‘Dragon Ball Super’ Reveals Godly New Volume Cover

The cover for Dragon Ball Super volume 7 is here, and it features a few divine faces front and center.

The cover debuted in a Japanese print publication, and it circulated on Twitter thanks to @GovetaXV. The black and white thumbnail shows Beerus leering in the foreground, practically leaning out of the frame. Behind him is Belmod, Universe 11’s God of Destruction, and a few other figures as well. It is hard to make out the finer details, but this is the first real peek at the upcoming tankōbon.

Fans were pleased with their glimpse of the cover, though many wished that there were pages leaked instead. The manga is an adaptation of the anime series — a reversal of the usual order of production. The series is already a huge hit, and it is nearly caught up with the show. Volume 7 of the manga will continue the Universe Survival Arc, which closes out the series indefinitely.

The manga is written and illustrated by Toyotaro, with direct oversight by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama himself. Dragon Ball Super is serialized in V Jump, with collected volumes coming out at regular intervals as well. In an interview on the V-Jump website — translated on Kanzenshuu — Toriyama praised Toyotaro’s work on the series, adding that he had to correct the young artist much less often than the animators on the show.

Toriyama even added that he wished the animators could have followed Toyotaro’s work as a guide, though of course they were always well ahead of him in the plot.

“…Maybe there are people who can imitate my pictures, but not many artists can pull off an entire chapter the way you can!” Toriyama told Toyotaro. “Your storyboards are really tight!”

Dragon Ball Super volume 7 comes out on Sept. 4. in Japan. Unfortunately, the U.S. is far behind, still waiting for volume 4.

Meanwhile, as manga fans eagerly await their next release, anime-only viewers are dying for more information on the upcoming movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly. A small amount of new footage played over the weekend in a teaser at the end of the latest One Piece special. It gave a longer glimpse of Goku and Broly fighting in mid-air — Goku in Super Saiyan Blue and Broly in his base form.

Other than that, the whole production seems incredibly tight-lipped. Few plot details are available, and die-hard fans are speculating on all the various ways that Broly’s old, non-canonical stories might be reimagined for this latest appearance.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly hits theaters in Japan on Dec. 14. It is expected in the U.S. sometime in January of 2019, though an exact date has not been set.