In the anime world, fans have recently become obsessed with one fantasy match-up. If their worlds collided, who would win in a battle: Son Goku or Saitama of One-Punch Man. Over the years, the former hero has become an anime icon as fans all over the world have dreamt of becoming a Saiyan like Goku. As for the latter, Saitama has only become a recent fascination with audiences. The bald hero threw anime fans into a frenzy when his web comic and manga were adapted into an action-packed anime. And, now, the illustrator of One-Punch Man‘s manga is letting fans know how much of his work is inspired by Dragon Ball.
Over on Ustream, Yusuke Murata has taken to doing livestreams while drawing various art for upcoming One-Punch Man chapters. During these videos, the artist tends to answer fan questions and talk about his drawing process. It was during one of these streams Murata spoke about his love of Dragon Ball, and one Reddit user named @sysr23 was kind enough to translate the tidbit for fans.
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During a preview stream, Murata let fans watch as he drew a Dragon Ball poster for the franchise’s milestone anniversary. During the video, the artist commented on how difficult it was to ink the art because his expectations were so high.
“If its drawn too detailed, it won’t match Toriyama-sensei’s style, I’ll have to stop at some point. My kids love Dragon Ball too. I’ll bring a copy back after I completed it, and tell him daddy drew Dragon Ball. It’s truly amazing that people from all generations watch Dragon Ball.“
“I messed up on Goku’s face every time, feels like something’s wrong with it,” he said later. “I tried my best to replicate Toriyama-sensei’s style, and I’m still able to feel how awesome he is. Still feeling that I’m not drawing it good enough.”
Of course, fans know Murata’s artwork has come to reflect much of what Akira Toriyama inked during his mangaka days. In the past, the former artist has said Toriyama’s art is one of his main inspirations and that Goku’s fights against Piccolo and Freeza were his favorite panels. In the past, Murata has tried his hand at inking the former face-off, and the artwork stunned longtime Dragon Ball fans. The special artwork appeared to be done by Toriyama himself, and many fans who didn’t know better assumed the iconic artist drew the image himself.
Now, all fans need to see is Toriyama try his hand at Saitama, and then everything will have come full circle.
Dragon Ball Super‘s”Universal Survival” saga is part of the recent simulcast agreement that sites like Crunchyroll and Funimation have scored. Dragon Ball Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturdays at 7:15 p.m. CST. Toonami will begin airing the English dub on Adult Swim Saturdays at 11:30 p.m.
