Summary
Goku initially appeared to be a robot in the Dragon Ball series, but ended up becoming an alien. The Adventures of Tongpoo, a manga series created by Akira Toriyama, laid the groundwork for Dragon Ball and features a robot protagonist similar to Goku. Toriyama frequently uses androids and cyborgs in Dragon Ball, demonstrating his preference for these character types in his storytelling.
While Dragon Ball Z has always been a series that includes prominent robot and android characters (17, 18, Cell and even Frieza), no one ever thought Goku will be on that list. Goku is famous for being a Saiyan, an alien from Planet Vegeta, but originally, Goku was going to be a robot. At least, based on the ‘prototype character’ of Goku in the series that Akira Toriyama created before Dragon Ball – a movie that looks like an almost shot-by-shot storyboard of what Dragon Ball would become.
In the first few chapters of Akira Toriyama’s classic Dragon Ball series, readers are introduced to Goku as a child wandering the forest in search of food. Previously, Goku arrived on Earth on a spaceship and was found by his adoptive father, Gohan. After Gohan’s tragic death, Goku is left alone, only for Bulma to stumble across him on her personal adventure to find all the Dragon Balls.
Bulma shoots Goku when she first meets him, only to learn that he is bulletproof. After that, the two cooperated to find the Dragon Balls together. This is the origin of Dragon Ball, laying the groundwork for other iconic developments, including the reveal that Goku is an alien of the Saiyan race. And, as one can clearly see by comparing the narrative notes, every step of Goku’s first Dragon Ball journey was first taken by his ‘prototype’, Tongpoo.
Tongpoo’s adventures laid the foundation for Dragon Ball
Goku is the reflection of Tongpoo, a robot!
Akira Toriyama’s ‘prototype’ manga that preceded (and bears striking similarities to) Dragon Ball was called Tongpoo Adventures. The series has the main character, Tongpoo, go to a deserted planet and meet a girl named Plamo. The two continue to adventure together, eventually leading to a conflict with a vicious alien, who shoots Tongpoo multiple times to no effect. It was at that time Tongpoo reveals himself to be a nearly indestructible robot.
You can read The Adventures of Tongpoo in chapter 14 of Manga Theater by Akira Toriyama from Viz.
Immediately, the similarities to early Dragon Ball are obvious. Tongpoo’s arrival on Earth mirrors Goku’s arrival almost exactly, as does his introduction to Plamo (a prototype of Bulma). Indeed, Plamo shot Tongpoo when he met him, just like Bulma when she met Goku. Additionally, the character designs are almost identical between Tongpoo and young Goku, as are the plot points of the original respective storylines. It’s fair to say that Tongpoo Adventures is where Dragon Ball really begins, that is, it seems Goku came very close to becoming a robot like his ‘prototype’, Tongpoo.
Toriyama frequently uses Androids and Cyborgs in Dragon Ball, but not with Goku
The influence of The Adventures of Tongpoo is still very much felt in Dragon Ball canon!
While Akira Toriyama has clearly decided not to make Goku a robot like his ‘prototype’, Toriyama hasn’t completely abandoned Dragon Ball’s cyborg and robot characters. Not only the aforementioned androids 17, 18 and Cell (with Cell technically being a ‘biological android’), robot characters have been mainstays from the beginning. For example, fan-favorite Android 8 is the version that taught Goku how to show mercy to his enemies, and his first appearance was in the first hundred chapters of the original version – and he was just one of many androids that would be introduced during that time.
Androids and robots have always been a part of Dragon Ball, and clearly, that’s because Akira Toriyama has a soft spot for them in his storytelling. In fact, it seems like Goku himself was almost a robot before Toriyama decided to turn him into an alien in Dragon Ball Zas indicated by Akira Toriyama’s early workGoku‘, Tongpo.
Tongpoo’s Adventures available from Viz media!
Dragon ball
Summary: From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a massive multimedia franchise that has spanned since the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded rapidly, starting as a manga series serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. Copy. It has spread abroad through manga and anime adaptations that are loved worldwide. Dragon Ball is the first original animated series that follows the adventures of young Son Goku as he searches for the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs will grant wishes to anyone who gathers them together. The series would later branch into the hugely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured intense battles and Goku’s tireless drive to become the strongest. The series has also been adapted from several popular video games and went on to spawn several new animated series and films until the recent hit Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
Created by: Akira Toriyama
First movie: Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Ruby
Latest movie: Dragon Ball Super: Superhero
First TV show chapter: Dragon ball
Latest TV show chapters: Dragon ball superhero
Date of first episode airing: April 26, 1989
Latest episode: 2019-10-05
Cast: Sean Schemmel, Laura Bailey, Brian Drummond, Christopher Sabat, Scott McNeil
Current line: Super Dragon Ball
Video games): Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball: The Breakers, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot