Saikyo Jump is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Akira Toriyama's beloved shounen franchise, Dragon Ball, with the monthly Dragon Ball Super Gallery — a line of fresh art takes on classic Dragon Ball covers. This month's entry is from Hiroyuki Asada, author of the steampunk fantasy manga Tegami Bachi, or Letter Bee.
Shonen Jump News (or @WSJ_manga), a news hub focused on Dragon Ball on X (formerly Twitter), recently featured Asada's entry for its followers. This piece pays tribute to the cover of Dragon Ball Volume 35, which features a version of Spirit Goku drawn in Asada's signature shojo-esque art style. Surrounded by glittering accents, the spiky-haired Saiyan is pictured saying goodbye to his friends before departing for the afterlife — a design likely chosen as a heartwarming farewell to the late Akira Toriyama , who passed away in early March.
Related
One of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama's final designs was used for the Home City's 20th Anniversary Logo
To honor Akira Toriyama's legacy, Japan's Kiyosu City chose to adopt his own Kiyosu mascot to celebrate the area's 20th anniversary.
Naruto, Bleach, Spy x Family and other creators have previously expressed admiration for Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball's 40th Anniversary Super Gallery is a long-running franchise that started in the September 2021 issue of Saikyo Jump. Each month, the magazine will feature a work of art inspired by one of Dragon Ball's original volume covers. Of the 42 expected entries, 34 have appeared on the pages of Saikyo Jump. The event is expected to conclude with the final entries this November. Iconic artists from across Japan have contributed to the gallery, including Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), Tite Kubo (Bleach), Tatsuki Fujimoto (Chainsaw Man), Koyoharu Gotouge (Demon Slayer) and Tatsuya Endo ( Spy x Family). Naho Oishi, the main artist of Dragon Ball SD – the original story version designed for young children – was a participant last month. Her article pays tribute to Episode 18, which playfully describes Gohan, Goku's son, as a drag racer.
Super Gallery's next work will be drawn by none other than Toyotarou, who serves as the main official illustrator for the Dragon Ball Super manga series. Although the series went on hiatus shortly after Toriyama's death, the franchise has confirmed that the manga will eventually return to the pages of V-Jump magazine. Additionally, Toei Animation also assured fans that they will not discontinue production on the upcoming anime series Dragon Ball Daima, which Toriyama was closely involved with before his death. Currently, the film is still scheduled to premiere this fall.
Related
Dragon Ball Z's Goku and Vegeta make a shocking appearance in the Spring 2024 MAPPA Anime
Dragon Ball Z characters Goku and Vegeta just made a shocking appearance in MAPPA's new Oblivion Battery anime, appearing in Episode 3.
Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee is a Steampunk-style Shonen Jump series with Shojo-style character designs
Hiroyuki Asada's Letter Bee manga was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from September 2006 to June 2007. The series' novel combination of action, fantasy, and steampunk elements quickly caught on. quickly makes a difference from the usual Shonen Jump genre. Set in an underground world called AmberGround, government agents known as “Letter Bees” are trained to deliver packages while dealing with large armored insects known as Gaichu that frequently target them. The main character is a young man named Lag See, who was inspired to become a Letter Bee after a fateful childhood encounter with an agent named Gauche. One day, Gauche mysteriously disappears, then appears with no memory of his past. Meanwhile, the Letter Bees began to encounter opposition from a protest movement known only as “Reverse.” Asada is also known for their work on Tezuka Productions and MAPPA's 2019 anime adaptation of the Dororo manga.
Both Letter Bee and Dragon Ball are available in English from VIZ Media. Toei Animation's respective anime adaptations, including Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super, are currently available to stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll for viewers in most major regions.
Dragon ball
Son Gokû, a warrior with a monkey's tail, goes on a quest with a host of oddball characters to find the Dragon Balls, a set of crystals that can grant its bearer anything they desire.
Author Akira Toriyama
Artist Akira Toriyama
Release date November 20, 1984 category Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Martial Arts
chap 519
practice 42
Adaptation Dragon Ball (1986)
Publishing company Shueisha, Madman Entertainment, Viz Media
Source: X (formerly Twitter)