Dragon Ball Artist Reveals the Challenges Behind Creating Super Saiyan 4

If you have been a fan of Dragon Ball for some time, there's a good chance you have made up your own Super Saiyan form. Decades ago, the franchise saw Goku tap into that power for the first time, and a slew of boosts followed it. Of course, this had led fans to make up their own forms, but very few can say their ideas were made canon. That sort of honor belongs to Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, but the animator admits the felt all sorts of pressure when designing Super Saiyan 4.

Recently, a fan-account on Twitter known as Cipher_db translated an interview done with Nakatsuru. The animator worked on both Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT during his career. Nakatsuru, who was able to match creator Akira Toriyama's artwork, was eventually tasked with developing Super Saiyan 4. And as it turns out, that task was easier said than done.

"He was troubled on how to present a form that looked visually stronger than 3, before hitting upon the idea of the berserker state represented by the Oozaru transformation," the translation reads.

"Having the form be shirtless was another way to convey this strength."

Super Saiyan 4 might not have been able to save Dragon Ball GT from its critics, but the form does hold up even today. Goku suited the power boost all those years ago and still does today. Fans were always curious how the Great Ape transformation fit into Super Saiyan 4, and recent projects like Dragon Ball Super: Broly raised more questions. Now, fans have a bit more insight into how the form even came to be, and its seems Nakatsuru went back to basics for Super Saiyan 4.

How do you feel about this Super Saiyan form after all these years? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

The Japanese-language and English dub releases of Dragon Ball Super are now complete and available to stream with FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. Viz Media is releasing new chapters of the manga at a monthly rate that can be read entirely for free through the Shonen Jump digital library, and Dragon Ball Super's big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. Fans in Japan are also able to enjoy fresh non-canon adventures from the franchises with new episodes of Super Dragon Ball Heroes' promotional anime series.