23 billion dollars: this iconic saga has become a financial empire in 40 years!

On March 1, Akira Toriyama breathed his last at the age of 68, leaving millions of Dragons fans orphaned. A few weeks after the death of the brilliant Japanese creator, the media Asahi Shimbun published an investigation into Toriyama’s financial legacy.

Super Saiyan Empire

Since its inception in 1984, the Dragon Ball franchise has spawned a plethora of spin-offs, including manga, movies, series, video games, toys, and more. Journalist Taro Kawajima’s pen!

For a long time, Dragon Ball was the best-selling manga in the world (300 million copies), before being overtaken by the One Piece phenomenon (516 million). However, cumulatively, the license created by Toriyama-san remains “The First Manga Market in Japan” In terms of economic impact (series, anime and games included).

What’s next for Dragon Ball?

Dragon Ball did not end with the disappearance of Akira Toriyama. Before his death, the mangaka was working on a new Dragon Ball series called Daima. This anime follows the adventures of the main characters of the saga who return to their childhood! This synopsis is reminiscent of Dragon Ball GT, the unofficial sequel to DBZ.

Although he is not a series creator, Akira Toriyama was still involved as a program supervisor, signing concept art for the characters in the process. Like Sand Land, this series will be released posthumously at the end of the year, at a currently unknown date (no French broadcaster has been announced at this time).

In addition, the Dragon Ball Super manga supervised by Toriyama should continue to be published. This work will be written and drawn by Toyotaro, a 46-year-old mangaka who will take over as maestro. It remains to be seen whether Toriyama’s death, who oversaw his apprentice’s work, will have ramifications for the manga’s quality.

On the movie side, after Dragon Ball Super Broly and Super Hero, Toei studio has not announced anything regarding the continuation of the saga on the big screen. Given the success of these feature films, it makes sense that the license would bring new works to the big screen. On the other hand, is a live action movie being considered on Netflix after the recent success of the One Piece series? It’s no less certain knowing what the injury was in Dragon Ball Evolution in 2009.