The first editor of Dragon Ball, Kazuhiko Torishima, said in a recent radio show that if he were to produce a new Dragon Ball manga or anime, he’d do spinoffs centered on character perspectives like “Goku’s perspective, Bulma’s perspective, and others,” and lean more into its battle manga direction, which “sparked its massive popularity.”
His words were cited on X by Naz Chris, the radio host of J-WAVE’s TOKYO MAAD SPIN, which features Yubo & Mashirito no KosoKoso Housoukyoku, the program by Torishima and Yuji Horii (Dragon Quest creator). Torishima is no longer involved with Dragon Ball, currently at Bushiroad as an outside director. Chris went on to say that the hypothetical Dragon Ball spinoffs wouldn’t include hunting for Dragon Balls, adventures, or Goku transforming into a child, but instead “reorganizing it around the essence of the battle manga that sparked its explosive popularity!“
In that vein, Torishima criticized Dragon Ball DAIMA‘s perceived deviation from Dragon Ball‘s battle manga themes, arguing that it made “the characters smaller and weaker, reduces their abilities, and pairs them with weaker enemies scaled accordingly. Doesn’t that in itself repeat the failure of the original Dragon Ball, which was the least popular?“
ALSO READ:
Dragon Ball Daima Executive Producer Explains Why the Anime Made Goku Smaller
Dragon Ball Editor Says He Was Taken Out of Context Over Recent Criticism of Saudi Arabia Theme Park Plan
As Torishima often criticizes about manga creators, he said that the success of the Dragon Ball anime was down to entrusting it to experienced pros, citing Toei Animation’s Kouzou Morishita, credited for planning numerous Dragon Ball anime, the “genius” scriptwriter Takao Koyama (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Kai), and Fuji TV producer Kenji Shimizu. Torishima believes that once the IP has been entrusted to competent producers to adapt, they must be given the space to do their work, as their expertise would exceed the original creator’s. “The person entrusted with the work should also face the task seriously, with a sense of tension that comes from being trusted.“
Source: Naz Chris’ X (formerly Twitter)
© BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, Fuji TV, Toei Animation
Participate In Discussions