Summary
Unlike many of its battle shonencontemporaries and successors, Akira Toriyama’sDragon Ballfeatured character designs that were constantly updated to convey the in-world passage of time. As a result, each minor variation in a character’s design corresponds to a particular era, saga, and story arc in the franchise, which helps distinguish between different installments and time periods.
One of the most enduring elements of character design in theDragon Ballfranchise as a whole is the perpetual presence of martial arts uniforms — known as gi, dogi, or keikogi — worn by characters such as Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, and others. Throughout the franchise’s many installments, fromDragon BallandDragon Ball ZtoDragon Ball GTandDragon Ball Super,the main cast has donned an assortmentof different outfits, and here are some of the best among them.
Anime Debut
Dragon Ball Z Episode #289 “Granddaughter Pan”
Despite being one of the shortest-lived outfits in the entireDragon Ballfranchise, the gi worn byGoku during the epilogue of theDragon Ballmanga and theDragon Ball Zanime holds special nostalgic value. As the last update to Goku’s design by Akira Toriyama in the original manga, this gi references Goku’s original outfit from the very start of the series.
Featuring a sleeveless teal tunic, white obi belt, and greenish-blue pants, this gi was worn only in the episodes set ten years after the defeat of Majin Buu, before and during the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament. In a way, this gi symbolized Goku’s transition from being a lifelong student of martial arts to becoming a teacher and mentor for Uub, which concluded his character arc in the manga.
Dragon Ball Super Chapter #14 “SOS from the Future”
Dragon Ball Super Episode #47 “SOS from the Future: A Dark New Enemy”
A fitting revamp of the traditional varieties of gi seen inDragon Ball, the more elaborate design and darker color palette of Goku Black’s attire conforms quite well with his sinister characterization. This outfit consists of a long-sleeved black turtleneck beneath a grey dogi, bound at the waist by a red sash.
Goku Black pairs this with black pants and white boots for a restrained yet menacing look that serves to distinguish him quite effectively from the real Goku. Moreover, the relatively neutral tones of this design do a brilliant job of complementing hislater transformation into Super Saiyan Rosé, which features pink hair and a layered aura of dark red and pink.
Dragon Ball GT Episode #1 “A Devastating Wish”
Signifying the start of a new era inDragon Ball, which took the story back to its roots, Goku’s gi inDragon Ball GTtook elements of his original design and added subtle changes that helped produce a truly memorable look. Essentially, Goku’s clothes inDragon Ball GTconsist of a blue gi with a white obi belt and mustard yellow pants.
Unlike most of his redesigns as an adult, this outfit does not feature an undershirt and makes use of strong chromatic contrasts to enhance its visual impact. The gi and trousers are paired with red wristbands and black shoes, for a look that workssurprisingly well on both kid Gokuand his adult counterpart.
Dragon Ball Chapter #1 “Bloomers and the Monkey King”
Dragon Ball Episode #1 “The Secret of the Dragon Balls”
As the one that started it all,Goku’s original gi from the very first arcofDragon Ballwas quite subtle and uncomplicated when compared to some of the more vibrant designs that have cropped up in the series over the years. This outfit is made up of a simple blue sleeveless tunic held up by a white obi belt tied in a bow, alongside similarly colored pants.
This was combined with red wristbands and kung fu shoes, which together served to cement his image as a dedicated practitioner of the martial arts. A timeless gi that ranks among Goku’s most iconic looks in the series, the original would serve as the template for virtually every subsequent redesign of his character in the years to follow.
Dragon Ball Episode #109 “Goku vs. King Piccolo”
First introduced in the designs of King Piccolo and Kami, the Demon Clothes are a special variety of gi worn by the Demon Clan. At first, this attire consisted of an indigo tunic and pants with King Piccolo or Kami’s kanji emblazoned across the chest, alongside a purple sash belt and Namekian shoes. Later on, his son,Piccolo, donned a similar outfitwith the symbol, which was later removed. By the time of the Saiyan Saga and Namek Saga, Piccolo’s outfit had gradually changed to a dark purple gi with a blue belt.
Gohan first wore it during the Saiyan Saga after training with Piccolo, although his version featured a white headband and red wristbands. Piccolo also wore a weighted white cape and a white turban alongside his gi. During his battle against Perfect Cell, which featured his iconic first Super Saiyan 2 transformation, Gohan wore a similar purple gi with Namekian shoes, alongside a blue sash belt and blue wristbands.
Dragon Ball Episode #109 “The Tournament Begins”
Having been a part of the franchise since the Tournament Saga ofDragon Ball, this outfit has become almost synonymouswith the series, as well as Goku’s character. In its initial depiction, the uniform consisted of a sleeveless red or orange shirt with matching baggy pants held up by a blue or black obi belt alongside white socks, blue wristbands, and blue toe shoes. The original version also featured the Turtle School kanji on the back, with a smaller version of it on the left side of the chest. Goku later went on to add a weighted blue undershirt and blue boots to this ensemble after training with Kami, and he often removes these sections of his outfit when fighting seriously.
Upon completing his training with King Kai, he wore a modified version of the uniform with the kanji for “Kai-o” on the back. Later on, during the Frieza Saga, the kanji on his back was changed to his own symbol, read as “Go,” representing that he had surpassed all his mentors. The last version of the uniform from the originalDragonBallmanga andDragon Ball Zanime had no symbols and introduced a blue sash belt, for a classic, streamlined look that was featured throughout the Cell Saga and Majin Buu Saga. Krillin, Gohan, Goten, and even Pan have worn variations of the uniform over the years. InDragon Ball Super, Goku briefly wore the Turtle School Uniform with Whis' symbol emblazoned on the left side of his chest.
