The official Dragon Ball website’s forty-eighth entry in “The Nearly Complete Works of Akira Toriyama” — an on-going series highlighting rare and important pieces of the author’s work over the years — is the author’s introductory message from the 2015 Dragon Ball Super: Super Start Guide.

Dragon Ball Super is a complete continuation of the Majin Boo story arc. It’s got a bit of post-battle aftermath, continues with the Battle of Gods arc where the God of Destruction Beerus appears and the Resurrection ‘F’ arc where Freeza comes back to life, and then, I’ve written a strange new story where they finally depart from this universe. They’re fighting against their neighbors, Universe 6! They’ll yell at me if I give away too many spoilers, so I’ll keep the rest a secret, but they’re chasing after giant Super Dragon Balls; I think things will unfold in a bright and simple way, that will be really fun and exciting!

Since it’s another universe, loads of new characters will turn up. I’ll do my best to draw the tons of character designs necessary, so I’m looking forward to this too.

You know, it suddenly occurs to me that somewhere along the line the Dragon Ball anime has become quite a huge story. Since I’m the guy who drew the thing, it’s a bit weird for me to say this, but when I first started out I never dreamed it would have a universe as a setting (laughs). Don’t worry though, it’s still going to be the same sort of easy-to-understand content as always. Please be sure to watch Dragon Ball Super on TV!

The message is identical to and technically originated as a part of the series’ “Completion Announcement Event” just a couple days prior, where the creative team announced their finished production on the first episode and promoted the then-upcoming series debut.

Toriyama designed the five competitors from Universe 6, which would be featured in the March 2016 issue of V-Jump the following January. That same January, Toriyama’s introductory comment for the Dragon Ball series’ 30th anniversary “Super History Book” gave a tiny glimpse into his feelings on the series at that time:

I had put Dragon Ball behind me, but seeing how much that live-action film ticked me off, and how I revised that script for the anime movie and complained about the quality of the TV anime, I suppose somewhere along the line it’s become a series I like too much to ever leave alone.

The Dragon Ball Super: Super Start Guide was released 03 July 2015 — just two days ahead of the series’ debut — and, contrary to popular belief, does not actually contain a citation on either the speed of light or vibrators.

The official Dragon Ball website’s forty-seventh entry in “The Nearly Complete Works of Akira Toriyama” — an on-going series highlighting rare and important pieces of the author’s work over the years — is the updated design for the Norimaki household in the 1997 Dr. Slump television series reboot.

–NEW– Senbei Norimaki House
Built during his father’s time, the lower part is a half-underground laboratory, and the upper part has an LDK [combined living room / dining room / kitchen] and such; second floor is bedrooms, study, etc.

The second Dr. Slump television series debuted 26 November 1996, the very next week and in the same timeslot after the final Dragon Ball GT episode. The series ran for 74 episodes and a single movie into 1999.

The official Dragon Ball website’s forty-sixth entry in “The Nearly Complete Works of Akira Toriyama” — an on-going series highlighting rare and important pieces of the author’s work over the years — is the author’s 1982 Bird Land Press mascot design.

The design was used on card cases, bags, and other miscellaneous items for members of Toriyama’s official fan club.

The official Dragon Ball website’s forty-fifth entry in “The Nearly Complete Works of Akira Toriyama” — an on-going series highlighting rare and important pieces of the author’s work over the years — is the author’s drawing and introductory message from 2003’s first Dragon Box release, the first half of the Dragon Ball Z television series.

My sincerest gratitude to all those of you who bought this, despite it being so expensive. The other day at my neighborhood store, I spotted a couple who spent a long time agonizing in front of the Dragon Box reservation corner. As the creator of Dragon Ball, I wanted to apologetically tell them not to do anything crazy, though the truth is that it makes me happy to see that these kinds of Dragon Ball fans are still around. But as long as you’ve already gone and bought it, please enjoy this animation with all your heart.

The 26-disc box set was released 19 March 2003 (reservation were due 15 January 2003) for ¥100,000 and covered the first 147 episodes of the Dragon Ball Z television series along with bonus features, a 128-page book, and a Kaiyodo Deluxe Son Goku Action Figure (with interchangeable parts). Four more “Dragon Box” sets would follow: the second half of the Dragon Ball Z television series later that same year in 2003, the original Dragon Ball television series in 2004, the Dragon Ball GT television series in 2005, and the theatrical films in 2006.

The official Dragon Ball website’s forty-fourth entry in “The Nearly Complete Works of Akira Toriyama” — an on-going series highlighting rare and important pieces of the author’s work over the years — is a character design sheet for Abel, hero of the 1989 Dragon Quest: Legend of the Hero Abel anime television series (voiced by Tohru Furuya, who was also voicing Yamcha in the Dragon Ball franchise at this time).

The Dragon Quest anime actually made its way to America in 1990 by way of Saban, lasting for 13 episodes under the Dragon Warrior moniker also adopted by the game series at the time.

While the television series received no American home release, the Japanese market received a complete DVD box set in March 2008.

Dragon Quest received a second anime series in 1991, adapting the popular Dragon Quest: Dai’s Great Adventure manga series published by Shueisha. Dai’s Great Adventure ran for 46 episodes and received three films.

The official Dragon Ball website’s forty-third entry in “The Nearly Complete Works of Akira Toriyama” — an on-going series highlighting rare and important pieces of the author’s work over the years — is the first page from Toriyama’s one-shot Mahimahi the Lungfish.

The nine-page, full color one-shot was published 19 December 1998 in the 1999 No. 4-5 double-issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump. The story explores the everyday life of a lungfish, and is a bit of an atypical work of an “educational” bent. Toriyama’s author comment that issue read as follows:

Thanks to Nickolaus for the higher-quality scan!