Is the Dragon Ball Super manga hiatus something fans should worry over? Possibilities explored

Dragon Ball Super manga hiatus and what this means (Image via Shueisha, Akira Toriyama, and Toyotaro).
Dragon Ball Super manga hiatus and what this means (Image via Shueisha, Akira Toriyama, and Toyotaro).

The Dragon Ball Super manga hiatus has recently been announced and has had a lot of reactions and concerns online in the fandom. This hiatus is a direct result of the death of author/creator Akira Toriyama, which has led to people being concerned that this could become permanent and the manga not coming back in any shape or form.

There are a lot of possibilities involving the Dragon Ball Super manga hiatus and why it has happened since it was revealed a few days after Toriyama's passing that he had been sick for over a year. Therefore, it is not difficult to assume that the people in the author's circle were already aware of this situation and could have come up with preparations if the worst-case scenario took place, perhaps making the concept of a hiatus all the more perplexing to some fans.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Dragon Ball Super manga. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author.


The different possibilities of the Dragon Ball Super manga hiatus and whether fans should be worried or not

While it makes sense that fans are concerned, the series will likely return. If illustrator Toyotaro and the other people involved in the project were willing to cancel the manga, they would have said it outright instead of announcing a hiatus.

The hiatus is likely meant to give everyone involved, including Toriyama's family, time to deal with the loss of the franchise's creator and a generational icon of Japanese media. While it has been reported that Toriyama had been dealing with a sickness for over a year, his death hit his inner circle considerably, as well as affecting a lot of the plans Shueisha and other companies had in store.

Toyotaro went on record on the Dragon Ball official website that he had been working on new plot points and storylines with Toriyama before his passing, so this hiatus could also serve as a way for him to map out the future of the manga. On paper, it doesn't seem likely that Toyotaro will be removed from his duties in the series, and he looks like the most likely candidate to continue with the manga's creative direction.


How much is the series going to change?

Akira Toriyama's death will probably change the Dragon Ball Super manga (Image via Shueisha and Akira Toriyama).
Akira Toriyama's death will probably change the Dragon Ball Super manga (Image via Shueisha and Akira Toriyama).

There is no denying that the Dragon Ball Super manga will change to some degree after the death of Akira Toriyama, and the same can be said of the franchise as a whole. While many different people led the video games, anime adaptations, and movies, Toriyama's unique understanding of the franchise as its creator will be sorely missed, particularly with the upcoming Daima series being the final project he was involved with.

Therefore, the hiatus could also be viewed as a way to plan what will happen with the franchise and the direction all the people involved could head into. The franchise will continue across several media, but there is no denying that it will be different, in some shape or form, from what people are used to.


Final thoughts

The Dragon Ball Super manga hiatus was bound to concern many people and will generate a lot of discussions, but based on what has been revealed thus far, the series seems likely to come back. That is mainly because the manga preferred going into a hiatus rather than canceling the series altogether.


Related articles

Dragon Ball Super Manga Arcs Guide: Every arc in order, including Super Hero recap

Will Dragon Ball Super continue after Akira Toriyama's death? Series' fate, explored

Dragon Ball Super chapter 104 confirmed to return in May

Dragon Ball Super manga to go on a hiatus after chapter 103

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Edited by Pradyot Hegde
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