In a move that leaves the franchise’s future in a state of uncertainty, Akira Toriyama’s right-hand Dragon Ball lead within Shueisha, Akiyo Iyoku, has stepped down from his role with the manga publisher in order to establish a new franchise-centric company aptly named Capsule Corporation Tokyo.
Per an August 31st report from Japanese news outlet Weekly Bunshun (translated via DeepL), after spending the past few months planning for the move in secrecy, the man known as “the closest employee to [series creator] Akira Toriyama” reportedly left Shueisha at the end of August in order to focus on Capsule Corporation Tokyo’s official May 2024 launch.
An anonymous Shueisha employee explained to Weekly Bunshun that this company’s formation will result in an agreement delineating that “the rights to the Dragon Ball manga will remain with Shueisha, and that the games and video-related work will be transferred to Capsule.”
“It seems that negotiations are still ongoing as to how far we will be involved with each other,” the employee added.
Further, it seems the now-former Head of the manga publisher’s Dragon Ball Office did not depart alone, as another Shueisha employee noted that Iyoku “intends to recruit two subordinates from his time in the Dragon Ball Office.”
“One is the female employee X who is the ‘Deputy Chief of the Dragon Ball Office’, and the other is the male employee Y who is the ‘Deputy Chief of the Dragon Ball Office’,” they detailed. “The two are adored by Mr. Iyoku.”
Asked for comment on his new endeavor, Iyoku kept his lips tight, briefly declaring to Weekly Bunshun, “I have nothing to talk about.”
Likewise, when pressed on whether or not he would continue working with Iyoku in his new role at Capsule Corporation Tokyo, Toriyama told one of the outlet’s reporters, “I’m sorry, I’ve been told not to say anything,” though he slightly elaborate that, “I was told, ‘If anything happens, please go through Shueisha’s PR department. I’ve made quite a few mistakes by talking lightly.”
However, he did offer one tid-bit of additional information: According to the mangaka, the idea to name the company after the fictional technology company founded by the father of series protagonist Bulma did not come from him, but rather Iyoku himself.
Unsurprisingly, Shueisha haven’t been any more keen to provide details on the ongoing situation.
Met with an inquiry from Weekly Bunshun on whether or not Iyoku was truly leaving the company, the publisher first responded with a written statement asserting “We do not publicly disclose the departure of our employees, the nature of their work, or the rights to any of our published works,” before making a follow-up telephone call and adding, “We are aware that Akio Iyoku will be leaving the company.”
As of writing, it is currently unclear what exactly caused such a rift between Shueisha and Iyoku that it prompted the latter’s exit, though according to a recap of Weekly Bunshun’s pay-walled section of their article provided by anime news outlet Anime Explained, the Editor’s “possessive attitude” towards the franchise was causing internal strife.