Dragon Ball’s latest official release has revealed the early designs considered for one of the franchise’s major antagonists: Cell.
The Toriyama Archives segment from the official Dragon Ball website recently unveiled an early sketch of Cell drawn by series creator Akira Toriyama in 1992. The illustration, which is now 34 years old, shows the different faces that the author had in mind for the villain prior to finalizing his look.
“The sheer number of sketches done for Cell is indicative of how much thought was put into his design, with the sketches depicted here being particularly close to the final product,” the official website noted. The sketch itself can be seen below.
Dragon Ball Sketch by Akira Toriyama Reveals Cell’s Different Early Designs
In the sketch, the design of Imperfect Cell on the top left is close to the version that appeared in the original manga and the anime adaptation. However, the design on the right gives the character a completely different look, featuring a hunched pose and a protruding shell-like structure on his back. This was likely an early design for Semi-Perfect Cell.
The sketch also shows various alternative facial features that Toriyama considered for the character, including a more human-like face with a sharp set of eyes. “While the overall appearance was almost decided on, the faces suggest some trial and error was involved, such as alternate designs for his second form and more human-like features,” the website added in the description.
This release is not the first time that early design iterations of Cell have been made public. Previously, the Toriyama archives retrieved a similar sketch showing the author’s initial concepts for Perfect Cell. This also included faces that looked visibly different and more menacing than the final version of the character that appeared in the series.
A separate update also revealed that Cell’s design initially did not feature the recognizable black spots on his armor. Toriyama added those after feeling that the villain’s appearance lacked something. However, he came to regret the decision later, as he found it “exhausting” to manually draw the spots every time the character made an appearance.
Editors Forced Toriyama to Create Cell for Dragon Ball
Although Cell is considered one of the most iconic villains to grace Dragon Ball, the character was created following criticism from the series’ editors.
Kazuhiko Torishima famously dismissed Androids 19 and 20 as a “fatso” and an “old geezer” and rejected Androids 17 and 18 as “brats,” prompting the creation of Cell. Toriyama’s editor at the time, Yu Kondo, then criticized Imperfect Cell’s design as “ugly” and demanded a transformation — only to later label Semi-Perfect Cell a “moron,” pushing the villain’s progression to his perfect form.
Cell made his debut appearance in his imperfect form in Chapter 361 of Dragon Ball manga, which released in February 1992. The chapter, named after the villain in the English release, kicks off the battle between him and Piccolo, who had recently fused with Kami.
Following his defeat in the original storyline, the bio-android once again made an appearance in the 2022 film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero in a new avatar known as the Cell Max, where he faced defeat once again at the hands of Gohan.
- Author
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Akira Toriyama
- Artist
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Akira Toriyama
- Release Date
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November 20, 1984
- Chapters
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519
- Volumes
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42
