What Is the Way forward for ‘Dragon Ball’ With out Akira Toriyama?

Throughout the fortieth anniversary of Dragon Ball, followers had been delighted to listen to that new animated projects were in the works, alongside a brand new recreation for longtime followers to take pleasure in. Whereas there’s a lot to rejoice in figuring out that the sequence will proceed, witnessing it accomplish that following the passing of Akira Toriyama, nearly turning Goku and buddies into Mickey Mouse within the post-Walt Disney period, is a bizarre phenomenon to observe unfold in actual time. All of which begs the query: what is going to Dragon Ball develop into with out Toriyama?

The anime trade after the passing of Toriyama hasn’t been bereft of Dragon Ball tasks by an extended shot. Within the time since his passing in 2024, followers have loved Toei Animation’s sequel sequence, Dragon Ball Diama; its kick-ass combating recreation Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero; a myriad of updates to ongoing video games; and new chapters of the Dragon Ball Super manga, penned by his successor and longtime fan, Toyotarou.

Tangentially, followers additionally acquired an anime adaptation and video game for his slept-on sequence Sand Land. All that’s to say, we’ve been within the throes of an extended goodbye with the famed creator for a minute now as followers sit and surprise what the way forward for Dragon Ball appears to be like like with out its father on the helm or at the very least concerned in a serious means.

This phenomenon isn’t new to the trade, with the likes of Berserk continuing beneath the helm of creator Kentaro Miura’s greatest buddy, Kouji Mori, within the wake of Miura’s passing. But nonetheless, as followers of Berserk can attest, the sequence hasn’t felt fairly the identical for the reason that cliffhanger to finish all cliffhangers of Miura’s last chapters. Between on-again and off-again hiatuses, which have develop into too frequent to maintain monitor of over time, Berserk, whereas drawn with a near-uncanny likeness of Miura’s artistry, has seen its story’s pacing transfer at a fairly uncharacteristically brisk tempo, turning the sequence nearly into idea artwork of the place the story is shaping relatively than full, significant chapters.

To Mori’s credit score, it’s a fairly daunting process to deal with concluding what’s extensively considered top-of-the-line darkish fantasy sequence of all time. That doesn’t make Berserk any much less of an enormous suggestion to observe, and the identical might be mentioned for Dragon Ball Tremendous‘s manga put up the Match of Energy arc.

For the foreseeable future, the reply to the query up high is an apparent one: Toei Animation is adapting the Tremendous manga’s Galactic Patrol arc—an arc that Toriyama supervised, and followers have lauded as top-of-the-line within the sequence. From what these within the know are saying, this information will heartily feed Dragon Ball followers as soon as it releases. It’s bought cool new types for Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza that’ll absolutely enrich Dragon Ball‘s ongoing online game titles, in addition to a cool new villain in Moro, the “Planet-Eater,” who’s already sparked fan-casting longing with Keith David in thoughts.

Hear me out pic.twitter.com/1l25VyJTgz

— 🔥SektorMaid🔥 (@song0han12) January 29, 2026

And so far as successors go, Toyotarou has confirmed he’s a fairly good particular person to have helm Dragon Ball with no matter route it’ll go. The true fear right here, nevertheless, is how Toei Animation appears to be at an deadlock, spinning its collective wheels over the place to take the franchise subsequent that isn’t, proverbially, reheating the sequence nachos or leaning on posthumous releases the best way a music studio would launch a rapper’s unreleased works. These are authentic characters for Bandai Namco’s newest recreation, codenamed “Age 1000.”

Whereas there’s nonetheless a lot to be gleaned from the character whose design feels type of like an amalgamation of Gohan, Cheelai, and a primary Saiyan template search for, the in any other case lackluster design being offered with the prefix “Akira Toriyama Presents” provides the character presence as certainly one of, if not the final, authentic character designs Toriyama got here up with.

Charitably, that’s at all times a cool factor to see, however it additionally smacks a little bit of “the horse is within the glue manufacturing facility” with how weaponized it feels in its deployment to a fanbase nonetheless aching every time they see Toriyama’s title on their timeline. In wrestling phrases, it’s an affordable pop and one which looks like the primary of many to return, which sucks as a route for a sequence that felt prefer it ended on a ok observe to not let lie. 

Think about Dragon Ball Tremendous: Beerus, Toei Animation’s “enhanced remake” of Battle of the Gods. Whereas, on the floor, the remake movie has some benefit in present as a result of the unique movie had some fairly terrible cuts of animation upon its launch, Toei Animation promoting it as a movie that’s extra trustworthy to Toriyama’s authentic concepts smacks of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut rhetoric that also make DC films an annoying affair to take care of.

It’s additionally the type of chorus Toei can lean on for something Dragon Ball‑adjoining within the foreseeable future, driving the lingering goodwill of Toriyama’s legacy. It’s a transfer that works within the comedian‑ebook world, and Dragon Ball followers are nothing if not fiercely loyal to the daddy of shonen, however it units a worrying precedent. You possibly can already really feel the tectonic shift towards a put up‑Toriyama period the place the franchise, and Goku by proxy, threat turning into a model mascot first and a narrative second.

And as Toei and firm inch nearer to pushing the narrative ahead with out Toriyama’s guiding hand, the sequence feels prefer it’s standing at eventide, staring down a coming conflict over what Dragon Ball is versus what it was. Optimistically, Toyotarou’s stewardship can act as a Zenkai increase if the sequence continues, however proper now, the horizon appears to be like turbulent sufficient that followers are proper to sweat a bit of.

Need extra io9 information? Take a look at when to anticipate the most recent Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and every thing you have to find out about the way forward for Doctor Who.