Does Toriyama give a shit about Dragon Ball? • Kanzenshuu (2024)

Toriyama is very similar to his purehearted protagonists, like Arale, Goku, and Jaco. You could even make an argument that the differences between those three reflect the differences in Toriyama at different points in his life (Arale and kid Goku were when he was younger, innocent and wide-eyed, full of energy and optimistic. Then through the 23ed Budokai to the end of Z, Goku got more serious and mature, coinciding with Toriyama getting older. Jaco was written recently and he's still very purehearted, but much more of an asshole than Goku or Arale. That tells me Toriyama in his old age is getting more... sardonic, perhaps, is the word?).

My point is that, just as the former three's frankness and purity are often misunderstood in-universe for apathy or selfishness, so to is Toriyama's frankness and purity misunderstood for apathy. But make no mistake, the man worked like a machine for 11 straight years. After he was already a millionaire from Dr. Slump, he still worked like a machine for 11 years. From that perspective, there's no way he doesn't care about Dragon Ball. When he received the BoG script, which was just supposed to be a formality, he wasn't actually supposed to do anything with it, he said "I'm just going to tighten up a few dialogue interactions" and then he somehow ended up rewriting the entire film. That's not obligation, that's not anything to do with money, that's just pure passion.

If you read all his interviews (lovingly and conveniently translated right here on Kanzenshuu) the way he talks about his characters with such precision, like he knows this universe in and out, really speaks to his passion. I don't care if he forgets random details like the name of a character who appeared in five chapters 17 years ago. When he gets asked about Boo's origins, or 17 and 18's real names, or the biology of Super Saiyans, and he creates these (relatively) complex explanations and stories literally right on the spot that fit right in with his story, that tells me, yes, he does care about Dragon Ball. He can't help but care because it's a series so personal to him. He injected himself and his personality into this series in a way that makes it inseparable from him. Nobody but Toriyama can write real Dragon Ball because nobody can replicate his oddball humor and quirks. He has to care about Dragon Ball, because Dragon Ball is a part of him, or rather, it comes from inside him. And the story is just natural to him.

Does Toriyama give a shit about Dragon Ball? • Kanzenshuu (2024)
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