The September 2021 issue of Shueisha’s Saikyō Jump magazine kicked off a “Dragon Ball Super Gallery” series in commemoration of the Dragon Ball franchise’s upcoming 40th anniversary. The celebration aims to have different artists all contribute their own spin on the original 42 tankōbon covers, with the images and an accompanying comment published as the magazine’s back cover.
I was very happy and extremely blessed to have had a series running at the same time and in the same magazine as Dragon Ball.
Saikyō Jump is currently a monthly magazine published in Japan by Shueisha under the “Jump” line of magazines. The magazine began as a quarterly publication in 2012, went monthly in 2013, went bimonthly in late-2014, and returned to a monthly format in 2021 (including a digital release for the first time). The magazine’s focus is spin-off and supplementary manga series aimed at a young audience, while also including game promotions, news coverage, and more. The magazine currently serializes content such as Yoshitaka Nagayama’s Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Meteor Mission! manga series and Yūji Kasai’s Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Avatars!! manga series. For calendar year 2019, Shueisha reported Saikyō Jump‘s circulation down at 130,000, with readership as 58.5% upper elementary school, 28% lower middle school, 11% middle school, and 2.5% high school or older.
With the Dragon Ball Super manga currently on hiatus following the completion of the “Super Hero arc” (back with chapter 103), Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine has transitioned once again to a series of “Dragon Ball Interval Special” columns each issue until the series’ reported return.
The back of this (current/most-recent) August 2024 issue of V-Jump notes that the Dragon Ball Super manga will continue to be off next issue (the September 2024 issue, due out later this month in July).
Bandai Namco has released a new “Sword vs Fists” trailer — both in English and Japanese — for the forthcoming DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO video game:
In addition to the character blocks previously revealed, the following playable characters were announced, both through the trailer and a Bandai Namco EU blog post (note that bracketed text is our own further clarification for these characters]:
Goku (Super), Ultra Instinct -Sign-
Super Vegetto [Super Saiyan]
Yajirobe
Dabra
Spopovich
Goku Black [Normal]
Goku Black, Super Saiyan Rosé
Future Trunks [Dragon Ball Super]
Ribrianne
Roasie
Anilaza
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZEROis slated for release on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam) 10 October 2024 in Japan, and 11 October 2024 internationally.
As opposed to the completely separate Dragon Ball Z (“Budokai”) series developed by Dimps which came before it, the Sparking! series — developed instead by Spike — featured 3D arenas with an over-the-shoulder camera angle. The new game’s title of Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO falls more in line with the original trilogy’s naming scheme in Japanese. The three Sparking! games — the original, NEO!, and METEOR — hit the PlayStation 2 over the course of 2005 to 2007, with the Nintendo Wii also receiving ports of the second and third games. The game series was released numerically under the “Budokai Tenkaichi” moniker internationally. A fourth games — Tag Vs. in Japan; Tenkaichi Tag Team internationally — was released on the PlayStation Portable in 2010. Spike (as Spike Chunsoft) later went on to also develop the crossover fighting games J-Stars Victory VS in 2014 and Jump Force in 2019.
Roughly every month, Toyotarō provides a drawing of a Dragon Ball (or related…!) character — as well as an accompanying comment — on the official Japanese Dragon Ball website. Following up on the wealth of characters already drawn, for his June 2024 entry, Toyotarō has drawn Chrono, the main character from the video game Chrono Trigger:
CHRONO (from Chrono Trigger)
There were a bunch of key artwork illustrations drawn by Toriyama-sensei‘s own hand, and I loved it all, including them.
The main character’s name is often shortened to “Crono” due to spacing limitations for character names back during the original English localization.
The role-playing video game Chrono Trigger was originally developed by Square for the Nintendo Super Famicom / Super SNES, released March 1995 in Japan and August 1995 in America. The game was a product of the era’s so-called “Dream Team”: Final Fantasy franchise father Hironobu Sakaguchi, Dragon Quest franchise father Yuji Horii, and artwork and character designs by Akira Toriyama. The game was notable for bringing together storytelling and design elements from both Sakaguchi’s and Horii’s respective game series, long before the Square and Enix merger eight years later.
Recent compilations of Nagayama’s manga have included five chapters each. The eighth Meteor Mission! chapter was serialized earlier this month in the July 2024 issue of Shueisha’s Saikyō Jump magazine.
Yoshitaka Nagayama debuted in a supplemental booklet packed in with the December 2013 issue of Saikyō Jump, with “Dragon Ball Heroes: Rookie Charisma Mission 0” depicting the daily life and “training” of Engineer Yoshito and new Battle Navigators Tsubasa and Momo-chan in a cartoony style. The Charisma Mission series eventually received its own standard serialization in Saikyō Jump beginning in the July 2014 issue, followed by traditional story serials beginning with Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Dark Demon Realm Mission! beginning in the September 2016 issue, Universe Mission!! beginning in the May 2018 issue, followed yet again by Big Bang Mission!!! beginning in the May 2020 issue, and yet again by Ultra God Mission!!!! beginning in the April 2022 issue. Following its own completion in the November 2023 issue of Saikyō Jump, it was announced that another new series — Meteor Mission! — would take its place in the following issue.
The various Dragon Ball Heroes manga series remain without an official English translation and release.
In the game’s single-player “Episode Battle” mode, players take the point of view from eight total characters (including Goku and Vegeta) to experience battles from throughout the franchise (which the trailer specifically calls out as just “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball Super”). Each stage includes a unique introduction before throwing players into battle. The number of stages and battles vary by character in this mode; an example given is Goku, whose “Episode Battle” experience has the largest number of stages, and goes from his confrontation with Raditz up through the Tournament of Power. Certain stages allow the player to make a choice that may differ from the original story, allowing new outcomes to happen — an example highlighted is Goku turning Super Saiyan during his battle with Great Ape Vegeta on Earth.
The “Custom Battle” mode is just that: a series of custom fights not necessarily ripped from the original story; examples with Mr. Satan going up against a lineup of powerful opponents are displayed throughout this showcase. Within the “Custom Battle” mode are additional “Bonus Battles” with different victory conditions and cutscenes during gameplay. “Edit Mode” allows players to create their own “Custom Battle” conditions with altered pre- and post-battle cutscenes, which can then be uploaded and shared online for others to play.
The topic of local multiplayer/versus battles was also addressed, with the explanation that priority was given to to visual effects (such as weather changing in response to the characters’ energy) and destructible environments, which led to the initial implementation of only online multiplayer/versus battles. In response to feedback, however, the game will now feature this local option, though only on a single stage: the Room of Spirit and Time (which inherently has much less of an environment to account for). Due to the game’s previous priorities and development cycle, while this option will now be availabe to players, there are some unique quirks to this mode, such as players not being able to choose their characters at the same time.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZEROis slated for release on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam) 10 October 2024 in Japan, and 11 October 2024 internationally.
As opposed to the completely separate Dragon Ball Z (“Budokai”) series developed by Dimps which came before it, the Sparking! series — developed instead by Spike — featured 3D arenas with an over-the-shoulder camera angle. The new game’s title of Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO falls more in line with the original trilogy’s naming scheme in Japanese. The three Sparking! games — the original, NEO!, and METEOR — hit the PlayStation 2 over the course of 2005 to 2007, with the Nintendo Wii also receiving ports of the second and third games. The game series was released numerically under the “Budokai Tenkaichi” moniker internationally. A fourth games — Tag Vs. in Japan; Tenkaichi Tag Team internationally — was released on the PlayStation Portable in 2010. Spike (as Spike Chunsoft) later went on to also develop the crossover fighting games J-Stars Victory VS in 2014 and Jump Force in 2019.
With the Dragon Ball Super manga currently on hiatus following the completion of the “Super Hero arc” (back with chapter 103), Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine has transitioned once again to a series of “Dragon Ball Interval Special” columns each issue until the series’ reported return.
Alongside general story arc and character recaps, Toyotarō has provided exclusive new drawings and comments for these last two “Interval Special” columns in the June and July 2024 issues of V-Jump, respectively: those of Gevo and Gohan Beast.
Translations of Toyotaro’s comments and the respective V-Jump setup for both Gevo and Gohan Beast have been added to our “Translations” section.
In conjunction with its debut today during the Summer Game Fest 2024 live stream, Bandai Namco has released a new “Release Date Announcement” trailer for the forthcoming DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO video game, revealing its 11 October 2024 international release date (following its 10 October 2024 release date for Japan, as separately announced):
The trailer showcases a wealth of new characters and story mode material (including player choices and “What If?”-styled scenarios). Bandai Namco’s upload also goes on to showcase additional product versions and pre-order bonus details:
The pre-order bonus includes “6 characters early-unlock” (three versions each of Gogeta and Broli based on their Dragon Ball Super: Broly designs) plus one additional (undisclosed) playable character
A “Premium Collector’s Edition” exclusive to the Bandai Namco Store includes a lenticular card, steelbook, diorama, Fusion World cards, season pass access and bonus items, etc.
Of particular note, the “Season Pass” details indicate Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and Dragon Ball Daima content with “20+ playable characters”
“Deluxe Edition” and “Ultimate Edition” versions include access to play the game three days ahead of release date and early access to downloadable content
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is slated for release on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam).
As opposed to the completely separate Dragon Ball Z (“Budokai”) series developed by Dimps which came before it, the Sparking! series — developed instead by Spike — featured 3D arenas with an over-the-shoulder camera angle. The new game’s title of Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO falls more in line with the original trilogy’s naming scheme in Japanese. The three Sparking! games — the original, NEO!, and METEOR — hit the PlayStation 2 over the course of 2005 to 2007, with the Nintendo Wii also receiving ports of the second and third games. The game series was released numerically under the “Budokai Tenkaichi” moniker internationally. A fourth games — Tag Vs. in Japan; Tenkaichi Tag Team internationally — was released on the PlayStation Portable in 2010. Spike (as Spike Chunsoft) later went on to also develop the crossover fighting games J-Stars Victory VS in 2014 and Jump Force in 2019.
The September 2021 issue of Shueisha’s Saikyō Jump magazine kicked off a “Dragon Ball Super Gallery” series in commemoration of the Dragon Ball franchise’s upcoming 40th anniversary. The celebration aims to have different artists all contribute their own spin on the original 42 tankōbon covers, with the images and an accompanying comment published as the magazine’s back cover.
When it comes to snow country, I immediately think of Muscle Tower, so I went with a situation where they’re being chased by the ghosts of the Red Ribbon Army! All of Toriyama-sensei‘s illustrations are already perfectly composed, so I was quite humbled by the experience. Come to think of it, Toriyama-sensei had said right along that out of the illustrations he drew, there were hardly any he really liked. “That can’t be true when he draws such amazing stuff!” I thought, so one time I went ahead and asked him directly. His response was, “People of our generation don’t really do stuff like bragging about our own work.” Judging from that, I think he probably did have a favorite illustration or two, but that wasn’t the sort of thing the creator himself should be going on about. That’s how I interpreted it. I remember thinking that was so cool and just like him, and I came to admire him even more than before. Congratulations on 40 years! Now and forever, Dragon Ball will never die.
Saikyō Jump is currently a monthly magazine published in Japan by Shueisha under the “Jump” line of magazines. The magazine began as a quarterly publication in 2012, went monthly in 2013, went bimonthly in late-2014, and returned to a monthly format in 2021 (including a digital release for the first time). The magazine’s focus is spin-off and supplementary manga series aimed at a young audience, while also including game promotions, news coverage, and more. The magazine currently serializes content such as Yoshitaka Nagayama’s Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Meteor Mission! manga series and Yūji Kasai’s Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Avatars!! manga series. For calendar year 2019, Shueisha reported Saikyō Jump‘s circulation down at 130,000, with readership as 58.5% upper elementary school, 28% lower middle school, 11% middle school, and 2.5% high school or older.
Alongside a slew of other announcements today, Viz announced a forthcoming spring 2025 release of Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques, an English-translated version of the 2023 Japanese book which includes a variety of career reflections, advice for upcoming artists, and interviews with colleagues from legendary editor Kazuhiko Torishima.
Announcement: Learn how to make manga from past editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump, Kazuhiko Torishima, who collaborated with masters of the craft. Dr. Mashirito's Ultimate Manga Techniques, written by Kazuhiko Torishima with Takanaka Shimotsuki, releases Spring 2025. pic.twitter.com/fZWjuNH4KQ
Alongside a wealth of other content, Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques includes an interview with (and an original cover illustration by) the late and great Akira Toriyama.
