'Dragon Ball' Artwork Spotlights Goku's Various Character Designs

Dragon Ball has been around for more than 30 years, and the franchise continues to expand. From manga to anime and gaming, fans can find Goku almost anywhere, but the hero hasn't always looked the same. Over the years, various artists have given their own go at Goku, and a viral post is helping fans compare those looks to one another.

Now, how many of these head shots do you recognize?

As you can see below, a black-and-white image was made up by a fan and went viral on social media. Fans of Dragon Ball were quick to compare the all the art to one another, and it seems a few designs are standouts.

Various designs of Goku from different artists from r/anime

To the top left, Naohiro Shintani is impressing fans with his current take on Goku. The Saiyan looks flat with his minimalistic design, and his gravity defying hair is still well proportioned. It is a far cry from the design Keisuke Masunaga penned of a rather stony faced Goku, and that is just the start.

Masaki Sato is a well-known fan with animation lovers, and the gritted teeth in this headshot make Goku look plenty intimidating. This tense aesthetic is riffed on by Naotoshi Shida, and Tadayoshi Yamamuro brought that same flair into their design as well.

Of course, the fan-favorite pick of this lineup belongs to none other than Akira Toriyama. The artist's take on Goku is thinner than the rest, but his expressive features are plenty popular. Goku's distinctive eyes are a trademark of the Dragon Ball creator, and fans admit this simplistic design is still at the top of their favorite's list.

So, which of these Dragon Ball designs is your favorite? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 11:00 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media. Dragon Ball Super: Broly is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

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