Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru Vs Tadayoshi Yamamuro - Character Designs

After the departure of character designer Minoru Maeda in Dragon Ball Z, two young talents, Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru and Tadayoshi Yamamuro would be selected to take his place. Throughout their time on the series, they would garner quite a following among fans.
However who was the better out of the two and what made their work great in the first place? Well, join me as we dive into all that and more in today's video!
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►Featured artist: / artboykev
►Instagram: / d.bz_arts
►Store: www.etsy.com/shop/forgottenrelicsart
►Twitter: / zadoxz
💿Music credits:
Russ Freeman Moving Violation
Forhill & Krosia - Division
FM-84 - Los Angeles
Lucy In Disguise - Fantasy Beach
NJOY - ジューシーな (JUICY)
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[@numburger]

I learned a valuable lesson: If you're first name ends with "yoshi", there is a likely chance you are a legend

[@numburger]

@@ddd6409 Oshi, yoshi, basically the same thing

[@jehurevo25]

Yoshi from Mario

[@boredUser69]

Nah, you almost nailed it. We have Masaki Satou, Masaaki Iwane, Naoki Miyahara, Kazuya Hisada, Keisuke Masunaga, Toshiyuki Kano'o, Yutaka Nakamura, Arifumi Imai, Nozomu Abe, Yoshimichi Kameda, Yuya Takahashi, Masahiro Shimanuki and many others. So no necessary xD

[@skeet1800]

Boring User thanks for refreshing my memory by mentioning Kano’o I love his art style and his majin vegeta final explosion genga is iconic

[@Amplifymagic]

Yamamuro in his prime was really incredible, it's just a shame to see his style change so much.

[@BroadcastingCN]

he did change whole of it like…pretty much everything @M4RCUS did u not-

[@marcusmemelord5589]

I didn't change that much with the body just the eyes, nose, face, shading, color, clothes, and high lights

[@Amplifymagic]

@@marcusmemelord5589 so pretty much everything?

[@jasonone8726]

Well it would change in over 20 years, same with Toriyama's art.

[@BroadcastingCN]

@@Amplifymagicha lol bet

[@9VK7]

Nakatsuru's art is so easy on the eyes

[@atlasroyale5294]

It’s most helpful when you actually go into specifics of the different artist’s work like certain muscle placements you point out by name. I wish there were more art channels that weren’t just lame tutorial channels or art drama channels. A suggestion for a future video. Maybe analyzing Dragon Ball openings? I’d love to see a break down of the DBZ Kai Saiyan Saga opening.

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Actually openings aren't a bad idea, there usually packed with a lot of great animation! Solid suggestion :)

[@zilldraws]

@@forgottenrelics1197 yeah

[@platinumnovawarriorrx20-en57]

I love the 90s color static overlayed over the SSJ3 manga panel

[@artboykev]

OMG I made it as the featured artist, thanks so much dude❤️🙏

[@forgottenrelics1197]

No problem 😊

[@BroadcastingCN]

@@forgottenrelics1197wow really did it good

[@andreiandronescu4076]

Something i never thought i needed. But still instantly clicked to see it

[@SSMike31]

I’m so happy!! Nakatsaru was quoted by Akita Toriyama that he could actually draw Dbz better than him 😂 I really would love to see more scene’s he did, especially focusing around Goku, I always found Yamomuro’s later work of Goku’s hair to be really solid and blocky, I want a comparisons somehow!! Great video!

[@ferretace]

Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru >>> Tadayoshi Yamamuro designs and animation. Before I even understood animation as a kid Katsuyoshi's and Sato's work on the show stood out to me as 3 Dimensional, and just right.

[@lonesailordee3886]

99% sure forgottenrelic is literally just Kim Jong lol

[@forgottenrelics1197]

100% correct

[@v4skovicr3lja]

Nakatsuru goated. Still hoping to see him again once another 2d DB production comes around

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Same, I was originally hoping he might pop up in the new movie but that dream seems to have died haha

[@openingdown3051]

Its always so cool to hear how there’s so much going on behind the scenes and how it affected the series. I’ve gotta lean towards Nakatsuru on this one honestly.

[@Da4th4000]

I'm leaning abit more towards Nakatsuru over Yamamuro's designs. Yamamuro's designs look are amazing back in the day, but Nakatsuru's designs weren't as detailed and it looked the closest to Toriyama. Both are legends in DBZ.

[@betablaze]

Great video and easy to understand.

[@jamiemcneil9682]

Another stellar video 👍

[@mechajay3358]

Both their work on Z was awesome. Nakatsuru's designs match Toriyama's perfectly and looked defined while Yamamuro's was looked so three-dimensional and detailed. It's pretty much a tie for me.

[@astrapsy]

this is the best channel on youtube for animation information, thank you so much man

[@forgottenrelics1197]

no problem :)

[@charlesmaclellan8124]

Pfft, I make it to the end if EVERY one of your videos. I've always been interested in the artwork and animation of the DB franchise since I was a young teenager. ... Now I'm 32, and still find it very interesting.

[@forgottenrelics1197]

haha thanks man

[@charlesmaclellan8124]

@@forgottenrelics1197 No problem. Keep up the good work!

[@9VK7]

Idea for a video, not sure how in line this is with what you do here on this channel, but it would be interesting to see a breakdown of Dragon Ball video game graphics and how faithful they are to Toriyama's art throughout the years.

[@nigelgonzalez6088]

Yes I was waiting patiently

[@akil5695]

Both Yamamuro and nakatsuru's were good in the 80s and 90s but nakatsuru moved forward with his art but Yamamuro is stuck in the past to this day

[@aleks.k1382]

Your channel is so innteresting, i haven’t seen anyone on youtube doing the same!!

[@DEARSILAS]

Love your videos!

[@wwalton]

I really like that base Gohan Nakatsaru design

[@lefonwastaken3393]

Imo, Nakatsuru is better. Yamamuro in his prime will always be a legend in the dragon ball community, but Nakatsuru just nails Akira’s style. Also, I love the adult Gohan design Nakatsuru provided and absolutely love the vegito character sheets! Great video, FR!

[@SSGFlare]

AYY ur back

[@KartikSingh-nm1ik]

Awesome video !! I think you can do a video on different style of 3d models we have seen in db games and compare them to the latest movie models

[@LOLQ9000]

Brother I love your Videos soooo much!!! You are giving the Db Community all around the world so much information, thats amazing and you have my respect for that! (Im from Germany)

[@forgottenrelics1197]

No problem man :)

[@lordraiden7397]

@@forgottenrelics1197 You should talk about effect works. I realized how much better and cleaner the effects work were in Z movies than Z and super itself.

[@BroadcastingCN]

I'd remember looking at this guy Sakuga And I didn't realize he made Mirai no Mirai Because like god damn He did simple art but too much smooth movement's and that's what I loved him most

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Yeah his scene on it was incredible, makes me wish even more that would do something on Dragon Ball again!

[@BroadcastingCN]

@@forgottenrelics1197yes totally Love how he did the dance and bookshelf scenes

[@MajinSprite]

You should make a video going over the top best, unique, and cool character designs in Dragon Ball. (My personal favorite design is Janemba from heroes)

[@MultiverseOfInfinity]

Definitely a competition between Perfect Cell and Hirudegarn for me as far as cool character designs go

[@fridaynightnicktoons6885]

Omega shenron is the most badass looking villain for me. Also the dragon balls are the final villain? BEST! CONCEPT! IN DRAGONBALL!

[@saguiar2804]

Great video as always! After you briefly mentioned the Blue Dragon designs I got a couple of ideas for future videos. Why don't you talk about the non-Dragon Ball works of Toriyama like for instance, the evolution of his designs for the Dragon Quest series throughout the years, the aforementioned Blue Dragon or even Chrono Trigger, which its DS port had animated cutscenes produced by Toei and directed by Yamamuro if I'm not mistaken. I believe these topics would certainly be pretty interesting to talk about! Anyways, that's just a suggestion of mine hahaha

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Thank you! In the past I have gone over his Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger illustrations in the "modern toriyama art review" and the "Akira Toriyama REVIEW Best Art" videos but it seems whenever I don't talk about something db related it does poorly in the algorithm haha

[@saguiar2804]

@@forgottenrelics1197 Oh yeah I remember those videos! Though I meant maybe going more in depth regarding the art and designs of these other non-DB series I mentioned? I don't know hahaha of course you're free decide not to talk about them again if you've already done so before. Either way, keep up the good work man, love your videos!

[@twonk2434]

Could you do a video reviewing or ranking different Shonen characters designs? If you want you could just keep it within dragon ball. I'm just a big fan of character design and I think it would be neat to hear your opinion on different characters' designs.

[@Nuennin]

Idk if its Just me but it seems Like Young jijii had some Inspiration from nakatsurus Art. Especially that gohan ssj at 9:37 reminds me of Young jijiis Art a Bit

[@Somebody23]

I really enjoy both of their takes on toriyama's drawings, so much that every time I attempt to draw DBZ characters, I always attempt to take small details out of their work.

[@alvaro0423]

Super underrated channel

[@platinumnovawarriorrx20-en57]

You could look into the artists that drew their original pictures for 90s DBZ Super Battle Power Cards. I'm not sure if they are all screen shots/collages/movie posters

[@stormbreaker6630]

ok a cool video idea to me would be maybe an art style evolution video of some other mangaka's besides toriyama. or if you want to do a dragon ball related video do a art dtyle breakdown video i love those ones

[@BroadcastingCN]

My man who do Digimon Really memorable

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Yep he did some really great designs in that show!

[@BroadcastingCN]

@@forgottenrelics1197bro remember Digimon Tamers? Where some Digimon tear skin to make evolution? That's awesome

[@forgottenrelics1197]

@@BroadcastingCN I haven't seen it unfortunately😅

[@BroadcastingCN]

@@forgottenrelics1197oh I guess so Try check it out sometime It's really good and astounding for you

[@ms.antithesis]

Fuck yes. Anyway video looks amazing ❤️

[@IJC144]

Aight yall, Any suggestions put In the Commets, This is Definitely a certified banger. Thx for using my suggestion for this Vid. I was always obsessed with comparing these 2 and I just had to see your take on this 10/10 🔥🔥

[@maxg6613]

I have waited for this video for so long.......FINALLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[@maxg6613]

I feel so validated. Yamamuro was a fantastic artist, but when it comes down to consistent quality in artwork and just accuracy....I just love Nakatsuru more for that. Man truly is a legend.

[@maxg6613]

Next up! 'Evolution of Nakatsuru ' video, I can imagine it now.... AMAZING!

[@forgottenrelics1197]

@@maxg6613 Not a bad idea! Thank you for the suggestion :)

[@maxg6613]

@@forgottenrelics1197 No problem. If anything else maybe a Shintani vs Nakatsuru. DB's best character designers pitted against each other to find THE NUMBER ONE

[@traviswick6287]

Have you considered doing a comparison with Fighterz? Or any other video games for that matter?

[@tadasjakubauskas4464]

The split in the bicep is drawn in the original scene where Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan for the first time. Look it up.

[@zhiwank7200]

great video! I see both of them" Yamamuro and Nakatsuru " both great and legendary in their prime time, although their designs are somehow similar to each other with a few changes here and there, it's really sad that today non of them ever made dragon ball better! Nakatsuru never did anything on super, I don't know even if he's participated as an animator or not but I don't think so, on the other hand, Yamamuro made designs for DBS characters, and we know how it was, not good at all, which is really unfortunate to see the two-man behind the greatness of dragon ball series end up like that!!, but man could you do a video" Fenyo vs DragonGarow Lee" it would be nice to see similarities and dissimilarities between the two of them! especially their arts and styles!

[@Alllex]

Nakatsuru was actually an animator on the first episode of Super! It was a very small scene with Chi Chi and Roshi.

[@zhiwank7200]

@@Alllex well, a small scene with" chi chi and Roshi" it doesn't even count for me, he is a legend just participating in one small scene in a series that he was great and everything in it, nah it's not too much

[@MrB-bg7qe]

I would have to see more of their overall work in great detail to decide which of the two is the best. Both guys are top tier DB artist. Watching Shinduo Productions after Yamamoru took the lead and Studio Junio episodes is always a blast for me. Now between Yamamoru and Nakatsura who is the better animator? Hmm...

[@forgottenrelics1197]

In terms of who was the better supervisor it's tough but in regards to animation, Nakatsuru was among the best back in Dragon Ball and Z and he continued to improve even more over time :)

[@MrB-bg7qe]

@@forgottenrelics1197 Where do you rank Yamamoru as an animator? Not for his artwork, but strictly his animation on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest?

[@MinhLe19303]

@@MrB-bg7qe Currently, I would score him 3 because his animation has some level of smoothness when character throw a punch and in fast movement, but the lack of physic affected by fast movement made the animation looks stiff. His work in Z is 5

[@thedubbub316]

I’d love to see a video discussing how Takahashi would be in the role of character designer. Considering his praise for modern dragonball and his uprising popularity.

[@aagamer43]

Hey will you do a review of all the 3D in dragon ball? It would be so cool if you did an analysis on the evolution of 3D dragon ball.

[@forgottenrelics1197]

When we get a proper trailer then probably! There's not really anything for me to say about it that hasn't been said already :)

[@aagamer43]

Ok thanks!

[@RexVergstrong]

Welp, there goes the only good words I had for modern Yamamuro. "His designs for the 2008 OVA were miles better than everything else he has done in the last decade". Turns out he just reused Nakatsuru's model sheet. The colors are good, though.

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Oh he still did plenty of his own designs though! Here is the collection of the designs he did for that special. You can tell which ones are his by the change in style with the ears and the rounder faces such as with Bulma for example :) www.flickr.com/photos/kami_sama_explorer/albums/72157624972978651/page4

[@Pedro-cm7eu]

maybe do a video comparing yuya Takahashi vs Naoki miyahara's style or make a video breaking down Naoki miyahara's style

[@niveditajha5721]

much loved db gt reallyyy

[@hankosanko]

they were both great. love both there design. wish they kept those design in future db series and movies too. i thought sato did initial d, or was that after slam dunk?

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Yep he began on Initial D in 1999 which was after Slam Dunk :)

[@namiboy787]

video about toriyamas charming female character design. i dont know why but i like the cute proportions. also android 18 is waifu

[@FilmsMrLittle]

A video talking If Yamamuro has improved since he last work will be Good, For Example ''Is Yamamuro Improved ?''' And you can make a Video making a comparison bettwen the Early Yamamuro SUPER Designs With the new HEROES Designs. Just a sugestion. Peace !

[@wormHD]

Nakatsuru was so good that he even made the drawings for the Dr. Slump manga continuation. I don't know how true that is but if it's true than it's impressive

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Yeah he did and it was quite exceptional! Takao Koyama who wrote the script for all 13 of the original Dragon Ball Z movies and the Bardock special handled the story :)

[@wormHD]

@@forgottenrelics1197I didn't know he wrote the story thanks for telling me!

[@VitalXeno]

Masunaga art is 10/10

[@sharingansasuke5]

Nakatsuru is absolutely my favorite I adore his work. He and masunaga are my absolute favs on DB

[@MazingerDestro]

Yamamuro was a monster back then. Top supervisor Top animator Great designer Working on the most important episodes

[@_G.C]

Gogeta in the thumbnail looks like it would be a lot better reference material for any merchandise or video games, however the one on the left (vegito I think) is much better in the series because of the shading, and would be a lot more difficult to work off of with all of the small details to attend to when creating 3D models or figurines

[@andreiandronescu4076]

Came here after a month. And just realized this video has almost 1000 likes and yet no dislike What a legend

[@ThisHandleSystemCanGetNicked]

Nakatsuru's designs tend to bother me, particularly once it got to GT. He used to arch the SS4 characters heads in the side-draws a little too much, which annoyed me because it felt like such unnatural posture. In Z, while he is much better, he tends to draw the arms pointing straight down (as you already mentioned) which gave the impression that they were made of sticks.

[@yeahman6907]

How about all design differences between the dragon ball super anime and manga? I've noticed a lot of differences, especially with the side characters, between the two. Android 18 has had silver hair in the manga since the top, while it remained blonde in the anime, for an example.

[@SonGoku544]

Nakatsuru is the true legend, i put him even above Toriyama

[@GamingintheAM0801]

I prefer Nakatsuru, but I may be a bit biased since he did the character designs for classic Digimon.

[@AUSTIN.F]

👏👏👏

[@gb___]

Naotoshi shida vs yuya takahashi

[@basheerc.7245]

This man always uses Kimmy Jon Un in damn near every video lmfao

[@cond.oriano9146]

I think I ilke nakatsuru more now

[@MrJakotic]

How do I submit a request to be a featured artist?

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Just tag me on insta and use the hashtag #animeartfeaturefr

[@marcusmemelord5589]

Make a video about why masahiro shimanuki is a legend

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Maybe one day, but in the meantime, there are other people I want to cover :)

[@hawshimagical]

wow another question answered. i didnt know why i prefer brolys look in the first movie and now i know, its because his muscles looked a little more realistic with those little splits drawn in his muscles

[@bladerbeast3396]

Hello

[@specialnewb9821]

They were so good in this era that whoever lost the viewers won.

[@Spiritual_Anims]

This aged well. He's the character designer in the new DB anime. (Dragon Ball Magic)

[@mechajay3358]

Dragon Ball Daima

[@sharperwhisper9752]

phenomenal vid although i like yamamuro more then nakatsuru i still love nakatsurus design a lot to

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Thanks!!

[@sharperwhisper9752]

@@forgottenrelics1197 welcome can’t wait to see more

[@cardosutoro9]

Nakatsuru is the best one to work in the franchise, sometimes even surpassing Toriyama.

[@SonGoku544]

sometimes? almost the whole time

[@vice_santos]

look at the new movie style

[@forgottenrelics1197]

Already have

[@SAG1028]

Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru I feel is superior in terms of animation and design. He and Masaki Sato did awesome work, “Goku’s Arrival” episode is evidence of this.

[@VitorCesar]

Talk about Dragon Ball SD

[@MrAlwaystekken]

Nakatsuru Is the best chara designer 😍😍😍

[@Just-A-Bit]

Hey

[@ashawnamv2117]

Toyotaro vs Nakatsuru

[@sparasyte]

Did anyone else really get bothered by the shoulder of ssj3 goku in the background

[@daniellee9862]

is it yamamuro or yamamoru?

[@nossiro]

yamamuro

[@forgottenrelics1197]

yeah it's just me saying names wrong as usual haha

[@moro-og-739]

This is good and all, but Yamamuro’s Perfect Cell and Imperfect Cell were perfect (See what I did there)

[@vonBelfry]

That "Much Loved" on GT was a joke, right? Please say that was a joke.

[@TheMysterySpartan]

My question is... Why is super lacking the quality that Z had?..

[@lordraiden7397]

Schedules and production of like 3 other animes.

[@nocontent3644]

And then on Super he got a crappy scene in DBS instead of a fight sequence or a transformation scene

[@tommyleyva931]

why do you keep sayin yamamoru

[@forgottenrelics1197]

no idea

[@tommyleyva931]

@@forgottenrelics1197 heh alrighty then no big deal

[@Iderjav_B]

I prefer Nakatsuru.

[@ms.antithesis]

First

[@SSGFlare]

No it was me

[@ms.antithesis]

@@SSGFlare i am your lord bow down to me. Thou shoultn't deny my word

[@SSGFlare]

@@ms.antithesis no

[@bobdylan1968]

I think that original broke drawing with the open lines looks superior! So much cleaner and more stylized. The second one is too clean, too over detailed, over defined shapes.

[@Moayad56]

gogeta looks cooler, he wins

[@supersubatomicsonicgenerat4688]

Well when it comes to their modern art styles I don’t really like or care for either of them but for their classic styles I have to say I prefer Yamamoro because while I will admit Nakatsuru make some fantastic animation his art style at least compared to classic Yamamoro looks a little bland and stock in my opinion

[@Zie_H]

I hate yamamuro

[@buster3041]

Fam gt is not "much loved". Let alone loved period. It's universally voted as either the worst or 2nd worst piece of dragon ball material ever made.

[@ssjchibangula142]

AYY ur back

[@forgottenrelics1197]

I was never gone haha