While fans eagerly await the future of Dragon Ball Super, the manga's illustrator Toyotarou has instead released his first original manga. Titled Lost Samurai, a 45-page draft of the brand-new one-shot has been published on the V Jump website.
There had been a lot of speculation regarding Toyotarou's manga prior to its reveal this past week. Many fans speculated that it would be a Dragon Ball side-story since Toyotarou is best known for his work on the Dragon Ball Super series.
Instead, it's a completely new, samurai-themed standalone story, completely unrelated to his work on Dragon Ball. And while we're all hoping for a regular return for Dragon Ball Super, it's nice to see Toyotarou branch out and flex his creative storytelling muscle.
Toyotarou, who worked closely with the late Akira Toriyama, addressed the future of the Dragon Ball Super manga during a stage conference at Japan Expo earlier this month. Explaining their collaborative process, Toyotarou revealed that he was responsible for writing the story for Dragon Ball Super, and that he would submit the story to Toriyama for approval. Toriyama would provide story ideas and suggest changes, and eventually give final approval. Because the two work so closely together on the manga's story, Toyotarou believes it is possible to continue the manga, though he admitted it would not be easy.
As it turns out, it's also not entirely up to Toyotarou, who doesn't actually hold the intellectual property rights to Dragon Ball. When asked about a potential return for the manga, former Dragon Ball editor Kazuhiko Torishima stated that the decision lies with Shueisha, Toei Animation, and the company handling Toriyama’s estate.
The Dragon Ball Super manga went on hiatus in March 2024, following the tragic passing of legendary creator Akira Toriyama. A one-shot chapter illustrated entirely by Toyotarou was released in February 2025, but no new material has followed since.
Volume 24, released in April 2025, hinted that the series isn’t over just yet, but, for now, Dragon Ball Super is still on pause. Toyotarou, who was handpicked by Toriyama to carry on the legacy, has confirmed that the manga will return. He’s already working on it, using existing story outlines and his understanding of Toriyama’s vision.
In the meantime, enjoy the draft of Toyotarou's original work, Lost Samurai.