The aptly titled “Super Gekitou” (super brawl) trailer for Toei Animation’s forthcoming Dragon Ball Super: Beerus anime series looks absolutely breathtaking. The sparkling new video was shown off during the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour event over the past weekend, and it highlights how incredible the franchise can look in animation when it’s treated less like an ongoing obligation and more like a flagship production.
It’s hard for any Dragon Ball fan to deny just how polished the new series looks, offering far sharper compositing, re-rendered fight choreography, and a stronger sense of scale, elements that should help bridge both longtime viewers and newer audiences to the Galactic Patrol series slated for 2027. But I’m still not convinced we really needed to rehash Battle of Gods, even if there’s some Resurrection ‘F’ material folded in later.
The final shot of the new trailer offers a brief glimpse of Frieza suspended in a medical tank, with his body regenerating under a green glow, teasing the villain’s fated return as depicted in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’. The 2015 film focuses on the revival of Frieza following the events of Battle of Gods and his following attempted conquest of Earth.
Much in the same way Battle of the Gods was retold in the main Dragon Ball Super anime series, so too was Resurrection ‘F,’ specifically in episodes 15–27. That means Dragon Ball Super: Beerus will effectively mark the third retelling of this specific narrative thread. But more Golden Frieza isn’t exactly what I’m looking for.
The Resurrection ‘F’ movie featured some pretty good animation for its time, and the story, while predictable and with a controversial ending, was praised for delivering more of what Dragon Ball fans love. Even if this new version corrects pacing issues and the inconsistent animation that affected both the film’s TV adaptation, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus still raises the same question: why prioritize refinement over progression? That question becomes sharper when you consider what’s being left untouched. The franchise is sitting on entire arcs (e.g., Moro, Granolah) that still haven’t been animated, yet the pipeline begins by circling back to material audiences already know beat for beat.
For Dragon Ball Super: Beerus to really work, some tweaks to the source material are needed to fully justify its existence, especially when it comes to Frieza’s resurrection. Neither the movie nor the anime’s retelling was fully successful in capitalizing on the arc’s potential, and inconsistent animation quality was a recurring issue in the latter. However, if Dragon Ball Super: Beerus reworked certain narrative elements without disrupting the canon, it could become far more compelling.
A solid example is the story’s deus ex machina ending, where Frieza destroys Earth only for Whis to rewind time and allow Goku to finish him off. Many still cite the ending of Resurrection ‘F’ as one of the most controversial resolutions in modern Dragon Ball, made even more divisive with how Vegeta was snubbed for the final blow. Adjusting this alone could go a long way toward redeeming that portion of the series, though the likelihood is slim.
If the strategy is to rebuild everything before moving forward, the series risks feeling stuck in its own legacy loop. The new trailer might make a compelling case for revisiting the Beerus arc and Resurrection ‘F’ with far-improved animation, proving that Dragon Ball can look better than ever. The franchise just hasn’t proven it knows where to go next.
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