Nobuhiro Watsuki brings Rurouni Kenshin's style to latest Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project entry

Modified Oct 29, 2024 20:42 GMT

Nobuhiro Watsuki brings Rurouni Kenshin's style to latest Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project entry (Image via Toei Animation)

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 saw X (formerly Twitter) and reputable general manga news source @WSJ_manga leak Rurouni Kenshin mangaka Nobuhiro Watsuki’s Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project entry. The unofficial reveal comes ahead of the artwork’s official release in the next issue of Shueisha’s V Jump manga publication magazine.

The Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project is meant to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Akira Toriyama’s original manga series which launched the household-name media franchise.

Each month, new mangaka will redraw one of the series’ 42 volume covers, with Rurouni Kenshin’s Watsuki being the 40th and latest participant. Other notable participants include Masashi Kishimoto, Kohei Horikoshi, Tite Kubo and more.

Rurouni Kenshin mangaka’s Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project contribution fittingly says “thank you” to Toriyama

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For Watsuki’s contribution to the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project, the Rurouni Kenshin mangaka redrew the volume 30 cover in his own trademark style. While it’s still more stylized than the aesthetic of his flagship series, Watsuki’s unique art style is still clear and apparent. Other than the change in art style, there are no major changes to the image itself aside from some added text.

The added text in question seems to be the word “forever” written in both English and Japanese. The text is notably placed directly under the words “thank you” which appear on both the original volume cover and Watsuki’s redraw. With this in mind, it seems as though Watsuki is saying “thank you forever” to Toriyama, paying honor to the legendary mangaka following his tragic passing in March 2024.

There’s also a message from Watsuki (as there has been from every mangaka in their contribution) which has yet to be officially translated. However, fan translations claim the text sees Watsuki revisiting his bond with Toriyama as a fellow mangaka, as well as the relationship they had. The fan translations also claim Watsuki offers his condolences to Toriyama in the wake of his passing.

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Toriyama tragically passed on Friday, March 1, 2024 due to an acute subdural hematoma, with the death officially announced a week later. The announcement came from several official platforms, including the official X account for the Dragon Ball franchise and more. Toriyama’s original manga series began serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in November 1984, running there until its end in June 1995.

Watsuki’s Rurouni Kenshin manga series was also serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, running from April 1994 to September 1999. Several sequel manga have been released since, including the ongoing The Hokkaido Arc section of the story. The manga was adapted into a television anime first in 1999, which ran until 1998. 2023 saw Liden Films begin airing a readaptation of the series, which received a sequel in the Fall 2024 broadcast season.