Dragon Ball Z It is perhaps the most famous era of the entire franchise created by Akira Toriyama and the Cell saga is possibly the most famous of all in that and all other periods. One of the most notable elements is the character design of this villain that is disturbing and intimidating in each of his transformations.
However, the curious reality is that Toriyama He went through great problems to be able to land the final design of the character in each of his evolutions.
The phases of the mangaka’s creative process throughout Dragon Ball Z are extensively documented for decades. This has caused a peculiar phenomenon where some isolated details of this collection periodically become popular.
Where we know how the story behind the conception of different arcs, heroes and villains was. For example, in the most recent case, a series of sketches that Toriyama made to find the final design of Cell have become popular.
Where apparently by incredible chance we find a connection with one of the greatest enemies of this franchise.
Broly and Cell have a close connection in this sketch by Akira Toriyama for Dragon Ball Z
There is a book, under the title of Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 4: World Guide, published in October 1995 and where a good part of the creative work carried out by Akira Toriyama is compiled during the conception of this stage of the manga, with adult Goku, the introduction of Vegeta, the Cell saga and the closing of the Z era with the arc of Majin Buu.
It is among these pages that we can find Cell’s original design sketches, with a wide variety of ideas on the character’s appearance. And if we look carefully we will find someone familiar among the discarded designs:
As we can see, there is a Cell design where the villain’s excessive musculature is exactly the same as Broly’s. An enemy of Goku who at that time at least was not part of the official canon of the saga.
It is also possible to see another discarded drawing where Cell appeared to have a human face that also seems to be the base of Broly.
So everything indicates that the idea of the appearance of this character had already been going around the mangaka’s head for a while.
