Dragon Ball Super’s manga entered a lengthy hiatus following the passing of Akira Toriyama in March 2024, and finally returned with a special one-shot chapter just this past February. Building uponthe recently completed Super Hero arc, the one-shot gave fans a look at Trunks, and the origin of his obsession with superheroes. Unfortunately, the series returned to its hiatusimmediately following the release of chapter #104, “The Birth of Saiyaman X”.
The latest chapter was the final addition toDragon Ball SuperVolume #24, which is now available in Japan and includes some special illustrations by series artist Toyotarou.One of which is a touching tribute toDragon Ball’s legendary creator. The future of the franchise is uncertain without Akira Toriyama, though his protégé was sure to includea message to fans, telling them, “Look forward to future developments!”, a good sign for the series going forward.
Dragon Ball Super Honors Akira Toriyama in a New Illustration
Many of the Artist’s Most Popular Characters Are Featured in the Tribute
Toyotarou never hesitated to express just how important his teacher was to him. His special illustration reads “Toriyama’s World Forever!!”, and includes many of the artist’s original charactersfrom series likeDragon Ball,Dr. Slump,Sand Land, and more. Front and center is Toriyama’s most iconic creation, the legendary Son Goku. The tribute is a touching look back at the artist’s career and legacy, and reinforces that Toyotarou was the right choice to continue overseeing his most iconic work.
The other most prominent character in the image is Arale, the most popular character fromAkira Toriyama’sShōnen Jumpdebut series,Dr. Slump. The gag manga ran for four years and helped establish the artist as one of the industry’s top new creators, beforeDragon Ballcatapulted him into legendary status. The newly released volume also includesa number of quotes from Toyotarou, who explained that Toriyama wasn’t just hisDragon Ballmentor, but a manga mentor in general. There aren’t many other artists more fit for such a job.
The Future of Dragon Ball Is Uncertain, But Seemingly Bright
Toyotarou Tells Fans to Look Forward to Future Developments
Dragon Ball Super’s hiatus has now been ongoing for over a year, with the exception being the special one-shot chapter released in February., which publishes the series monthly,suggest it won’t be returning for at least another couple of months. It was revealed back in December 2024 thata rights dispute was contributing to the lasting drought, with Toriyama’s passing leaving Shueisha higher-ups in confusion about who exactly was now in charge of the series.
Is Dragon Ball Super Really Over? A New Manga Update Says That’s Not the Case
Dragon Ball Super’s future may still be up in the air at this point, but there’s new reasons to believe that the manga will continue eventually.
Nevertheless,Dragon Ball Supercontinues to hold its spot in theV Jumplineup, all but confirming that an eventual return is a matter of when, not if. On top of that, Toyotarou’s comment asking fans to look forward to future developments isa good sign for the health of the series going forward, despite no concrete return date being available at this time. Whenever the manga does return, it’s in good hands with its current illustrator, as the latest tribute to Akira Toriyama proves.
Dragon Ball Super
Cast
Dragon Ball Super is an anime series set after Majin Buu’s defeat. It follows Son Goku, now a radish farmer, as peace prevails until Beerus, the God of Destruction, appears. Seeking to challenge a legendary warrior, the series revisits events from two Dragon Ball Z films before exploring alternate universes.
