"Toriyama's Favorites" Interview

Toriyama's Favorites Interview

Translated by Ian Kelley

Ian notes: In the "World" Dragon Ball Collector's book, the creator of Dragon Ball, Toriyama Akira, is asked questions about his favorite characters, battles, etc. I have translated them and are putting them here. Note that I did the translations at 3 AM and was really tired. I promise to revise them soon.

Q: If you were to write another Dragon Ball series, who would be the hero?
A: Mister Satan
"I'd want to make the hero Mister Satan. I wonder what it would be like to make a Gag manga with Buu in it too?"

Q: If you could make any character your child or parent, who would it be?
A (Parent): Bulma
"Well, she's really rich, might be comparatively reassuring, and is really smart."
A (Child): Dende
"He can heal wounds. But since he looks a little weird he might be teased at school."

Q: Which character will live the longest, and which would live the shortest?
A (Longest): Kamesennin
He has lived an unusually long time, and he's probably the happiest character."
A (Shortest): Vegita
"Everybody dies, but [Vegita's] blood pressure is so high he will die a little easier."

Q: If you could be born again, which character would you be?
A: Trunks
"I'd like to be the Trunks who grew up peacefully. He's really rich, can buy a lot of toys, and is powerful. I'd say he's the best."

Q: Of all the characters, which one is the most "-Fill in blank here-'
A (Coolest): Goku
"I think it's Goku." He's always pure and one of the strongest in the universe. Goku is really #1 in this department!
A (Most Gourmet): Satan
"I think he'd like expensive food. He's the type of person that thinks expensive food is OK."
A (Shy): Piccolo
"Nameck-seijins are a pretty shy race, I think,"
A (Fashionable): Trunks
"I thought it would be Bulma, but when she becomes an old lady she wears really tacky stuff."
A (Crazy): Kamesennin
"It's gotta be this guy. Isn't it obvious the way that he's a pervert all the time?"

Q: What building's design do you like the most?
A (#1): Karin To
"I like Karin To the best. It's a place balanced on a skinny pillar, but it looks kind of interesting. It looks nice unbalanced. I like the fact that the design would be impossible in real life."
A (#2): Kami-sama's palace [The Tenkai]
"I think it's neat having a place floating in midair. I like places that look strange too."
A (#3): The Tenkai-ichi Budoukai's fighting stage
"I don't like this place per se, but it's really difficult to draw."

Q: If you were to go on a trip, where would you like to go?
A (#1): Kami-sama's Palace [The Tenkai]
"It really is Kami-sama's palace, isn't it. That is, if I just wanted to sight-see. I'd like to see what it looks like inside."
A (#2): The Western Capital
"I don't really like the city all that much, but I guess it would be nice to go there once."
A (#3): Kaioshinkai
"This place just seems like it would feel good to be there. It seems like it's a really peaceful place. Plus the climate seems nice too."

Q: Where do you think you would like to live?
A: The Kame House
"Shopping would be a real pain, but probably there would be some sort of mecha to cross the ocean, and if no typhoons came, I'd like the Kame House the best. If the island was a little larger, with a Kame House the size of the Capsule Corporation, I'd like to live there even more."

Q: Which Kamehameha shot was the best in your opinion, and who shot it?
A: Kamesennin's Kamehameha
"My first impression would be that it would probably be the first shot fired by Kamesennin. That's because that was the shot that started the history of the Kamehameha. Also, I think it was the most effective one, too. By the way he fired it, that is."

Q: Which technique would you most like to be able to do?
A (#1): Bukujutsu (Fly)
"It probably would feel great to fly in the air unassisted. I'm sure it would feel great. Also, don't you think it would be really useful in day to day life?"
A (#2): Shunkanido (Teleport)
"Shunkanido might be good too. I'd really like to be able to go anywhere I want just by thinking about it."
A(#3): Kamehameha (Energy Blast)
"The Kamehameha! I think being able to blow stuff up would really surprise people. But having to pay for the damages afterward would be a pain."

Q: What is your favorite technique?
A (#1): Kamehameha
"As a technique, I don't particularly like it all that much, but when you really come down to it, don't you think the way that Kamehamehas were saved up and fired at the right moments were good? I like the Kamehameha the best. My wife thought up the name for it."
A (#2): Gekitotsu Buu Buu (Set Buu Up and Spike Him) Volleyball
"I like this one. It's a really silly, fun technique. I like it."
A (#3): Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack
"I like monsters too. This is was the first time I changed the way I thought up techniques."
Q: Which was your favorite battle?
A (#1): Son Goku vs. Piccolo-Daimao
"Probably Piccolo-Daimao. That's because it's the first time in the series there was a fight against a truly evil person."
A (#2): Gotenks vs Majin-Buu
"I think this was the first time for a long time that I could make a fight that's the way I like. I drew it in a comparatively different way at the time."

Q: What was the most memorable Tenkai-ichi Budoukai fight to you?
A: Son Goku vs. Tenshinhan
"When I think about it, the most memorable fight was probably Goku and Tenshinhan's. That's because their powers were a perfectly even match."

Q: Of all the items you made in the Dragon Ball world, which would you want the most?
A: Hoipoi Capsules
"Capsules! I'd want capsules when I go on trips. I'd want them the most when I can't find a parking space. They're really convenient. Also since their weight changes you could keep practically anything in them. But I wonder what would happen if you turned something back into a capsule if there was someone still inside it?"

Q: Which item's concept do you think "Wow, this thing is incredible" about?
A: Hoipoi Capsules
"Is it the capsules, I wonder? It's the most convenient item in the manga. Since it was a road manga at the start, and luggage had to be taken to all kinds of places, and if they were always carrying bags around it would be strange. If items, vehicles, and the like, were put into capsules, it would be advantageous, and they could take out what they needed whenever they want."

Q: Which is your favorite Artificial Human?
A (#1): Cell's second form
"It's Cell's second form. He's really cool. When I told Kondo-san, my chief editor, that this was the form that I had decided on, he said 'He looks kind of stupid. Let's make him get his perfect form soon.' Actually, I had intended to do more with him at that point than I did."
A(#2): Artificial Human #18
"Because she looks much different than the typical woman that I normally draw, I like her. I like her second best."
A(#3): Artificial Humans #19, #20
"Next I like Artificial Humans #19 and #20 best. That's because I was going to make them be the true enemies from the start. But since they were old guys I changed my mind."