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 hit series to life. Without a doubt, the two most popular works it has adapted are Eiichiro Odas One Piece and Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. When it comes to the former, fans know that it is the best-selling manga in the world, which follows the story of Monkey D. Luffy and his adventures to find the ultimate treasure called One Piece. In the meantime, Dragon Ball follows the story of Son Goku as he takes on several powerful enemies and grows stronger with each challenge.

For decades, One Piece and Dragon Ball have had a very exciting rivalry. But 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 as the former gets not one but two new animated projects, which was 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 biggest Dragon Ball event in recent years, called Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri. On January 25, 2026, we went into this event not expecting much but were quite surprised when Toei Animation revealed not one but two major anime projects for the Dragon Ball series.

The first project was less exciting, called Dragon Ball Super: Beerus. As the name itself suggests, 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 it will arrive at the end of 2026, probably around October. This new anime will give us the chance to experience Goku Vs Beerus again after many years, bringing nostalgia back to the surface 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 taken off the air in 2018 and ended after the Tournament of Power. Now, we're excited and can't wait to see the all-new adventure that Goku and the Z Warriors embark on as the Moro arc is finally brought to life. 2026 is definitely going to be a great year for Dragon Ball fans, and so will the years to come.

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

Dragon Ball is an iconic series, and its main character, Son Goku, is often cited as the face of anime. Some fans even call it the father of all shonen anime. After all, Toriyama's work was groundbreaking and continued to shape the industry, 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 repeatedly proven to be a franchise on the same scale as Dragon Ballif not even bigger. When it comes to selling manga, One Piece absolutely blew Dragon Ball out of the water to become 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 have often been rival series. Unfortunately, this rivalry ended when Dragon Ball franchise took a big hit. On a brighter note, it's exciting for us to know One Piece and Dragon Ball will almost certainly air side-by-side later this year. As already announced by Toei Animation, the Elbaf arc is over One Piece airs for 13 episodes after starting in April 2026. After 3 months, One Piece goes on hiatus again. Then, after a 3-month hiatus, the anime will start airing again in October 2026, which is confirmed by the new strategy used by Toei Animation to improve the quality of the series.

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

October 2026 will reignite the greatest Toei animation rivalry of all time

Image by Toei Animation

Dragon Ball's anime content declined over the last decade, and Toriyama's death was something that greatly affected the franchise. But now, with the Dragon Ball revival officially confirmed at the Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri, it can be said that the rivalry with One Piece will be revived soon. As previously mentioned, the Elbaf and Beerus arcs will air together, but it doesn't stop there.

Fans can't forget Dragon Ball Super's true official anime return with The Galactic Patrol arc. This arc should be released around 2027, and it's likely that it will also air alongside Elbaf. Thanks to Toei Animation, the Dragon Ball series will now receive a significant boost, and that only means that its revenue will increase significantly, continuing to 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 the two biggest hits that Toei Animation has ever worked on, One Piece is still expected to be Toei's flagship series. While Dragon Ball Super is exciting, it is not technically illustrated or fully written by Toriyama. More than that, the story is simply not as gripping as One Piece and lacks depth in various areas. Also, One Piece is just growing worldwide at a tremendous pace with its new projects, such as the live-action adaptation, and now a new anime remake is set for February 2027 as well.

One Piece's story only gets more exciting as the Final Saga gets richer. Big reveals will be made in the anime soon, and fans can't wait to see everything unfold. Even in viewership, it's unlikely to see Dragon Ball surpass One Piece. After all, Dragon Ball had Dragon Ball Daima not too long ago, but it was nowhere near as popular as the One Piece anime. Still, it will definitely be fun to see these series go head-to-head again.

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