Two Losses in One Month
If you're a Dragon Ball fan, March 2026 is not being kind to you. In the span of just a few days, two pieces of disappointing news dropped back to back, and the community is feeling it.
The Official App Is Done
First up, the Dragon Ball Official Site app is shutting down on March 26. The announcement came directly from the official Dragon Ball website, confirming that the app version of the site will cease to function by the end of the month. That means no more commenting on articles through the app, no more saving favorites, and no more logging into your profile. Everything tied to Dragon Ball Members on the app side is going away. Now, the website itself isn't disappearing. You can still access all the same content through your browser. But for fans who used the app as their daily Dragon Ball hub, getting push notifications about new merch drops, game updates, and anime news, this is a real loss. It was a convenient, dedicated space, and replacing it with "just use the browser" doesn't quite fill that gap.Daima Blu-ray? Not Happening Yet
Then there's the Crunchyroll situation. Both the standard and limited-edition Blu-ray releases of Dragon Ball Daima were originally scheduled for March 3. Fans had been hyped for the limited-edition box set with its silver foil rigid box and exclusive art. But Crunchyroll confirmed the delay with no new release date in sight, only saying updates would come "as soon as they have been determined." The leading theory among fans is that the holdup involves the English-dubbed versions of the opening and ending themes. Crunchyroll confirmed back in February that English versions of "Jaka Jaan" and "NAKAMA," both composed by Zedd, were being produced exclusively for the home media release. That kind of production work takes time, and it seems like it wasn't ready for the original street date.
Why This Hits Different in the Post-Toriyama Era
Two setbacks in one month might not seem like a huge deal on the surface, but context matters here. Dragon Ball is navigating uncharted territory. Akira Toriyama, the creator who shaped every major decision in the franchise for four decades, passed away in March 2024. Every new Dragon Ball project now carries an extra layer of scrutiny. Fans aren't just asking "is this good?" They're asking "does this honor Toriyama's legacy?"
The Anxiety Is Real
That's why seemingly small things, like an app shutting down or a Blu-ray getting delayed, hit differently right now. They feed into a broader anxiety about whether the franchise can maintain its momentum without its creator at the helm. When Dragon Ball Daima ended its 20-episode run in February 2025, it felt like a farewell gift from Toriyama. The fact that we're still waiting for a proper physical release of that farewell, over a year later, doesn't sit right with a lot of people. The Dragon Ball Super manga is also still on hiatus. Toyotarou's continuation of the story hasn't seen new chapters, and there's no timeline for its return. For fans who follow the manga side of things, the silence is deafening.Perception vs. Reality
But here's the thing. The perception that Dragon Ball is struggling doesn't match the reality of what's actually in the pipeline. The franchise isn't winding down. If anything, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most loaded years in Dragon Ball history. The bad news is real, but it's also temporary. The good news? That's the stuff that's going to define the next era of Dragon Ball.
What's Actually Coming Next
If you zoom out from the March frustrations, the Dragon Ball roadmap is genuinely stacked. At January's Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri event, Toei Animation confirmed that production has already begun on Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, the anime adaptation of the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga. Key art showed Goku and Vegeta rocking Galactic Patrol emblems on their gi, and based on production timelines, we're looking at a late 2027 or early 2028 premiere. That's a full new Super anime, not a movie, not a special. A proper continuation.