Welcome to the Monthly Dragon Ball Report, a monthly column series where we take a look back at pages that appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump when the Dragon Ball manga was still being serialized.
For the fourth installment in this series, we'll be taking an exciting retrospective starting from the debut appearance of Gohan and going all the way up to the ​desperate battle against the Saiyan invaders!

The Saiyan Arc: Weekly Shonen Jump 1988 No. 45 - 1989 No. 45

More than five years have passed since Goku and crew's fight against Piccolo and the world is finally at peace. Amidst this idyllic setting, a terrifying visitor suddenly appears!

Raditz is overwhelmingly cool in his first scene, which also introduces the Scouter.
His iconic "Power Level... only 5. What a planet!" line took the world by storm.

The next issue featured the debut of Goku's son, Gohan! On top of that, a startling fact is revealed... Goku is actually a Saiyan, a member of an alien race!

Goku and Piccolo form an unlikely alliance to go save Gohan after the lad gets kidnapped by Raditz. Even as a team, the difference in power between the invader and the two strongest warriors on Earth is terrifying!

Fans couldn't help but feel happy seeing the closeness of the Son family on the cover... But, then... Goku sacrifices himself in order to defeat Raditz.

But Goku would never leave his fans so sad!
Even though he was dead in the story, Goku is back to his usual happy self and bursting with energy on the front cover, bonus stickers, and calendar shown here!

*The application period for this campaign has ended.

Back in the main story, Goku's arrival in Another World is depicted in full color!
The bright colors helped fans feel the otherworldly vibe of Dragon Ball's intriguing afterlife.

At that time, the hit game Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden featuring tons of the most popular Shonen Jump heroes was released. And of course, Goku was featured as his regular reliable self!

In the manga, Goku begins his training on the Planet of the Kaio.
Meanwhile, the Saiyans Vegeta and Nappa finally reach Earth and begin their onslaught!

The scene where Nappa effortlessly evaporates a city with a Ki shockwave was shocking!
This issue also featured a one-shot comic written by Akira Toriyama, "Karamaru and the Perfect Day!".
The juxtaposition between Dragon Ball's epic battles and the gags in Karamaru was intense!

As Earth's warriors are taken out one by one by Nappa, Goku finishes his training on the Planet of the Kaio and rushes to the aid of his friends.
Goku appeared on both the cover and the included poster for this issue. "Gokuuu!!!! Hurry!!!!"

Fans were super hyped to learn that the anime would relaunch as "Dragon Ball Z"!

To celebrate, there was contest to win a Walkman with Goku printed on it. It was every Dragon Ball fan's dream to win this Walkman engraved with the face of their favorite hero!

*The application period for this campaign has ended.

While things continued to look hopeless in the story, this cover featuring the fallen Yamcha and Tenshinhan helped to liven readers' moods.

This issue also featured the annual "Slogan Grand Prix!"
Also, the cover was extra eye-catching with Goku and friends wearing costumes in the style of "Journey to the West".

In this chapter, Piccolo sacrifices himself to save the young Gohan, and Goku finally arrives on the battlefield!

The full color pages of the one-on-one fight between Goku and Vegeta were so intense, it took fans' breath away!

Every issue in this arc had incredible action, with iconic attacks like the Kaio-ken and Goku and Vegeta's epic Kamehameha VS Galick Gun beam struggle stealing the show!

Information about the upcoming summer Dragon Ball Z movie also made an appearance in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump!

Following the color pages featured in two consecutive chapters, fans got even more hyped about the Goku and Vegeta fight with the addition of the "Ultimate Warriors Unite!" card included with this issue.

In addition, Goku and his friends appeared alongside other popular Shonen Jump characters in the "Jump Summer Festival" feature that summer!

This issue that announced the release date of the video game Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden was jam-packed with all things Dragon Ball!

The main story saw the end to Goku and Vegeta's fight, with the defeated Goku using his last bit of strength to entrust the Genki-dama to Krillin.

In the end, Krillin, Yajirobe, and Gokan muster all the strength they have and manage to defeat Vegeta together!

However, the celebrations are short lived, as Goku allows Vegeta to escape back to space!
Will the battle against Vegeta continue? What will happen to all of our fallen heroes?!
And just like it felt to wait for the next Weekly Shonen Jump issue, we're sure that you'll have fun waiting for the next column!