In 1986, when the first episode of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball was released, no one knew that the series would become a pillar of the anime industry. Dragon Ball was the first series that introduced the anime world to a global audience, and even after 40 years, the series is still making waves.
Toriyama, the mastermind behind the story, once in an interview talked about the anime adaptation of his manga and how it affected the overall popularity of Dragon Ball. The creator also explained his contributions to the anime series and how involved he is with Toei Animation in the creation of the Dragon Ball anime.
During the interview, the Dragon Ball creator revealed that he initially had only one demand from Toei Animation regarding the anime series, and it essentially worked in favor of the series, making it a huge success in the anime industry.
Akira Toriyama’s Talks About His Initial Involvement With Dragon Ball Anime
Toriyama’s interview in Dragon Ball Daizenshuu Volume 3 was translated and shared by Kazenshuu, and it focused majorly on the first anime adaptation of the Dragon Ball manga. Toriyama explained his involvement in the anime series and how he sent his responses through his editorial department to Toei Animation.
Toriyama stated:
“There are times when a colored version of a character will appear sooner than in the serialization; times like those, I send my responses and such to Toei Animation through the editorial department. I also listened to the voice actors’ audition tapes, and worked on deciding who would play each role. In deciding Goku’s part, I listened to the voices of five or six people, and chose Masako Nozawa-san from among them.”
Toriyama also pointed out that he listened to the audition tapes of the voice actors for the Dragon Ball characters and selected the perfect characters for the voice actors. He even revealed that, while he was flexible with other characters, he wanted Mayumi Tanaka to voice Krillin because he loved her portrayal in Night on the Galactic Railroad.
Akira Toriyama’s Only Demand for Dragon Ball Anime Adaptation
During the interview, Akira Toriyama also revealed that while he didn’t have any specific issues with the anime series, he did have one demand when the Dragon Ball anime first started. Toriyama revealed that when he first saw the anime, he felt that the series should be a little more like a fairy tale.
Toriyama stated:
“At first, I didn’t say anything specific. I’m not the type to open my mouth much about these things, but after seeing it actually air, I felt that DB should feel a bit more like a fairy tale, so I did mention that bit. Basically, I leave things to [Toei], and only say a little tiny bit when I absolutely have to.”
As the Dragon Ball series became successful and developed a sizable fanbase, the creator got more involved with the anime adaptation and went on to create different storylines like Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball Daima in accordance with the anime adaptation.
You can watch the Dragon Ball series on Crunchyroll.
