Dragon Ball Artist Honors Akira Toriyama With New Hero Tribute

Dragon Ball has been around for decades now, and as of late, its helm has been guided by a truly gift artist. Toyotaro began their tenure with Dragon Ball years ago by inking fan-comics, but these days, they oversee the serialization of Dragon Ball Super. Right now, the artist is taking a short break as Dragon Ball enjoys a hiatus, but that didn’t stop them from tributing the franchise’s late creator with a new sketch.

Not long ago, the official Dragon Ball website posted new artwork from Toyotaro, and it puts Akira Toriyama on the map. As you can see below, the manga artist inked a sketch of Shu from Blue Dragon. And truly, it is uncanny seeing Toyotaro replicate Toriyama’s style.

In the sketch, fans can get a full look at Shu in their usual outfit. With their hair pulled up, Shu looks ready for battle, and the same goes for their dragon. If the pair were to run into Nene like this, well – you can bet the Grand Kingdom ruler would be in for a desperate battle. After all, Toriyama gave Shu an unassuming design, but the boy is anything but ordinary.

If you are not familiar with Shu, you should know they came to life under Toriyama in December 2006. The boy was one of several heroes in Blue Dragon, a role-playing video game supervised by the creator of Final Fantasy. When it came time to design the game, Toriyama was asked to oversee the project, so Blue Dragon welcomed the artist much like Dragon Quest did decades before.

This Blue Dragon tribute proves Toyotaro knows everything when it comes to Toriyama. While Dragon Quest is known to gamers across the globe, Blue Dragon is definitely a more niche title. Still, the artist is versed in all things Toriyama, and Toyotaro is more eager to honor that legacy than ever before. Last month, reports from Japan confirmed Toriyama tragically passed away at 63 years old due to an acute subdural hematoma. The loss has left the world in mourning, and few are more bereft than Toyotaro. But to keep his mentor’s spirit alive, the artist is holding tight to what Toriyama brought to life. 

What do you think about this Dragon Ball tribute? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!