The Dragon Ball franchise is currently at one of the most exciting junctures that it’s ever arrived at, with the past being put in order, while the future is opening wide for some exciting things to happen. The Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie is about to arrive, and will be a game-changing chapter of the franchise, expected to set up the next Dragon Ball anime series. At the same time, the Dragon Ball Super manga’s Tournament of Power arc is coming to a close, which would bring the manga up to the point where the anime ended.
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With Dragon Ball Super: Broly and the Dragon Ball Super manga now setting the stage for the next era, there’s been a big question looming larger and larger on the horizon: Who will be coming up with the next official Dragon Ball Super story arc?
As you can see above, there’s a popular fan theory that Dragon Ball Super manga illustrator Toyotaro is actually being groomed by Akira Toriyama to take on the full responsibility of being the Dragon Ball creator’s successor, by finally getting to launch his own story arc in the manga, following the end of the current Tournament of Power storyline, as well as the manga adaptation of the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie.
The theory is taken from interviews that Toyotaro gave, in which he made statements like the following:
“…for a fan like me, it feels great to have Toriyama’s approvation on more traditional drawings, some of my greatest satisfactions stem from seeing him approve my original ideas: new moves, new expressions. And something else, in the future.”
A lot of fans are thinking that the “something else in the future” that Toyotaro is referring to is an original storyline that Toriyama would let him develop, and it seems that the period following Dragon Ball Super: Broly would be the opportune time, as there are no new storylines currently keeping Toyotaro beholden to a path that’s already been plotted: the future is wide open right now, and the man who’s helped the Dragon Ball Super manga become so strong, would be a prime candidate to move it into the next phase – with the anime following suit.
What do you think: Is the next Dragon Ball Super story arc going to be a Toyotaro original? Are you good with that kind of creative change? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Dragon Ball Super: Broly will hit Japanese theaters in December, and is expected to arrive in the U.S. around mid-January 2019. Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. ET. 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.
