One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda wraps up the Dragon Ball Super Gallery project with a beautiful redraw of Dragon Ball Volume 42 and a heartbreaking message. The project began in 2021 as a special tribute to the manga. In order to celebrate the 40th anniversary, 40 renowned mangakas joined the project to redraw one volume cover in their unique styles. The project was launched as part of the Shonen Jump magazine’s commemorations.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Creators of popular series such as One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Jujutsu Kaisen, Jojo’s Bizare Adventure, Hunter x Hunter, and several others paid tribute to one of the most influential manga of all time. Akira Toriyama’s manga, Dragon Ball influenced several future works and etched its name in history as one of the best manga of all time. Oda admired Toriyama since his childhood and was heavily influenced by Dragon Ball. Additionally, Oda was one of the few people who spoke about Toriyama in his obituary published by Shonen Jump.
[RELATED: Dragon Ball Daima Makes a Surprising Classic Toriyama Reference]
Eiichiro Oda Shares His Thoughts on the Redrawn Version of Dragon Ball Volume 42
The author’s comments are shared on the right part of the volume cover. Eiichiro Oda shares, “I bought the first volume of the Dragon Ball manga series when I was in elementary school, but I didn’t buy the second volume! I always read the chapters through WSJ magazine, and when the final volume 42 was released, I went to the bookstore and saw it, but I didn’t buy it! I thank you for giving me this opportunity to redraw it! And now, I wish I could buy this volume while Toriyama-sensei is still alive.” @pewpiece, a popular One Piece account on X shares the translated version of the message.
Volume 42 wraps up the Majin Buu Saga. In Oda’s version, you can see Goku waving goodbye and thanking fans, echoing the sentiment of Toriyama’s original sentiment. While the art style is indeed different, the major change is Robotoriyama (Toriyama’s avatar) piloting a flying saucer instead of Majin Buu, adding a personal and meaningful twist to the farewell.
Since 2021, a new cover was unveiled monthly in V Jump magazine, with each one showcasing the participating artist’s unique interpretation of Toriyama’s characters and scenes. Since the Super Gallery project is over, Shueisha will soon be reprinting the Dragon Ball manga with new covers to commemorate its 40th anniversary. The manga will be available in a special box set including all 42 volumes, each featuring two covers: the original version by Akira Toriyama and an alternate cover illustrated by another mangaka. The release date has yet to be announced, but since the project is finally complete, it should be revealed in a few months.
Akira Toriyama’s death in March 2024 was a massive blow to the manga industry as well as Dragon Ball fans worldwide. Several authors paid tribute to the legendary mangaka. Dragon Ball Super, which was being serialized monthly on V Jump at the time, went into an indefinite hiatus. While Toyotaru is the manga’s artist, Toriyama remained behind the story. However, Jump Festa 2025 announced that the manga will return with a new chapter centering around Goten and Trunks.
H/T: @pewpiece, @WSJ_manga
