Shonen Jumpis celebratingDragon Ball’s 40th anniversary in style with a series of redesigns of the series 42 volume covers, and one in particular was so realistic that the artist simply had to apologize to Toriyama. Many illustrious manga artists have put their ownspin onDragon Ball’s nostalgic coversas part of theDragon Ball Super Galleryproject, but Masanori Morita’s take on volume 24 has arguably taken the cake.
Masanori Morita, the legendary author ofRookiesandRokudenashi Bluesrecently re-imagined the cover art of Volume #24 of Dragon Ball depicting Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, and Gohan in his iconic, hyper-realistic art style. Hilariously, in a post on X, Moritaapologized to Toriyama for giving Krillin a nose, calling back to arguably one of themost iconic gags inDragon Balland the idiosyncrasies of Toriyama’s character designs.
Legendary Mangaka Apologizes For Giving Krillin a Nose in New Volume Cover Art
“Toriyama-sensei, I’m sorry for drawing a nose on Krillin.”
Initially intended as a quirky character design element, Krillin’s visible lack of a nose was eventually retconned into a canonical physical trait in classic Toriyama-fashion, all whilebirthing an unforgettable gag. Krillin’s missing nose even gives rise to one ofGoku’s best quotes inDragon Balland embodies Toriyama’s penchant for humor, which is best seen in his earlier gag manga.
Besides being a beautiful tribute to Toriyama, Morita’s take on Volume #24 and his accompanying apology is a reminder ofToriyama’s wonderful sense of humorthat eventually got lost asDragon Ballshifted its focus to action and fighting. The apology itself is hilarious but still heartfelt, with Morita’s reverence for Toriyama being quite clear.
Dragon Ball’s New Project Depicts Toriyama’s Influence on Generations of Manga Artists
Along with the reimagined cover art, Masanori Morita also provided a comment detailing hisexperience being serialized alongsideDragon Balland competing with the series in popularity polls. He shares an amusing anecdote about one particular reader survey wherein he fully expected to win only forDragon Ballto get twice the amount of votes.
There was once a time when I was battling it out withDragon Ballfor the top spot in the reader surveys. This one week, I got 350 votes and thought I was going to win for sure, and then it turned out thatDragon Ballgot 700. I turned these feelings of frustration into a cherished memory, and now it’s one of my go-to jokes whenever I’m at the bar; it’s something I brag about.
Despite the healthy competition between the two series, Morita states hecherished the time being serialized along with Toriyama, going on to directly address him in the second half of his comment, where he heartbreakingly wishes he could have shared a drink with Toriyama.
Toriyama-sensei, those days I got to be serialized alongside you were like a shiny gem to me. Thank you so very much. I worked really hard on this illustration. What do you think? I really wish I could have gone out for a leisurely drink with you, even just once. And then I could say: “Do you remember that time when I was battling it out for first place with you, sensei? There was this one week when I got 350 votes and thought ‘Hell yeah!’, and then it turned out thatDragon Ball…
Besides Morita, many other prolific mangaka have shared their versions ofDragon Ball’s volume covers as part ofDragon Ball Super Gallery,along with their experiences with the franchise. The project has highlighted just how muchDragon Ballhas influenced not only countless manga that came after it, but also the artists behind them, many of whom were deeply attached to Toriyama and the franchise as well.
Source:HITMANmorita/X,Kazenshuu
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
