There’s more bad news for Dragon Ball Super fans. Toyotarou, the artist and co-creator of the currently inactive Dragon Ball series, released new artwork for a new anime project unrelated to Akira Toriyama’s.
V-Jump revealed that the artist behind Dragon Ball Super has illustrated new artwork for the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise for the magazine’s “Extra-Large Issue” in late December in Japan. Toyotarou released a special illustration of Mikazuki Augus, the leading hero of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, as a collectible trading card that will be available in V-Jump’s December 2025 issue. Meanwhile, the fate of Dragon Ball Super won’t be decided in 2025, according to V-Jump editor Victory Uchida.
Dragon Ball Super’s Future Uncertain as Toyotarou Shifts Focus to Gundam and Original Projects
Gundam’s official social media account announced Toyotarou’s contribution to the series on X (formerly Twitter). “As an insert with the ‘V-Jump December Extra-Large Issue’ on sale 10/21 (Tuesday), a card of Mikazuki Augus newly drawn by Toyotaro-sensei, the manga artist handling Dragon Ball Super, makes its appearance!”
Toyotarou’s Iron-Blooded Orphans artwork not only features his familiar art style, but it also includes his signature on the trading card. “I drew it!” Toyotarou said on X, “Please buy V-Jump. This is the next month’s issue! Of course, buy this month’s issue too, okay?”
Although Toyotarou is no stranger to offering his own take on other franchises, the majority of his work has been with Dragon Ball, as well as reinterpreting past works of his late mentor, Toriyama. His recent pivot to Gundam, as well as his own original project for V-Jump magazine, has Dragon Ball fans concerned about the inactive status of the DBS manga and the franchise as a whole. Dragon Ball Super only released one new chapter in February, before resuming its hiatus, which was brought on by the sudden loss of Toriyama in 2024.
Goku from Dragon Ball Super in Ultra Instinct with SSJ Blue Vegeta and GogetaCredit:Â Image by Brett Cardaro
In previous interviews, Toyotarou assured fans that Dragon Ball Super would continue in the future with new stories that are not adaptations of the anime, such as the recent Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes arc. It’s also been alluded to that the new DBS story arc will finally continue the Black Frieza storyline that’s been teased since August 2022. However, neither Toyotarou nor V-Jump magazine has given a clear indication as to when Dragon Ball Super will resume with new chapters.
Meanwhile, Toyotarou is developing his own original one-shot story that will be published in V-Jump magazine. The new manga, Lost Samurai, is legally available to read online in its entirety. However, the preview version is based on Toyotarou’s rough drafts. Still, for anime fans working towards the dream of becoming a manga artist, this is a fascinating look at the creative process by one of V-Jump’s rising stars.
However, not everyone is satisfied with Toyotarou’s work on Dragon Ball or the current status of V-Jump magazine. Kazuhiko Torishima, a former editor-in-chief of Shonen Jump, sounded off against several creatives associated with the Dragon Ball franchise on his latest podcast, accusing them of failing the basics of manga.