- The huge theme park in Saudi Arabia will include rides, attractions, hotels and restaurants
- First theme park ever to be dedicated to one of the most famous manga series ever
- Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyamu died earlier this year
Some super news for Saiyan fans: the universe of Son Goku and his friends and enemies is getting its own super-sized theme park in Saudi Arabia – the first one dedicated to the series in the world.
The theme park, which will be built close to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, will be split into seven distinct zones, all inspired by different aspects of the series, and will include a range of rides and attractions, as well as hotels and restaurants.
The theme park is part of a 500,000 square meters project by the Qiddiya Investment Company, which will also include a Six Flags theme park on the site. This development is also part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to diversify its economy away from the oil and gas industry and boost tourism.
Dragon Ball has become one of the world’s most beloved manga and anime series since it first debuted in the weekly Shonen Jump comic in Japan in 1984. Since then, the comics, and later TV series, animated movies, video games and a whole world of merchandising including trading cards have gone global.
The 42 collected volumes of Dragon Ball have sold 260 million copies worldwide, making it one of the biggest-selling manga series ever, and it has influenced generations of manga creators since.
The creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyamu, died earlier in March aged 68 of an acute subdural hematoma, which lead to an outpouring of grief from fans around the world. At the time of his death, he was working on a new Dragon Ball series.
