Old Man Goku: Toyotarou Pays Tribute to Akira Toriyama’s Idea in 100th Illustration

As the name suggests, Toyotarou Tried to Draw is where Toyotarou, the successor of Akira Toriyama, the original creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, publishes his art. After so long, this series has reached its 100th edition, and the mangaka revealed an illustration of an elderly Goku based on a drawing Akira Toriyama himself made in 1989.

Along with that, Toyotarou hand-picked eight of his favorite drawings from the series. Let’s dive into Toyotarou’s comments and what his hand-picked drawings are.

Toyotarou’s Comment on Akira Toriyama’s Illustration

Old Goku Illustration | Credit: Toyotarou / Shueisha

For the 100th illustration, Toyotarou went straight to the source – an art of Goku in his old age that Toriyama originally made in 1989, while the original Dragon Ball was still airing on Japanese Television channels. Toyotarou explained that this elderly Goku was based on the original Toriyama drawing, which was featured in an essay manga, included in the Dragon Ball Z Anime Special Book.

In this art, Goku looks like a taller and more muscular version of Master Roshi himself. He has the same moustache, a very similar staff, and not to mention their personalities are already similar to begin with. It’s hard not to imagine elder Goku taking another warrior under his wing and teaching him martial arts.

According to Toyotarou, Toriyama made the drawing with a hint of self-aware humor, writing things like “When will Dragon Ball finish?” and “Goku might end up looking like this old guy, too” (as per the official website).

What makes this tribute even more meaningful is the timing. Toyotarou pointed out that even in 2026 – 37 years after that essay manga was published – Dragon Ball still shows no signs of ending anytime soon. In fact, with new multiversal threats, the quality simply keeps rising.

What Is the Dragon Ball Z Anime Special Book

Goku from Dragon Ball Z | Credit: Toei Animation

The Dragon Ball Z Anime Special book was a companion publication released in 1989, during the original run of the Dragon Ball manga and anime. It included an essay manga written and drawn by Akira Toriyama himself, where he reflected on both anime and manga, their future, and what the future might look like.

For fans who want to read that essay manga today, it has since been republished in the Dragon Ball Super Art Book, which is currently available.

The Other Eight Illustrations Hand-Picked by Toyotarou

Toyotarou’s first pick from February 2018 was King Chappa, reimagined in a modern art style. According to Toyotarou, it was his first actual attempt at turning his own ideas into a standalone illustration. Then, in October 2019, he drew a young Belmod, who later goes on to become one of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball. September 2020 brought Bora, the guardian of Karin Sanctuary, who Toyotarou summed up simply as “old men and muscles.”

July 2021 showed Paikuhan alongside the full lineup of Another World Budokai competitors. Two months later, in September 2021, he drew Ipana and Berry, two minor characters that deserved more attention in the anime and manga. For this art, he experimented with colors for a mascot-style look. Now, they look like mascots that can be found outside a convenience store in Japan. January 2023 gave fans a grown-up Hire-Dragon as Gohan is patting his head.

The very next month, Final Form Cooler was drawn, a piece Toyotarou liked so much that he later reused the pose for the front cover of Dragon Ball Super Volume 23. His final pick, from January 2026, was Commander Red. He is drawn with his stern look, a cigar in hand, like a real mafia boss. Toyotaro mentioned in the comments that he had been truly into drawing “old men” for the past year.

I would love to see an illustration of Old Gohan as well. What other illustration would you like to see in the future? Let us know in the comments.

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