Dragon Ball Super: Manga Chapter 104 (Special One-Shot) - Official Discussion Thread

[VegettoEX]

Dragon Ball Super: Manga Chapter 104

SPECIAL ONE-SHOT

サイヤマンXの誕生!
Saiyaman X no Tanjō!
Saiyaman X is Born!

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Release Information:

Kanzenshuu News Post:
https://www.kanzenshuu.com/2024/12/22/dbs-manga-one-shot-vjump-april-2025-issue/

JAPAN:
Date: February 20, 2025
Publication: V-Jump, April 2025 Issue
Cost: ¥680
Purchase: Amazon Japan

(V-Jump is forward-dated two months from its actual release window. Issues are generally released on the 21st of each month, barring a Sunday or a holiday, in which case the issue gets moved up a day appropriately.)

INTERNATIONAL:
Date: February 20, 2025 (timed to the JP midnight-on-March-21st release)
Publication: Digital (Viz/Shonen Jump + Manga Plus)
Cost: Free

FIRST OFFICIAL TEASE:
The "Weekly Dragon Ball News" segment posted on the Dragon Ball Official Website on 10 February 2025 featured Victory Uchida (Shueisha employee/mascot, and editor for the Dragon Ball Super manga working alongside Toyotaro and Akira Toriyama) displaying a tease for the upcoming drafts on screen, which would (tentatively) be shared on February 12.



STORYBOARDS/DRAFTS:
The first several pages of any given chapter's roughs/storyboards/drafts have been posted on the official Dragon Ball website for quite some time now (in all likelihood done in an attempt to combat piracy and control the narrative by releasing teases of specific information and context at their own discretion). The drafts for Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 104 were posted on February 12 (Japan time). As these specific articles are generally removed from the website upon the chapter's formal release, archived versions of these links (such as this) are generally shared by fandom.



STORYBOARDS/DRAFTS ANALYSIS:

Provided by Herms on Bluesky:

https://bsky.app/profile/herms98.bsky.social/post/3lhzl2g7gpk2d

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THREAD/DISCUSSION INFORMATION

This is the "official" discussion thread for Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 104. All content regarding this specific chapter would be great to include here in this thread, rather than the dedicated / larger / all-encompassing ongoing thread. Posts that are specific to the individual chapter in the gigantic thread with no relevance to the larger series will be reported and/or removed.

Q: When will this thread open?

A: This thread will be opened by a Kanzenshuu moderator when the first official promotion of the respective chapter occurs. This may be when its storyboards are shared, or in some kind of formal news article leading up to that point. Please do not create a separate thread of your own to discuss this chapter.

Q: What is the history behind a [blank]-specific discussion thread?

A: We established episode-specific discussion threads beginning with Dragon Ball Kai in 2011, followed by the Dragon Ball Super television series in 2015. These episode-specific threads allowed people to discuss just that: those specific episodes, without being interrupted by other discussions regarding general production, promotion, etc. We didn't create corresponding Dragon Ball Super manga chapter threads at its debut due to the nature of its production: it was initially billed as a "comicalization" of the television series, and the first arc barely stood on its own as a unique production, rather than supplemental/incidental/disposable. We had kept the larger thread out of inertia from those earlier chapters, and have wavered for literal years over whether or not to separate them out.

Q: We've had worthwhile individual chapters since chapter five. This is absurd. Why are you just starting individual discussion threads so many years into the manga, when the TV series had it from the start?

A: All of that is correct. Maybe we will go back and pull out threads for past chapters. Maybe we won't. We should have done this a long time ago. Better late than never. This is the plan for now on and is not currently up for discussion or reconsideration. Thank you.

Q: OK, but... so what's the point?

A: At Kanzenshuu we believe in history and preservation. It is worthwhile to future versions of ourselves and entirely new future fans to be able to dig back and find real-time reactions to specific productions (such as a specific episode or chapter). It's much easier to do this when the discussions are separated into these unique threads.

Q: When will new threads be created?

A: Threads for new/upcoming manga chapters will be created by a Kanzenshuu administrator at an appropriate point in time following the release of a previous chapter, and ahead of that next chapter's release schedule (which itself includes the official drafts/storyboards).

Q: OK, so what do you expect us to actually discuss in a chapter thread, particularly ahead of its release?

A: For some time now, Shueisha (in all likelihood to combat "leaks" and illegal piracy) has released "draft" pages of upcoming chapters in the two weeks leading up to any given chapter's release. These are official pieces of information dissemination and absolutely up for discussion. We welcome questions about where and how to legally and officially consume the manga. We do not condone nor allow the discussion or encouragement of piracy. Following a chapter's release, of course anything relating to that chapter and its contents are up for discussion in a specific thread.

Q: What kinds of "sources" can we discuss?

A: You can discuss whatever you want, so long as it lives up to the community guidelines. It is recommended that you link to / discuss actual sources of information, rather than second-hand accounts. Twitter and its users are not "sources" of information. Shueisha has its own official Dragon Ball website and weekly news broadcast on YouTube, which will in all likelihood be your actual primary sources of information leading up to a chapter's release.

Q: What if I have something to say about another chapter that's not this chapter?

A: Is what you have to say/ask/post even tangentially related to this chapter? That's fine. Does it have absolutely nothing to do with this chapter? Post it elsewhere. These chapter-specific threads do not automatically close after a new chapter comes out; you are free to keep discussing a specific chapter for as long as you all feel like talking about it.

Q: So what do we do with the big/main thread?

A: The dedicated / larger / all-encompassing ongoing thread is still perfect for overall/holistic discussion regarding the manga, its production, its promotion, its content relation to other parts of the franchise, etc.

Q: I want to learn more about what's going on with this manga's production!

A: Check out Episode #0489 of our podcast for an extreme deep-dive (with all the receipts you can eat!) into the production of the manga, including all of the ways that Toyotaro, Akira Toriyama, and Victory Uchida each individually contribute to it.

Q: What's on the horizon / what does the future hold for the manga? Is this the final chapter? Where's Black Freeza? What's next? YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!!!

A: We have no idea! We'll all find out together!

[Omori]

The Ohasuta show (https://tver.jp/episodes/epaz88e9b9) already showed some preview images.
Trunks and Goten are at a museum on a school excursion. The outside shows statues of heroes who protected the world in the past (including Mutaito?).
Suddenly Trunks gets attacked by a robber group with a knife. Then CleanGod arrives at the scene and clears up. He explains Trunks why heroes wear masks: To protect one's identity while saving people important to you. Goten also wants to save the world and Trunks is convinced as well.

Later there's also a panel where they draw their first idea how the costumes should look like.

[JulieYBM]

I wouldn't be surprised if this was a sort of backdoor pilot for a spin-off series that Toyo-tarou can basically do what he pleases with until the production committee members decide what to do with Dragon Ball Super as a brand. The amount of work Toyo-tarou has put into these superhero storylines feels like it's a passion project for him.

[Xeogran]

Spoiler:

Olibu has officially been brought into the canon, same design and all. He's recognized as one of Earth's Past Heroes and has a statue to himself! As a fan of the Otherworld Tournament arc, this pleases me greatly

[Yuji]

Spoiler:

Olibu has officially been brought into the canon, same design and all. He's recognized as one of Earth's Past Heroes and has a statue to himself! As a fan of the Otherworld Tournament arc, this pleases me greatly

That's cool. Always thought he had a neat design.

[Makaioshin]

Spoiler:

Olibu has officially been brought into the canon, same design and all. He's recognized as one of Earth's Past Heroes and has a statue to himself! As a fan of the Otherworld Tournament arc, this pleases me greatly

Spoiler:

It looks like the Prince of Midenhall from DQ2 and another afterlife fighter, the dogman superhero from the crowd, also make appearances.

[Dragmobot12]

Ok guys, this is big, they just

Spoiler:

made this character canon

, but listen, most of of us will assume that it's a cool reference and everything, mostly an easter egg, but hear me out.

What if if this is a BIG HINT from Toyotaro himself, and we all are just ignoring it? What if he's trying to tell us what's the next arc of Dragon Ball Super manga is gonna be with this? And that is...

Spoiler:

The Otherworld Tournament

or something very similar.
Because... this is freaking huge to me, it's the first time a

Spoiler:

character from a Z filler gets canonized

, lol.

I really don't want to feed myself with false hope, but damn, it's just too weird to me, I'm ready to believe that it's exactly the case.
What do you think guys?

Spoiler:

[/url]

[Dragmobot12]

Spoiler:

Olibu has officially been brought into the canon, same design and all. He's recognized as one of Earth's Past Heroes and has a statue to himself! As a fan of the Otherworld Tournament arc, this pleases me greatly

Lmao, didn't notice you posted first about it. But what if it's actually a big hint from Toyotaro everybody is actually missing?

[Vegeta th3 4th]

What if if this is a BIG HINT from Toyotaro himself, and we all are just ignoring it? What if he's trying to tell us what's the next arc of Dragon Ball Super manga is gonna be with this? And that is...

Spoiler:

The Otherworld Tournament

or something very similar.

It's definitely a possibility. They haven't done a tournament in 7 years now, so it's not out of the realm of possibility.

[Cybersai]

It's very likely Pikkon is already canon in the manga. Goku had to develop Super Saiyan 3 from fighting strong fighters while being dead for 7 years. It's the same way all the other lower Kai's and Grand Kai exist in the manga even though most of them were not in Toriyama's run, they're still canon. It's very likely Goku fought in tournaments in the afterlife, this wouldn't exactly be shocking news.

[Alruneia]

It was nice to read a Super manga chapter again, it sure has been a while. It's not the most important chapter ever, but it was fun enough, and I guess the idea about it rounding off a volume makes sense. There's a couple of interesting bits in the chapter, mainly that I guess Olibu is real now? Honestly, I don't mind that at all, it's a very inoffensive inclusion. The Question Mark Goku statue was pretty funny, too. Glad to see Bulla appear in a panel. Very curious about what the "To be continued" at the end of the chapter will lead to, because I'm not reading that as "Continued in the Super Hero arc", I'm reading it as there being plans for more Super manga content. We'll see.

[Vegard Aune]

Very curious about what the "To be continued" at the end of the chapter will lead to, because I'm not reading that as "Continued in the Super Hero arc", I'm reading it as there being plans for more Super manga content. We'll see.

Yeah, that was very much a "Stay tuned for more chapters!" type thing. So at least tentatively... Dragon Ball Super is still not over. Its future is uncertain but it is not cancelled at least.

[Bardock God of Time]

It's very likely Pikkon is already canon in the manga. Goku had to develop Super Saiyan 3 from fighting strong fighters while being dead for 7 years. It's the same way all the other lower Kai's and Grand Kai exist in the manga even though most of them were not in Toriyama's run, they're still canon. It's very likely Goku fought in tournaments in the afterlife, this wouldn't exactly be shocking news.

I'd be down for a Flashback chapter showing us a 'canon' version of Goku in otherworld, that leads to the next arc.

Olibu kinda gives me a Hercules type of vibe, maybe Olibu is a demi-god? Could be an interesting revelation, like how half Saiyans are cracked, maybe demi-gods are cracked too? Perhaps he knows Ultra Instinct too?

Mastered UI Goku vs UI Omen Olibu could be a cool fight. This is just tons of speculation on my part but I feel like an Otherworld Tournament would be boring if Goku & Vegeta could easily wash characters.

[Trouser]

Super manga is a mixed bag for me, I don't really like it and hardy can appreciate its parts, but... Chapters that AREN'T focusing on Goku and Vegeta are nice. I like Trunks as the main character. I really hope this side story is good, even if it's non really "canon".

[TKA]

I feel like that's probably napkin notes turned into a whole chapter.

But I didn't hate it.

It's so earnest and straightforward that it just doesn't seem like something Toriyama actually sat down and wrote out. It feels like a one page (more like one paragraph tbh) treatment that's been elongated.

But I didn't at all hate it. I liked it.

[Mr Baggins]

Cute chapter, but man, you can really feel Toriyama's absence with this one. The SH prologue/epilogue chapters were so much better.

At least now they can push out volume 24.

[DBFanGuy]

Nice to have some new dragon ball media that I enjoy. Left me wanting more.

[Cybersai]

The bigger thing is I hope Trunks and Goten remain relevant. Them being pushed aside for all of Super was very weird. They need to be part of the main cast again along with Gohan.

If it just goes back to Goku/Vegeta again for the millionth time, I'm out. Their characters are so played out starring in every single Super arc that there's no place to take them anymore.

[Chuquita]

Pleasant chapter. Makes me miss Super. I do like how Trunks and Goten are allowed to get older and be teenagers now. I'd be ok if there's more of this. Nice to see Gohan again with how nonexistent he is in Daima; miss him too.

Question-mark Goku-face was silly. Kinda wish he'd actually made a cameo in the chapter and not just an incomplete statue, but we saw Gohan and Videl at least (and technically Vegeta, Bulma and Bra).

[sangofe]

Cute chapter, but man, you can really feel Toriyama's absence with this one. The SH prologue/epilogue chapters were so much better.

At least now they can push out volume 24.

I really liked this one. Can you give examples of how those other chapters were so much better? Also, I wonder why Toriyama is credited for this one?