Culture news In Dragon Ball Z, Son Goku has yellow hair in Super Saiyan and it’s not for nothing. There are several reasons for this!
In the Dragon Ball universe, the hair of saiyans changes from brown to blond when they transform. This color is not due to chance, we explain to you why this choice of Akira Toriyama is far from being far-fetched.
Master Akira Toriyama, creator of Dr. Slump And Dragon Ball, left us this March 1st. Known for his rigorous work ethic, no narrative choice was left to chance in his works. So much so that fans began to wonder about certain characteristics of their favorite heroes.
Cult, down to the bone
The animated series Dragon Ball Z several times marked television history and this, all over the world. However, no date is more historic than the episode presented on June 19, 1991. It was on this day that the adaptation of the famous chapter 317 of the manga was broadcast for the first time, i.e. Son Goku’s first transformation into Super Saiyan. During his fight against Frieza on Namek, the latter explodes Krillin, the hero’s best friend, sending him into a mad rage which will give rise to the cult transformation with blond locks.
During an interview, the master is questioned about this choice of staging. He then declares that he has very good reasons motivating this choice, the first being above all practical. Goku’s hair filling required the full-time work of an assistant. This trick allowed him to tackle other tasks, in addition, to make readers understand that a change had taken place in Goku.
This had the effect of making it easier to show, just with his appearance, that Goku had become stronger, so we killed two birds with one stone. -Akira Toriyama
Like a hair in the soup
This choice, if it can be interpreted in a candid manner, is nevertheless revealing the difficult context faced by mangakas. The sustained publication rhythms of specialized magazines like Weekly Shonen Jump impose sometimes unbearable pressure on the shoulders of creators. Between script requirements and publication frequencies, many artists have seen their lives collapse under too much work.
Akira Toriyama himself, legend that he is, has several times wanted to put an end to Dragon Ballbecause he was on the verge of burnout. Almost at the end of each saga, its editors went out of their way to encourage the master to continue his manga, which he put a definitive end to with Boo’s death. He will only really take over the reins of the license after the affront represented by the film Dragon Ball Evolution, consulted but ignored by the project team.