Key Takeaways
- November 20 marks 1st Dragon Ball chapter’s anniversary, but it’s bittersweet with creator’s recent passing.
- Celebrations for franchise’s 40th year are ongoing, including Dragon Ball DAIMA.
- Potential rights issues abound post-Toriyama’s death; ongoing projects unaffected for now.
November 20 marks the day the first Dragon Ball chapter was officially published in Japan. Dragon Ball debuted on a Tuesday in Shonen Jump (today, the magazine is released on Mondays) in 1984. This means 2024 is the 40th anniversary of the franchise.
Sadly, it is not the happiest one. Creator Akira Toriyama passed away in March, so what should be a celebration now holds a bit of sadness and mourning. Dragon Ball DAIMA, the last work with the creator’s involvement, is now airing as part of the celebrations.
Related
50 Artists Create Amazing Tribute to Dragon Ball Creator Akira Toriyama
A group of over 50 talented Dragon Ball fans create a giant mural in honor of the late Akira Toriyama featuring several of his iconic characters.
The official Dragon Ball site features a section titled Toriyama Archives in which they post rare Dragon Ball arts drawn by Toriyama himself. To celebrate the 40th anniversary, they posted a very nostalgic one: the first page of the first chapter, fully colored. Check out:
The original page is now unavailable, but it can still be found on websites such as the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
Dragon Ball’s Future After Toriyama
Dragon Ball DAIMA, issues and more
Fans would expect that after Toriyama’s passing, the franchise would still carry on, as it usually happens. Normally, it would depend on the family’s wishes but, as far as was reported, there are some issues concerning the franchise’s rights. Actually, things were already a bit problematic before he died, and they are related to former V-Jump editor Akio Iyoku, a person who Toriyama seemingly trusted. All of this involves a fight for rights between Toriyama (and now his family), Shueisha and Iyoku’s company Capsule Corporation Tokyo, created to handle the distribution of the franchise.
While there has been no news on this issue being resolved, the projects that were ongoing before Toriyama’s death are running smoothly. Dragon Ball DAIMA is airing normally, and both Dragon Ball Sparking Zero and a new Dragon Ball arcade game (Japan exclusive) were released. But things like the probability of a DAIMA sequel might depend on the rights issue (who would give the “OK” to a sequel when the rights are apparently not settled?). The Dragon Ball Super manga is still on hiatus, and it could also be related to the same issue, although it seems unlikely.
For now, fans might not have many options except to look at both the past and the present, enjoying everything Toriyama was able to give us, while hoping his legacy means a bright future is coming for this and other franchises.
Source: Dragon Ball official website via CBR
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