Akira Toriyama

When I went to Tokyo, all of a sudden Torishima-san¹ told me, “Read this script². We want to make a movie out of it.” (laughs) When I read it, I thought it might be a bit too complex for kids, and that the story was a bit too serious. For the dialogue as well, there were turns of phrase that only the creator would know, so I sent in a revision, [saying] “How about something like this?” Later, I took a look at the revised script, and as I looked at the dialogue and other parts that bothered me, [it dawned on me that] I had written the entire story without realizing it. (laughs) I felt that the part of a god appearing was the main point of this movie, so I left it in, but the rest had become the story I came up with myself. (laughs wryly)

To be frank, it was “not to make people emotional”. It’s just like me to have it come down entirely on the side of pure entertainment. To the point that, since way back, I’ve deliberately drawn it so as not to move people. This time, as well, with Vegeta’s nice scene, I almost wanted to generate some emotion, but I changed it into a lighter direction. Probably, it’s because it’s embarrassing³. The fact that I stake my life on stupid gags in breaks from the action, like “I’m gonna pee myself!”, is also because if I make it serious, I get embarrassed. (laughs)

I was also conscious of allowing people having their first contact with Dragon Ball to understand it without any difficulty. I was cautious not to make it impenetrable to outsiders, but it was hard. The movie’s running-time is limited, so it became a story that assumes a certain degree of knowledge about the work. For someone like me, who’s aiming for something even elementary schoolers will understand, it might be something to reflect on a bit.

I also struggled with the enemy’s background. There are stories where “a good person, through a certain catalyst, gains an evil heart and becomes an enemy”. But if they were originally a good person, even if you fight them and win, there’s no clear sense of resolution. It’s specifically because they were bad from the start that they’re worth defeating. This time, too, I struggled to come up with a way to end things cleanly after fighting against such an incredibly strong opponent as a God of Destruction.

The fact that it’s easier to write a work that’s not new, where you know the characters and the world. Although, since I’m the type of person who doesn’t re-read his own work, I had completely forgotten the story. I read a bit of it over again, and I was able to recall the feeling of back when I drew it. (laughs) A manga artist has it easy when he already knows, “This character moves like this”.

This was the first time since putting out the Kanzenban⁴ that I had properly read through the manga I had drawn. I couldn’t remember the next developments, so as I was reading it, I fretted, “Am I gonna be OK, expanding the story this much?” (laughs) But if I don’t forget what I’ve drawn, the next idea won’t come to me. Perhaps my memory’s capacity is less than other people’s? (laughs)

In the initial script, three burglars appear. But since Dragon Ball‘s characters are all appearing together, I thought it would be better if it were a group of three that everyone knew, so I made the Pilaf gang appear. They ought to be getting pretty old, so I wondered what I should do. Then it came to me that, if I made them younger with the Dragon Balls, it would be just right.

The subplot where Trunks comes to like Mai is of a pattern that I rarely ever draw⁵, “starting to like a girl a little bit”. I thought, [if I’d left it] the way it was, they would simply have been sneak-thieves, and it would have ended with them being immediately driven off, so I put it in. (laughs)

Also, it’s not that Bulma’s birthday party is held every year. Bulma’s the type of person who doesn’t care about her own birthday, so she holds one when she wants to see everyone again after a long time. If she doesn’t prepare fantastic prizes, everyone won’t get together, so she goes all-out. (laughs)

If it’s not logical in my mind, then it feels bad when I’m drawing it. Even if it’s something that’s not explained within the work, I try to come up with unwritten rules to tie everything together. Well, I don’t take notes, though, so I immediately forget about them. (laughs) I have confidence in keeping things consistent, too. (laughs) This time, as well, I prepared settings for the end that make you anticipate something after. It’s actually something I came up with by chance, but it also brings the characters to life, so I’m glad I went with that setting.

I had used up human forms, so for Beerus⁶, I thought I’d rather make him cat-like. Speaking of cats, there’s Egypt, so I decided on his costume from there. I prefer to have strong characters who don’t look strong at first glance. Simple, by contrast, brings out the fear of their unfathomable true nature better than being too showy. I also like how it’s ominous.

Whis⁷ is a character I came up with, figuring as you might expect, that I needed to bring out a handsome fella, as well. (laughs) I like his air of obliviousness. He’s constantly eating delicious things, and he lacks a sense of imminent danger to the point that I wondered whether it was really OK. (laughs)

I came up with both of them from the start. If there’s only one [character], you have to either have them talk to themselves or use narration, but if you have two, you can explain things through their conversational interaction, no narration necessary. So, in manga as well, I try to bring them out in pairs⁸. Even Goku is someone who wouldn’t say anything if Bulma & co. weren’t around. (laughs)

Goku absolutely never changes. Now, as before, he’s someone who only thinks about getting stronger. I think the other characters probably haven’t changed that much, either?

What has changed is probably just appearances; hair colors and whatnot. I’m not particular with hair styles and colors, and paint them in however’s convenient at that time⁹. Everyone normally changes things like hairstyles, right? It’s the same as that. So, I can’t remember the characters’ hair colors, either. (laughs) I am extremely particular about the parts I’m particular about, but the parts I’m not particular about, I’m not particular about at all.

I did. Gods and aliens are a staple of mine¹⁰, after all. (laughs) But, the title being the title, I was careful not to make it philosophical. So I had him do some un-god-like things, such as being obsessed with food. As a rule, I love dumb things like that.

I’m also responsible for setting the timeframe after the Majin Boo arc. I thought a time where the whole cast is together, and Goku & co. are at nearly perfect strength, would be best. That’s where an incredibly strong foe appears.

As a rule, there is no such thing as a theme in my work. I want to make it exclusively a piece of “entertainment” that’s easy to understand for anyone who watches. There are a lot of other manga written in a complex style, so I suppose I’d like all the more for it to be pure entertainment. However, it’s wrong to be drawing it in an overly wholesome way, as well. I believe that a manga is over if it gets too wholesome. (laughs)

I’m the type of person who looks like he’d give names to techniques, but generally doesn’t. If I took it upon myself to name it…… “Beerus Ball” [Birusu-dama], maybe? (laughs)

Simply because it’s a strong-looking color. I had already used gold, and blue doesn’t look very strong. Visually-speaking, red really is easy to understand.

I generally stay at home, but when I do go out, the going-out itself is fun. Recently, I’ve tagged along with my daughter to a concert^T1, and gotten some stimulation. I watched the stands the whole time, [thinking] “So the audience responds like this~”. (laughs) It became a reference for this movie as well; for instance, “it might be interesting if they fight to this sort of intense music”.