The world of anime and manga was never the same afterDragon BallcreatorAkira Toriyamadied. However, it’s pretty safe to say that Toriyama-san’s legacy will live on forever, and his fans and pupils will keep theDragon Ballshow going. TheDragon Ball Supermanga entered a lengthy hiatus following the author’s death, but recently the series returned to a one-shot chapter in which creator and illustratorToyotaroupaid homage to themangaka.
The illustration celebrating Toriyama’s body of work came in some special pages ofDragon Ball Super’s chapter #104, titled “The Birth of Saiyaman X.” The story focuses on Trunks and his obsession with superheroes. In one of the special pages, Toyotarou illustrated a page populated by several characters created by Akira Toriyama, and the artist didn’t limit himself to theDragon Ballfranchise.Goku is right at the centerof it, of course, but you may also find characters from lesser-known Toriyama stories likeDr. Slump,Sand Land,Go! Go! Ackmanand others.
There was no better person topay this tribute, since Toyotarou was hand-picked by Toriyama himself to be his successor. He was responsible for helming the spin-offmanga titleDragon Ball Heroes: Victory Missionand then moved on to illustrateDragon Ball Super. In the one-shot chapter, the author teased readers to “look forward to future developments,” which essentially tells Dragon Ball fans that the franchise took a necessary hiatus to mourn its creator, but it will come back soon.Toriyama died on July 17, 2025.
Future Of ‘Dragon Ball’ Is Still A Mystery
Fans are understandably eager to know how theDragon Ballworld will keep turning without Toriyama at the helm, but the fact is that, for now, they have little to complain about. Just a couple of months ago, viewers were able to watch a brand-new series that featured the direct participation of the creator before his death.Dragon Ball DAIMAfeatured inputs from Toriyama — he’s the one that wanted all the characters to be turned into kids — and it celebrated the franchise’s whole legacy bymaking a special character canonand wrapping the season on ahigh and symbolic note.
But Dragon Ballwon’t stay quiet for long. It is still one of the most popular franchises in the world, and one of the titles that introduced — and still introduces — a lot of new fans to the manga and anime world. In a recent interview,Dragon Ball DAIMAproducerAkio Iyokurevealed that he was optimistic about the future, and stated thatDragon Ballcould go on “for 50 years and beyond.”
