"He's waving goodbye": Dragon Ball fans think Akira Toriyama foreshadowed his death in the manga and it's scary accurate

By Gokul Chettiyar

Modified Apr 07, 2024 16:13 GMT

"He — Piccolo as seen in Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO (Image via Toei Animation)

Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama passed away nearly a month ago, on March 1, 2024. Nevertheless, fans still find it difficult to accept that the creator would no longer contribute to the Dragon Ball Super manga. That's when manga artist Toyotaro revealed Toriyama's final correction in the series.

Dragon Ball Super chapter 103 saw the epilogue of the SUPER HERO Arc end. With that, Goku and Vegeta finally returned to Earth after spending a long time on Beerus' planet training. Soon after arriving on Earth, Goku reunited with Pan and Piccolo and returned home.

Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers from the Dragon Ball Super manga.

Toyotaro reveals Toriyama's final correction in Dragon Ball Super chapter 103

Piccolo waving goodbye to Janet (Image via Shueisha)

Dragon Ball Super chapter 103 was the first manga chapter released after Akira Toiyama's death. At the end of the chapter, the manga saw Piccolo looking back at Pan's kindergarten teacher, Janet, and waving her goodbye.

Given Akira Toriyama's death, fans believe that manga artist Toyotaro must have used the manga panel to bid farewell to fans on Akira Toriyama's behalf. Surprisingly, that was not the case.

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On March 28, Toyotaro revealed through his official X account that he had initially drawn Piccolo and others turning their back on the teacher while flying away in the first rough draft. But Akira Toriyama later corrected this and drew Piccolo waving goodbye to Janet before flying away. This was what made it into the final manuscript.

Moreover, Toyotaro learned about Toriyama's obituary after he submitted his manuscript to Shueisha. Thus, he didn't make any changes to the manga due to Toriyama's death. Toyotaro deduced that Toriyama must have known that he was nearing his demise, which is why he used Piccolo to bid farewell to fans with the manga chapter.

How fans reacted to the revelation

Piccolo as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Fans were heartbroken after they saw Toyotaro's tweet. The fact that the final correction made by the manga creator was a "goodbye" made fans believe that Toriyama waved goodbye to them.

"This s*** is a lot more deep if you think about it considering piccolo is his favorite character and he’s waving goodbye💔"

To make the situation even more emotional, Piccolo, as revealed previously by Toriyama himself, was the manga creator's favorite character. Thus, it made sense that Toriyama used Piccolo to bid farewell to his fans.

Janet, as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

But the most shocking part for fans was how Toriyama must have known about his impending death.

"It's like Toriyama knew his time on Earth was over.....Just Wow"

As revealed by Toriyama's assistant Takashi Matsuyama, Toriyama was supposed to have a brain tumor surgery in 2024. Thus, there is a chance that Toriyama wasn't confident about his survival and wanted to say goodbye to his fans through the manga.

Goku and Cell as seen in Dragon Ball Z (Image via Toei Animation)

The realization of such a possibility shocked fans as Akira Toriyama's final correction for the manga was Piccolo waving goodbye.

"This being his last correction… man…"

Toriyama is infamous for illustrating "goodbye" through Goku and could have done the same this time as well. However, he used Piccolo, his favorite character, to bid farewell for his final time.