'Dragon Ball Super' Illustrator Gives Goku An Old-School Disney Makeover

You might not realize it, but Son Goku is getting up there in age. The character was created back [...]

By Megan Peters

You might not realize it, but Son Goku is getting up there in age. The character was created back in 1984 by Akira Toriyama, and the hero has since become one of the most recognizable characters in entertainment history. Now, 34 years later, Goku is only growing more popular by the day. So, it is about time one of the character's illustrators paid homage to his age with one adorable sketch.

Son Goku, it is time you tried out some old-school animation aesthetics for yourself.

Recently, the illustrator of Dragon Ball Super went to Twitter to give Goku a bit of a makeover. The artist posted a simple sketch of Goku, and its throwback design has got fans thinking back to the earliest days of Disney animation.

As you can see above, the black-and-white drawing re-imagines a very minimal Goku. In fact, the hero is only really recognizable thanks to his spiky hair and jumpsuit. His bulging arms and muscular frame has been streamlined into a lanky body similar to the one Goofy has. And, if you check out the hero's thumbs up, you will see his hands have been relegated to meaty little sausages.

Looking at the drawing, it is hard not to think back to some of Disney's beginning animation style. When Mickey Mouse debuted in 1928, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks thrived off minimalistic designs. The cute mouse was given an exaggerated body, black button eyes, and loose line art. That same aesthetic has been applied to Goku in this Toyotaro art, and fans can only wonder how guys like Piccolo and Majin Buu would fare with the cartoon-ish style.

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonamiprogramming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.

If you want to catch up with the English dub, the first 52 episodes of Dragon Ball Super are now available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and available to purchase on Amazon Video as well. The 52 episodes span the full range of what has aired in the North America and covers the "Battle of Gods" arc, "Revival of F" arc, the "Universe 6" arc, and bringing the series right up to the current TV airings of the "Future Trunks" arc.

Do you like this design for Goku? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

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