Dragon Ball Super's newest villain, the vengeful Granolah, was created with the intention of giving the character a unique "Western" aesthetic.
Toyotarou detailed the process of creating the character in a new interview posted to the official Dragon Ball website. "I was focusing on the fact that he is a survivor," Toyotarou said, "But [Dragon Ball creator Akira] Toriyama reminded us that this isn't a warrior race, right? But that they do like to fight... I didn't really know what to make of that." Granolah is the last of the Cerealians, a race that was destroyed by the Saiyans before most of them were also wiped out by Frieza. "I kind of had the goal of turning him into a sniper," Toyotarou said, explaining Granolah's unique eyewear. "And with that, I could imagine that this was a race of sharpshooters, and so Granolah could have these goggles for locking on to targets, which just seemed really cool." The artist also revealed that it was Toriyama's idea to have the goggles talk to Granolah. "Toriyama used to say that "If there aren't two characters moving together, we never know what they're thinking," Toyotarou said, adding that this idea is why the Supreme Kai is paired with Kibito and Beerus is with Whis.
"Since this race went extinct 50 years ago, even though they're aliens, I wanted a slightly old fashioned feel," Toyotarou said while describing the process of designing Granolah's clothing. "I also wanted some steampunk elements. That's how the clothing was designed... I wanted the race to feel kind-of old timey."
Toyotarou also revealed that he had to redesign the Heeters four times before Toriyama finally approved of their appearances. "After the third rejection, I felt like begging Toriyama to do it," the artist joked.
Granolah is the latest antagonist to face down Goku and Vegeta in the Dragon Ball Super manga. As stated earlier, Granolah is the last of the Cerealians, a race that doesn't have the physical power of the mighty Saiyans that many of the series' protagonists are descended from. Granolah has managed to even the odds, however, by using the Dragon Balls to wish for immense strength, which he is now using to get revenge for the destruction of his people. Unfortunately, Granolah's wish also carried the side effect of reducing his remaining lifespan down to just three years, forcing the lone warrior to expedite his search for the last remaining Saiyans.
Dragon Ball Super began serialization in Shueisha's V Jump magazine in 2015 and is a direct continuation of the original Dragon Ball manga. The series is written by creator Akira Toriyama, with art by Toyotarou. The manga was adapted into an anime series that ran from 2015 - 2018. A new Dragon Ball Super movie, which will feature a brand new style of animation, was revealed at Comic-Con 2021.
Source: Dragon Ball Official Site
