It’s an exciting time to be a a fresh DAIMA merchandise lineup, and discussions of a bold new future for the franchise, happy days seem to be back for Dragon Ball fandom. However, despite the franchise regaining its creative momentum, legal considerations now threaten to halt its further development.

One of the lesser-known challenges in creative industries like manga and anime is intellectual property (IP) ownership. When Toriyama created Dragon Ball, he published it in Weekly Shonen Jump, a magazine owned by Shueisha, who ultimately owns the rights to it, and has ed them to third parties (Toei for the anime, Bandai and others for the merchandise). However, over the decades Toriyama managed to keep a certain amount of control over its creation, even if the legal details are unknown. It is in these details that Dragon Ball’s future lies.

DAIMA Executive Producer Teases More To Come For The Dragon Ball Franchise

Akio Iyoku Plays a Fundamental Role in Dragon Ball's Future

To fully understand the potential legal limitations that could obstruct Dragon Ball's future as a franchise, it's important to first grasp the context in which these limitations arise. The issues were outlined in the July 8, 2024, issue of the well-known Japanese business magazine Weekly Toyo Keizai, which was later translated and posted on the popular Dragon Ball website Kanzenshuu. According to the article, the core of the problem lies in the competing authorizations Toriyama granted to both Shueisha and Akio Iyoku, his former lead at Shueisha, the lead of the "Dragon Ball Department" and the executive producer of Dragon Ball DAIMA.

Iyoku seems confident that he understands Toriyama's vision well enough to continue developing Dragon Ball stories even after Toriyama’s ing. As reported by @SupaChronicles on X, during a special premiere event for DAIMA, Iyoku spoke to the fans, teasing more projects to come:

"We’re still coming up with various plans, brainstorming many things and will keep moving forward."

Over the years, Toriyama and Iyoku cultivated a close professional relationship, fostering a deep understanding between them. As a result, in 2022, when Iyoku left Shueisha to start his own IP management company, he called it Capsule Corporation Tokyo, and his main client was Toriyama. According to the article, while the manga's rights still belong to Shueisha, Iyoku was acting as Toriyama's spokesperson. This triggered confusion and disagreement over all the Dragon Ball properties, which was obviously only made worse by Toriyama's sudden ing. According to a Shueisha employee quoted in the article, "Now it’s up to Mr. Toriyama’s family to decide."

The Future of Dragon Ball Is Unsure After Toriyama's ing

The Battle For the Franchise's Rights Could Hinder New Projects

The main issue stems from the fact that Shueisha holds the intellectual property rights to the most central element of the Dragon Ball franchise: the manga. The manga is what started it all and continues to serve as the foundation for the Dragon Ball universe — it is the canon. In fact, this year's celebration marks the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball's debut in Shueisha's manga lineup. As such, Shueisha has a clear and significant right to control how the franchise is developed, given its ownership of the most important canonical component.

However, Toriyama clearly put a lot of trust in Iyoku. Interestingly, the article also mentions that when Iyoku left Shueisha, Toriyama was so upset that the company's chairman Marue Horiuchi personally went to his residence in Aichi prefecture, "but could not persuade him.” While details of the actual distribution of the rights are unknown, it's clear that Iyoku is an important player, and Shueisha is apparently trying to bring the Toriyama heirs in to settle the dispute.

As a result, the ongoing dispute between Shueisha and Iyoku leaves Dragon Ball fans in a bittersweet predicament, making this both the best and worst of times for the fandom. On the one hand, the promise of new anime content stretching over the next few years is undeniably exciting. However, this optimism is tempered by the possibility that some of this content may be non-canonical, despite being well-produced. Also, the ensuing battle for the rights of the Dragon Ball franchise could become a quagmire, holding down all future projects.

Source: Kazenshuu; @SupaChronicles (X)