37 Years Later, Dragon Ball Reveals Official Art of Goku & Earth’s Strongest Humans

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Besides the famous Super Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta, the Dragon Ball series features many incredible human fighters who bravely defend Earth. The official Akira Toriyama Archive recently shared a unique, older illustration celebrating some of Earth’s strongest warriors.

Dragon Ball Releases Rare Original Draft of Goku, Krillin, Tien & More

Chapter 178 of *Dragon Ball* appeared during the “Piccolo Jr.” arc, specifically within the World Martial Arts Tournament. While this part of the story focuses on Goku, his friends also get a chance to show what they can do. Tien Shinhan, who previously battled Goku, unveils a new ability called “Multi-form,” letting him create four copies of himself. This gives him twelve eyes to track Goku’s quick movements and fire off multiple energy blasts simultaneously. Before Piccolo’s big fight with Goku, he also faces off against Krillin.

The first parts of *Dragon Ball* spend a lot of time showing how Goku’s friends grow as fighters. During his battle with Piccolo at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Krillin demonstrates his skill with the “sky dancing” technique, called buku-jutsu. Yamcha faces a fighter named Shen, who is secretly being controlled by the earth guardian Kami throughout the tournament. Despite some funny failures, Yamcha manages to hit Kami with one of his new moves.

Not much has happened with Dragon Ball recently. The latest installment of *Dragon Ball Super*, which wrapped up the Super Hero story arc, came out in February 2025. There aren’t any new chapters planned for this year, but Toyotarou, the artist behind *Dragon Ball Super*, is still celebrating the series and honoring his former mentor with artwork. He recently shared a new piece from his “Toyotarou Drew This!” series. As for the future of the Dragon Ball anime, executive producer Akio Iyoku has suggested that the series will continue in some way after *Dragon Ball Daima*.

The Akira Toriyama Archive regularly shares rare images from the history of *Dragon Ball*. These illustrations are posted on the official *Dragon Ball* website, but they’re only available for 24 hours. You can find English versions of *Dragon Ball* and *Dragon Ball Super* through VIZ Media.

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2025-10-17 02:23