‘Dragon Ball Super’ Reveals Akira Toriyama’s Take on Jiren

Dragon Ball Super manga’s latest chapters are moving deeper into the Tournament of Power arc, and as such, fans are getting to see some of the breakout characters from the Dragon Ball Super anime’s ToP arc, done in the style of series creator Akira Toriyama! Today, thanks to @YonkouProd, we have our best look yet at Toriyama’s take on the ToP’s unstoppable brawler, Jiren of Universe 11!

If there’s one thing that can be said about Toriyama’s design for Jiren, it’s that he definitely conveys Jiren’s underlying belief that strength is the ultimate power to obtain – because the managa version of the Pride Trooper is fit AF! Jiren clearly hits those squat exercises on leg day as hard as does arm and shoulder day, because those glutes are something that most other beings in the multiverse would need a Dragon Ball wish to obtain!

The alien head looks more alien here, for sure – but the most dynamic difference in Toriyama’s design seems to be the eyes. The manga version Jiren has much more expressiveness in his eyes – and those eyes give him a hint of potential villainy that anime Jiren simply did have. The TV version of Jiren came off as much more of a impenetrable mystery man, while this artwork conveys more of the underlying fury for strength and vengeance that drives Jiren.

The manga version of the Tournament of Power has been decidedly different than the anime version – including some big twists in the order of eliminations, which has radically changed how events play out. Due to those changes, fans will get Goku’s Ultra Instinct in a very different way than the path the anime took – however, the first sketches of Goku UI in the manga make the technique look like it will be just as awesome on the page.

It will be interesting to see where Dragon ball Super‘s manga leaves off with Jiren and Goku, and whether or not the former will be positioned to play a bigger role in the series, going forward. Jiren’s future has been one of the biggest topics of fan discussion since Dragon Ball Super ended, so hopefully, the manga will provide some kind of clue as to what the anime showrunners are planning.

If Jiren somehow makes an appearance in the upcoming Dragon Ball Super movie, fans would go nuts.

Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on Funimation, VRV, and Crunchyroll.