You just met Akira Toriyama

[Gog]

I'd ask about when exactly he decided Goku was an alien.

He already answered this.

When it comes to Dragon Ball, of course, there’s Goku; how far had you thought out Goku’s concept at the start of the serialization?
Toriyama:
I’d hardly thought out anything. I hadn’t come up with the concept of him being an alien until Vegeta came, and I think I originally meant his giant ape form to be “just a transformation”, like a werewolf. For it to turn out over the course of the writing that “Goku’s really an alien!” was something that took even me by surprise. (laughs) At any rate, I had really only thought, “I’ll make a motif of Journey to the West, with a little bit of Kung-Fu thrown in.” I was prepared for it to end after 10 weeks if it wasn’t a hit.

Thanks, but, when Vegeta came? Does he mean Raditz, or what?

He obviously means Raditz. As that would make no sense in any regard what so ever

[funrush]

I'd want to ask him:
If he could rewrite the story from the beginning of Dragonball without any editors being involved, what would be some of the major changes?

Genuinely I think that'd be interesting. We know the Android saga was plagued with executive meddling. I wonder what plans he had for that arc to unfold with Gero and 19 as the main antagonists for example.

Weird to imagine a DB where "the androids" were 19 and Gero, and 16-18/Cell were never even conceived of, since the only reason he made them was because the people around him made fun of 19 and Gero.

[floofychan333]

The Super behind-the-scenes stuff is interesting (even fascinating, as far as how curious I am about some of it), but it's all trivia. A number of people involved might be able to answer it.

I'd ask him open-endedly what his favorite self-authored series is, and hopefully get a bit of the "why." We've gotten a lot of the trivia, but never a lot of reflection.

I'm 99% certain he'd reply with "Dr. Slump" without any hesitation.

Actually, Doctor. that's probably an accurate statement. For some reason I imagine he was sick of Dragon Ball for a long time and just wanted it to blow over.

[Cipher]

Actually, Doctor. that's probably an accurate statement. For some reason I imagine he was sick of Dragon Ball for a long time and just wanted it to blow over.

I think it'd be Slump as well, but I'd like to hear some thoughts and rationale; not just the quick answer. I'm sure he has plenty of conflicting feelings and reflections about his time on both long-running series, the Dragon Ball franchise as a whole by way of projects like Super, and even his single-volume manga. Maybe there's a shorter series that totally pleased him for one reason or another.

[floofychan333]

Actually, Doctor. that's probably an accurate statement. For some reason I imagine he was sick of Dragon Ball for a long time and just wanted it to blow over.

I think it'd be Slump as well, but I'd like to hear some thoughts and rationale; not just the quick answer. I'm sure he has plenty of conflicting feelings and reflections about his time on both long-running series, the Dragon Ball franchise as a whole by way of projects like Super, and even his single-volume manga. Maybe there's a shorter series that totally pleased him for one reason or another.

I imagine he would prefer Slump because he's always loved writing gag manga and he was kind of forced to stop the gags in later Dragon Ball. Also, he might have some nostalgia for the early days where he was just a mangaka living in his parents' basement and the entire Japanese population didn't know who he was.

[Polyphase Avatron]

You are given V.I.P. access to the home of Akira Toriyama.

You are able to only ask him one question which he will answer genuinely. What question would you ask him?

"I know you admit you don't know much science and physics, but have you ever considered getting a science adviser for your stories, so whenever you try to employ scientific concepts you can do it more realistically? I'd be willing to volunteer".

[Gog]

Actually, Doctor. that's probably an accurate statement. For some reason I imagine he was sick of Dragon Ball for a long time and just wanted it to blow over.

I think it'd be Slump as well, but I'd like to hear some thoughts and rationale; not just the quick answer. I'm sure he has plenty of conflicting feelings and reflections about his time on both long-running series, the Dragon Ball franchise as a whole by way of projects like Super, and even his single-volume manga. Maybe there's a shorter series that totally pleased him for one reason or another.

I imagine he would prefer Slump because he's always loved writing gag manga and he was kind of forced to stop the gags in later Dragon Ball. Also, he might have some nostalgia for the early days where he was just a mangaka living in his parents' basement and the entire Japanese population didn't know who he was.

WAIT a minute did Toriyama actually used to work in his parent's basement? Or is this just something that all mangaka's do? Or this is a joke, and I just got seriously trolled.

[Nejishiki]

WAIT a minute did Toriyama actually used to work in his parent's basement? Or is this just something that all mangaka's do? Or this is a joke, and I just got seriously trolled.

Even now, this “rich man” lives with his parents in Kiyosu Town in the suburbs of Nagoya. Apart from his work, he lives an eccentric lifestyle: not drinking alcohol, he will go to cafes with the allowance of several thousand yen he gets from his parents, build plastic models, or go out to play with the neighborhood kids when they stop by with shouts of “Akira-kun, come play!

There's no mention of "basement" but this was around the period of his marriage. It suffices to say that he moved after that.

[floofychan333]

I think it'd be Slump as well, but I'd like to hear some thoughts and rationale; not just the quick answer. I'm sure he has plenty of conflicting feelings and reflections about his time on both long-running series, the Dragon Ball franchise as a whole by way of projects like Super, and even his single-volume manga. Maybe there's a shorter series that totally pleased him for one reason or another.

I imagine he would prefer Slump because he's always loved writing gag manga and he was kind of forced to stop the gags in later Dragon Ball. Also, he might have some nostalgia for the early days where he was just a mangaka living in his parents' basement and the entire Japanese population didn't know who he was.

WAIT a minute did Toriyama actually used to work in his parent's basement? Or is this just something that all mangaka's do? Or this is a joke, and I just got seriously trolled.

He was living with his parents when he was first writing Dr Slump. I'm not sure if he worked in the basement exactly, but he did live at home.

[Cipher]

He indeed lived with his parents through at least the early days of Dr. Slump. Probably not in the basement, though, since most Japanese homes don't have one.

[Gog]

He indeed lived with his parents through at least the early days of Dr. Slump. Probably not in the basement, though, since most Japanese homes don't have one.

Huh, so where did he live then? Jeez he lived with his parents like most people....

[kinisking]

How much involvement do you have in Super?

[Nejishiki]

He indeed lived with his parents through at least the early days of Dr. Slump. Probably not in the basement, though, since most Japanese homes don't have one.

Huh, so where did he live then? Jeez he lived with his parents like most people....

WAIT a minute did Toriyama actually used to work in his parent's basement? Or is this just something that all mangaka's do? Or this is a joke, and I just got seriously trolled.

Even now, this “rich man” lives with his parents in Kiyosu Town in the suburbs of Nagoya. Apart from his work, he lives an eccentric lifestyle: not drinking alcohol, he will go to cafes with the allowance of several thousand yen he gets from his parents, build plastic models, or go out to play with the neighborhood kids when they stop by with shouts of “Akira-kun, come play!

There's no mention of "basement" but this was around the period of his marriage. It suffices to say that he moved after that.