Rurouni Kenshin's Nobuhiro Watsuki set to draw next entry in Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project

Modified Oct 03, 2024 07:48 GMT

Tuesday, October 1, 2024, saw the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project reveal that its next participant will be Rurouni Kenshin creator and mangaka, Nobuhiro Watsuki. The information was unofficially confirmed by X user and reputable general anime and manga news source, @WSJ_manga (Shonen Jump News).

The Rurouni Kenshin author and illustrator’s contribution will be the 40th in the project overall, following My Hero Academia mangaka Kohei Horikoshi’s 39th entry. The news of Watsuki being next up in the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project was confirmed via the reveal of Horikoshi’s entry earlier today, which was also shared by Shonen Jump News.

Rurouni Kenshin’s Nobuhiro Watsuki set to be one of the final three entrants in Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project

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With Horikoshi taking the 13th volume for his entry, Rurouni Kenshin’s Watsuki will be choosing between the first, 30th, or 42nd and final volume entries for his selection. It’s unclear which of these Watsuki will select as of this article’s writing, but the general community expects it to be either the first or 30th volume cover. This is suspected due to creator Akira Toriyama’s passing earlier this year, which would give symbolic significance to the volume 42 cover being left for last.

Similarly, the volume 30 cover can also be interpreted as having symbolic significance in the wake of Toriyama’s passing. This is because the cover features the series’ most beloved characters on the cover along with a message of thanks to readers. Likewise, many are suspecting this will be the second-to-last entry. With this in mind, it seems likely that Watsuki’s contribution will be a redraw of the first volume cover by process of elimination.

It’s also suspected that One Piece author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda will be the one to end the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project with the volume 42 cover. This is due to the well-documented mentor and student relationship the pair had with each other. Masashi Kishimoto also had a similarly close relationship with Toriyama but began the Project with his entry. However, this is all speculative and not confirmed nor rumored as of this article’s writing.

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Watsuki’s Rurouni Kenshin manga began serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in April 1994, where it ran until ending in September 1999. The manga has since returned sporadically with continuations from 2012 onward. The series was originally animated into a television anime in 1996, followed by a readaptation, which began airing in 2023. This new adaptation’s second season is set to premiere on Thursday, October 3.

Toriyama’s original Dragon Ball manga series began serialization in November 1984, also in Weekly Shonen Jump, and ran until May 1995. Toriyama died on March 1, 2024, of an acute subdural hematoma. The franchise’s upcoming Daima anime will be the final project that saw Toriyama personally and significantly involved in its production.