Dragon Ball Daima will begin airing in Japan in the fall

‘Dragon Ball Daima’, the new animated series inspired by the universe of the recently deceased Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama, will begin airing on the Japanese network Fuji TV next fall.

The announcement was made during an event to present the 2024 television schedule on the channel, in which Masako Nozawa, the voice actor of the main protagonist of the work, Son Goku, participated, a few days after the author’s death was announced.

It was Nozawa’s first public appearance since the news of the ‘mangaka’ (manga artist) death. The voice actor, who has played the protagonist since the ‘Dragon Ball’ animated series began in 1986 (in addition to adding two other characters, Son Gohan and Son Goten, sons of Son Goku), was very affected by the news. .

Toriyama, who had been working on the story, characters and development of the new series, died on March 1 at the age of 68 due to an acute subdural hematoma.

“Master Toriyama has also created all the stories this time and there are more character designs than ever,” producer Akio Iyoku said during Monday night’s event, in statements reported by the newspaper Sponichi.

This will be the first new series inspired by the ‘Dragon Ball’ universe in six years, since the premiere of the ‘anime’ adaptation of ‘Super Dragon Ball Heroes’. “Six years? I didn’t think it had been that long,” Nozawa pointed out.

The series, announced during the 2023 New York Comic Con, was conceived, among other reasons, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of ‘Dragon Ball’, which began publishing on November 20, 1984, and is characterized by the ‘chibi’ style Of the characters.

Toriyama, one of the most influential Japanese pop culture figures of the modern era, key to its international expansion, is also the author of series such as ‘Dr. Slump’ or ‘Sand Land’, and was also responsible for the character design of important titles in the history of video games such as ‘Dragon Quest’, ‘Chrono Trigger’ or ‘Blue Dragon’, among others.