Over on Twitter, Todd Blankenship aka @Herms98, a noted Dragon Ball translator for
kanzenshuu.com has revealed that a new Gegenno Kitaro TV anime will be moving into Dragon Ball Super's timeslot on Fuji TV.
As the new Gegenno Kitaro TV anime is celebrating that franchise's 50th Anniversary, some fans are speculating that Super is simply going on a hiatus while that series airs and that the break on the TV show will give animators time to work on
the upcoming Dragon Ball anime film. The newspaper also says "it's not like the series is over" further strengthening the argument that Super is merely going on hiatus.
Dragon Ball Super currently stands at 123 episodes and with two interruptions to its usual broadcast due to special events in Japan, Dragon Ball Super should theoretically end on Saturday, March 25 at 131 episodes.
Over on Twitter, Toyotaro (Akira Toriyama's hand-picked successor and current illustrator of the manga) has stated that he is contractually forbidden to speak on the end of the anime series.
Also over on Twitter, the account for Dragon Ball Super thanked fans for support and likewise pointed out that the series would continue on in animated form with the new movie that comes out December 2018.
"
Thanks for always supporting us! The TV series Dragon Ball Super’s Universe Survival arc finally reaches its climax at the end of March, so please support us to the end! There’s also a movie this December too! The Dragon Ball series will continue on, so look forward to it!"
(translated via @Herms98)
Japanese animator and director Ohno Ben is yet another Twitter account with news on Super's status. It seems he believes the show is ending rather than going on hiatus. He's leaving Super to work on the new Captain Tsubasa anime. "
So the news that Dragon Ball Super will be ending its broadcast in spring (March?) has already gone public. I just found out yesterday that episode 126 would be my last time as animation director (；・∀・)"
The most levelheaded analysis of the situation is that there's currently no set plans in place for the status of Dragon Ball Super. The anime might be ending for good in March or it could return after the film. It's also possible that a new anime series with a different title starts up after the new movie. Then there's also the fact that storywise, the manga is currently a few episodes behind the anime and that the manga has previously depicted events and battle outcomes slightly different from how they occurred in the show. It's entirely possible that while Super is off the air, Toyotaro's manga will continue on and provide fresh source material for a continuation of Super or a brand new show.
As you can see, there's still lots of questions surrounding this news and a ton of mixed emotion in the Dragon Ball fandom right now. Keep it locked to AnimeMojo for further updates.