Moments when Toriyama's writing method really impressed you

[Piccolo Daimao]

I also really loved the way he was able to make Piccolo and Vegeta into completely likeable protagonists after long arcs with them as the MAIN antagonists. It is a fun treat that only lengthy series can contain.

Piccolo, yes. Vegeta, no. Vegeta became unlikeable in the Cell arc and, to a lesser extent, Boo arc, until his "Gokuu #1" speech.

[Pafupafu]

I also really loved the way he was able to make Piccolo and Vegeta into completely likeable protagonists after long arcs with them as the MAIN antagonists. It is a fun treat that only lengthy series can contain.

Piccolo, yes. Vegeta, no. Vegeta became unlikeable in the Cell arc and, to a lesser extent, Boo arc, until his "Gokuu #1" speech.

I thought Vegeta was at his best when fighting with the future version of his son in the Androids/Cell Sagas. It really all came to a head when he snapped on Cell and then eventually helped Gohan defeat him.

[Nex Carnifex]

If Akira was given no input from his editors how different do you think Dragon Ball would've turned out, I don't know much but given he had pretty much lost all his enthusiasm by the Cell arc I would bet they had a big part in guiding the storyline at that point, while Toriyama just cranked out more pictures.

[Majin Boo]

If Akira was given no input from his editors how different do you think Dragon Ball would've turned out, I don't know much but given he had pretty much lost all his enthusiasm by the Cell arc I would bet they had a big part in guiding the storyline at that point, while Toriyama just cranked out more pictures.

Well for one thing, the Android/Cell arcs would have gone a very different direction. Toriyama only planned on #19 and Gero appearing, but Torishima (his first editor, who wasn't even his editor at the time) said they sucked. So Toriyama created #17 and #18, but Torishima said they sucked as well. So finally Toriyama created Cell. Kondou (his editor at the time) disliked Cell's appearance in his first and second forms, so Toriyama felt compelled to make him take his perfect form quicker than he would have liked.

Other than that, I don't think his editors really impacted things majorly. (Or at least I haven't heard about it.)

[Nex Carnifex]

If Akira was given no input from his editors how different do you think Dragon Ball would've turned out, I don't know much but given he had pretty much lost all his enthusiasm by the Cell arc I would bet they had a big part in guiding the storyline at that point, while Toriyama just cranked out more pictures.

Well for one thing, the Android/Cell arcs would have gone a very different direction. Toriyama only planned on #19 and Gero appearing, but Torishima (his first editor, who wasn't even his editor at the time) said they sucked. So Toriyama created #17 and #18, but Torishima said they sucked as well. So finally Toriyama created Cell. Kondou (his editor at the time) disliked Cell's appearance in his first and second forms, so Toriyama felt compelled to make him take his perfect form quicker than he would have liked.

Other than that, I don't think his editors really impacted things majorly. (Or at least I haven't heard about it.)

I dunno that is pretty major, sounds like the Android saga was as good as it was by accident, glad those editors were there.

[Piccolo Daimao]

If Akira was given no input from his editors how different do you think Dragon Ball would've turned out, I don't know much but given he had pretty much lost all his enthusiasm by the Cell arc I would bet they had a big part in guiding the storyline at that point, while Toriyama just cranked out more pictures.

Well for one thing, the Android/Cell arcs would have gone a very different direction. Toriyama only planned on #19 and Gero appearing, but Torishima (his first editor, who wasn't even his editor at the time) said they sucked. So Toriyama created #17 and #18, but Torishima said they sucked as well. So finally Toriyama created Cell. Kondou (his editor at the time) disliked Cell's appearance in his first and second forms, so Toriyama felt compelled to make him take his perfect form quicker than he would have liked.

Other than that, I don't think his editors really impacted things majorly. (Or at least I haven't heard about it.)

He probably wouldn't have been pushed as hard to continue the story, so it likely would've ended sometime sooner.

[matt0044]

I also really loved the way he was able to make Piccolo and Vegeta into completely likeable protagonists after long arcs with them as the MAIN antagonists. It is a fun treat that only lengthy series can contain.

Piccolo, yes. Vegeta, no. Vegeta became unlikeable in the Cell arc and, to a lesser extent, Boo arc, until his "Gokuu #1" speech.

You can him as a villain or an anti-hero/villain.

I liked when in Dragon Ball, Goku was questioned being "human." Did Toriyama look back at those and get the idea of the "Saiyans?"

[Piccolo Daimao]

I also really loved the way he was able to make Piccolo and Vegeta into completely likeable protagonists after long arcs with them as the MAIN antagonists. It is a fun treat that only lengthy series can contain.

Piccolo, yes. Vegeta, no. Vegeta became unlikeable in the Cell arc and, to a lesser extent, Boo arc, until his "Gokuu #1" speech.

You can him as a villain or an anti-hero/villain.

I liked when in Dragon Ball, Goku was questioned being "human." Did Toriyama look back at those and get the idea of the "Saiyans?"

No, I don't think Toriyama planned ahead like that. Even back in the first arc, I recall Oolong saying something like, "Is that kid human?" after he became an Oozaru. But I find it amusing how apparently a kid with a tail is so out of the ordinary, when you literally have talking dragons (or whatever Giran was), humanoid pigs, shapeshifters, three-eyed guys that can fly, whatever the fuck Chaozu's meant to be, and more walking about and no-one even bats an eyelid. Later at the 25th Tenkaichi Budoukai, Videl and a priest question Piccolo's green skin, thinking that he's sick, despite all the other weird fucks that can slide by without trouble.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

I loved how in Dragonball Goku only won one martial arts tournament. Someone already said it better then I could, but rather than following the traditional anime cliche where the protagonist always wins(and you can pretty much predict the fights), Dragonball's tournaments were actually fun to watch. If you are watching them for the first time, it's like watching a real fight on television; you don't exactly know who's going to win, all you can do is hope your guy comes out on top. Plus, it's fun to think about the worlds greatest hero only winning the world tournament one time.

Also the Saiyan and Nemekian reveal, to this day, still feel like they were planned out from the beginning(even though we know they weren't). That's one of Toriyama's greatest writing traits I believe; His ability to change things on the fly without hurting the continuity. I also have to give props to his editors too. I'm glad they weren't afraid to speak there mind about not liking this or that character/design even when they weren't officially his boss. No matter how good you think your opinion is, it's always nice to have a second set of eyes, and I really think that helped keep Dragonball fun and Toriyama on his toes.

[Aoi]

I wanted just to add my 2 cents after re-watching the series from scratch (ignoring GT). Dragon Ball and Z = 444 episodes. Few series/manga could ever hold anyone's interest that long and this is why I love Toriyama. He always finds a way to make everything feel extremely fresh again. Change of settings, protagonists, or even his preferred "let's see how they are when they get older technique" (23rd Tenkaichi Budokai and the 7 years after the Cell arc). It's like you're watching a new show every arc. He always finds a way to give it that extra "oomph". There's a huge sense of anticipation that only he could really grasp. He knew which characters we cared for and which ones we wanted to see. If you re-watch the Namek arc, it's pretty incredible, but Vegeta is basically the main protagonist (along with Gohan and Krillin). It's just a great/dark twist to leave Goku in the background and see things through Vegeta's eyes now. Toriyama is truly a master in the art of storytelling.

[Aoi]

Dragon Ball is extremely rare, in that it is the only shows/films I have ever seen where at the end the show doesn't feel dull or unmotivated. It's probably why we got GT (which is very dull, tired, unoriginal). I have never seen any long narrative pull that off. You always want to see more. Think of any final film chapter, it always feels like it's just trying to "wrap things up"/"finallyend this". There's a feeling that things are really "winding down", and that it's "best to end this now": Pirates 3, the Matrix, Star Wars OT, Back to the Future. Think of any television show that outstayed its welcome (too many to name). To make every arc feel fresh is a feat in itself. You can always notice when the films or GT are missing that Toriyama touch.

[Aoi]

I loved how in Dragonball Goku only won one martial arts tournament. Someone already said it better then I could, but rather than following the traditional anime cliche where the protagonist always wins(and you can pretty much predict the fights), Dragonball's tournaments were actually fun to watch. If you are watching them for the first time, it's like watching a real fight on television; you don't exactly know who's going to win, all you can do is hope your guy comes out on top. Plus, it's fun to think about the worlds greatest hero only winning the world tournament one time.

Also the Saiyan and Nemekian reveal, to this day, still feel like they were planned out from the beginning(even though we know they weren't). That's one of Toriyama's greatest writing traits I believe; His ability to change things on the fly without hurting the continuity. I also have to give props to his editors too. I'm glad they weren't afraid to speak there mind about not liking this or that character/design even when they weren't officially his boss. No matter how good you think your opinion is, it's always nice to have a second set of eyes, and I really think that helped keep Dragonball fun and Toriyama on his toes.

Absolutely! When Goku first loses to Jackie Chun, my son turned to me just jaw dropped: "He LOST?!". I adore the reasoning behind Muten Roshi's decision to fight Goku. Toriyama really had a gift for translating touching life lessons into each of his characters.