A few days ago we deciphered the truth about some designs of Goku and Bulma, who were supposedly Akira Toriyama’s originals. The little Saiyan as a ‘Boy Scout’ and the scientific adventurer as a cowgirl were never drawn by the Japanese mangaka.
Therefore, Now we do come with a couple of designs that are not only original, but also made their debut in the manga promotion. That is to say, they came out in an official magazine, but when the first issue was released there were notable differences and those sketches never appeared.
The Dragon Ball manga made its debut in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on December 3, 1984. The first chapter was titled “The Mysterious Child” and was created by Akira Toriyama.
As for the characters that appeared in that initial episode, the main protagonists were Goku, the main character of the series, and Bulma, a young adventurer who meets Goku in search of the legendary Dragon Balls. Important supporting characters were also introduced, such as Goku’s grandfather Gohan and Oolong, a former enemy turned ally.
So, in the preview of that debut, in that same magazine a promotion appeared three months before, in October 1984, in which Goku and Bulma appeared, looking very similar to that of that first episode, but with completely different colors.