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Viz Announces “Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater” English Release For Fall 2021
Published by 20 February 2021, 3:26 PM EST

Alongside a slew of other announcements yesterday, Viz announced a forthcoming fall 2021 release of “Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater”, a single-volume hardcover compilation pulling from the Akira Toriyama’s _____piece Theater (鳥山明○作劇場; Toriyama Akira Marusaku Gekijō ) series:

Originally released in three volumes over the course of 1983, 1988, and 1997, respectively, Akira Toriyama’s _____piece Theater (typically adapted as “Akira Toriyama’s Blank-piece Theater” in English) compiled a significant portion of the author’s short works and one-shots, many of which were contemporary with the original serializations of Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball:

Akira Toriyama’s _____piece Theater, Vol. 1

  • Wonder Island: originally published 28 November 1978 in the 1978 #52 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump
  • Wonder Island 2: originally published 27 December 1978 in Shōnen Jump‘s 25 January 1979 Extra Issue
  • Gal Detective Tomato: originally published 20 July 1979 in Shōnen Jump‘s 15 August 1979 Extra Issue
  • Pola & Roid: originally published 24 March 1981 in the 1981 #17 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dr. Slump chapter 63)
  • Mad Matic: originally published 23 February 1982 in the 1982 #12 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dr. Slump chapter 109)
  • Chobit: originally published 08 February 1983 in the 1983 #10 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dr. Slump chapter 157)
  • Chobit 2: originally published 23 April 1983 in the June 1983 issue of Fresh Jump

Akira Toriyama’s _____piece Theater, Vol. 2

  • Today on Harai Island (Today’s Highlights): originally published 22 March 1979 in Shōnen Jump‘s 20 April 1979 Extra Issue
  • Escape: originally published 14 December 1981 in Shōnen Jump‘s January 1982 Extra Issue
  • Pink: originally published 23 October 1982 in the December 1982 issue of Fresh Jump
  • Dragon Boy – Chapter 1: originally published 23 June 1983 in the August 1983 issue of Fresh Jump
  • Dragon Boy – Chapter 2: originally published 22 September 1983 in the October 1983 issue of Fresh Jump
  • The Adventure of Tongpoo: originally published 29 November 1983 in the 1983 #52 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dr. Slump chapter 199)
  • Mr. Ho: originally published 01 November 1986 in the 1986 #49 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dragon Ball chapter 99)
  • Kennosuke-sama: originally published 18 August 1987 in the 1987 #38 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dragon Ball chapter 138)
  • Sonchoh: originally published 18 December 1987 in the 1988 #5 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dragon Ball chapter 155)

Akira Toriyama’s _____piece Theater, Vol. 3

  • Mamejirō-kun: originally published 09 August 1988 in the 1988 #38 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dragon Ball chapter 188)
  • Karamaru-kun Nihon-bare: originally published 28 February 1989 in the 1989 #13 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (alongside Dragon Ball chapter 213)
  • Savings Warrior Cashman: originally published 28 November 1990 – 13 November 1991 (three chapters) in the initial A5-size run issues of V-Jump
  • Dub & Peter 1: originally published 1992-1993 (four chapters) in the AB-size trial run issues of V-Jump
  • Go! Go! Ackman: originally published 21 May 1993 – 21 August 1994 (eleven chapters) in the July 1993 to October 1994 monthly issues of V-Jump

Perhaps most notable to Dragon Ball fans are the inclusion of Dragon Boy and The Adventure of Tongpoo, two works from 1983 that served as direct prototypes on the road to Dragon Ball itself the following year.

The collected volumes are also known for their interstitial, self-deprecating, autobiographical, single-page comics such as the “Me Back When I Drew This” series, in which Akira Toriyama shares stories and adventures from the past.

The collected volume series later received its own Akira Toriyama’s _____piece Theater REMIX release, published on lower-quality paper per the usual for Shueisha’s “REMIX” line.

2008’s smaller Toriyama Akira Mankanzenseki (“An Emperor’s Feast of Akira Toriyama”) editions re-collected some of the same Akira Toriyama material, while also collecting items such as Lady Red (from Weekly Shōnen Jump‘s extra “Super Jump #2 ” in March 1987) and Alien Peke (from Weekly Shōnen Jump‘s 1996 #37/38 & #39 issues in August 1996) for the first time.

Beyond the full Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball series, works of Akira Toriyama released by Viz in English thus far include:

  • Sand Land: a 14-chapter manga originally serialized in 2000 in Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan; Viz first serialized the manga in 2003 in their monthly Shonen Jump print magazine, and later released it as a full collected edition in 2003
  • Neko Majin Z 5: the final chapter of the Neko Majin series was published (without its “5” chapter number) in Viz’s October 2007 issue of the now-defunct Shonen Jump print magazine in September 2007; no further collected publication has ever been made of this chapter or any other Neko Majin material
  • Cowa!: a 14-chapter manga originally serialized in 1997-1998 in Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan; Viz released it as a full collected edition in 2008
  • Sachie-chan GOOD!!: a single-chapter one-shot originally published in the May 2008 issue of Jump SQ in Japan in cooperation with Masakazu Katsura; Viz included the first 14 pages of Sachie in the Shonen Jump Alpha Yearbook 2013 mailed to subscribers of their Shonen Jump Alpha digital manga service in December 2012, alongside making the full content of the chapter available digitally to said subscribers, with no full print release available
  • Kintoki: Toki of the Golden-Eyed Tribe: a single-chapter one-shot originally published in 2010 in Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan; Viz included the one-shot within a January 2013 issue of the company’s Weekly Shonen Jump digital publication, with no print release available
  • Jaco the Galactic Patrolman: an 11- (later 12)-chapter manga originally serialized in 2013 in Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan; Viz first serialized the manga in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump that same year, and later released it as a full collected edition in 2015

Akira Toriyama’s _____piece Theater, alongside other Toriyama works such as Kajika, have been translated and released in various countries over the years prior to their acquisition and release by Viz in America.

UPDATE: An Amazon listing promoted by Viz pegs the release as coming 07 December 2021 for $34.99 MSRP and spanning 626 pages.

An extensive collection of imaginative and action-packed short stories from the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama!

From Akira Toriyama, the legendary manga creator of Dragon Ball, comes this special collection of short stories spanning the first few decades of his career. Serving as both a collection of his early works and a history of his life as a manga writer and illustrator, this giant tome is packed with everything you could ever want as a fan of classic shonen manga!

Translation of the volume will be provided by Greg Werner:

We most recently had Greg on our podcast back on Episode #0400 to discuss his old Dragon Ball fansite, work on Beckett’s unofficial magazine, shifting to professional writing with Shueisha, etc.

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