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One thing that Dragon Ball fans probably know is that Akira Toriyama loved to change the way characters looked. Whether it was new clothes or hairstyles (we’re looking at you, Bulma), it seemed like every arc gave us something a little different visually. However, one character’s design changed so often that it wasn’t until Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero that he got a definitive look from Toriyama, and that is Korin.

The wise and eternally chilled cat who sat atop Korin’s Tower and guarded the powerful senzu beans has long had a subtly shifting art style. Sometimes his tail is longer or he is drawn a little slimmer, especially in Akira Toriyama’s original manga. However, the 3D animation style of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero demands a more consistent style, so the producers went to Toriyama himself to ask him to draw a “definitive” design for one of Dragon Ball’s longest-running characters.

During the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero panel at New York Comic Con 2021, Akio Iyoku, who had long been one of Toriyama’s favorite editors, said, “I had the impression that, up until now, Korin’s design wasn’t really defined, so I asked Toriyama-sensei specifically to redraw him for [Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero]. And we also had a lot of previous designs from other animations that we fixed again, and I think we really came up with the definitive version this time.”

This is very much in line with Toriyama’s love of redesigning clothing and outfits – just look at how much Bulma, Gohan, and Vegeta’s design has changed from arc to arc – but there was always the sense that Korin was supposed to be unchanging. Sat atop his tower, looking down on the world with a detachment that made his support for Goku that much stronger. It wasn’t until the final Dragon Ball movie before he died that Toriyama gave us the definitive Korin design.

You can watch the full Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero panel here.

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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