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Saikyo Jump recently unveiled the latest entry for its Dragon Ball Super Gallery -- an ambitious multi-year project that was created to commemorate the franchise's 40th anniversary. This month, official Dragon Ball Super illustrator Toyotarou has submitted artwork honoring two classic Dragon Ball characters: Majinn Buu and Mr. Satan.

A Dragon Ball-centric news hub on X (formerly Twitter) called Shonen Jump News recently shared Toyotarou's entry. This illustration, seen below, showcases a dynamic vehicular getaway scene with Buu and Mr. Satan as they attempt to escape from a group of monsters. The scene is directly inspired by the cover of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball Volume 39, which similarly depicts a cheerful-looking Buu and a distressed Mr. Satan as they drive along in one of the latter's cars. Toyotarou's submission is the 35th official entry to the Super Gallery, which originally launched in September 2021.

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These days, anime is more popular than ever, offering fans one incredible hit after the next. But while it seems that just about every new title is a smashing success now, plenty of series still dont see the mainstream fame of big names like One Piece or Attack on Titan. In fact, with more new anime coming out each season than ever before, many amazing titles sadly get overlooked by most fans.

Anime has always had its hidden gems, from forgotten old school classics to underrated new releases. Though these series are well worth watching, they often cant compete with the popular titles and end up overshadowed as a result. But while these titles are obscure and often unknown, theyre some of the best series out there and are just as good as mainstream anime.

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The official Dragon Ball website is sharing another rare and valuable illustration by the late Akira Toriyama. In the May 2, 2024, edition of the Toriyama Archives, two young characters from completely different series meet up for the first time.

From Akira Toriyama - The World Anime Special, an original illustration of Gohan in his youth and Arale Norimaki from the Dr. Slump series are pictured together for the first time. Described on the official site before the post was deleted as a "Dream Team" meetup, both characters are drawn in casual clothing that fits their personalities. Gohan's clothes evoke a well-behaved schoolboy persona, while Arale's shirt and overalls have a more troublemaker vibe to them. The book Gohan reads features the little "gas mask guy" that Toriyama liked to depict himself as in his artwork.

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Goku is the blueprint for shonen protagonists, evolving from a sheltered kid eager for adventure to a heroic figure shaped by loss and growth. Goku's journey in Dragon Ball showcases moral development through pivotal moments with Piccolo, transforming him into a more selfless hero. Despite his love for fighting and challenge, Goku's character growth and impact on anime history are a result of his organic evolution.

There is a certain formula for the typical shonen anime protagonist. Any protagonist worth their salt tends to be a younger person with a big heart but a relatively middling sense of intelligence. They tend to be something of a genius in the Japanese sense rather than the Western sense in one very specific thing with a very specific sort of talent. A sprinkling of hotheadedness and a certain amount of a bottomless stomach tends to round out these characters, and it's all the...

Earlier this year, the world lost Akira Toriyama, who, in addition to creating the Dragon Ball franchise, had a prolific career as a character designer for major video game franchises like Dragon Quest. In honor of the artist's legacy, Dragon Ball Super artist Toyotarou has created new artwork showcasing one of Toriyama's older video game heroes.

On Dragon Ball's official site, the latest entry in Toyotarou's "Tries to Draw" series is artwork of Shu, who hails from the Blue Dragon video game franchise. As shown below, Toyotarou's illustration depicts a young boy with a cheeky grin alongside the game's titular icon. Shu's design shares many classic Toriyama elements, including a spiky hairstyle that is highly reminiscent of Goku's. Toyotarou also released a brief introductory statement alongside his drawing. "Akira Toriyama was in charge of character design for this game [Blue Dragon], but as a V Jumper fan (V...

Dragon Ball has revealed a stunning manga volume cover from almost 40 years ago that showcases Kid Goku, Og shapeshifter Oolong and an iconic nod to Akira Toriyama's vehicle designs for which the creator was so well-known.

The official Dragon Ball site recently unearthed the cover of Dragon Ball Volume 11, initially released nearly 40 years ago on Feb. 15, 1985. The cover pictures Goku and Oolong in a hurry on one of Toriyama's trademark vehicles and was unearthed as part of the regular Toriyama Archives series, where old and often rare art from the legendary creator is re-released for 24 hours only. Readers can check out the illustration below.

Related Dragon Ball Releases Rare Concept Art of Super Hero's Cell Max vs. Gamma 2 Fight A new official illustration of Cell Max attacking Gamma 2 by the late Akira Toriyama for the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie has been found.

The Goku and Oolong illustration...

Saikyo Jump is celebrating 40 years of Akira Toriyama's beloved shonen franchise, Dragon Ball, with its monthly Dragon Ball Super Gallery showcase -- a lineup of fresh artistic takes on classic Dragon Ball covers. This month's entry is from Hiroyuki Asada, creator of the steampunk fantasy manga Tegami Bachi, or Letter Bee.

Shonen Jump News (or @WSJ_manga), a Dragon Ball-focused news hub on X (formerly Twitter), recently showcased Asada's entry for its followers. This piece, which pays tribute to the cover of Dragon Ball Volume 35, features a version of Spirit Goku drawn in Asada's signature shojo-esque art style. Surrounded by sparkling accents, the spiky-haired Saiyan is shown bidding farewell to his friends before departing for the other world -- a design that was potentially chosen as a heartwarming sendoff to the late Akira Toriyama, who passed away in early March.

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As a subgenre of fiction, steampunk has always held a certain level of charm and mystique, in large part because it creates universes that are based around retro-futuristic sci-fi or fantasy concepts while still referencing real-world historical aesthetics. This makes any steampunk story a compelling hybrid of themes and ideas, as seen in the likes of Irrational Games' BioShock, Disney Animation's vastly underrated Treasure Planet and of course, 2012-14's Avatar: The Legend of Korra, to name just a few examples.

When looking specifically at anime shows that fit into the steampunk genre, fans are most likely to think of two series first and foremost: Fullmetal Alchemist/Fma: Brotherhood and Violet Evergarden. The former is one of the most beloved anime worldwide regardless of genre, while the latter likewise enjoys mass appeal and is easily one of Kyoto Animation's most popular titles to date. However, the incredible success of...