Unfortunately, the mangaka of Dragon Ball has passed away at the age of 68. He will therefore never be able to witness how the adventure of Son-Goku will end. However, even though the Saiyan is far from retirement, we already know how he would have looked after his adventures in the manga.
How would Son-Goku have looked? The story is currently at a point in Dragon Ball Super where Son-Goku is in excellent health. But even a Saiyan will eventually grow old. Since Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, has now passed away, we will never know how Son-Goku would have looked as an old man in the manga.
However, long before his death, Toriyama made a sketch showing Son-Goku as an old man. With this sketch, we can imagine how the fighter would have looked.
You can see the image here on X.com:
The image shows a wrinkled Son-Goku with a mustache and white hair. His hairstyle immediately indicates that he is the Saiyan. He is also leaning on the staff of his master, the Turtle Master. The orange training suit is a must-have.
The sketch is from 1989 and was only published in the “Dragon Ball Z Anime Special” magazine. The image resurfaced now following Toriyama’s death. Back then, it was about a Q&A session discussing the possible ending of Dragon Ball. Unfortunately, the author will not live to see the ending himself.
This year, Dragon Ball Daima continues:
This is what the future of Dragon Ball looks like
This year, Dragon Ball celebrates its 40th anniversary. To mark this round birthday, we will be able to experience the new anime Dragon Ball Daima in fall 2024. In this, Son-Goku and his friends are shrunk back to childhood size. The plot is said to take place between Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super.
Akira Toriyama was even more involved in this anime than in Dragon Ball Super. As he stated, he contributed a lot to the anime:
I created the story and settings as well as much of the drawings. In fact, I am much more involved than usual!
Akira Toriyama, via jeuxvideo.com
It is likely that the manga for Dragon Ball Super will continue despite Toriyama’s death. In recent months, he had only outlined the main points of the plot, while Toyotaro was responsible for the drawings and the gaps between key plot points.
So, it’s possible that Toyotaro will continue the story and inherit the manga for Dragon Ball Super. Perhaps the two have already completed the entire plot in advance, so Toyotaro just needs to draw it.
Shortly before his death, however, Toriyama still returned to the drawing table: Akira Toriyama drew a final picture before his death, showing a new series by the creator of Dragon Ball
