New promotional illustration for Dragon Ball Super gives us a glimpse of what might be yet another transformation for our favorite Saiyan hero!

It’s been a while since Dragon Ball Super, the franchise’s most recent TV anime installment, began airing in July of 2015. During that time, the series has had its ups and downs (with even devoted fans admitting that there have been some episodes with cringe-worthingly amateurish artwork), but overall, the TV series is still going strong, and at the moment, viewers seem to be generally happy with the direction the anime is taking, both in terms of the storytelling and artwork.

Of course, it helps that the series is currently right smack in the middle of exciting developments that promise plenty of serious battle action involving a host of new and powerful characters from multiple universes. That’s right, Goku is still fighting epic battles, but this time the fate of not just one, but many, universes hangs in the balance. And to coincide with the start of the “Tournament of Power” story arc, in which a unique and wide cast of fighters will clash in grand battle royale-style to fight for the existence of the respective universes they come from, Toei Animation have released a new promotional image for the TV series.

The image features Goku seen from the back with the top half of his trademark orange fighting outfit torn off, and accompanying text that translates roughly to: “The technique of the gods now attains its highest form.”

Fans seem to be responding positively to the image, and the catchphrase certainly makes it sound like we can look forward to some pretty awesome battles in the Tournament of Power. Toei Animation producer Hiroyuki Sakurada’s comment below only adds to the anticipation:

“The Tournament of Power has finally begun and we’ll get to see the most powerful warriors in Dragon Ball history come together to battle it out. And we now have a new image featuring the Tournament of Power story!

It shows Goku just about to awaken to a new level of power as he confronts his toughest enemies yet amidst the fierce fighting in the tournament.

What powerful enemies will he encounter? What kind of battles will he fight? And what new strengths await him?

The fighting in the Tournament of Power will be unlike anything you’ve seen before, so set your expectations high, and we hope you continue enjoying Dragon Ball Super!”

Okay, we have to say that comment more than whets our appetite. Naturally, fans have already been speculating on what lies in store for the Saiyan hero based on the released image, responding with comments ranging from remarks on how slim Goku looks in the picture, to how this may be a new transformation where Goku’s hair stands up (like in Super Saiyan mode) but remains black, or how this form may be the precursor to the Super Saiyan 4 mode which we saw previously in the Dragon Ball GT anime series.

In any case, we’ll just have to wait and watch the anime to see how the story unfolds. One thing’s for sure, though; Goku won’t be enjoying peace and quiet anytime soon! For those of you in Japan, you can catch Dragon Ball Super on Fuji TV network on Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.

Source: Toei Animation, Kinisoku 
Top image: Toei Animation
Insert image: Toei Animation