Akira Toriyama, the creator of the globally acclaimed Dragon Ball series, is also the character designer for nearly every installment of Square Enix's beloved video game series, Dragon Quest. Toyotarou, the illustrator for Dragon Ball Super, recently created new artwork depicting the hero in the first official Dragon Quest adaptation.
Featured on the official Dragon Ball website, the artwork is the latest entry in the ongoing “Toyotarou Tries To Draw” series, in which the artist regularly highlights Toriyama’s lesser-known projects. This month, Toyotarou chose to draw Abel, the protagonist of Studio Comet’s Legend of Abel anime series. While Abel bears some resemblance to Goku, he opts to use a sword instead of bare fists and energy blasts. He also sports a unique feathered headdress. CBR readers can check it out below.
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Dragon Ball Super's Toyotarou Draws New Illustrations from Dragon Quest: The Legend of Hero Abel
The first Dragon Quest game was released in 1986. Originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the single-player role-playing game follows an unnamed hero on a quest to save his world from an evil force known as the Dragon Lord. The game became a huge hit in Japan and was eventually brought to North America and other regions under the title Dragon Warrior. Released in 1989, The Legend of Abel tells an entirely new story set in the Dragon Quest universe. The Dragon Ball website briefly describes the plot: “It tells the story of protagonist Abel, who sets out with his friends to defeat Baramos, the evil dark emperor who is plotting to take over the world.”
Thanks in part to Toriyama's lovely art style, Dragon Quest's popularity has lasted for over three decades. Since Legend of Abel, several other anime adaptations have been released, most recently a Dragon Quest spin-off titled The Adventure of Dai. Adapted from the manga of the same name by Riju Sanjo and Koji Inada, the series follows the heroic young boy Dai as he sets out on a journey to avenge his friend's death after he was killed by a demon king named Hadlar. The anime adaptation ran for 101 episodes from October 2020 to October 2022.
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Dragon Quest XII: Flames of Fate Still in Development After Akira Toriyama's Death
Square Enix is currently developing a new installment called Dragon Quest XII: Flames of Fate, which Toriyama was working on before his death earlier this year. Meanwhile, Square Enix is also creating a trio of stunning 2D-HD remakes of the original Dragon Quest trilogy. The first release, which will include Dragon Quest III exclusively, is scheduled for November 14, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Part 2, which will include Dragon Quest I and II packaged together, is scheduled for release sometime in 2025 for the same set of platforms.
Currently, The Legend of Abel is not available on most regular streaming services. However, Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai is available on Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video. The Dragon Ball Super manga, in addition to Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, is available in English on VIZ Media. The respective Dragon Ball anime adaptations are available on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the story of a young warrior named Son Goku, a strange boy with a tail, who embarks on a journey to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, which, upon collecting all 7 Dragon Balls, can grant any wish.
Created by Akira Toriyama
First movie Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Ruby
Latest movies Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes
First TV show Dragon Ball (1986)
Upcoming TV Shows Dragon Ball DAIMA
First episode air date April 26, 1989
Cast Sean Schemmel, Laura Bailey, Brian Drummond, Christopher Sabat, Scott McNeil
Summary
Dragon Ball is a manga series created by author/illustrator Akira Toriyama, beginning with Dragon Ball in 1984. The series originally began as a serialized manga in Weekly Shonen Jump for nearly a decade before expanding into the most popular anime series today. Dragon Ball has since been adapted into two anime series, one of which is Dragon Ball Z, the most popular series in the entire Dragon Ball series. The series has continued to expand the lore through films, video games, and subsequent television series, such as Dragon Ball Super and the more recent Dragon Ball Super Heroes. Dragon Ball primarily revolves around Son Goku, a being known as a Saiyan, and his friends as they face intergalactic threats and search for the Dragon Balls. When all seven of these balls are collected, they can be used to summon a legendary dragon that can grant wishes to anyone who collects them. The Dragon Ball series continues to be one of the most popular and beloved anime series of all time, with over forty different countries broadcasting it and having had a huge impact on Western culture as a whole.
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Source: Dragon Ball Official Website
