A few months ago, the entire world mourned the death of the legendary Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. Toriyama is one of the pillars of the anime and manga industry as his work helped the community reach the global stage and earn respect and fame along with other art forms. Thus, his death was a shock for everyone who loved anime and manga.
While his death was sad in itself, it has also sparked fear within Dragon Ball fans about the future of the franchise and the narrative that he left behind. Before his passing, Toriyama made a final contribution to Dragon Ball Super by helping his prodigy Toyotarou to redraw the end of chapter 103.
Although there has been no update about the continuation of Dragon Ball Super since Toriyama’s passing, fans believe that Toyotarou might be the one to carry on Toriyama’s legacy and lead the franchise. There have been multiple hints regarding him becoming the main creator of the Dragon Ball Super story.
Akira Toriyama’s Relation With Toyotarou
When Toriyama’s death was officially announced to the world, V-Jump decided to put the Dragon Ball Super manga on hiatus. The last chapter that the manga released was chapter 103 on March 21, 2024, which was a combined effort of Toyotarou and Toriyama.
Toyotarou was a big fan of Toriyama and his work since childhood. He followed Dr. Slump and then Dragon Ball. In 2012 he was hired by Shueisha to work on Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission. After that, in 2015 he created the manga adaptation of Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’. However, he only got to work with Toriyama when he started working on Dragon Ball Super.
The Dragon Ball creator was so impressed with Toyotarou’s drawings that he chose him as his official successor and handed over the baton of Dragon Ball Super in his hands. However, Toyotarou still being new to the industry often asked for Toriyama’s guidance which helped him create one of the best Dragon Ball narratives to date.
Toyotarou Might Carry on Akira Toriyama’s Legacy
In 2022, Toyotarou was featured in an interview with Jump Editor Victory Uchida for “Weekly Dragon Ball News”. During this interview, Uchida called Toyotarou the official creator of Dragon Ball Super. This has led fans to believe that Toyotarou may succeed Akira Toriyama and carry his legacy forward.
While the Dragon Ball Super manga is on hiatus, the story is still incomplete and Toyotarou needs to bring it to the conclusion as it is the only way to honor Toriyama’s name.
Toyotaro is being referred to by Jump Editor Victory Uchida as the "Creator of Dragon Ball Super", which means two things:
— Geekdom101 (@EmperorBigD) August 19, 2024
1. Dragon Ball Super Manga is not over
2. He is still going to be the primary creative behind it, now that Toriyama has passed. pic.twitter.com/wX1TH9b7c7
Toyotarou has been working on Dragon Ball Super since August 2015 which means that he is well-versed with the narrative and can carry it forward.
However, nothing has been officially confirmed by the franchise, and Dragon Ball fans will have to wait until the hiatus of Dragon Ball Super is over to find out whether Toyotarou will take on the mantle of the franchise after Toriyama or not.
Dragon Ball is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
