After months of hiatus and the sad passing of legendary creator Akira Toriyama, the future of the Dragon Ball Super manga remains uncertain. Millions of fans still hope to see the explosive Black Frieza arc, where the iconic villain returns with terrifying power surpassing even Goku and Vegeta. However, it looks like the wait will be longer than expected.
Although Dragon Ball Super has faced mixed reactions, there’s no denying the series has significantly expanded the Dragon Ball universe, introducing many exciting new storylines and characters. Recently, artist Toyotaro attended Paris Japan 2025 and shared some notable comments about his work, surprising many fans.
Black Frieza, Toyotaro’s Pride
At Paris Japan 2025, Toyotaro confirmed he is working on a brand-new original manga, a one-shot that might debut in V-JUMP magazine in the coming months. A draft of this work was even posted on V-JUMP’s official website and received some sharp feedback (as usual) from Dragon Ball’s legendary former editor Kazuhiko Torishima.
Still, the main focus was Toyotaro’s remarks about Dragon Ball Super. He expressed special pride in creating Black Frieza, a new, much stronger transformation of Frieza. Black Frieza is described as possessing immeasurable power, rivaling the Gods of Destruction and surpassing any Z warrior at their strongest forms. This only fuels excitement for a seemingly inevitable Black Frieza arc in the future.
Who Is Toyotaro’s Favorite Character?
While Toyotaro is proud of creating Black Frieza, his favorite Dragon Ball Super character is actually a newer figure: Granolah.
Toyotaro revealed in Episode 16 that he had to revise Granolah’s initial design many times before Toriyama officially approved it. However, at Japan Expo, he added that Toriyama “immediately approved the concept” of the character, likely only requesting minor tweaks.
Granolah is the main character of the “Granolah the Survivor” arc and the sole survivor of the Cerelian massacre carried out by Frieza’s Saiyan army during their conquest of Planet Cereal. Surprisingly, he was saved by Bardock, Goku’s father, which contradicts previous portrayals of Bardock in other works. Regardless, Granolah seeks to kill Frieza to avenge his people, a desire exploited by the Heeters to manipulate him.
The Future of Dragon Ball Super: Challenges Ahead in 2025
Although Toyotaro gave fans some hope, expressing belief that Dragon Ball Super could still continue, his editor Victory Uchida tempered expectations. Uchida repeatedly stated that Dragon Ball Super will not return this year (2025). He didn’t elaborate on the reasons, leaving many fans disappointed.
It’s likely Toyotaro will consider Torishima’s feedback on the one-shot “Last Samurai” and make some corrections before its V-JUMP release. Meanwhile, the future of Dragon Ball Super remains uncertain.
So, is Dragon Ball Super canceled? Optimists can take some comfort since neither Toyotaro nor Uchida has declared the manga canceled. The series went on hiatus in March 2024 following news of Toriyama’s passing. It returned with a new chapter in February 2025 but has had no updates since, causing concern among fans.
Toyotaro shared that continuing without Toriyama-sensei is “not easy, but not impossible.” He explained that he writes Dragon Ball Super’s storylines and then sends them to Toriyama for approval. Sometimes, Toriyama also sends his own stories to Toyotaro for review and suggestions.
While Toyotaro remains optimistic, it’s clear continuing a major series like Dragon Ball Super without its original creator is a huge challenge. He’s likely still figuring out how to write the next arc. It seems unlikely the series will end without resolving the teased Black Frieza arc. Additionally, reports suggest Shueisha and Capsule Corporation Tokyo are currently involved in a copyright dispute over the Dragon Ball brand, which could heavily impact the series’ near-future continuation.
Source: Gamerant