira Toriyama had a clear ending, but that didn't stop Toei Animation from continuing to produce new stories within the world. Rather than continuing after the manga's ending, new shows have taken place in the 10-year timeskip at the end of the manga. This includes both "Dragon Ball Daima" and "Dragon Ball Super," meaning they are both technically sequels to the original "Dragon Ball Z" and also prequels to the very end of "Dragon Ball Z."

What makes "Dragon Ball Super" stand out from other anime sequels is how heavily involved Toriyama was. Like with some of the many movies in the franchise, he came up with the original story and some character design concepts for "Super." Then, for its manga adaptation, he mostly left Toyotarou in charge, though he did write some of the chapters. Both "Dragon Ball Super: Broly" and "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" were not just personally supervised by Toriyama, but he also wrote the scripts for both of them.

That is what makes "Dragon Ball Super" a bit complicated when it comes to canon. No, they are not entirely a part of the original manga; they are side stories within a vague timeskip. "Broly" and "Super Hero" aren't even technically adapted from the "Super" manga, nor are they covered by that manga. And yet the two movies are written by Akira Toriyama and the rest of the series is supervised by him.

So what of "Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol?" Well, it is canon while also not being a part of the core "Dragon Ball." You can skip it and stick with just "Dragon Ball Z," or enjoy the fact that we have more Goku and friends.