Although Dragon Ball has some new installments that will be launched this year, the series didn’t get much new content last year. While other popular anime and manga series like One Piece and Bleach saw decent growth, Dragon Ball is still waiting for its moment, and this has been reflected in a recent report by Bandai.
Bandai Namco, one of the biggest Japanese video game publishers, has recently released its financial report for the full fiscal year 2024, and the company has seen some major changes after a very long time. According to the report, Dragon Ball has been taken down from its top position after six years by another popular series.
And while Dragon Ball has suffered a huge blow, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has unlocked a new achievement that has put the series in the big leagues for Bandai. This has officially proved that while the popularity of One Piece is increasing day by day, Dragon Ball will have to do something to get back to its previous rank.
Dragon Ball is Finally Knocked Down After Six Years
@Schaewn recently shared Bandai Namco’s financial report for the full fiscal year 2024 (April 1st, 2023–March 31st, 2024) on X(Formerly Twitter), and it’s not looking good for Akira Toriyama’s magnum opus. Dragon Ball’s IP made 140.6 billion yen in the 2024 fiscal year, which puts it in second place on Bandai Namco’s list.
The first place was snatched by Mobile Suit Gundam, which earned 145.7 billion yen in the last fiscal year. Mobile Suit Gundam knocked down Dragon Ball to second place, ending the six-year-long streak for the series.
Finally, DRAGON BALL is no longer #1 in the fiscal year.
What a good news for Goku Day! 🤗 https://t.co/Gn8D2ogKQw
— SUPER クロニクルス (@SupaChronicles) May 9, 2024
Dragon Ball has been at the top of the table for so long, but insufficient releases last year resulted in a decrease in Dragon Ball’s popularity.
In the fiscal year 2023, Dragon Ball’s IP earned 144.5 billion yen, while Mobile Suit Gundam earned 131.3 billion yen. Although the Dragon Ball franchise has seen a downfall, it can make a comeback this year with the projects that are lined up. The biggest among them is the much-awaited Dragon Ball Daima.
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is on a Roll
While Dragon Ball suffered a devastating blow, Eiichiro Oda’s magnum opus has made history this year. The series has finally crossed the 100 billion yen mark for Bandai Namco’s fiscal year 2024. The franchise earned 112.1 billion yen, which is a big growth compared to last year when the series made 86.3 billion yen.
One Piece earned a lot of recognition in 2023. The series launched the live-action adaptation, which was a huge success. Not only that, the series has finally started the finale saga of the anime and manga series, which skyrocketed the overall popularity of the series as it made quite a few big revelations.
Although One Piece has a long way to go before it reaches big-league players like Dragon Ball and Mobile Suit Gundam, just like Toriyama’s masterpiece, One Piece also has quite a few things planned for this year that can help in the overall growth of the franchise.
You can watch One Piece and Dragon Ball on Crunchyroll.
