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 seventh installment in this series, we'll be taking a look at the first appearances of some new and fearsome foes: the Androids and Cell!

Part 1 of the Fierce Battle with the Androids and Cell: Weekly Shonen Jump 1991 No. 28 – 1992 No. 32

Frieza was finally defeated by Goku, however our heroes' relief is cut short when suddenly Frieza descends upon Earth! Restored and powered up with mechanical parts, the evil galactic emperor sets out to unleash the same horrors that unfolded on Planet Namek on Earth!

Without Goku around, it seems like there's no hope for the inhabitants of Earth...
When out of nowhere, an unknown young man appears and takes Frieza down with a single sword strike! Able to swiftly dispatch an opponent that even Goku struggled to defeat, this mysterious new hero quickly stole readers' hearts!

Around this time, the Famicom game "Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Furīza!!" was released.
The movie "Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge", featuring Frieza's older brother, Cooler, was also set to hit theaters, so the cover of this issue featured Goku along with two other Jump characters who had movies premiering at the same time!

In this issue commemorating a record-breaking 6.15 million copies sold, the Androids finally made their debut! The gorgeous full-color cover and title page sure got readers amped up for the new battle on the horizon.

In addition to the manga itself, things were also heating up for Dragon Ball games and merch! First off, the Super Famicom game "Dragon Ball Z: Chō Saiya Densetsu" was released. Not only that, a fully articulated Goku action figure was announced in this amazing two-page spread! It could be argued that this figure was a predecessor to many of the Dragon Ball figures we see today.

Back to the main story, Androids 16, 17, and 18 have made their move, clashing with the warriors of Earth! This cool bonus pull-out poster featuring the brave warriors ready to defend Earth must have only served to heighten the anticipation!

The cover of this issue, commemorating an unprecedented 6.18 million copies sold, featured this Goku figure front and center, which surely helped draw in even more readers!

*The giveaway shown above has ended.

As a nod to the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, the front page of this calendar featured Goku showing off his gold medal.

In these opening full-color pages, Vegeta struggles against Android 18, prompting Trunks to join the fray to assist! With both her strength and beauty on full display, Android 18 is a stunning sight indeed!

*The giveaway shown above has ended.

In Weekly Shonen Jump 1992 No. 8, Dragon Ball reached its 7th year of publication! Thus, the cover featured everyone's favorite characters, with the celebrations in full swing!

The movie "Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler" was also released at this time! Frieza's older brother, Cooler, made his return as Metal Cooler, and it was the talk of the town!

And at last, the mysterious android Cell shows his face. His monstrous appearance was truly fearsome to behold! Filled with both unease and anticipation, readers were left to speculate as to what exactly this creature could be.

This poster depicting the three Super Saiyans and this cover featuring Goku facing off against Cell made for a stirring combination!

Here readers got to see the fateful battle between Android 16 and Cell, with the opening pages printed in stunning full color.

Just as the battle between these mechanical menaces was heating up, the movie "Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!", featuring a whole new set of androids, made its way to theaters! Thanks to this movie, viewers could enjoy the fateful confrontation with the Androids in the manga even more!

In the main story, Vegeta and Trunks have finished up their training in the Room of Spirit and Time and are ready to face off against Second Form Cell!

This pull-out poster featured the as-yet-unseen Gohan in Super Saiyan form! Readers must have been waiting with bated breath to see where the story would go!

Unfortunately, despite Trunks' best efforts, Cell manages to evolve into his Perfect Form! What exactly could this new form be capable of...?

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!