Bardock and his descendants are depicted in a surprisingly heartwarming new piece of Dragon Ball Super art.
The new illustration appears on the cover of Volume 19 of the on-going sequel manga, which will be released in Japan on Aug. 4. The art depicts three generations of in Son Goku's family line, as the Saiyan hero is seen with his immediate family, including his wife Chi Chi, and his sons, Gohan and Goten. A reflection on the floor shows the images of Goku's parents, Bardock and Gine, as well as a young version of his oft-forgotten older brother, Raditz. A high quality version of the image was shared on Twitter by Dragon Ball news and leaks account @DBSHype.
Volume 19 of the series contains Chapters 81 – 84 of the sequel series, which feature a lengthy flashback dealing with Bardock and his first fateful encounter with the Cerealeans, the alien race that the primary antagonist of the saga, Granolah, is a part of. The volumes comprise part of the last act of the current Granolah the Survivor saga, which was confirmed to be nearing its end earlier this year. The latest chapter of the manga, Chapter 85, is scheduled to be released in English through VIZ Media's Manga Plus service on July 20.
While the manga is reaching the end of one saga, fans are hoping that a new beginning for the Dragon Ball Super TV series will be announced soon. Rumors about the continuation of the 2015 anime series swirled since the beginning of the year, when series producer Akio Iyoku teased that there'd be more animated Dragon Ball to look forward to outside of the series' latest movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which will be released in the United States on Aug. 19. Many fans took this message as confirmation that the anime series would indeed receive a new season, an idea which was further corroborated when reliable Dragon Ball leaker @DBSChronicles posted a report that stated that the series would return with new episodes sometime in 2023. Since the original Super anime went off the air in 2018, the manga has completed publication of the Galactic Prisoner Patrol Saga, which has yet to receive an animated adaptation.
The Dragon Ball Super manga is written by the series' original creator, Akira Toriyama, and features art by his protegé, Toyotarou. The original manga is also available in English from VIZ Media, while all of the anime series in the franchise are available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
Source: Twitter