11 Years Later, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus Finally Nails Akira Toriyama's Original Vision

Published Oct 18, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is more than a fresh coat of paint on a familiar story Image: Toei Animation I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t particularly excited about Dragon Ball Super: Beerus. When the remake of Dragon Ball Super was first announced, I struggled to see the point of revisiting a story that had already been told once in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and then again in the original 2015 television run. Sure, the promise of refreshed animation was exciting, but it didn’t feel like that was enough to justify starting from scratch for a third time, especially when major manga milestones like the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc and Moro have yet to receive their due on-screen. After seeing the world premiere of Beerus at New York Comic Con 2026, however, I’m happy to admit I was dead wrong. From the anime’s jaw-dropping opening sequence — one that feels more like a loving victory lap through franchise history than a standard OP — to the enhanced colors and smoother pacing, this series is already proving itself to be one of the most confident Dragon Ball TV adaptations we’ve seen in years. More than anything, this rendition feels like the closest we’ve come to seeing Akira Toriyama’s vision seamlessly extricated from page to screen. The premiere expertly weaves in manga-exclusive beats, such as Goku’s mental shadow-sparring against his most infamous foes, signaling that this adaptation is finally using the Super manga (written and illustrated by Toyotarou) as its primary blueprint. The most immediate difference in Beerus is how it introduces its titular character. Where Battle of Gods leaned heavily into situational comedy and the original Super anime stretched the setup across padded filler, Beerus presents the God of Destruction as an absolute terror from the frame he wakes. He remains a gluttonous and temperamental deity laced with Toriyama’s signature dry humor, but the threat he poses feels as darkly formidable here as it did in the opening chapters of the manga. Rather than simply reanimating a familiar narrative, the team is rethinking how that narrative should breathe. That intent is best witnessed in the pacing. Dragon Ball Super: Beerus takes its time establishing the status quo, juxtaposing Goku’s peaceful routine as a radish farmer against Beerus awakening from his slumber in the far-off reaches of space. The quiet beats feel deliberate, giving the characters room to leave an impression before the cosmic stakes kick in. No more rushing to the action; Beerus is letting those quiet moments sit, and it’s a welcome surprise for a franchise that has long thrived on action. While a fresh coat of paint might sound purely cosmetic on paper, it fundamentally transforms how this material lands. Character models carry genuine vitality against rich background textures, and the combat possesses actual weight. The premiere episode doesn’t feature grand transformations, but specific shots of Beerus, particularly his confrontation on Planet Mogina, carry a newfound presence. Revised linework and contrast-heavy shading give the God of Destruction an intimidating aura that was completely absent from the flat 2015 broadcast. When he casually deflects the Chief Moginaian's desperate blast, there is a sharp sense of physical impact, elevating a routine destruction beat into a genuine showcase of cosmic authority. To appreciate why this shift matters, you have to look at where the original Dragon Ball Super failed. Born from a notoriously rushed production schedule at Toei Animation, the 2015 series was forced onto airwaves right after Resurrection 'F'. That left animators working under crushing weekly deadlines with virtually zero lead time. Goku’s first clash with Beerus on King Kai’s planet featured a sea of off-model character designs, flat digital shading, and stiff anatomy that became an industry-wide meme for botched TV animation. More than just an aesthetic misstep, the episodic padding diluted the untouchable gravitas of telling a story about a villain who is a literal God of Destruction. Image: Toei Animation That’s a major reason why Dragon Ball Super: Beerus feels so vital. It isn't just cutting away broadcast fat and correcting visual compositions; it’s finally respecting the source material in a way that aligns with Toriyama's grand vision. Retreading familiar ground is inherently risky, and I’m still not entirely convinced the franchise needed to loop back to the beginning rather than charging forward. But seeing these iconic fights renewed with modern animation, and watching how thoughtfully the show constructs its foundation this time, make for a rather compelling case. The slower pacing also makes sense as a way to bridge fans back into the world of Dragon Ball Super ahead of the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc, which is set to release sometime in 2027. Adapting Goku and Vegeta's high-stakes clash with the ancient sorcerer Moro, this upcoming arc finally brings to life a storyline manga readers have spent years waiting to see on screen. Thus, a refresher on the events that started this era of Dragon Ball isn’t a bad idea on the cusp of that show’s release. For longtime fans, Beerus offers a chance to reset the baseline before stepping into uncharted animated territory. Image: Toei Animation Skepticism surrounding another remake is completely valid. Spending time on a story we’ve seen twice already can feel like an unwanted detour when so much unadapted manga material remains. But based on its premiere, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is delivering a cut of this story worthy of Toriyama’s legacy, elevating the visual standard to match what the 42‑year‑old Dragon Ball franchise deserves. I went into NYCC wondering why we needed to revisit this arc again in the first place, and I'm left wondering how much better the modern era of Dragon Ball might have been if it had been given this level of care from the very start. One episode doesn’t guarantee an entire arc’s execution, but for the first time in a long while, I’m genuinely thrilled to watch Goku reach for the divine again. Dragon Ball Super: Beerus is streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix