There's how, basically, Son Goku from 'Dragon Ball' doesn't fight for the sake of others but because he wants to fight against strong guys. So once 'Dragon Ball' got animated, at any rate, I've always been dissatisfied with the 'righteous hero'-type portrayal they gave him.
Akira Toriyama
I guess that if I was a normal cartoonist who did things properly, I'd think up the background information first and then come up with the story. Saying that, you'd think that I don't really think through anything.
Inside me, 'Dragon Ball' became a thing of the past, but later, I got upset at the live-action film, revised the script for the anime film, and complained about the quality of the TV anime. I guess, at some point, it became a work that I like so much that I can't leave it alone.
'Dragon Ball''s villains were easy to draw: Piccolo, Freeza, Majin Boo.
I really like the story of Bardock, Goku's father. It's quite dramatic and the kind of story I absolutely wouldn't draw if it were me. It was like watching a different kind of 'Dragon Ball' in a good way, so I thought it was nice.
I use a G-Pen from Zebra. Different people have different preferred pen nibs. I don't put much force on it when I draw, so I'll generally use a single nib for about three chapters.
Awww, I was so shy about watching my own work broadcast on TV.
The setting of 'Dragon Ball' has a sort of Chinese feel to it, but it's not necessarily limited to China. For the time period as well, exactly when it takes place is indeterminate.
A number of years ago, when I had an exhibition of my work, the people in charge who came to pick up my manuscripts saw them piled up haphazardly in the garage and were shocked. 'What? They'll grow mold like this!' they said. People who do things properly apparently make a dedicated manuscript room, where they can control humidity.
I'm not good at doing the same thing over and over again.
When I'm out and about, it's rare for me to be recognized. But for some reason, every now and then, someone will know who I am. It might be because my picture occasionally appeared in 'Weekly Jump.'
Since I'm a contrarian, I don't want to go along with what everyone else thinks.
Basically, I'm always coming up with ideas for mixing the things I want to draw with things targeted at children.
I have absolutely no preferences when it comes to food.
The method of producing comics in Japan is very hectic, but it's also rewarding because it's possible to do both the story and art all by yourself.
For characters where, in a comic, I'd avoid using screen tone because it's such a bother, I'd deliberately use it in animation in order to highlight their individual characteristics.
I usually live an extremely normal life, since I live in the countryside. Even when people call me 'famous' and such, I can't really fathom it, even now.
In manga, nothing actually moves, and you just have to draw the poses in each panel, but in anime, you have to draw the movements between those poses.
I'm good at - or, rather, I like - giving names to characters.
I'm just a manga artist, so I can't stand being scrutinized.
Basically with everything, I choose my criteria based on what can be easy. If I made the real world the setting, I'd have to draw looking at reference materials for stuff like buildings and vehicles. When you do that, people complain even if it's just a little bit off.
With things like 'Dragon Ball,' in the case of fight scenes, I'd take the panel layout across two pages when the book is opened and alter it by angling them, and making them bigger or smaller, to give movement to the panels themselves.
The nice thing about gag manga is how it has this aspect where, at the very least, you're permitted to come out with anything. In my case, anything can talk. Like the mountains.
Come to think of it, even though I've received tons of fan letters and presents from everyone, I've never written anyone back. How rude of me!
What I regret most after becoming a cartoonist is having used my real name. At first, I figured there was no way I'd sell anyhow, so I didn't even consider using a pen name.
Weekly, monthly, or whatever, I'm just not good with being told I have to finish up according to a set schedule.
A teleporter would be nice. There are lots of places I want to go, but getting there is a pain.
For a long time, I've loved the kind of characters who are boastful yet petty. I was originally a gag manga artist, after all.
There was a manga boom, so I read 'Astro Boy,' 'Osomatsu-kun,' and such. But what influenced me the most were things like 'Popeye' and Disney animation.
I would often draw in my sleep. That alone made for twice the work... I couldn't use the weird stuff I drew while dozing off, so I'd end up having to draw it all over again.
When I draw something, the incredibly annoying thing is that it doesn't come out like I pictured.
I like Piccolo about the same as I like Goku.
I prefer things nice and simple.
Back before I entered primary school, I liked to draw, even though I was a brat. I especially liked animals and vehicles, and I drew that sort of thing constantly.
Do you remember 'Super Saiyan 3?' I forgot about it, and I thought that was 'Super Saiyan 2,' even though I created those characters.
Both my assistant and my wife tell me that during battle scenes, when a character is making a 'guwaa' sort of face, my face also ends up going 'guwaa.' So afterwards, my whole face is tired. I guess it's because I'm the kind of guy who gets caught up in his own work.
In spite of being so absorbed in comics when I was in primary school, for whatever reason, I stopped reading them that much once I started junior high. I think it's probably because I got caught up in movies and TV.
I wanted to change up the tempo and setting of my comics in the sense of giving them some variety, for one thing. So where, for 'Slump,' the art was very America-esque, in the case of 'Dragon Ball,' I made it as Chinese as could be.
I liked how 'Star Wars' felt both old and new. I even built a model of R2-D2, taking about two months mixing two kits to make one that looked just like the real thing. I'm the kind of person who gets really into it when I do something like that.
I love girls, whether they wear glasses or not!
It's a pain to draw different-looking humans.
I was one of the more talented ones at the design firm I joined, so I conducted my work pretty shrewdly. Except I wasn't a morning person, so I was quite frequently late for work. On top of that, it was a fairly big company, they were fussy about the dress code, and I got chewed out quite often.
I use Pilot's document ink, but their drawing ink is OK, too. It's just that I don't like the impression that clings to the pen tip.
I think comics are faster to draw with a pen and then fill and tone by computer. But my illustrations are all done via computer. I even draw the lines on a tablet.
The women I draw all have the same sort of personality. I can't draw gentle girls; I only know how to draw ones who are strong-willed.
In the second half of primary school, I liked live-action shows and giant-monster movies, and then in junior high, I got into regular movies.
Lumped in as a hobby, I don't really like drawing pictures all that much, but thinking of it as work, it's the greatest.
I'm personally not terribly interested in designing wholesome characters, so I don't have many variations to offer.
I'm always impressed with the work of animators. You have to be able to draw the scenes in between movements. I'm impressed with the way they can do that - I don't think I could.
I say that I've never been late with a manuscript, but I don't mean to be arrogant; it's that I simply want to get it done as soon as possible so I can be set free.
