Dragon Ball Super 2 Must Honor Akira Toriyama’s Only Wish That Other DB Anime Ignored

Dragon Ball Super 2 has a real shot at giving Akira Toriyama something the anime never did. Officially titled Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, it adapts the Moro Arc, a story Toriyama is credited with. Back in 1996, and again in 2013, he said the same thing about Goku: he’s no righteous hero, just a guy who loves fighting strong opponents.

Toei Animation’s anime kept polishing the halo anyway. No release date has been announced yet, but this arc could finally show Goku the way his creator always wanted him to be. So without further ado, let’s dive into more details about the original interview with Akira Toriyama and the premise.

Toriyama Never Wanted Goku Written as a Righteous Anime Hero

Goku from Dragon Ball Z | Credits: Toei Animation

Kanzenshuu translated two Toriyama interviews back in 2015 (via website), and both land on the same point. The first was conducted in 1996 and published in WIRED Japan’s January 1997 issue, while Dragon Ball GT was still on the air. Toriyama said Goku doesn’t fight to protect anybody. He fights because he wants to take on strong guys. Once the series got animated, he added, he was never happy with the “righteous hero” version the anime gave him. He felt the animators never quite captured the darker streak that slips in and out of the story.

The second is a special talk with Masako Nozawa, shown at The World of Akira Toriyama exhibit in the run-up to Battle of Gods. Seventeen years later, he’s saying nearly the same thing. He explained that Goku is that rare person who only wants to become stronger than before, and he’s so sincere about it that nobody else feels as pure. Saving everyone is just what happens along the way. What Toriyama most wanted to show was that Goku might not be a good guy at all, even though he does good things.

That’s a blunt note from a creator about his own hero! Toriyama said it in 1996, and he was still saying it in 2013. Think about that for a second. Same complaint, seventeen years apart, and he still felt it was worth saying out loud. That tells you how much it bothered him. And remember, this isn’t a fan theory. It came straight from the man who created Goku.

Will Dragon Ball Super 2 Finally Make the Goku Fix Toriyama Wanted?

No one can promise that yet, but the manga gives plenty of reason for hope. Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol was announced on January 25, 2026, at Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri, the franchise’s 40th anniversary event at Makuhari Messe. Executive producer Akio Iyoku and Goku’s voice actor, Masako Nozawa, were on stage. The teaser art showed Goku and Vegeta in Galactic Patrol gear, and the story follows the fight against Planet-Eater Moro.

The Moro Arc in the manga already writes Goku the way Toriyama described him. Near the end, Goku has Moro beaten and begging, and he offers to spare him if he goes back to prison. Moro lies and swings at him anyway. Goku calls him a coward, drops out of his powered-up form, and asks if Moro ever trained at all. When Moro says training is for the weak, Goku says it’s a shame, because Moro could have grown far stronger and Goku would’ve loved to fight him again.

That’s the whole character in one scene: he shows mercy, but he’s also a fighter who sees potential and gets excited about it. Earlier, while Moro kept pumping power into Saganbo, Goku told Moro to stop and tried to talk Saganbo down, even though Saganbo was a criminal fighting him. He cares in a plain, human way, with no big speech attached. If Toei animates those beats straight, Goku will feel a lot more grounded, like a person with real flaws instead of a poster hero. That’s the tweak Toriyama kept asking for, and it changes how every fight against Moro reads, since his love of the fight shows through.

For now, no release date has been announced. Still, Nozawa, who sat down with Toriyama for that special talk, was on stage for the announcement. Are you excited to see Dragon Ball Super 2? We’d love to know in the comments below.