Following the sudden passing of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, the Dragon Ball Super manga by Toriyama and Toyotarou entered a state of indefinite hiatus. However, the manga is showing signs of life again after releasing a new illustration of adult Gohan’s strongest transformation to date.
The @/DbsHype account on X (formerly Twitter) shared the latest Dragon Ball Super artwork of Gohan in his Beast form by Toyotarou. As avid readers know, Toyotarou is the artist behind the Dragon Ball Super manga, who worked with the late Toriyama on various Dragon Ball-related manga projects. As the chosen successor to Toriyama, many believe Toyotarou will play a significant role in shaping the future of the Dragon Ball franchise after the loss of its creator. The newest artwork, seen below, is part of a special serialized project by Dragon Ball that is intended to run until the start of the Super‘s next manga chapter.
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Gohan Beast is the latest transformation for Gohan in the Dragon Ball series that premiered in the 2022 anime movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. After an unhinged Cell Max lands a devastating blow on Piccolo that comes close to ending the Namekian’s life, Gohan’s dormant strength finally unleashes, transforming him into the all-powerful Gohan Beast. It’s a scene that’s intentionally calling back to Piccolo sacrificing himself to save a young Gohan in the “Saiyan Saga” of Dragon Ball Z.
The CG-animated movie is filled with callbacks for longtime fans of the series, along with long-awaited answers to popular questions within the Dragon Ball fandom. The Red Ribbon Army from the 1986 Dragon Ball anime series is called back into action for Super Hero as the evil organization tries to re-establish its global dominance while seeking revenge on Goku and his friends. Most notably, the anime movie pushes Goku and Vegeta to the sidelines so that characters like Piccolo, Gohan and his daughter Pan can play a more active role in the story.
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Although the Dragon Ball Super manga did adapt the Super Hero movie into its story, the manga version goes beyond the 2022 film in a lot of ways, such as expanding on the role of teenage Trunks and his relationship with Mai. However, where the manga version of Super Hero really shines is its epilogue arc, which has Gohan fighting his father and his Saiyan relatives to test out his new power. The final chapter in the story arc also acts as an unintentional goodbye from Toriyama before his passing, with the final page featuring Piccolo waving goodbye to the viewer before flying off with Goku, Gohan and Pan.
There has been no official confirmation as of writing when the Dragon Ball Super manga will return to serialization. However, the official site has stated that Super will eventually resume with a new story arc. Previous chapters of Dragon Ball Super can be accessed via Viz Media.
