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Toei Animation just released its report for the 2025 fiscal year (which took place from April 2024 to March 2025), in whichDragon Ballbroke a new record. Toei periodically releases financial reports for previous quarters, and a full-year report comes out around April or May every year, with the top 4 series in terms of earnings during each year. Series likeDragon BallandOne Piecetypically perform well in these reports.
Dragon Ballwas expected to be one of the company’s best-selling series of the year, especially due to the release ofDragon Ball Daima, the final series in the franchise created by Akira Toriyama.Dragon Balltypically performs well, even without new anime releases, so expectations were high forDaima.
Dragon Ball Crossed A Huge Milestone
While it was expected thatDragon Ballwould have a great performance, its success went beyond anyone’s imagination. Summing up domestic licensing, overseas film licensing, and overseas licensing,Dragon Ballearned over 25 billion yen(about 171.3 million dollars) in the 2025 fiscal year. This is the first time a franchise has crossed this number in a single fiscal year.
Some may wonder whyDragon Ballis the top two in overseas filmlicensing despite not releasing any new movies. These numbers include licensing movies to streaming services as well as theatrical releases. Thus, the series' performance this fiscal year doesn’t necessarily mean a new movie is coming out soon — in fact, no new movie has been announced yet, and it seems unlikely that one will be released this year.
Toei Will Start Using A.I. in Anime Production
In addition to the report, Toei announced that it will start using more artificial intelligence (A.I.) in the future. According to an official document, the company plans to use artificial intelligence for storyboard creation, coloring, automatic frame correction, and background generation from photos. This is not unexpected for those who have been following the company closely, asToei has been investing in A.I.for a few years. However, it is likely to spark controversies among fans and professionals.
Manyproduction companies claim that there is a labor shortage in the anime industry, while many animators claim that they are underpaid for long hours of work. While companiesclaim that A.I. is a solution to workforce shortagesand a way to improve workflow by dealing with time-consuming processes, many animators fear that it will negatively impact their working conditions and opportunities in the long run.
Source:X (formerly Twitter)
Dragon Ball Daimais available to stream on Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball is a franchise by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the earth with his group of friends. A recent title from the series is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an action style game where 7 players have to survive being hunted by the Raider.
