Rurouni Kenshin Creator Contributes New Artwork for Dragon Ball’s 40th Anniversary Super Gallery

Saikyo Jump is nearing the conclusion of its four-year-long Dragon Ball Super Gallery project. The publication’s upcoming issue will feature a submission drawn by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the creator of the Rurouni Kenshin franchise.

Per @WSJ_manga on X (formerly Twitter), Watsuki’s entry is inspired by the original cover art of Dragon Ball Volume 30. Like its predecessor, the artwork depicts a group portrait of Goku, young Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta and several other iconic Z fighters. It also includes a thank-you message directed toward Akira Toriyama’s readers. Watsuki’s illustration will be featured in Saikyo Jump‘s December 2024 issue, which is scheduled for release on Nov. 1.

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Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Cover Gets Redrawn by Rurouni Kenshin’s Nobuhiro Watsuki

The Dragon Ball Super Gallery is a 40th anniversary tribute to Akira Toriyama’s beloved shonen manga, which first hit bookshelves in 1984. The project launched in September 2021, with Saikyo Jump publishing a different artistic take on one of Dragon Ball’s classic manga covers each subsequent month. Thus far, the publication has featured submissions by prominent artists such as Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), Tite Kubo (Bleach), Tatsuki Fujimoto (Chainsaw Man), Yoshihiro Togashi (Hunter X Hunter) and many more. Watsuki’s entry marks the 40th out of 42 total planned entries.

While Watsuki has written and illustrated several manga series, Rurouni Kenshin is by far his most successful work. Set in Meiji Era Japan, the story follows the adventures of a wandering swordsman named Himura Kenshin. After spending a large portion of his life as a Bakumutsu assassin, Himura vows to abandon his violent past and instead use his strength to protect others. The original manga series ran in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from April 1994 to September 1999. The series has since spawned many additional sequels and spinoffs. Gallop (Yu-Gi-Oh!) and Studio DEEN (Fate/Stay Night) collaborated to produce Rurouni Kenshin‘s hit ’90s anime adaptation. Liden Films (Tokyo Revengers) has since released an additional Rurouni Kenshin series, Season 2 of which is currently airing.

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October 2024 has been a veritable gold mine for Dragon Ball fans. Two weeks ago, Bandai Namco released the franchise’s highly anticipated video game installment, Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, for gamers worldwide. Around the same time, Episode 1 of Dragon Ball‘s long-awaited 40th anniversary anime series, Dragon Ball Daima, hit the airwaves in Japan. Set sometime in between the end of DBZ and the beginning of Super, Daima has Goku set off on a mission to track down a new foe in the Demon Realm — a previously unexplored region of the Dragon Ball universe. Episode 4 of the series is slated to premiere on Nov. 1.

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga is available in English from VIZ Media. The series’ respective anime adaptations, including Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, are available to stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll. Dragon Ball Daima is streaming on Netflix, Hulu and Crunchyroll.

Dragon Ball

Son Gokû, a fighter with a monkey tail, goes on a quest with an assortment of odd characters in search of the Dragon Balls, a set of crystals that can give its bearer anything they desire.

Author

Akira Toriyama

Artist

Akira Toriyama

Release Date

November 20, 1984

Genre

Adventure , Fantasy , Comedy , Martial Arts

Chapters

519

Volumes

42

Adaptation

Dragon Ball

Publisher

Shueisha, Madman Entertainment, Viz Media

Expand

Source: X (formerly Twitter)