Manga creator Akira Toriyama is a busy guy these days. First, there’s the recent announcement of an all-new anime continuation of his most beloved work in Dragon Ball Super. The Dragon Ball film franchise is also going through a revival, with Resurrection of F, its second movie in two years, having just had its theatrical premiere.

But apparently Toriyama’s creative juices are flowing strong, as publishers have announced a brand-new manga series coming from the Dragon Ball creator, who’s teaming up with another famous manga icon with a heavy nostalgia factor for the project.

As part of broadcaster Fuji TV’s Madou Kobayashi Chojoha Tokubetsu-hen program, television personality and interviewer Kendo Kobayashi recently visited the offices of Shueisha, publisher of the Dragon Ball manga. While there, Kobayashi spoke with veteran editor Kazuhiko Torishima, who was in charge of Dragon Ball during its serialization.

In the course of the conversation, Kobayashi posed the question, “Will Toriyama ever draw a manga again?” To which Torishima responded:

“Actually…he’s working on an original story right now.”

Some will no doubt be disappointed to hear that while Toriyama is writing the plot, he won’t be drawing the artwork. On the bright side, the visuals are being handled by Masakazu Katsura, a talented and extremely appropriate pick for the job.

Like Toriyama, Katsura rose to fame in the ‘80s and early ‘90s with titles such as Video Girl Ai and D.N.A.2. The two creators’ art styles even have a few things in common, with their penchant for wildly spiky hairdos and strong jawlines that came to be heavily associated with boys’ manga of the era in which they rose to prominence.

▼ Katsura’s current solo series, Zetman

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Moreover, Toriyama and Katsura are personal friends who’ve collaborated before. Together they created a series of short-story science fiction manga that was published last year in a collected volume called Katsura Akira.

▼ Cover to Katsura Akira

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The newest collaboration between the two is expected to be published in Shueisha’s Young Jump manga anthology. Sadly, Torishima, who’s also served previously as editor on Katsura’s solo works, didn’t reveal a start date for the serial, saying only that it is “currently in production.” He did, however, give his early impressions of the new manga, saying “It’s coming along pretty well,” and considering how many hits Torishima has overseen, we’re guessing it’ll be worth the wait

Source: Yahoo! News Japan via Hachima Kikou
Insert images: Amazon Japan (1, 2)