The Dragon Ball franchise is going all-out for this year’s Goku Day celebration. May 9th is declared Goku Day because May is translated as Go, and the 9 is Ku in Japanese. This year’s Goku Day is extra special because it’s celebrating the franchise’s 40th anniversary. The manga technically began publication in November 1984, but May 9th falls within the first year of the manga’s publication. To celebrate, the franchise has shared a new poll for the general audience to participate in. Fans can head to the Official Dragon Ball website to vote for the best cover artwork from the original manga volumes.
All 42 covers drawn from the series creator Akira Toriyama are eligible in the poll. The Favorite Cover Poll is available for fans in all parts of the world, with even English-speaking people able to vote on Dragon Ball‘s English website. Participants can vote for one volume daily, with submissions resetting every 24 hours. The poll will remain open until June 9th at 11:59 PM JST. The winner will be announced later in the summer. The official websites encourage participants to share their thoughts on the poll, including their favorite covers, on social media using the #DragonBall40th hashtag.
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The Dragon Ball Covers Are Iconic
Besides the Favorite Cover Poll, Shuisha will release a special 40th-anniversary edition of all 42 volumes with the gallery covers. The gallery covers were new renditions of the iconic 42 covers, illustrated by 42 of the most popular manga artists in the business. The full list of artists includes Naruto‘s Masashi Kishimoto, Bleach‘s Tite Kubo, Chainsaw Man‘s Tatsuki Fujimoto, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s Hirohiko Araki, Yu Yu Hakusho‘s and Hunter x Hunter‘s Yoshihiro Togashi, and One Piece‘s Eiichiro Oda.
The new 40th Anniversary Dragon Ball manga collection comes in a box set with new artwork. All 42 volumes in the box set will include double covers, with the dust jacket covers featuring the new Gallery artwork made by the other artists, whereas the books retain the classic Toriyama covers underneath the dust jacket. The box set will include eight original dividers and a double-sided card set for all 42 covers and gallery art. Fans can pre-order the Dragon Ball Double Cover Box Set from the available Japanese retailers. Pre-orders will close on August 3rd, 2025, while a full release is scheduled for February 4th, 2026. Overseas fans may need to pre-order through Japanese websites or stores that ship Japanese merchandise to the United States. The set is priced at 31,800 Yen after tax.
Other Goku Day Celebrations
Original Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama sadly passed away in early 2024. Fans, creators, and marketers continue his legacy with the brand’s 40th Anniversary, including the Toriyama Archives, a daily update of Toriyama’s most popular art pieces from Dragon Ball. Bandai Namco also released a new trailer for the Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Daima Edition video game, which will include new content based on the most recent anime. Dragon Ball Daima was the final anime that Toriyama worked on before his passing.
H/T: Official Dragon Ball English Website
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