Dragon Ball manga going on hiatus following Akira Toriyama's death

The Dragon Ball Super manga will be taking a short hiatus after wrapping up its most recent story arc.

Years after the finale of Dragon Ball Z and its follow-up series Dragon Ball GT, series creator and the late artist Akira Toriyama revived the series with Dragon Ball Super, a continuation of the anime and manga.

Take a look at the trailer for the upcoming Dragon Ball Sparking Zero game below.

For a time, it was the anime leading the overall story with the manga adapting it for print, but now the latter has overtaken the anime and is telling brand-new stories that'll eventually be animated for the big-screen.

The manga's latest issue saw Goku's son Gohan, who recently unlocked a phenomenally powerful transformation, testing his power against his father, Vegeta and the legendary super saiyan Broly in sparring matches.

Unfortunately, fans enjoying the latest stories will have to wait for the next issue, as it's been announced the manga will be taking a short hiatus, around a month at the least.

It's believed the new lead artist Toyotaro hasn't had a chance to properly grieve the loss of his former mentor, so the break will allow him to do so, as well as come to grips with the responsibility that now falls onto his shoulders.

It's currently unknown just how far ahead Akira Toriyama planned the story for Dragon Ball Super, meaning the next few chapters could be some of the last work he did on the series.

In other news, Dragon Ball is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the coming weeks, with a new spin-off anime, Dragon Ball Daima, as well as announcements for the upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero video game.

Fans across the world are still feeling the effects of Toriyama's passing and are deeply saddened he couldn't be there to celebrate the momentous occasion.

That being said many are hopeful that Toyotaro will do a fantastic job in his stead, after all the pair worked closely together and Toriyama had spoken highly of his work and drive as an artist.