Androids vs Cyborgs

[DragonBallFoodie]

Which one was Toriyama originally going for? One is a human with built in machinery, the other is a machine imitating a human.

I'm comfortable with either myself, but has Toriyama commented on the difference between the two?

[VegettoEX]

Just to provide some context, even though you seemingly already know it, but to set the stage for the rest of the answer:

人造人間 (jinzōningen) combines 人造 ("artificial" or "man-made") with "人間" ("human"), so the literal "artificial human" translation makes sense. From what I've learned and been told over the years, though, it's a very general, all-encompassing kind of term... which makes sense, considering it's used in Dragon Ball to refer to androids, cyborgs, and robots alike at different points.

I don't know of a direct comment from Toriyama going in-depth with regard to what he had in mind, but consider its first usage was with #8. That naming convention just stuck when he revisited the concept later.

I've come around a bit on the issue and don't necessarily take issue with "Android" as the equivalent all-encompassing term "in English" for them. At the same time, there are specific points where even the characters themselves make the distinction in-universe. I'm... blanking a bit on when that is, unfortunately, off the top of my head. I want to say Trunks makes the distinction in one of his earliest explanations...? And maybe #18 does herself, as well? So in a way, that's Toriyama commenting on it by proxy, acknowledging that it's a general term being used in reference to more granular distinctions.

(Someone with the manga handy, I'd love if you could chime in there!)

I know French fandom has always labeled them as "C17" and "C18" and such coming from their own dub, and that was widely accepted in English during my earliest days online.

In general, I always just try to refer to them as "#______" to avoid the discussion all-together! If I'm going to say something aloud, though, I'll generally use "artificial human" but don't really think twice about or judge what anyone else uses.

[LuckyCat]

In the original anime, Trunks literally calls them cyborgs (サイボーグ) when explaining them to Goku to the first time. I can't recall if the manga does the same.

[Vegard Aune]

In the original anime, Trunks literally calls them cyborgs (サイボーグ) when explaining them to Goku to the first time. I can't recall if the manga does the same.

That line was in the manga too. At least it is in the Kanzenban, and I doubt that's something they would have changed from the original publication.

[Nejishiki]

I've come around a bit on the issue and don't necessarily take issue with "Android" as the equivalent all-encompassing term "in English" for them. At the same time, there are specific points where even the characters themselves make the distinction in-universe. I'm... blanking a bit on when that is, unfortunately, off the top of my head. I want to say Trunks makes the distinction in one of his earliest explanations...? And maybe #18 does herself, as well? So in a way, that's Toriyama commenting on it by proxy, acknowledging that it's a general term being used in reference to more granular distinctions.

You're referring to Goku's shock that "a robot" could bear children before Kuririn corrects him by stating No. 18 is a cyborg.

In the original anime, Trunks literally calls them cyborgs (サイボーグ) when explaining them to Goku to the first time. I can't recall if the manga does the same.

That line was in the manga too. At least it is in the Kanzenban, and I doubt that's something they would have changed from the original publication.
[spoiler][/spoiler]

The panel of Future Trunks phrasing them as both Artificial Humans and cyborgs is available in the original publication, too.

[RandomGuy96]

"Gynoid" is the only acceptable term, plebs.

[Lookerman]

If we're being completely honest, I always considered them Cyborgs. It's just that 'Android' is much easier to use.