New cover art for the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project is bringing together the hit manga series Dragon Ball and the video game franchise, Dragon Quest. The latest cover is Dragon Ball Volume 3 illustrated by Koji Inada. This one doesn't take very many liberties with the original art, but it does add new cameos and unites some familiar franchises once again.Released in 1984, Dragon Ball is one of the best-selling and most well-known manga series in history. Two years after it began serialization, mangaka Akira Toriyama would also lend his artistic skills to Dragon Quest - providing character designs to the video game series. Dragon Quest has since expanded with both manga and anime adaptations. Koji Inada is known for his artistic work on Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai alongside Riku Sanjo. Now, Inada is lending his artistry to Dragon Ball's ongoing anniversary celebration.On Twitter, Shonen Jump News shared the fourteenth cover within the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project. With a new cover releasing every month until November 2024, there are many more redesigns to come. Koji Inada's is the newest and it is very true to the original volume art. Inada is also doing work on Beet the Vandal Buster with Sanjo, but the duo's Dragon Quest manga is their best-known work. It is also a best-selling manga for Shonen Jump. Sharing artistic similarities with Dragon Ball thanks to Toriyama's design work, this redesign - featuring young Goku - is a great nod to Toriyama's legacy.
The biggest difference in this particular redesign is in the background. Master Roshi is in his suit, standing behind Goku instead of being in his car. Additionally, both Maam and Chiu, from Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai, have a brand-new cameo as they appear confused about their surroundings. Both are martial artists, making them very fitting additions. This volume includes the training Goku underwent to prepare for Dragon Ball's iconic Tenkaichi BudÅkai tournament. It would be rather interesting to see how Maam and Chiu would match up with some of the other competitors, though Goku and Master Roshi in disguise would still likely be victorious.
Toriyama's work on Dragon Quest made the game and Dragon Ball appear very similar artistically. At a glance, it may seem like this redesign isn't all that great since the style of the game would largely be the same as the hit manga. However, Inada's work on the manga has allowed a distinct difference to occur between the original cover art and the anniversary commemorating art. The best part of this cover is seeing Toriyama's work on Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest come full circle. Other mangaka who have provided covers for the Dragon Ball Super Project Gallery have included Naruto's Masashi Kishimoto, Bleach's Tite Kubo, Jojo's Bizzare Adventures' Hirohiko Ariki, and Assassination Classroom's Yusei Matsui, and nine others. With so much time left in this project's celebration, there will be plenty more mangaka yet to display new Dragon Ball-inspired art. Yet reuniting Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest is definitely a highlight for spotlighting Akira Toriyama's artistic legacy.
Source: Shonen Jump News