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 sixth installment in this series, we're taking a look back at the second half of the fierce battles on Planet Namek, with a special focus on Goku and Frieza's epic clash!

Part 2 of the Fierce Battle on Planet Namek: Weekly Shonen Jump 1990 No. 29 – 1991 No. 27

At long last, Goku finally arrived on Planet Namek!
With Vegeta, Krillin, and Gohan all falling one by one before the overwhelming might of the Ginyu Force, Goku's arrival brought a glimmer of hope back to this seemingly hopeless crisis. In particular, the scene where Goku sends Jiece and Burter flying with a simple Kiai was stunning at the time!

Goku continues to take various members of the Ginyu Force out one by one, and seeing Goku stronger than ever before was incredibly exciting!

Then in the summer of 1990, the screening of "Akira Toriyama THE WORLD", was announced for the Toei Anime Fair! In addition to the Dragon Ball film "Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might", this special feature also brought animated versions of the one-shot manga "Pink" and "Young Master Ken'nosuke" for fans' viewing pleasure!

And that's not all! The Famicom game Dragon Ball Z: Kyoushū! Saiyajin, which focuses on the events of the Saiyan arc, was also released around this time. So, whether you were into the main story in the manga, the films, or the games, there was no end to the Dragon Ball goodness you could get your hands on!

In the midst of this Dragon Ball boom, Weekly Shonen Jump celebrated 5.2 million copies sold!
Goku appears to perform a Kamehameha on the cover of the commemorative issue celebrating this tremendous achievement, and the quality of the illustration is so astoundingly good that this issue might even make a fine family heirloom! And if that wasn't enough to satisfy your Dragon Ball craving, the issue even came with a bonus poster featuring some original artwork!!

Back in the manga, Goku's battle with Ginyu took a shocking turn as the purple leader of the Ginyu Force swapped bodies with our protagonist! The results of Ginyu's incredible Body Change technique were even featured in vibrant color.

The above issue also featured a special article to help fans get even more pumped for what was yet to come in the battles on Planet Namek.
It included rumors of Frieza being able to transform, talk of a legendary Super Saiyan, and other topics shrouded in mystery!

Around this time, Dragon Ball mania also spread to the "Jump Broadcasting Station" readers' corner of the magazine! Readers shared their original Dragon Ball gags here in a deluxe feature.

Moving on, the TV special "Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku" was also announced!
Fans were fascinated by this special that tells the tale of how Goku's father Bardock took on Frieza and his forces all by himself in an attempt to save the Saiyan homeworld. Boasting a scale equal to the epic period dramas playing on Japanese TV, we're sure that parents and kids all over Japan sat down to immerse themselves in the rich story. Thanks to this tag-team of incredible Dragon Ball manga and anime, the popularity of the series continued to grow!

Akira Toriyama THE WORLD also returned in the form of two powered up art books, "Akira Toriyama - THE WORLD Special" and "Akira Toriyama - THE WORLD Anime Special"!

Big changes were also happening in the world of Jump at this time! "V Jump" was launched as an expansion to Weekly Shonen Jump, and Akira Toriyama penned a special manga entitled "Savings Soldier Cashman" to appear in this new magazine's historic first issues. Fans couldn't get enough!

Back in the main story, Frieza finally unleashed his terrifying Fourth Form! Many fans were expecting a complex design like his previous transformations, so the stark simplicity served to make this form even more intimidating.
Dragon Ball also helped Weekly Shonen Jump reach 6.02 million copies sold, and Goku appeared on the center of this cover to kick off the festivities!

The Famicom game Famicom Jump II was also released, and the "Carddass Jump '91" pull-out bonus appeared in the magazine as a tie-in.

Goku and his friends even dressed up as Santa to liven up the October-December pages of a bonus calendar that was jam-packed with popular Jump characters.

The seemingly limitless strength of the tyrant Frieza was immortalized here on these color pages.
Just when our heroes seemed truly doomed, Goku emerged from the Medical Machine aboard Frieza's spaceship fully recovered!

Upon seeing Goku for the first time, Frieza recalls Bardock, the stoic Saiyan who opposed him to the very end as he personally destroyed Planet Vegeta. Toriyama actually added this scene to the manga because he was deeply moved by the events portrayed in the TV special. What a classy move on his part!

Goku and Frieza's epic clash was also depicted on a special poster and a scratch off giveaway card!

The battle against Frieza continued to rage out of control until Goku finally awakened into the warrior of legend, the Super Saiyan!
Readers had no idea this was coming, so seeing Goku in this new transformation gave everyone goosebumps from excitement!!

Super Saiyan Goku then exploded onto the cover of this issue of Weekly Shonen Jump! Here, the final battle against the Super Saiyan and the evil emperor unfolded, starting with some stunning color pages!

At the peak of hype in the main story, a new film entitled "Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge" was announced! The titular Cooler was revealed to actually be Frieza's older brother, and this new adversary featured a super cool design created by Toriyama himself.

Goku and Frieza's deathmatch continued, with each panel more becoming more intense and explosive then the last.

After an unprecedentedly fierce battle, Goku finally managed to deal the finishing blow to Frieza!
However, with the countdown to the explosion of Planet Namek reaching its end, will Goku be able to escape this final parting gift from Frieza?!

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!