Gohan’s coolest fit in Dragon Ball is finally back in the spotlight thanks to a newly rediscovered Akira Toriyama artwork from the 90s. Every day, the official Dragon Ball website highlights a rare piece of art by Akira Toriyama as part of its daily “Toriyama Archives” series.
The June 5 release from the Toriyama Archives is a never-before-seen original draft of a Gohan artwork Toriyama penned for promotional materials. In particular, it showcases Super Saiyan Gohan in his Great Saiyaman gear, just as he appeared during DBZ‘s early Buu Saga.
Son Gohan Charges Into Action In Rare Toriyama Art From 1994
Gohan’s Saiyaman suit without the helmet is easily one of his most beloved looks, perhaps only matched by SSJ2 Gohan during the Cell Games, so it’s always great to see a new design from this criminally underutilized version of the character.
The Toriyama Archives’ newly revealed Gohan art (as seen above) dates back to 1994 and was first published as part of Bandai Namco’s Carddass trading card collection, with this specific card also featuring a January calendar.
The card was included as a special collectible in copies of Weekly Shonen Jump 1994 No. 3/4 Double Issue (occasionally, Shonen Jump releases a “double issue” if the magazine has to go on a one-week break for any reason). This Toriyama Archives release is the first time fans get to see this Gohan art in all its glory without a calendar covering it.
The issue of Shonen Jump in which this card appeared also featured the release of Dragon Ball Chapter 452 (or DBZ Chapter 258), “Dabura Takes the Stage!!” As the title suggests, this chapter marked the start of Son Gohan’s duel against Dabura on Babidi’s spacecraft, as the Z-Fighters attempted to prevent Majin Buu from being revived.
While Gohan would do his best to put up a fight, the duel is ultimately cut short by Vegeta, who begins to succumb to Babidi’s mind control, inevitably resulting in the emergence of Majin Vegeta.
The Toriyama Archives works are available to view for a single day on the Dragon Ball website before being taken down permanently and replaced withnew artwork. The fact that the site can continue to showcase new works like this, even two years after Toriyama’s passing, is a testament to how prolific he was during his lifetime.
But even with Toriyama gone, the Dragon Ball franchise is not slowing down at all. There are now two confirmed Dragon Ball Super anime adaptations on the way. First will be the Dragon Ball Super: Beerus remake this Fall, followed by the long-awaited adaptation of the Galactic Patrol Arc.
The full Dragon Ball manga is currently available to read via Viz Media, Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump app.
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Sean Schemmel, Laura Bailey, Brian Drummond, Christopher Sabat, Scott McNeil
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Akira Toriyama
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