Summary
Dragon Ballis well known for its cliffhangers and dramatic reveals, but few fans would expect that the outcome of a cliffhanger would be a surprise even to the writer. Apparently, however, that was often the case for Akira Toriyama, whose style of writing left even him “in suspense,” according to an interview.
As a week-to-week manga, Akira Toriyama was working on pretty tight deadlines, seemingly leaving him with little time to plan out future chapters, as this week’s story always had to take precedence. While most writers wouldn’t dare attempt to tell a long-form story without some sort of plan for what’s coming, Toriyama seemed to thrive in this kind of environment, and it allowed him to be extremely responsive to editorial criticisms, as evidenced bythe changing villains of the Android Saga.
For Toriyama, it was all about getting this week’s chapter in before the deadline, with next week’s chapter being a problem for tomorrow.
Toriyama’s Writing Style Is Responsible for Many Iconic Dragon Ball Moments
A Lack of Planning Was Integral to Dragon Ball
In an interview fromthe databook Daizenshuu 6, as translated by Kanzenshuu, Toriyama spoke on the creation of the Potara earrings, stating that they were originally just for decoration, but became important when he realized he could use them as a vehicle to introduce fusion. In response to the interviewer’s awe, Toriyama stated, “Even I’m always in suspense. In the previous chapter, I’ve already written ‘something incredible is going to happen’, so I think, ‘I have no choice but to do something incredible.’ It’s so painful.”
The Potara earrings are far from the only example of this inDragon Ball. As noted above, the Android Saga became as complex as it is thanks to notes from Toriyama’s editor, who at first disapproved of the designs for Androids 19 and 20, and then again with 17 and 18, leading Toriyama to shift gears and change the villain of the arc to Cell. When Toriyama’s editor didn’t like Cell’s appearance, either, he prompted Toriyama to have Cell transform, creating the iconic character we know today. All this was only possible because Toriyama didn’t have a strict plan he was sticking to.
Toriyama recognized the danger of writing in that way, saying that he “[was] always crossing perilous bridges like that.” It would be easy to write oneself into a corner without a plan, but fortunately Toriyama always managed to find a way to get out of difficult spots. Sometimes that meant there were plot points which didn’t amount to much, like his attempts to shift Gohan to the main protagonist, but other times it led to some unbelievable twists and turns, such as Buu’s shocking eradication of the Earth.
Toriyama’s flexibility and loose style enabled some of the series' finest moments, and made him extremely responsive to both the audience and his editors. It’s fair to say thatDragon Ballwouldn’t be what it is today if Toriyama had taken a more conventional writing style to his work.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
