Dragon Ball Super Artist Explains How Bardock's Return Happened
The artist behind Dragon Ball Super's manga opened up about how Bardock's return in the series came to be! The Granolah the Survivor arc has been one of the most intriguing in the series yet as the more we find out about the titular Granolah, the more we are also finding out about the Saiyans' past as well. The biggest reveal of which was another look at Goku's father Bardock that showed a whole new side of the fighter that fans had never seen before. As it turns out, the artist behind the series has been trying to make this happen for a while.
In a special interview on Dragon Ball's official website to celebrate the release of the newest volume on shelves in Japan, Dragon Ball Super artist Toyotaro explained how Bardock ultimately returned to the series. As Toyotaro revealed, he's actually been wanting to bring the fighter back to the series for a while now but was challenged in how exactly he would be able to do so until figuring out how to make the return happen within the confines of the series' currently unfolding story.
"I was a supervisor on a figure project not too long ago, and I had a special affinity for Bardock. I've actually wanted to include Bardock in the main story for a while now." Toyotaro began, "But with the main character being Goku, and with Bardock dead for years, I could have him appear in side stories, but getting him in the main story was a challenge. I was given the opportunity to think about how I could weave Bardock into the main story, and when I showed my idea to [series creator Akira Toriyama], he said it looked good. I was like 'Hell yeah!'"
Elaborating on this further, Toyotaro explained why he was so curious about Bardock, "...Everyone, including me, wants to know what sort of a character, what sort of a man he is. So, I want to ask [Toriyama] about him as much as I can, to make sure he's an awesome character." In fact, Toyotaro even teased that while he can't give any spoilers, Bardock's time in the series just might not be at an end yet. Meaning we could be seeing the fighter again before too long!
What did you think of Bardock's return in Dragon Ball Super's manga? Are you hoping to see even more of Goku's father in future chapters of the series? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!