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After hearing the news about Akira Toriyama's death, fans are bound to question the future of the Dragon Ball franchise, especially Dragon Ball Super manga. The manga series had been adapting the movie Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO's story until recently and had just entered a new story arc two months ago.
Hence, it seems highly likely that late manga creator Akira Toriyama had plans to continue the story further. However, following his unfortunate death on March 1, the series' future is now under the watch. So, will Dragon Ball Super manga continue in the future?
Will Dragon Ball Super manga carry on after Akira Toriyama's death?
Yes, Dragon Ball Super manga will most likely continue after manga creator Akira Toriyama's death but the same has yet to be confirmed by the official sources.
While late manga creator Akira Toriyama was known as the writer of Dragon Ball Super manga, he was reportedly credited for the series' "original story and character concepts" when the anime was first announced.
As for the manga, manga artist Toyotarou previously explained that he used to receive major plot points from Toriyama, following which he would draw the manga storyboard for Toriyama to review. The latter would then used to edit the initial draft, making dialogue and art changes. This draft would then be sent to Toyotarou to make the final draft.
From the looks of it, it seems like, as long as Toyotarou were to receive major plot points from Akira Toriyama, he could continue the manga and possibly see it till the end. However, it is difficult to deduce if Toriyama had laid out the plans for the future chapters of the manga beforehand.
That said, it is highly unlikely that Akira Toriyama had planned out the future chapters in detail because his death was probably unexpected. As reported by the official website of the Dragon Ball franchise, Akira Toriyama passed away due to acute subdural hematoma.
Acute subdural hematoma is often classified as an emergency where a blood clot develops between the brain's surface and its tough outer covering. This usually happens due to the stretching and tearing of veins on the brain's surface, caused by a head injury.
Therefore, there is a likely chance that Akira Toriyama had an unfortunate head injury that led to his demise. Given the possibility that it could have been an accident, the late manga creator might not have prepared Toyotarou beforehand for the series' future.
Toyotarou even released a comment through his X (formerly Twitter) account, expressing his grief. He stated that he began drawing manga to be praised by Toriyama-sensei. Given his love for the manga creator, it is highly likely that Toyotarou would continue the series.
Toyotarou's comment translated via Google:
"I drew manga because I wanted to be praised by Toriyama-sensei. It was everything to me."
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103 is set to be released on Thursday, March 21, 2024, and will likely be published without any sudden breaks. However, it is possible that the series could be put on an indefinite hiatus by Shueisha after that to plan out the series' forthcoming future.
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