50-year-old male resident of Tokyo's Sumida Ward was arrested for allegedly selling a bootleg copy of the 1984 issue 51 of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, the debut issue of Dragon Ball manga by Akira Toriyama, Asahi Shimbun (via ANN) reported. According to Ishikawa Prefectural Police, the suspect reportedly stated after his arrest that he "sold the copy with the knowledge that it was genuine."
The man was accused of allegedly producing and selling the bootleg copy in early April 2022, according to police, stating that he knowingly committed a violation of Japan's Copyright Act. The Weekly Shonen Jump issue is rare, due in part to being the debut issue of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga.
The police revealed that he sold the bootleg copy for 180,000 yen (around $1,230 USD) to a 30-year-old man in Ishikawa Prefecture, but the collector who received the bootleg copy reportedly also owns a genuine copy of the same issue, and upon comparison and noticing the bootleg copy's differing glue binding and paper quality, reported the issue to the police.
One eBay listing is selling a copy of this issue in "very good" condition for $1,399 USD, so it's truly one of the most expensive items that Dragon Ball collectors dream to have.
Weekly Shonen Jump's official website also posted a warning about bootleg or pirated copies of old issues, noting that issues of the magazine were staple-bound until the 10th issue of 1994 published on Feb. 21, 1994.
As for the next chapter of Dragon Ball, fans will have to wait for Chapter 88, which doesn't have a release date yet, but fans are expecting that the new arc will involve Black Frieza.
Related: What is the Next Dragon Ball Super Arc After Granolah the Survivor Saga?
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!