This month, Dragon Ball’s official 40th Anniversary Super Gallery project features a piece by Hunter x Hunter creator Yoshihiro Togashi. For his entry, Togashi chose to have Goku cross paths with the spiky-haired icon of his beloved shonen franchise.
On X (formerly Twitter), Weekly Shonen Jump-centric news hub @WSJ_manga shared Togashi’s latest artwork, which depicts Gon and young Goku speeding along on Capsule Corp motorcycles.
This illustration is a playful revision of the cover art for Dragon Ball Volume 5, which originally featured only Goku. Saikyo Jump, the publication hosting the Super Gallery, will feature Togashi’s art in its upcoming issue, scheduled to come out on Aug. 2, 2024.
The Dragon Ball Super Gallery is a four-year-long tribute to Akira Toriyama’s iconic manga series, which has touched the hearts and imaginations of millions of readers around the world. Each month, Saikyo Jump dedicates page space to an illustration that pays tribute to one of Dragon Ball’s classic manga covers.
The event began in August 2021 with a submission from Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the hit Naruto franchise. Since then, dozens of popular artists, primarily from within the shonen manga industry, have contributed pieces to the gallery.
Prominent examples include Tite Kubo (Bleach), Tatsuki Fujimoto (Chainsaw Man), Tatsuya Endo (Spy x Family), Yusei Matsui (Assassination Classroom), Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk), and Hirohiko Araki (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure). Togashi’s entry marks 37 out of 42 planned entries, meaning the project will only run in Saikyo Jump for five additional issues.
Dragon Ball Fans Look Forward to New Series and Interim Specials Amid Toriyama’s Passing
2024 has been a challenging year for many Dragon Ball fans, still grappling with the residual shock from Akira Toriyama’s death earlier this year. However, Toriyama took measures during his lifetime to ensure his beloved shonen series was left in capable hands. Toyotarou, whom Toriyama appointed as his official successor, will continue illustrating the Dragon Ball Super manga.
Although the series is currently on hiatus, its magazine publication, V-Jump, has confirmed that the series will return for at least one more story arc. In the meantime, Toyotarou is dedicating his extra time to the “Dragon Ball Super Interim Special,” a monthly feature designed to keep fans engaged until the manga resumes.
Last month, the special featured new artwork of Beast Gohan, which Toyotarou promoted as the version that “Toriyama-sensei wanted to be shown.”
Additionally, Toei Animation is finalizing production on Dragon Ball Daima. Scripted by Toriyama, the series’ plot has Goku and his friends venturing on a new adventure after an unknown entity transforms them into children.
As seen in Daima’s teaser trailers, the anime closely resembles the original Dragon Ball series, with callbacks to classic elements such as Goku’s Power Pole and the Flying Nimbus. Before its television debut, Daima’s first episode will have three exclusive screenings at the Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Center on Oct. 6, 2024.
The series is set to officially broadcast in October 2024, though a specific date has yet to be confirmed.
The Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Super manga are available in English from VIZ Media. The franchise’s anime adaptations, including Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super, are available to stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
