Cell was one of Dragon Ball’s most iconic villains, being responsible for the death of Goku and Future Trunks as well as Gohan’s awakening to Super Saiyan 2. His initial appearance was surrounded by mystery and an air of dread as even Kami believed him to be a threat unlike anything he’d ever seen before. His introduction was perhaps one of the most grotesque scenes in all of Dragon Ball history, one that would have been made even more terrifying if Akira Toriyama stuck with Cell’s original design.
Cell was introduced in chapter 360 of Dragon Ball, titled “Kami-sama and the Demon King Become One.” Kami believed his presence posed a threat to the world, even more so than the Androids who at the time were the focal point of everyone’s worries. Using his “Far Seeing Arts” Kami was able to look over the entire world at once and no doubt had a full view of the monstrous Cell liquefying entire cities of people to feed his power. This scared him so much that he was willing to sacrifice his physical form to his once greatest enemy, Piccolo, in the hopes of destroying Cell once and for all.
There is no doubt Akira Toriyama intended for Cell’s introduction to be as horrifying as possible- he quite literally drinks people in front of Piccolo. Despite this, it's also known that at the time of writing the Cell Saga, Toriyama’s editor was constantly pushing him away from more outlandish and grotesque designs. This resulted in Cell’s original design being changed numerous times, eventually settling with the vaguely reptilian insectoid we know today. One of Cell’s original designs, however, was revealed in the Spanish publication “El Manga Legendario” and is so much more unsettling.
This original draft of Cell’s design shared traits with both his Imperfect and Semi-Perfect forms, most notably the Semi-Perfect form’s mouth. This design also has much bigger shoulders and a scrawny neck, creating a sense of dread with its strange proportions. Also of interest is the lack of Cell’s most iconic feature: his crown. This feature is completely absent in this initial sketch of Cell and was possibly added on later in an attempt to further dehumanize Cell’s silhouette. If Cell does return to the Dragon Ball franchise, some consideration should be given to restoring this much scarier design.
Cell’s original design is vastly more unsettling than his original Imperfect appearance. This may be in part to looking even more human, surprisingly, as his silhouette is less insect-like but his bodily proportions are still jarring. This design also goes as far as lacking pupils, showing just how monstrous Akira Toriyama originally intended for Cell to be. Even though this iteration of Cell failed to make it into Dragon Ball, it will always have a place in fans' hearts as one of the most disturbing Dragon Ball designs to never come to fruition.
Source: El Manga Legendario