Anime

‘Dragon Ball’ Reveals First Sketches of Bulma and Goku

It has been decades since Dragon Ball debuted, but the franchise is more popular than ever before. […]

It has been decades since Dragon Ball debuted, but the franchise is more popular than ever before. Akira Toriyama’s franchise has become an iconic one despite its humble origins. And, now, fans can get a look at one of Toriyama’s first drawings of Goku and Bulma.

If you head to the official Dragon Ball website, you will find a new addition to its homepage. Fans can check out a special page now that will host rare media pieces from Toriyama for 24-hours. The online exhibit got its start this week, and its first display was a postcard sent by Toriyama.

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As you can see below, the colorful card was sent to the Akira Toriyama Preservation Society, the artist’s fan club at the time. The piece, which dates back to October 1984, shows off Goku and Bulma before they officially debuted in November 1984.

“I’ve finally finished the first chapter’s worth of sketches,” the artist wrote. “The title is “Dragon Ball”, and it looks like it’ll be a strange yet fun adventure manga. Look forward to it.”

The sketches of Bulma and Goku look very similar to the ones which Toriyama debuted in Dragon Ball’s first chapter. Goku’s wild hair and beady eyes look very familiar, and Bulma’s slender frame is hard to mistake. Of course, her blue hair is no where in sight, but that is not too surprising. After all, it takes a bit of time to ink Bulma’s hair, and Toriyama would be hard-pressed to do that for a simple card. The artist chose to keep things simple and let Bulma’s hair take on the postcard’s peach coloring.

DragonBall Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturday evenings at 7:15 p.m. CST. Adult Swim airs the English dub during its Toonami block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m, and is now available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video.

If you want to catch up with the English dub, the first 39 episodes of Dragon Ball Super are now available to stream on FunimationNOW, Crunchyroll’s VRV service, and available to purchase on Amazon Video. The 39 episodes span the full range of what has aired in the North America and covers the “Battle of Gods” arc, “Revival of F” arc, and the most recently ended “Universe 6” arc.

Are Goku and Bulma still your Dragon Ball favorites? Hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to let me know and talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!