The creator of Dragon Ball asked his fans to design a new outfit for Goku, chose the best design and illustrated it

Dragon Ball Son Goku Titel title

In Dragon Ball, the orange suit belongs to Son Goku like the stars to the Dragon Balls. The creator of the manga, Akira Toriyama, once asked the fans to design a new suit for the Saiyan.

What kind of request was that? In chapter 163 of the manga, Toriyama surprised the readers with an unusual request: Before the story even started, he asked the fans on the title page to come up with a new outfit for Goku.

The reason: Son Goku had just defeated King Piccolo and would receive his growth spurt in the upcoming chapters. At 12 years old, Goku was still a child and had the same height as a five-year-old child. At 18, he suddenly was as tall as an adult man. The anime Dragon Ball Daima explained this phenomenon in more detail.

It’s clear that Goku no longer fits into his old suit. Therefore, Toriyama wanted to know how the fans imagined the Saiyan in a new outfit.

Start video
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods – German Trailer for the Anime Film

Fans design a new suit for Goku, Toriyama draws it

What did the suit look like? Although the author ultimately chose a different suit for Goku, he showed in an image which outfit from the submitted fan designs it would have been.

10 chapters later, he depicted the suit as the cover for the new story arc. 

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from Reddit that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the Reddit content
  • Unlike his final outfit, the fan design features a white belt and white socks. 
  • The symbol of Master Roshi’s school is also a hexagon and not a circle.
  • Additionally, the neckline is larger than in his actual suit, with a black tank top peeking out underneath that has no sleeves.
  • The orange suit also has darker areas that are ultimately missing in the Saiyan’s solid-colored suit.

Throughout Dragon Ball, Son Goku has naturally worn other outfits besides his fighting suit. However, the fan design only made it onto a cover of the manga, never into the story itself.

The creator of the manga has occasionally published sketches in which Son Goku was shown in unusual situations. In one image, for example, he showed the fans what the Saiyan would look like if he aged: Akira Toriyama draws Son Goku as an old man: This is how he would have looked at the end of Dragon Ball

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Vida Extra