Dragon Ball is now celebrating the 40th anniversary of the late Akira Toriyama’s original manga making its debut in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and its new Goku new balloon is taking flight in the sky ahead of its full debut at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. Dragon Ball has been a regular part of the annual parade for the last few years as Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan has been seen in action. But for the 40th anniversary, Toei Animation has crafted a special new Goku balloon that will be making its debut in the parade later this month.
Taking place on November 28th, the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will feature the full debut of a brand new Goku balloon in his base form as part of the overall celebration of Dragon Ball’s 40th anniversary taking place this Fall. But as a special preview of what this balloon will look like inflated and in full motion during Balloon Fest, Toei Animation has shared the first real look at this new Goku balloon in the air as Goku is training for the new parade takeover. Check it out below as shared by Toei Animation’s official X account here.
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How Big Is Dragon Ball’s New Goku Balloon?
Dragon Ball’s new Goku balloon measures at 70.5-feet long, 33-feet wide and 41.5-feet tall. This will be showcased in full during the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade taking place on November 28th, and airing on Thursday, November 28th in the United States on NBC. It will also be available for streaming on Peacock. Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation Inc., is excited for the new balloon’s debut as Endo previously said the following about the new balloon.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball with the debut of a brand-new Goku giant character balloon at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” Endo began. “During those 40 years, the Dragon Ball franchise has grown to achieve worldwide success—earning mainstream pop culture status and garnering a multi-generational fan base. We’re excited to present Dragon Ball and this iconic version of Goku to those watching this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade—to both the tens of millions of people new to anime and the tens of millions of Dragon Ball fans alike!”
Jordan Dabby, producer of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade also shared during its initial announcement, “Bringing together some of the world’s most cherished and legendary characters, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the pinnacle of entertainment, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to unveil an all-new Goku balloon this year. Since 2018, Goku has been a highlight Thanksgiving morning, enchanting millions of fans both in person and across the nation. This year, we’re honored to collaborate once again to bring his iconic design and signature salute to life in an even more spectacular way.”
What’s New for Dragon Ball Right Now?
There’s actually a brand new anime series now airing new episodes this Fall that’s also commemorating this milestone anniversary. Dragon Ball Daima is a brand new series featuring a story and characters from the late creator Akira Toriyama, and features a story not seen in any of the previous anime or manga releases. In this new series, Goku and the others have been turned into children and are heading into the Demon Realm to save Dende.
The first few episodes of Dragon Ball Daima have now premiered to great success among fans, and each of them has been shaking up the lore for the series. Taking place after the events of the Majin Buu arc but ahead of Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Daima is now streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix if you wanted to catch up.