Dragon Ball’s creator Akira Toriyama’s death has shocked the anime and manga industry to the core. Fans have been devastated after hearing the news about the demise of the mangaka who introduced anime to the entire world with his series Dragon Ball. Toriyama’s contribution to the industry was the reason why anime has got global recognition.
His series Dragon Ball was probably the first anime series that was loved by fans all over the world and later on became an inspiration for many other aspiring manga creators. Not only that, Dragon Ball later became a point of reference for many other anime series like One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and many more.
Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto has even stated how he got inspired by Toriyama multiple times. So much so, that the manga creator gave a direct tribute to the Dragon Ball series through one insanely powerful character that many fans might have missed. The character in the discussion is the four-tailed beast Son Goku.
The Four-Tailed Beast Son Goku in Naruto
Seiten Taisei Son Goku, sometimes referred to as just the Four-Tails or Son Goku, is one of the nine-tailed creatures. It was last sealed within the Rōshi of Iwagakure. Son Goku is an extremely arrogant beast with four tails who hates being referred to as “Four-Tails” and brags about its ancestry.
With the physique of a gorilla, Son Goku is a red-furred, green-skinned monkey. Its features include enlarged blunt teeth, spike-like edges that protrude along the length of its tails, two long horns that curve upward like a crown on its forehead, and eyes with yellow irises and white pupils.
Son Goku is capable of conjuring the Tailed Beast Ball and has an abundant supply of chakra. Son also appears to be knowledgeable in taijutsu, displaying deceiving agile capabilities for its size by delivering strong and well-timed kicks against its opponents. While many might think that only the name and the gorilla-like figure of the tailed beast are the tributes given to Toriyama’s work by Kishimoto, there is more than that.
Masashi Kishimoto Pays Tribute To Dragon Ball
With the development of the Four-Tails, one of the most formidable monsters in the entire Naruto universe, Kishimoto made an apparent allusion to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball. Two key characteristics from Goku’s family and upbringing serve as influences for Son Goku’s design.
Masashi Kishimoto decided to make Son Goku a monkey in recognition of the Great Ape form that Saiyans in Dragon Ball may transform into when they view the full moon. The fact that Son Goku likewise has four tails is particularly significant since it pays homage to the Four-Star Dragon Ball that Goku’s grandfather Son Gohan formerly owned.
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When Goku was younger, he held great sentimental value for this Dragon Ball, believing it to be his grandfather’s soul that would one day be inherited by his son, Gohan. In addition, Son Goku was sealed within a guy called Roshi, a reference to Dragon Ball’s Turtle Hermit Master Roshi, who taught Goku and Krillin.
