In a post shared on X, Dragon Ball Super‘s artist Toyotaro revealed Akira Toriyama’s final contribution to the series before his passing, and it’s a beautiful but sad coincidence that fans will never forget. Toriyama’s last input for the manga inadvertently created the perfect goodbye for the legendary author.
Chapter #103 of Dragon Ball Super was the last one Akira Toriyama worked on before his sudden demise on March 1, 2024. While many fans already consider the “passing of the torch” between Goku and Gohan the best symbolic farewell Toriyama could give to his franchise, it turns out that his final touch is even more significant.
As Toyotaro revealed in his first post of X after he expressed the pain and anguish for his master’s death, Toriyama asked him to change the final panel of the chapter. In Toyotaro’s original storyboard, Gohan, Goku, Pan, and Piccolo simply fly away after picking up the little girl at school. Toriyama, however, added a moment in which Piccolo says farewell to the teacher and, by extension, to the readers.
Dragon Ball Super went into an indefinite hiatus after chapter #103, and the future of the series is still unconfirmed.
Toriyama Inadvertently Gave His Fans The Best Possible Farewell
The Legendary Author’s Final Touch on Dragon Ball Super Created a Last Goodbye
Considering that Toriyama died from an acute subdural hematoma, and, at least as far as the public knows, had no previous health issues, it’s very unlikely that Piccolo’s farewell to the audience in chapter #103 was anything more than a coincidence. Based on interviews and Toyotaro’s comments, the work process for Dragon Ball Super consisted of Toriyama sending him a written summary of the chapter, Toyotaro turning it into a storyboard, and then the senior mangaka having a final input with suggestions and corrections.
For chapter #103, Toriyama asked to add the panel in which Piccolo waves goodbye to the teacher (and the readers), as shown in the sketches shared by Toyotaro (who could not post Toriyama’s original drawing, so recreated it in his style). It’s well-known among fans that Piccolo was Toriyama’s favorite character, so it’s possible that he simply wanted to give the Namekian one more sweet moment, one that also showcases his emotional growth. This chapter is also the conclusion of the Super Hero arc, so perhaps Toriyama simply wanted to close that part of the story with a slightly more meaningful scene, before the series went into the usual one-month break between arcs.
Regardless of the intentions, the result is something that Dragon Ball fans will never forget. Piccolo turning to the reader to wave goodbye is the perfect farewell that Toriyama could give to his fans, even if he did not intend to do so. It’s a simple, sober scene, and it transmits a bittersweet tone that will surely leave many people crying and smiling at the same time. Toriyama was great at effectively conveying emotions, and the final touch he put on the chapter is the perfect proof of this element of his art.
Akira Toriyama’s influence on the manga industry is undeniable, yet he was making waves much before Dragon Ball, introducing an artistic revolution.
Interestingly, in Toyotaro’s previous post, he apologizes to fans for the indefinite hiatus of the series and mentions he does not know when chapters 101-103 will be published in volume format, keeping the hope alive that Dragon Ball Super will continue. Even if that does not happen, Akia Toriyama‘s last contribution to the series inadvertently created the best possible farewell he could have ever given to his fans.
