Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru

Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru joined Dragon Ball as a key animator in 1986 under Minoru Maeda and became a principal character designer, eventually sharing main design duties with Tadayoshi Yamamuro from the Majin Buu Saga through Dragon Ball GT's conclusion in 1997. Nakatsuru is particularly celebrated for his ability to closely mirror Akira Toriyama's original manga art style, a skill that proved essential when adapting Toriyama's work. He designed the groundbreaking Super Saiyan 4 form for Dragon Ball GT, one of the franchise's most distinctive visual transformations. His work extends across Dragon Ball Z films and includes character designs for Bardock and Kid Vegeta in their respective projects.

Nakatsuru began at Toei Animation in 1980 as a devoted fan of Toriyama's Dr. Slump, volunteering to work on Dragon Ball when the project launched. Beyond Dragon Ball, he has designed characters for Digimon Adventure, Dragon Quest video games, and collaborated with Toriyama directly on original manga including Dr. Slump Returns. He never met Toriyama until 1997, despite years of faithfully translating the artist's vision to animation.