Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama's last contribution to the manga was a drawing of Piccolo waving goodbye, and fans couldn't have asked for a better send-off

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It's included in the latest issue of Dragon Ball Super

Art from Dragon Ball Super
(Image credit: Viz Media/Shueisha)

A manga fan on Twitter (@BasedPota18) has shared the final page of published art worked on by Dragon Ball creator and legendary mangaka Akira Toriyama. The page - the last in this month's Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103 - marks a bittersweet farewell to one of the greatest manga creators of all time. 

On the page, Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo arrive to collect Pan, Goku's young granddaughter from kindergarten. As they walk away, Piccolo turns and offers a friendly wave that appears to be to the reader. As several posters have pointed out it feels, touchingly, like a farewell from Akira Toriyama himself. 

The page draws extra resonance as it is known that former villain Piccolo was Toriyama's favorite character in the long-running series.

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Art from Dragon Ball Super

(Image credit: Viz Media/Shueisha)

While Toriyama stopped drawing full pages some years ago, he continued to write Dragon Ball Super, while also providing guidance and artistic corrections to his successor, fellow mangaka Toyotarou. Toyotarou has since confirmed on his own Twitter that the addition of Piccolo turning and waving is indeed one such alteration, sketched in by Toriyama himself. You can see his corrections in the tweet below.

The page also included a tribute attributed to the English language team on Dragon Ball Super. It reads: "We're all deeply saddened by the news of Toriyama sensei's passing. His work is an inspiration to us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all the fans who were touched by his work."

A notice on the side of the page explains that the series will be on hiatus after April's issue, though it doesn't say how long for.

Meanwhile, another Toriyama project, Sand Land, has recently made its debut as an anime series, quickly gaining high praise from fans and critics. That show is streaming now on Disney Plus and Hulu.

Looking for a new show to watch? Check out our picks for the must-watch animes heading your way in 2024.

Will Salmon
Will Salmon
Contributor

Will Salmon is the former Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.

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