Ultra Ego Vegeta in Dragon Ball Games? Why Manga Characters Were Reportedly Waiting on an Anime

Why were Moro, Granolah and Ultra Ego Vegeta missing from Dragon Ball games? What I was told, by one person I trust, is that the long term plan from Bandai, Shueisha and even Toei was to keep these manga characters out of the games until the anime adapted their arcs, or until they appeared in a movie. I think he was right, but I did not expect them to appear before there was anime content to match.

Toyotaro's Power Level Comments About Gas Seemed a Bit Off to Me

The week before, Toyotaro had been on the official Dragon Ball site, discussing the power levels of some characters before a wish was made. I did not see that interview when it first came out. I had a doctor's appointment and other things going on that day, and by the time I got around to it, it was already old news.

In that discussion he talked about Gas's power level before the wish, and he said it was around Namek Saga level. That could all be true, but it seemed a bit off to me. It reminded me of something Toriyama tends to do: come up with answers on the spot that don't make much sense. If you have studied Toriyama, you know he is a comedian type of guy, a gag guy, and he will give whatever answer pops into his head, even if it contradicts something he said earlier. I don't know if that is really what was going on with Toyotaro, and I did not have much to say about it beyond that.

Toyotaro Sketched True Ultra Instinct, and I Am Not a Fan of the Form

The more interesting part came in a conversation Toyotaro had about the future of forms like Ultra Ego and True Ultra Instinct. That week Toyotaro was actually sketching True Ultra Instinct, showing everybody what it looks like.

True Ultra Instinct has been a very controversial thing to talk about. Even though I somewhat understand what they are going for, I am not a fan of it. Ultra Instinct has way too many variations now, and it has become obvious to me, without a doubt in my mind, that they are making it up as they go along, because some of the things they say contradict things from the past. It feels very unorganized. "It feels very unorganic."

In that conversation, Toyotaro said he was sure those forms would show up in games. That brings me to a question I have talked about before.

Moro, Merus and Granolah Were Missing Even From Dokkan Battle and Dragon Ball Heroes

If you have wondered why we had not gotten Moro, Merus, Gas, Granolah or any of the characters introduced after Dragon Ball Super: Broly in the games, it is a very good question. I am not just talking about FighterZ and Xenoverse. I am talking about games like Dragon Ball Dokkan Battle and Dragon Ball Legends, because those games get everybody. Almost every character in the history of Dragon Ball has a Dokkan card, and some have multiple cards.

Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 were popping up in games by then. I believe I saw them coming to Xenoverse in the latest DLC, though I could be wrong on that, because it may have been a fan made thing; I saw it weeks earlier and honestly did not remember. What we know for a fact is that Gamma 1 and 2 are in Dragon Ball Heroes, and so are Orange Piccolo and Gohan Beast. Dragon Ball Heroes gets every character, even more than Dokkan. So why were the manga characters not there?

What I Was Told During the Moro Arc: No Games Until the Anime Adapts These Arcs

I was told this a long time ago, before the Moro arc was even over, and it appeared to still ring true. The long term plan from Bandai, Shueisha and even Toei was that these characters would not appear in games until the anime adapted these arcs, or until there was a movie and they were in it.

Here is the reasoning. Even though the Dragon Ball Super manga is the continuation after Broly, written by Toriyama and Toyotaro in a collaborative effort, it does not get international distribution in the same way. Some countries get the manga and some do not. The companies, mostly Bandai, are very cognizant of the fact that the manga does not have the same popularity internationally that the anime has. More people outside Japan watch the Dragon Ball Super anime than read the manga. Manga culture in Japan is much bigger, while here anime, television and movies are the more suitable forms of media.

So the thinking was that if they put Moro and Granolah in the games, people would not understand or care about them, because many fans who do not read the manga had never seen them before. I heard that from one person who I trust, years before, and when I was first told I was not really sure how true it was.

I Think the Games Could Have Promoted the Dragon Ball Super Manga

I think differently. I feel like if they put these characters in the games, people who play them would get curious and maybe check out the Dragon Ball Super manga. "I actually feel like the games could be a promotional tool to get the manga over."

There have been other series whose games included manga exclusive content. A few years earlier, when the Naruto manga was ending and the anime was behind, the games had the end of the manga before it was animated. That is a different group of people, and it is weird to me, because you would think that would be the right way to go. I guess maybe they felt it would spoil it for some people, or that it would not have much of an impact. That is a weird mentality.

"Who would not want Moro to be playable in the games?" Who would not want to try Granolah out in Xenoverse? I think a lot of people would. Their business strategy is absolutely questionable to me. I don't want to tell them how to run their companies, because they are obviously very wealthy and I don't work for Bandai, Toei or any of them. But as a fan I have a completely different opinion, and I feel like these characters should be in the games, especially Ultra Ego Vegeta, which people have been dying to play as.

Ultra Ego Vegeta Had No Toys While Super Hero Characters Got Them

What made the explanation make sense to me is that even with Super Hero, we were not seeing the manga characters in merchandise either. Where was Ultra Ego Vegeta? Why was there no Ultra Ego Vegeta action figure? They put out Gamma 1 and 2 toys, and I was sure we would get more Super Hero toys like Cell Max and the Gohan and Piccolo forms, at some point before the Ultra Ego toys, even though Ultra Ego had been around longer.

A lot of that, as I see it, comes down to the need to distribute anime content internationally.

Why I Expected an Ultra Ego Vegeta Dokkan Card the Night the Anime Aired

When the anime was on the air, as those of you who were around will remember, the moment Ultra Instinct was introduced in the Japanese anime, he showed up in Global Dokkan. When the Broly movie came out, we saw new Broly units. They always do synergy with their games. So whenever Ultra Ego Vegeta does appear in the anime, I feel like we will get a Dokkan card on Global that night, or even the day after. That is what makes the most sense to me.

Everything I have been told kind of lines up with this. Once these arcs are adapted, whether in a TV anime or a movie, that is when we will start to see these characters in the games. I guessed it would be a TV anime, because the movie skipped past all of this and went to a totally different story with Super Hero. Characters like Gas and Elec will be in the games at some point without question; I am not doubting it for a second. But based on what I have been told and what they are saying, I think it will be after we get an anime adaptation, because they want it to pop everywhere.

Should Bandai have put Moro, Granolah and Ultra Ego Vegeta in the games before any anime adaptation, or was waiting the smarter call?