37 Years Later, Dragon Ball Finally Reveals Original Goku vs. Piccolo Design

This artwork of Piccolo was originally created for the cover of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump issue #19, published on April 5, 1988. The cover featured all eight fighters from the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai – Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, Chi-Chi, Tien Shinhan, Mercenary Tao, Hero (Shen), and Piccolo – in a tense showdown. The cover was assembled by combining individual character illustrations. However, in the final published version, Piccolo ended up mostly hidden behind the magazine’s title. This newly released draft gives fans their first clear look at Piccolo standing powerfully, with a mysterious presence, in almost forty years. At this point in the story, Piccolo’s background was still a secret, which adds to the unique feeling of this early artwork.







