Dragon Ball Super’s latest arc, Granolah The Survivor Arc, has introduced the Z Fighters to an entirely new foe who has strong ties to the origins of the Saiyans as well as the despotic alien known as Freeza. With the recent chapters of the manga gaining a lot of groundswell thanks in part to Vegeta’s new transformation that he learned while training beneath the god of destruction known as Beerus, the current artist on the manga, Toyotaro, recently held an interview where he discussed the origins of the intergalactic bounty hunter and how Akira Toriyama factored into his creation.
Granolah first appeared following the Moro Arc, seeking revenge against the Saiyans thanks to their hand in the destruction of his race known as the Cerealians. Gathering his planet’s Dragon Balls, Granolah can wish himself to become the strongest mortal in the universe, but at the cost of most of his lifespan. With his body only having three years left before he kicks the bucket, Granolah is in a race against time to take revenge on Goku, Vegeta, and Freeza. As Toyotaro explains during the official interview, he was the one to create Granolah, as he was seeking to create a new character that also had ties to the Saiyan race and could be a worthy foe to the main fighters of the series.
The Official Dragon Ball website shared the new interview with writer/artist Toyotaro, who revealed that he was the one to create Granolah, while Akira Toriyama was the one to create the Heeters, the crime syndicate that is looking to manipulate the Cerealian into eliminating Freeza’s empire so they can claim it for themselves.
Toyotaro also went into detail about how he had created Granolah’s design, giving him a “Western” aesthetic that really pushed forward the idea of the bounty hunter being a “survivor,” while also throwing in several characteristics that would make the Cerealian looks like a sniper in his own right. The current Dragon Ball Super artist also noted that he wanted to give Granolah a steampunk aesthetic to give him a feeling of both being in the past and the future. While Toriyama didn’t have a hand in the creation of this new character, he gave final approval on the inclusion of Granolah and clearly still has a hand in the creation of the series moving forward.
What do you think of the Granolah The Survivor Arc so far? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Dragon Ball.