Akira Toriyama’s creation of Dragon Ball originated from his desire to move on from his successful series, Dr. Slump, which gained fame during its time. However, according to a new book by Kazuhiko Torishima, Toriyama was not permitted to reuse the character when he had a “more mature manga” idea to replace it.
Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques will be published in English by Viz Media on May 13, 2025. The book is written by Kazuhiko Torishima as a useful guide for aspiring manga artists, drawing from his experiences with Toriyama and the editorial processes at Shonen Jump. Notably, the differences in Torishima’s editorial style compared to Toriyama’s in the early days of Dragon Ball are discussed, alongside other works by the artist.
In the book, Kazuhiko Torishima, Toriyama’s editor, shares an engaging narrative about Toriyama related to Dr. Slump, the source material for Dragon Ball, and the unique career path within Shonen Jump.
Dragon Ball was born from Akira Toriyama’s desire to conclude Dr. Slump before reaching a creative deadlock
In Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques, Torishima shares: “What initially created Dragon Ball was the fact that Akira Toriyama’s first serialized work, Dr. Slump, became a major hit and was ranked weekly for an extended period.” He continues, “Because he had to create a humorous manga series with content for each new weekly issue, he eventually said, ‘I want to stop working on this series.’
Torishima specifically notes that Toriyama wanted to stop working on Dr. Slump because the job required him to constantly generate content for each weekly installment. The deputy editor of Shonen Jump at that time told Toriyama that he could only continue if he created a more mature manga than Dr. Slump.
Torishima and Toriyama then collaborated to create a series that would replace Dr. Slump, as Toriyama’s creative spirit was waning. Toriyama had experimented with several one-shot stories like Pink and Chobit, hoping to create a new main character that would capture the attention of Shonen Jump. However, none of these stories were successful. Instead of communicating through phone calls, Torishima made the trip to Toriyama’s home in Nagoya, Japan, to discuss ideas directly. Yet, they still couldn’t find a solution. It was only when Toriyama’s wife, Yoshimi Katō, revealed to Torishima about Toriyama’s quirky habit of doodling on the pages of manga while watching martial arts movies, particularly Hong Kong action films, that inspiration struck.
The result was Dragon Boy, featuring a young boy who fights kung fu as the main character. This one-shot was notably well-received and ranked highly in surveys regarding the popularity of new stories. Tangtong, the martial artist in Dragon Boy, later evolved into Son Goku in Dragon Ball.
Following Toriyama’s unexpected passing in March 2024, Torishima and the editorial team at Shonen Jump reflected on their working relationship with him and Dragon Ball in the KosoKoso podcast. One of the shocking revelations was that Toriyama once wanted to conclude Dragon Ball after the “Cell Saga,” but continued writing due to the series’ popularity. They also discussed concerns surrounding the ending of Dragon Ball Z, which led to the controversial release of Dragon Ball GT. Additionally, Torishima and the editorial team expressed their dissatisfaction with how Shueisha, the publisher of Shonen Jump, handled Toriyama’s legacy.
According to CBR
