The Saiyan lineage of Goku is one of the key reasons that make the main character of Dragon Ball immensely powerful. Saiyans are always in search of battles, training hard to become even stronger. All of these traits stand out as unique characteristics of Goku, turning him into the perfect protagonist for Akira Toriyama’s masterpiece.
Goku’s Saiyan origins not only make him brave in battles but also form a fundamental part of his identity. However, Toriyama initially did not focus on Goku’s background. The origins of Goku were primarily highlighted in the context of Vegeta.
Moreover, the author had never considered the idea that Goku was an extraterrestrial being; this later became an important aspect of the story. Toriyama also mentioned that he had not planned Goku’s alien background from the start, recognizing that the story had been dragging on for too long and was becoming a significant factor in its success. Initially, he intended to conclude the story quite early.
Akira Toriyama never considered Goku’s origins in Dragon Ball
In an interview with TV Anime Guide: Dragon Ball Tenka’ichi Densetsu, actors including Goku’s voice actress Masako Nozawa, Takao Koyama, and Toriyama discussed the character. During the interview, Toriyama was asked about Goku’s character as the main protagonist and at what point he began to develop Goku’s story.
Toriyama responded, saying: “I honestly didn’t think about it. I didn’t consider him an alien until Vegeta appeared. Initially, I wanted to describe him as a ‘monster,’ similar to a wolf. While writing, it turned out that ‘Goku is actually an alien!’ was something that even surprised me.”
According to the mangaka, although he had initially planned to depict Goku in a wolf-like form, he didn’t know how to visualize that concept. Later, he came up with the idea of Vegeta, an alien character, which provided a perfect basis for Goku’s origins and also served as a reasonable explanation for Goku’s transformation into Ozaru.
Akira Toriyama planned to conclude Dragon Ball just 10 weeks into its run
In the interview, Akira Toriyama stated that he originally had only one idea for Dragon Ball, which was to make the story resemble the Chinese classic novel, Journey to the West, while adding some elements of kung-fu.
Toriyama confessed: “No matter what, I really only thought to create a motif similar to Journey to the West, with a bit of kung-fu added in. I was prepared to end it after 10 weeks if it didn’t succeed.”
Toriyama further revealed that he had no assurance that the story would be successful, and he was ready to conclude it after 10 weeks if it did not unfold as he had planned.
However, the story became a massive success among anime and manga fans. Even today, even after Toriyama’s passing, Dragon Ball remains one of the cornerstone titles that helped shape the Shonen genre.
