Akira Toriyama was a legendary mangaka who created Dragon Ball, an anime that carries a plethora of nostalgia. Dragon Ball is insanely popular and is still ongoing despite Toriyama’s death. The series spawned movies, games, live-actions, figurines, and many other multi-media installations.
An old interview with Toriyama has resurfaced, which will give you a deep dive into the psyche of the author. In it, the mangaka confesses that there have been times when he just wanted the series to be over soon, but kept persisting simply because he had dedicated fans who gave him immense support.
Akira Toriyama’s True Goal Behind Creating Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball is extremely famous not only in Japan but also overseas. It has crossed generations and borders and has become a unifying factor for people from all over the world. But why is it such a huge hit? Is it because of the exotic kung fu style of martial arts? The escalating villains and power system? Or the mind-blowing battles?
As it turns out, Akira Toriyama himself has no idea why Dragon Ball is so popular. In a 2013 interview with Asahi Shimbun, the author admitted that he himself was surprised by Dragon Ball’s popularity.
During the serialization, I just kept drawing with the sole purpose of making Japanese boys happy.
Toriyama seems to have reached his goal, but he definitely did not expect the massive overseas popularity. The author ended up not only pleasing the Shonen audience in Japan, but also reached every corner of the world with Dragon Ball.
Akira Toriyama Kept Writing Dragon Ball Despite Wanting to End It
So, what exactly drove Akira Toriyama to keep drawing every day? The author’s response is very simple. The massive response from fans who enjoyed reading Dragon Ball kept him going. The support made him realize that being a mangaka is worth doing.
By its nature, being a mangaka is a repetitive and exhausting job. Creating a storyboard, getting it approved, and then illustrating every page till it’s perfect becomes tiring after a while. Toriyama’s first manga was published in 1978, so he has been drawing for around 36 years, with little to no gaps in between. Dragon Ball was first serialized in 1984, and the author gave his all to the franchise.
So for a fickle person like me, while it was fun in terms of expression, a lot of parts were rough, and there were many times that I wanted it to end soon.
Toriyama’s exhaustion is also apparent from his denial to create Dragon Ball GT, as he wanted some rest after the serialization of Dragon Ball was over. Yet, when the hour called for it, he once again put his undivided attention to the series. In fact, the author himself was surprised by his continuous efforts all these years.
I suppose this manga was something of a miracle, in the fact that I, with my perverted and irritating personality, was able to do respectable work and have it be accepted by the public
There is no doubt that Akira Toriyama was fated to be a worldwide known name. His hard work, coupled with his genius, created a franchise that has been immortalized by fans.
Dragon Ball is available to read on Viz Media, and the anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
