While Dragon Ball Super eventually remedied this shortfall with its updated depiction of the classic character, the manga never gave readers the one thing every Dragon Ball fan wanted to see: Goku and Vegeta vs Broly. Before recently, Broly was never even mentioned in the Dragon Ball manga, despite being featured in three films that took place during the DBZ era. But now, the original depiction of Broly finally gets the manga treatment in the form of epic new fanart.
In two posts on X by user KAKERU (handle: DBSKAKERU1), the artist shares two pieces of artwork that look as though they were drawn by Akira Toriyama himself – complete with the classic style of the original Dragon Ball manga.
The first image shows Goku and Vegeta, both in their Super Saiyan forms, standing off against a smirking Broly – who’s channeling the full might of his Legendary Super Saiyan power – before Broly rushes the two Saiyan heroes. Goku has a worried expression on his face in the last panel of the first image, while Broly maintains his sinister smirk. The second image pays off Goku’s worry, as the first panel shows Broly striking Kakarot with a powerful punch, sending him crashing through the earth in the second panel, and inspiring Vegeta’s look of shock and horror in the third panel.
Dragon Ball Fanart Finally Brings the Original Broly to the Manga
Albeit unofficially, this fanart finally brings the original Broly to the Dragon Ball manga in a way fans have been hoping to see long before the Legendary Super Saiyan made his debut in Dragon Ball Super (as a totally different character). The original Broly, who debuted in the film Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, was officially considered ‘non-canon’ since the events of his storylines in the DBZ movie didn’t match with the continuity of the manga.
So, since he didn’t originate in the manga, Broly was doomed to never be included in the manga, as his very existence was a direct contradiction to the established Dragon Ball universe. Broly’s non-canon DBZ status did eventually open the door to the inclusion of an alternate version of the character in Dragon Ball Super (who is canon), but old-school fans still long for the villainous Broly first introduced in the ‘90s – and it’s clear that this fanart is for them.
Dragon Ball Super Made the Right Call Reinventing Broly
This Dragon Ball Z fanart is a lot of fun, but it’s good that it’s not canon!
While Dragon Ball fans may long for the days when Broly was a brutal villain who could out-muscle Goku and Vegeta with ease (which is exactly how he’s depicted in this fanart), it’s a good thing that Dragon Ball Super reinvented the character when he finally did make it into the manga. If DBS simply asserted that Broly was canon rather than releasing Dragon Ball Super: Broly (and his subsequent manga inclusion), then Broly would have been a villain. Reinventing the character allows him to be a Saiyan hero alongside every other living Saiyan in the franchise.
Dragon Ball Super is currently building a team of Saiyans to take down Black Frieza, and that team includes Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, Goten, and Broly. If Broly remained a villain, then he couldn’t be included on this team, which would have robbed fans of this epic lineup.
While Broly’s Dragon Ball Super reinvention is good for the larger storyline, it’s understandable that fans want to see the original version of the character brought to the page. And that’s why this fanart is so epic, as it gives Dragon Ball fans the chance to see Goku and Vegeta fight the classic Broly in the manga for the first time.
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