Popverse's top stories of the day

• Elon Musk inspired RDJ's Iron Man... will he inspire RDJ's Doctor Doom?
• Dav Pilkey's Dog Man to achieve the pinnacle of adaptations: A limited-edition popcorn bucket
• Diamond Comic Distribution files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, plunging the comic industry into an uncertain new year

Few people have left as big a mark on anime as Akira Toriyama, whose death earlier this year quite literally rocked the industry. Between the manga, multiple anime series, and dozens of video game appearances, Goku has become one of the most recognizable characters in pop culture history, rivaling the likes of Superman and Mickey Mouse in large parts of the world. Now, with Dragon Ball Daima set to be the latest entry in the iconic franchise that has inspired generations of people around the world, we’re faced with the previously unthinkable possibility that this may be the last Dragon Ball anime we ever get.

As with many such conflicts, it all stems from copyright issues. Very little has been said publicly, but financial magazine Toyo Keizai reported that the issue involves Toriyama’s estate, Dragon Ball manga publisher Shueisha, and former Dragon Ball editor Akio Iyoku. All three parties are currently fighting over what they perceive as the right way to proceed with the franchise in Toriyama’s absence, with video game publisher Bandai Namco now involved as well.

It gets a little complicated, but back in 2016, Akio Iyoku became the head of what is called the Dragon Ball Room at Shueisha, which is the department dedicated to creating new Dragon Ball manga and storylines. It is where new anime series begin, where video game tie-ins are born, and where countless merchandise agreements are made. Outside of Toriyama’s brain, it has been the origin of all things Dragon Ball for many years now. Iyoku quickly built a strong relationship with Akira Toriyama; his focus was on appeasing the Dragon Ball creator. This included green-lighting projects such as the Sand Lands film based on another of Toriyama’s works without running it by upper management first.

This earned him Toriyama’s favor, but Iyoku soon ran afoul of Shueisha executives due to failing to meet their expectations with AI and metaverse projects as well as causing conflicts with TV and network partners. In 2022, he was transferred out of the Dragon Ball Room and into a different department. The removal of Iyoku from the Dragon Ball Room upset Toriyama enough that, even before his death, Shueisha was worried they would lose the rights to the Dragon Ball manga.

In 2023, Iyoku left Shueisha to form Capsule Corporation Tokyo, named after the famous organization from Dragon Ball. The company handles the distribution and development of several different intellectual properties, including Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise. This set up a showdown the current showdown between the former editor and Shueisha and created the murky situation that we now find ourselves in.

Before his death, Toriyama provided clarity for the direction of Dragon Ball. Japanese copyright law heavily favors the creators over publishers (imagine that), so Toriyama effectively had veto power when it came to anything that featured his iconic series. Now, there are at least two different parties that believe they have the rights to the Dragon Ball franchise. Shueisha still has the rights to the existing Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Super manga, but it is unclear if they could continue to produce new stories without the permission of the Toriyama estate. It is possible, if things turn particularly sour, that they could lose the rights to reprint the existing Dragon Ball manga, which would be a huge financial blow to the company.

Meanwhile, Capsule Corporation Tokyo, with Iyoku as its head, believes it holds the rights to future projects, including new manga, anime, and video games. So far, it appears that Iyoku has the backing of the Toriyama estate, which gives him a strong position against the publishing giant. Things have gotten so tense that Bandai Namco, who make millions publishing Dragon Ball video games each year, has stepped in as a sort of mediator between the two sides, hoping to gain clarity over who they should be working with.

Where does this leave us? In a bit of limbo, really. Dragon Ball Daima is out in October 2024, but future anime projects could be on hold until companies like Toei Animation, which has been making the Dragon Ball anime for decades, have clarity on who owns what rights. We are faced with the non-zero chance that, after Daima, there could never be another Dragon Ball project again. No manga. No anime. It would be the biggest franchise ever lost to copyright law in history, and we could be watching it happen.

However, I doubt it will come to that. I'm sure we'll see Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo on screen again in the future; Dragon Ball is one of the most valuable franchises on the planet, so eventually, someone in this standoff is going to blink and give the other parties what they want. There is just too much money in play for any other outcome. I'd bet on Shueisha being the one to give in – they have the most to lose here. The most likely outcome I can see is Shueisha being forced to begrudgingly deal with Iyoku regularly to ensure that they don’t miss out on the pile of cash that comes from being the heart of all things Dragon Ball.

The biggest question is how long the conflict will go on. So far everything has played out in private, with the summer of 2024 apparently being when the issues came to a head. Chances are, we won’t see anything officially announced when things are resolved. Instead, Shueisha will simply announce a new Dragon Ball project as though nothing ever happened, which will be the sign that they’ve worked out their issues with Iyoku and the Toriyama estate enough for things to carry on as they were.

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:

• Upcoming movies
• Upcoming TV shows
• Upcoming comics
• Upcoming games
• Upcoming comic conventions