Dragon Ball Super brought smiles to the faces of the fans. After Dragon Ball Z, there have been several attempts at a new series, but none of them were working. So, Akira Toriyama took up his pen once again to create something iconic. While the previous series included aliens, Dragon Ball Super introduced the God of Destruction, Beerus.
Since his introduction, Beerus has become one of the fan-favorite characters. He sounds egotistical due to his position as a God, but with time, he is befriended by the Z Warriors. Toriyama sensei is known for taking inspiration from unconventional things. He went one step further with Beerus’ design. Many people might not know that Beerus is based on a cat.
Beerus’ Design Was Particularly Different From Other Dragon Ball Characters
Any Dragon Ball fan will know that Toriyama sensei named Vegeta from ‘Vegetables’ and Kakarot from ‘Carrot.’ In the case of Beerus and Whis, the inspiration was Beer and Whiskey. But that is not all. While most people think Beerus is a rabbit, he is based on a cat. All of his activities are similar to the pet cat that the mangaka had.
When talking about Beerus, he said,
“I pictured him as a cat, so I love the scene of him waking up. I used the family cat as his [design] motif. His ears are big, so it seems there are a lot of people who thought he was a rabbit, but it’s because our cat is a big-eared breed. Incidentally, even when my daughter shows a picture of our cat to her friends, not once has it ever been called “cute”.”
Universe 7’s God of Destruction may be cute to the mangaka, but his introduction frightened the fans. Upon waking up from his long nap, he wanted to challenge the Super Saiyan God. With that intent, he went to Earth to find the few remaining Saiyans. But, the Saiyans did not know about the Super Saiyan God. Beerus instantly decided to destroy Earth. Thanks to Shenron, the Z Warriors found a way to summon the Super Saiyan God.
Akira Toriyama’s Experiment With Beerus Paid Off
Every villain from the Dragon Ball franchise has a dark presence. They are willing to sacrifice anyone for the sake of their goal. Frieza, Perfect Cell, Kid Buu, etc., were the embodiment of evil. When the God of Destruction was introduced in Dragon Ball Super, everything pictured that he would be nothing like the previous villains. Instead of having a dark presence, he might be the entire darkness. But Akira Toriyama added a twist to it.
During an interview, he was asked about his reaction to God of Destruction. He said,
“The God of Destruction I [initially] received was a malevolent, dark character. For a twisted guy like me, I took the stereotypical image you’d think of from the name “God of Destruction”, then went ahead and reversed everything, leaving only his fearsomeness.
My style is to first tear down the image, then think up the contents. Also, there was a request to have the whole cast appear since it was the first animation in a while, so that’s how the contents came about.”
Only the late Akira Toriyama would have the ability to pull something so iconic. Most mangaka would go for the dark and evil presence. But the creator of Dragon Ball added the perks of his pet cat to the God of Destruction. His entire behavior is of a cat. While it seems to be a risky move, the fans love him. Moreover, pet owners could pretty well relate to the anime. Waking up suddenly, licking his paws, and always hungry for tasty food are a few of the things that every pet owner can relate to.
Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
