The artist behind Dragon Ball Super, Toyotaro or Toyotarou, depending on the translation, did an interview for the Weekly Dragon Ball News! The Weekly Dragon Ball News is a feature on the official Dragon Ball website and is one of the best places to learn about all things Dragon Ball.
Toyotaro shares his favorite scene from the Dragon Ball Super manga and the reason behind Frieza’s Black form. There’s no word on when we’ll see him again, but the Super Hero prequel manga is about Trunks!
A perfect hidden meaning for Frieza’s Black form!
When Golden Frieza was introduced, many fans believed he copied Super Saiyan. But Toyotaro revealed a naming mechanic that’s been in Dragon Ball for years.
Saiyans are named after vegetables, the mutated Namekians are named after instruments, Frieza’s race was named after cold, and his forms are based on credit cards! The high-end ones specifically.
The basic ones typically come in blue, gold is 2nd, black is usually third, and there’s a platinum one! Does that mean Platinum Frieza is next?
When Frieza showed off his Black form, he revealed that he had trained in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber for ten years. That’s more than enough time for him to master Black and get an upgrade. But did he do that, and if so, when will we see it?
Toyotaro says that the scene where Frieza appeared in the Granolah Arc was the one he wanted to draw the most. So we know Frieza will make an appearance in the future.
Frieza was in a classic superhero landing pose, and he took out Goku and Vegeta in one hit. The Emperor of the Universe has regained his throne, and everyone knows it.
Using credit cards as inspiration for Frieza’s forms makes sense. He’s not just a fighter, and he’s not looking to destroy everything.
Frieza understands the power of money and uses it. In Dragon Ball Super: Broly, we see that the Saiyans were already conquering planets and selling them to the highest bidder.
But King Cold came in and took control of the Saiyans! And for unexplained reasons, he retired and let Frieza take over.
The prequel is about Trunks?!
Toyotaro had wanted to do a story about Trunks since before Super but wasn’t sure how that would fit in the story. This sounds amazing to me since Trunks is one of my favorite characters.
But Toyotaro also wanted to differentiate Teen Trunks from Future Trunks, which is understandable. But, still, I wouldn’t say I like the choices he made, and hopefully, the next chapter will be better.
The prequel will focus on Trunks and show why Dr. Hedo was arrested. Official artwork has shown Mai in a school uniform that Trunks and Goten attend.
And there’s speculation that two of their classmates are based on Miles and Gwen from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Plus, there will be more moments between Mai and Trunks and, possibly, more romance for the other characters.
A detail easily missed in the last chapter was Bulma calling Pilaf by name. Does she remember them from Dragon Ball, and if so, why has she let them stay at Capsule Corp?