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Goku wasn’t always the muscled hunk of a protagonist. Back whenDragon Ballfirst began serialization, Goku debuted in his child form. He was an extremely cute chibi character, and fans loved him for it.
However, the manga began to become popular once the Tournament of Power arc was introduced. This meant an increase in battle scenes compared to its previous comedy genre. Suddenly, chibi Goku became a hindrance to battle scenes.
Why did Akira Toriyama Change Goku’s Character Design inDragon Ball?
The very first Goku was acute chibi kidwith an adorable tail which set him apart from any other character. While this setup worked for the comedy manga thatDragon Ballwas intended to be, once it began to transition into the action genre, it became hard to modulate the body in different battle poses. Inan interview,Akira Toriyamaconfessed:
His head/body ratio made fighting hard, so I said that if the series was going to start focusing more on battles, then I needed to make him an adult.
However, the decision was not implemented withoutsevere pushback.Changing the protagonist’s character design was already a big no-no in the industry, but Toriyama was adamant. Everyone doubted that the change would do any good.
The series has finally gotten popular, and now you want to go and change everything!
Still, the author powered through the decision, and look where the franchise is now. In fact, the author even useda sneaky tactic to get the design approved.
Super Saiyan Might Have Never Existed Unless Goku Grew Up
If Goku never received a glow up with an adult character design, the manga might have failed to implement the action side so well. After Tenkaichi Budokai was introduced, many other arcs brought bigger and stronger enemies.
“He wasn’t ultimately the right one”: Akira Toriyama Almost Killed Goku Forever to Have a Different Dragon Ball Lead Before Change of Heart
The most famous of them is bound to be Frieza. He could be called the Team Rocket of Dragon Ball, given how many timeshe has returned with new tactics under his sleeve.But would Frieza have existed if Toriyama was still having trouble trying to make chibi Goku fight?
Akira Toriyama is famous for changing elements inDragon Ballwhenever something doesn’t suit his purpose, and he has proven it on multiple occasions. Hard to think around a tail? Remove it. Want to make Goku more action-savvy? Give him puberty. Hard to ink in dark hair? Make Super Saiyan Goku blonde.
There is a high chance that if Goku always remained a child, then Toriyama would have never introduced the Frieza Saga and, in turn, the Super Saiyan form. After all, how could you expect a child to battle against an alien monster?
Akira Toriyama’s Confession: Coolest Villain in Dragon Ball Super Who Almost Killed Goku Was Inspired by Kamen Rider
Toriyama gave Goku villainous facial features in Super Saiyan which worked for Goku Jr. In the end, the mangaka did what he thought was best, and it worked for Dragon Ball.
You can readDragon Ballon Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
Aaheli Pradhan
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :1558
Aaheli is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with 1300+ published articles. With five years of experience under her belt, she is a living, breathing encyclopedia for anime and manga. From Shonen and Shojo to the most niche anime, nothing escapes her radar. Her poisons of choice are Assassination Classroom, Gintama, Ouran High School Host Club and every Ghibli movie ever. She believes in living a slow life, surrounded by incomplete art projects and her beloved cats.
