Creating character is hard, but Akira Toriyama has a method to his manga madness. Over the years, the artist has made more than his fair share of fighters, and Dragon Ball contains many of his most memorable figures. Guys like Goku and Vegeta are hard to forget, and Dragon Ball Super added to the franchise’s roster with its own big additions. After all, Beerus has become a fan-favorite character in every sense, but his origins may not lie where you’d expect.
After all, the feline fighter was inspired by Toriyama’s favorite cat.
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Thanks to fan-translators, netizens have learned how the Dragon Ball creator came up with his first God of Destruction. According to translations, the 30th Anniversary Dragon Ball Super history book held the details to Beerus’ birth, and the character came about because of a Sphynx Cat called Debo.
“The new character Beerus is based on sensei’s favorite cat,” the book explains. “The new character Beerus, God of Destruction, appeared in the film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. In fact, the model for Beerus and his feline appearance was the anime-crazy Toriyama-sensei’s beloved house cat.”
I RT’d my old 2016 tweet about Beerus’ model Debo since it was getting some new attention anyway, but I guess I should take the time to translate the entire blurb and provide a (somewhat maybe) better picture. This is from page 80 of the 30th Anniversary DB Super History Book: pic.twitter.com/f19XOcDENP
— Todd Blankenship (@Herms98) March 3, 2018
As you can see in the tweet above, a fan known as @Herms98 shared a photo of Debo on Twitter. The cat belongs to Toriyama, and netizens can easily see how similar the kitty is to Beerus. Obviously, both are cats, but their sharp gazes and pointy ears are totally the same. So, fans have to wonder whether Debo could smoke Goku in a one-on-one match or not.
The first Dragon Ball Super film is set to release this December in Japan, and it has just released its first trailer. The film will focus on the Saiyans, the “origins of Goku‘s power,” and potentially the story of the very first Super Saiyan. Not only does it aim to be the best film in the series, original creator Akira Toriyama will be contributing to the film’s script and character designs.
Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.
Are you a fan of Beerus and his design? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!
