We never thought a sword-wielding Goku and ninja Trunks would look so cool.

The characters in Dragon Ball have had their fair share of wardrobe updates designed by fans, sometimes even involving fashion swaps with skirt-wearing heroines from another popular series.

But artist Guillem Daudén has taken it to the next level, recently submitting his own spin on Goku and his buddies to online art community DeviantArt. Garbing them in ancient samurai outfits, the Spanish illustrator boldly showed how easily Dragon Ball characters fit into the Japanese warring period.

▼ Beware that disarming smile, for this is one Goku you would not want to mess with.
(Click on the left and right buttons to see full portraits.)

▼ Bardock fights with every fiber of his being.

▼ Gohan looks ready for a final showdown.

▼ Vegeta brims with deadly confidence.

From the dark brown shades of well-worn leather to the intricate patterns found on traditional Japanese plate armor, Guillem’s eye for detail is astounding. War-torn clothes create a dramatic effect, and the characters’ eyes speak of a readiness to head into battle at a moment’s notice.

▼ Bulma’s ingenuity would be a welcome addition to any army.

▼ Trunks’ outfit looks more like a ninja’s, suited for stealth and assassinations.

▼ We can almost hear Brolly saying, “Armor is for the weak!”

▼ Piccolo looks like a merchant you can buy potions from. Just be careful of that sword.

The illustrator’s awesome works have reached Japanese netizens, all of whom thought his drawings were nothing short of fantastic:

“This is incredibly cool.”
“They’ve got such a punk feel to them, it’s badass. He managed to retain the character’s personality while adding his own flair.”
“If this dude sells T-shirts of his designs, I’ll definitely buy them.”
“I love how Bulma uses a scroll instead of the Dragon Radar.”
“Vegeta is so cool!”

High-definition images of these Dragon Ball heroes and more can be found on Guillem Daudén’s DeviantArt page here.

We never knew these characters would look this amazing in samurai outfits, particularly Goku with his confident smile. And that is not even including the myriad of equally cool villains in the series. One can only hope that Guillem produces more works like these and perhaps even don them in stealthy ninja attire.

Source: DeviantArt/kenji893, Instagram/kenji_893 via Kotaro
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