Harley wrote to point us towards an interview from 1986 with Akira Toriyama and Rumiko Takahashi over on Rumic World. Definitely a good read, if for nothing other than a picture of a very young Toriyama! Seriously, though, there is a lot of really good insight from around the time that Dragon Ball was still only just getting started.

I wanted to keep it a secret, but I planned to submit my drafts to Shonen Magazine at first, but I found the deadline had already passed, so I had no choice but to send it to Shonen Jump. The reason why I became a mangaka… to be honest, I just wanted the 100,000 yen prize (laughs).

That’s our Toriyama…!