The official Dragon Ball website has revealed another new and historic artwork by the late Akira Toriyama. Over 30 years old, the Toriyama page features one of the most brutal and one-sided fights in the history of Dragon Ball Z.
In the latest edition of the Toriyama Archives, a rare and fully-colored page from Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1992 No. 21/22 was shared. "Here's Cell on the verge of absorbing Android 17 in order to gain even greater power," the description reads. "And speaking of great things, these panels show the one-sided battle in full color, which really adds to the weight of Cell's brutal attacks, making them come across more realistic."
Dragon Ball's Androids Underwent Major Character Changes Thanks to Akira Toriyama's Editor
As longtime Dragon Ball fans know, this moment comes from the "Cell Saga" of Dragon Ball Z. The storyline is remembered for its surprisingly dark tone involving futuristic androids annihilating Earth and the Z-warriors, resulting in an adult version of Trunks going back to the past to stop the apocalyptic future from taking place. However, Future Trunks’ alteration of the past leads to an entirely different version of events from his own, leading to a new diabolic figure that surpasses the original android threat. The surprise switcheroo of antagonists wasn’t exactly intended, as Toriyama mentioned that mockery from his former editor regarding the designs of the android characters caused him to create Cell -- who was also mocked for his bug-like design, which then caused Toriyama to transform him multiple times until he reached his "perfect" form.
Dragon Ball's Cell Saga Marked a Shift to a Much Darker Tone Than Previous Story Arcs
The over 30-year-old Shonen Jump page is an interesting turning point for the "Cell Saga" in Dragon Ball Z. For most of the storyline, Android 17 and his twin sister Android 18 are portrayed as unstoppable killing machines, whether it be their initial appearance in the future or their laid-back approach in the present. However, the arrival of Imperfect Cell shifts the power scale considerably. Eager to absorb Android 17’s power, Imperfect Cell wastes no time demonstrating his physical superiority over his 'brethren.' With this new threat on the loose, Android 17 and 18 are demoted from villains to victims.
Of course, thanks to the sacrifice of Goku and the untapped strength of his son Gohan, Perfect Cell is defeated and the Androids are revived. Android 18 goes on to marry Krillin -- who showed sympathy toward her earlier in the story -- and becomes the mother of his daughter, Marron. In the Dragon Ball Super anime TV series, Android 17 is given another opportunity to shine in the "Universe Survival Saga," fighting for the sake of Universe 7 with Goku and Frieza.
The various Dragon Ball anime series like Super and its animated movies are available to stream on Crunchyroll. A new series called Dragon Ball Daima will premiere this fall. Viz Media handles the English distribution of the manga.
Source: Dragon Ball official website
