Dragon Ball Super Art Imagines Yusuke Murata’s Take on the Anime

Dragon Ball has gone through a few iterations in its time, and fans were shown the most recent take on the franchise when Dragon Ball Super: Broly went live. The film gave its heroes an all-new aesthetic thanks to artist Naohiro Shintani. Of course, there are other routes the anime could have taken, and the illustrator of One-Punch Man informally pitched his own take on Goku some time ago. And thanks to one fan, Yusuke Murata’s anime design has come to life.

The Twitter user DarkHans0 shared their take on a new anime design courtesy of Murata, and fans were quick to buzz over the reveal. The artwork, which can be found below, takes two sketches which Murata did for fun awhile back. The makeover adapts those sketches into mock anime cells, and we have to say we’re pretty impressed.

The artwork for Goku brings out some dark hues, and the shading feel very similar to what Dragon Ball Super did. However, when it comes to the Saiyan’s features, all bets are off. Goku has an open expression in this pitch piece, and his wide eyes match those fans can find on Vegeta.

Dressed in his Saiyan armor, Vegeta looks ready to battle in his makeover, and this style seems to suit that. His eyebrows are narrowed as he looks down at Goku, and Vegeta masters a haughty pose here with his arms crossed over his chest. This makeover even brings out the hero’s forehead which fans have long mocked for being overly large, but this design adds a bit of definition to the canvas.

Clearly, this character design differs hugely from what Dragon Ball Super went with, and that may be for the best. Shintani’s designs are as expressive as they are flexible, and Murata is better off saving this style for One-Punch Man moving forward.

What do you make of this design pitch? Does it suit Dragon Ball or not? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.