If I had to interview Akira Toriyama... (and other thoughts)

[SouthWall]

...I wouldn't really be sure what to ask. It just seems like he has said everything that needs to be said, if you know what I mean (Dragon Ball-related, of course).

For example, asking him petty questions like "what's the difference between a Kaio-Ken and a Kaio-Ken x2?" or "is Super Buu stronger than Kid Buu?" wouldn't be very useful. He probably could not answer them, and even if he did, there's nothing we can take away from that.

It seems as though Toriyama is an artist at heart, and would be more talkative about illustrations and such; but all of that seems to be covered as well. For example, he's stated what his most favorite artwork (or, the one he was most "happy with") in Daizenshuu 1, didn't he? And then afterward, he doesn't seem to remember that either!

Toriyama: My favorite piece of artwork?
Oda: I know. Toriyama-sensei probably doesn't remember... but I remember seeing a comment of his on that.
Toriyama: Really?
Oda: You mentioned something of the sort in some interview. (Note:This interview was the Toriyama interview from Daizenshyuu 1)
Toriyama: This one? (points at the illustration)
Oda: Absolutely. (laugh) You said that it was the only one you liked.... I was thinking, "Well what about all the others?"
Toriyama: That's right, yeah, yeah, I said it, I did say that this was my favorite! But actually, looking at it now, I wonder why I chose this one.
Oda: (Big Laugh)
Toriyama: Maybe I liked it because the green-yellow in the background was so pretty?
Oda: Well in your comments from back then, you said that you really liked the overall balance of the mecha.
Toriyama: I guess I had thought at the time that it went together really well?
Oda: If the actual artist doesn't know, nobody knows. (laugh)

From this interview. I'm not sure if the translation is accurate, but the general idea is there.

I'd say that the only thing I would want to ask him is about his involvement in Dragon Ball Kai and/or his thoughts on it. But of course, the answer could very well be... "I am very glad that people are still enjoying Dragon Ball... et cetera".

One off-topic thing that I like about Toriyama is his speaking style, it's very humble and interesting. Take his response here for example:

Q: Hello Toriyama-sensei. I always enjoy reading "DragonBall". By the way, when will volume 19 of "Dr. Slump" be released? I'm very excited to read it.
- Shizuoka Prefecture · Yatsuka Kenichi
A: Th…thank you very much. Uh…Umm~, "Dr. Slump" ended with volume 18… No matter how long you wait, even if you become an old man, volume 19 won't be coming out…

I like the whole "even if you become an old man" business.

So yeah... does anyone else feel that way? That everything that can be said, has been said? I just love Toriyama!

[Ahiru77]

He created what, in the end, I find the best manga ever. So I love him too. Really awkward saying that considering I never met the guy.

I would probably go auto-pilot. "How you doin ?"

[caejones]

I would try to speak to him in Japanese. Considering that my vocabulary in the language isn't quite enough to get very far into Dragonball-related topics, I'm sure it'd be awkward as fish, even excepting the inevitable long and awkward silences. ^^

[The Time Traveller]

I'd want to know what he would have done different now.

[Piccolo Daimao]

I'd want to know what he would have done different now.

This. Like, does he regret the way some things in the story went, and wishes he'd taken a different route or approach to the storytelling?

A lot of people always say that Toriyama's heart was never really in Dragon Ball by the time he got the Boo arc (yet he does mention that he enjoyed drawing the Gotenks vs. Boo fight). So what I want to ask him is, did he ever feel like he was being pushed to move forward with the series? Did he really enjoy doing the Boo arc, or in fact the previous few arcs (Freeza, Cell), as much as the earlier portions of the series (before the Freeza arc)?

[Nazi Cola]

Going off the art thing, I'd DEFINITELY ask him if he for sure changed Gohan's art style from the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai on, regarding the hair, and if he meant for lightning to always be associated with a SSj2, no matter how strong or weak they are. My god, would that solve so many problems. Then again, this far away from DB's end, I somehow doubt too many people would take it seriously ("He's just saying it to shut you up, he doesn't really know what he's talking about.").

But yeah, I'd also like to know what he'd have done differently, and stuff.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Going off the art thing, I'd DEFINITELY ask him if he for sure changed Gohan's art style from the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai on, regarding the hair, and if he meant for lightning to always be associated with a SSj2, no matter how strong or weak they are. My god, would that solve so many problems. Then again, this far away from DB's end, I somehow doubt too many people would take it seriously ("He's just saying it to shut you up, he doesn't really know what he's talking about.").

Sorry to rain on your parade, but that's basically the same thing as asking him "Was Gohan SSj2 or not against Dabra?", which he wouldn't be able to give a proper answer to. It wouldn't solve any problems, it would just complicate them even more.

[Kingdom Heartless]

I would probably just stammer a lot and try to hide the uncontrollable urination.

[kingvegito]

I'd ask 'I'm how big his model collection has gotten...

[Piccolo Daimao]

I would probably just stammer a lot and try to hide the uncontrollable urination.

*thinks of hilarious Scrubs dream sequence where Dr. Cox wets himself*

[ssj5goku]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but that's basically the same thing as asking him "Was Gohan SSj2 or not against Dabra?", which he wouldn't be able to give a proper answer to. It wouldn't solve any problems, it would just complicate them even more.

In the video game they said he was only a SSJ1.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but that's basically the same thing as asking him "Was Gohan SSj2 or not against Dabra?", which he wouldn't be able to give a proper answer to. It wouldn't solve any problems, it would just complicate them even more.

In the video game they said he was only a SSJ1.

His point is, it's not a discussion to get into.

[Goku100xKamehameha]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but that's basically the same thing as asking him "Was Gohan SSj2 or not against Dabra?", which he wouldn't be able to give a proper answer to. It wouldn't solve any problems, it would just complicate them even more.

In the video game they said he was only a SSJ1.

His point is, it's not a discussion to get into

Why?

[Raki]

I'd rather get to know Toriyama the man instead of Toriyama the manga artist.

[Piccolo Daimao]

His point is, it's not a discussion to get into

Why?

Because I just fucking said. It wouldn't solve any problems, it would just complicate them even more. Akira Toriyama is a forgetful man; wasn't he the same man who forgot who Kame-sennin (or someone else) was? And he also said something else concerning the Super Saiyan's 50x multiplier. He thought 50x was too huge, and that he had drawn it with the sense of Goku being 10x what he'd been up until now. What does that even mean? Kaio-Ken x20 x 10? A 200x multiplier? That's much larger than a 50x multiplier, and is just plain confusing to make sense out of.

To ask him about something which has been such an intense discussion point in the Dragon Ball fandom, as well as being something he probably didn't give a second thought back when he drew it and has most likely forgotten it after 16 years, is just stupid. He'd either say, "He was SSj2, why wouldn't he go all-out?" without going into much detail and thus confuse fans who back the SSj theory, or say "He was SSj" without going into much detail again and confuse the fans who back the SSj2 theory.

In the video game they said he was only a SSJ1.

It's a video game.