Summary
Dragon Ballis probably the most iconic shonen manga series of all time, making series creator Akira Toriyama the unofficial king of the “genre.” However, Toriyama admired its feminine counterpart, shojo, for doing the kind of thing thatDragon Ballmight never be able to do: explore the inner thoughts and motivations of its characters.
Akira Toriyama wrote manga for over 40 years, including a wide variety of series that weren’tDragon Ball. Toriyama’s experience with writing manga began in comedy series, such asDr. Slump, butDragon Ballmarked a slow transition into a shonen battle series, with an emphasis on martial arts and fight scenes. All that is to say that Toriyama has never been much for traditional drama, often preferring black-and-white villains like Cell or Frieza to more complex and nuanced characters.
This inexperience with drama and character-based writing happens to be exactly what Toriyama reveres about shojo manga.
Toriyama Respects The Effort That Goes into Shojo Characters
Shojo Requires Writing Skills Toriyama Felt He Didn’t Have
In an interview forDragon Ball Supervolume 4,as translated by fan site Kanzenshuu, Toriyama and artist Toyotarou were asked about the creation of the Future Trunks arc ofSuper. They got to discussing how Zamasu is a more complex character than manyDragon Ballvillains, and Toriyama weighed in, stating, “for this ‘Future Trunks arc,’ you had to depictZamasu and Trunks' inner conflict, right? If this was back when I was drawing the manga myself, then I doubt if I could have done it. I mean, I’m not very good at depicting the characters’ psychology on the page.” He later added, “In that sense, I thinkshojomanga are really incredible, since they have to continuously depict a girl’s state of mind.”
It seems that what Toriyama admires most about shojo manga is that the stories are more character-driven, and require a better insight into the inner thoughts and conflicts of their characters. He even complains that Cell was a bit difficult for him to write, as Perfect Cell’s more cerebral approach to fighting was very different than just about every previous enemy. Toriyama also praises Toyotarou in the interview for being more able to get into the heads of the characters than he is, allowing them to have deeper and more complex villains forDragon Ball Superthan was possible when Toriyama was working alone.
Toriyama seems to be well aware of where his skills lie, and character development doesn’t seem to be an area he’s confident in. Of course,Dragon Ballhas still had some fantastic character developmentover the years, particularly surrounding Vegeta, who arguably has the fullest character arc in the series. It definitely says something that Toriyama looked even beyond his own field of expertise when writing, and that he was as aware of his own limitations as he was. Not every writer can appreciate the effort it takes to do a completely different genre, but Toriyama’s years of experience, withDragon Balland other series, helped him to come to admire shojo manga for what they are, and for doing what he couldn’t.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku’s never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
