While Dragon Ball Super is currently on an indefinite hiatus since the death of the series’ original creator, Akira Toriyama, artist Toyotaro continues his special project titled “Toyotaro Drew This.” The project began in December 2017 to share monthly visuals of Dragon Ball characters who did not have a lot of screen time in the story. Over the years, Toyotaro has shared over 90 illustrations of forgotten or underrated characters, including Captain Ginyu, Bardock, Raditz, Gregory, and many more. The latest September 2025 edition shares a new visual of Granpa Gohan, wearing the same attire as he always has, but this time, we see Toyotaro’s version of the character.
He was Goku’s closest family member as a child, and the illustration was shared on the official website of Dragon Ball with a brief explanation of his reunion with Goku at Fortuneteller Baba’s palace, where the latter jumped on him and cried. The note on the illustration praises the character as a true martial arts master and a man of unparalleled character. It has been 39 years since Granpa Gohan debuted in the story, and he has rarely ever appeared. However, he still holds a special place in fans’ hearts as someone dear to the protagonist.
Who Is Granpa Gohan in Dragon Ball?
Grandpa Gohan was Goku’s adoptive grandfather and Master Roshi’s number one pupil. He accidentally died before the start of the story during Goku’s rampage in his Great Ape form. Since he was Goku’s only family member, the child was at a loss after the tragedy and looked everywhere for his grandpa, but to no avail. He had no recollection of killing Gohan and believed he died because of a monster and that his soul was in the Four-Star Dragon Ball. During the Fortuneteller Baba arc, Grandpa Gohan, who was hiding his identity from his grandson, grabbed Goku’s tail in an attempt to highlight his vulnerability, but it accidentally came off.
Shortly after the incident, Goku had a brief and tearful reunion with him in the original series. Later, in Dragon Ball ZMaster Roshi revealed that Grandpa Gohan found him as an infant in the woods near his home after Goku’s space pod landed on Earth. Goku was a difficult and violent baby to raise, but things changed after an accident in which he hit his head.
The accident transformed his inherently ruthless Saiyan nature into a kind, innocent personality, which is a major turning point in the story. Goku did not know about his origins and his real name, Kakarot, until he was an adult. Out of love and respect for his grandpa, Goku named his first son after him and even attached a Four-Star Dragon Ball on his hat in memory of his adoptive grandfather. During his fight with Vegeta, Goku again took his Great Ape form and realized that he was the one who killed the old man.
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