Dragon Ball Super Illustrator On How Series Varies Between Anime, Manga

02/13/2017 05:03 pm EST

This weekend, Dragon Ball Super continued to leave fans stunned as it delved deeper into its new story arc. The 'Universal Survival' saga promises to bring an action-packed ride to fans as Goku and the rest of Universe 7's warriors fight to protect their home against the entire multiverse. With the anime nearing its 80th episode, audiences are clearly looking forward to Akira Toriyama's story while Dragon Ball Super's manga continues it backdated rollout. Of course, long-time fans of the series may be curious about how the Dragon Ball Super anime and manga bounce off one another.

UP NEXT: Dragon Ball Super: Could Goku Become a Villain?

Luckily, Toyotarou has an answer for those who are curious.

If you are not familiar with the name, you should not be a stranger to his work. Toyotarou worked with Toriyama on the long-running Dragon Ball manga before taking over control for the Dragon Ball Super manga add-on. During a visit to the U.S., the artist was asked about how the Dragon Ball Super anime and manga vary from one another, and Toyotarou said he does not deviate from Toriyama's extraordinary vision.

"Fundamentally, I don't deviate from the major plotlines that Toriyama's laid down. As far as the plot getting from A to B, that's written as Toriyama it lays down," Toyotarou told Anime News Network.

"But as far as the details between those plot points, I'm free to fill them in myself....The parts I really want my fans and readers to look at are the comedic gags, because I'm pretty free to create those!"

When asked about his work on the Dragon Ball Super anime, Toyotarou admitted he was not very involved with the project.

"At this point, I'm not very involved with it. I think going forward, I'll be more involved, but at this point in time, I actually receive more information from the anime team than I give to them," he admitted. "The anime is a little bit further along than I am, but in the near future I'll be ahead, so the information will be going back to them. Regardless, we'll continue to support one another as we go forward."

For many fans, the exchange between the series' manga and anime is a reverse one. In most anime, the series is fed by a complete or on-going manga that has been out for some time. Dragon Ball Super got its start as an anime first under Toriyama's guidance before Toei Animation licensed a manga companion.

As for the saga's start date, the new arc premiered on February 5, 2017. The "Universal Survival" saga is part of the recent simulcast agreement that sites like Crunchyroll and Funimation have scored. Dragon Ball Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturdays at 7:15 p.m. CST. Toonami will begin airing the English dub on Adult Swim Saturdays at 11:30 p.m.

Dragon Ball SuperSunday at on Fuji Television Network

ComicBook Composite 83.00 NAAll-Time Comic TV Shows

Average rating

from 2 usersNAAll-Time Rated

[HT] Kanzenshuu

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.