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As the wait continues for good news aboutDragon Ball Super, many fans are still hoping the series lasts long enough to deliver the highly anticipated Black Frieza Arc. However, they might need to wait longer than originally expected.
While manyDragon Ballfans dislike the route thatDragon Ball Superhas taken, the series has vastly expanded the manga’s universe and introduced many intriguing plots and characters. Toyotaro recently commented about his favorite character, and it might take a few fans by surprise.
Toyotaro Created Black Frieza
Toyotaro was recently at Paris Japan 2025, where he confirmed he is working on an original manga, a one-shot that will probably be out on V-JUMP in a few months. The magazine has added a draft version to its official website. This one-shot was analyzed by legendaryformerDragon Balleditor Kazuhiko Torishima, who made some harsh remarks about it (as is typical of him).
In any case, Toyotaro also answered many questions aboutDragon Ball Super, which has been on hiatus for months. There, he mentioned that he was veryproud of creating Black Frieza, a new, overpowered transformation of the classic villain.Black Frieza is said to be so powerful that his power cannot even be measured, and he is on par with the Gods of Destruction and above any of the Z Fighters in their most powerful forms.
Toyotaro’s Favorite Dragon Ball Super Character Is An Original One
Toyotaro created the latest transformation of Frieza, which made fans eagerly wait for a seemingly inevitable Black Frieza Arc. However,his favorite character is a completely original one, Granolah.Toyotaro previously revealed in Volume 16that he made many changes to the original design of Granolah before Toriyama finally accepted it. At Japan Expo, he added that, despite that, Toriyama instantly approved the concept of the character. He likely just asked for a few fixes.
Granolah is a major character during the Granolah the Survivor Arc, and he is the only survivor of the massacre of the Cerelian race carried out by Frieza’s Saiyan Army once he conquered the Cereal planet. Bardock saved him, a surprising outcome considering how Goku’s father was depicted in other media. Either way, Granolah wanted to kill Frieza to avenge his people, and the Heeters took advantage of this feeling to manipulate him.
Dragon Ball Super News Unlikely to Surface in 2025
While Toyotaro gave fans some cheering news, such as that he believed it would be possible to keep writingDragon Ball Super, his editor, Victory Uchida, tempered fans’ expectations. Uchida consistently stated multiple times that there isno chance forDragon Ball Superto return this year. He apparently didn’t delve further into it.
Given that Toyotaro will probably take Torishima’s feedback into consideration, it is likely that he will work on fixing a few things in his one-shot, titledLast Samurai, which is expected to appear in an upcoming issue ofV-JUMP. Meanwhile, the future ofDragon Ball Superremains uncertain.
Is the DB Super Manga Canceled?
Those who always try to look at the bright side of things can at least take consolation from the fact that neither Toyotaro nor Uchida claimed that the manga has been canceled.Dragon Ball Superwent on hiatus in March 2024, following the news about Toriyama’s death. The manga briefly returned with a new chapter in February 2025, but no news surfaced after that, which has led fans to speculate that the manga will be canceled.
Toyotaro said that it’s not impossible to continue without Toriyama-sensei, because it was he (Toyotaro) who wrote the story of Dragon Ball Super and then sent it to Toriyama, who would approve or not. On other occasions, Toriyama would send his stories to Toyotaro so he could take a look and make suggestions. Then Toriyama would approve them again or not. Since part of the story came from him, Toyotaro believes that continuing without Toriyama-sensei would be “not easy, but not impossible.”
— DBTimes via Venixys
WhileToyotaro seemed positive in his answerabout continuing the series without Toriyama, it seems clear that it is not easy to do. Therefore, there is a good chance that Toyotaro is still struggling to figure out how to write the next arc (or the next arcs). It seems unlikely the series will end without some closure on the teased Black Frieza Arc. Additionally, it has been reported that Shueisha and Capsule Corporation Tokyo are currently under litigation over the rights to the Dragon Ball franchise, which might impact the possibility of resumingDragon Ball Superin the near future.
Dragon Ball Superis available to read on V-JUMP, in English and Spanish.
