Dragon Ball Reveals Rare Art Featuring Goku and an Apology From Akira Toriyama

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fans just got the chance to relive one of the franchise’s most heartwarming moments.

The official Dragon Ball website recently shared a classic artwork from the Toriyama Archives. Originally published in Jump Comics in 1993, the piece isn’t a drawing of a Dragon Ball character. Instead, it’s a portrait of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama wearing a Goku mask – an image used on the cover of Dragon Ball Volume 35.

The artwork was released with a description explaining that volume 35 of the series featured a portrait of Akira Toriyama wearing a mask of his famous character, Goku. In the author’s notes for that volume, Toriyama reflected on Goku’s death, jokingly apologizing to the character and expressing his feelings about having drawn Goku for almost ten years.

Dragon Ball Unveils Heartfelt 1993 Sketch of Akira Toriyama Wearing Goku Mask

The artwork depicts a death that occurred in chapter 411 of the Dragon Ball Z manga, titled “Cell, Brought to Bay.” In this chapter, Gohan didn’t deliver the final blow when he could have, allowing Cell to initiate his self-destruction.

The world was facing total destruction, with only moments to spare. Goku used instant transmission to move himself and Cell far away from Earth, making sure Cell’s explosion would destroy King Kai’s planet instead of Earth and its inhabitants.

Similar to how Goku seemingly died fighting Cell – his second death in the Dragon Ball series – the recent artwork from the Toriyama Archives marked the second time this month we’ve seen imagery of Goku’s passing. Earlier in March, another piece of art appeared showing Goku on a motorcycle with a halo above his head, referencing his death fighting Piccolo – another selfless sacrifice.

Goku first died in chapter 203 of the manga, titled “Sayonara, Goku,” which was originally released in 1988 in issue #53 of Weekly Shonen Jump. He was defeated while fighting the villain Raditz, but it was Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon that ultimately caused his death, fired while Goku held Raditz in a Full Nelson. While Goku’s death during the Cell Saga is often considered more significant for the story as a whole, his first death remains one of the most memorable moments in the entire Dragon Ball franchise.

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2026-03-16 01:17