“I Didn’t Want to Draw Manga”: Dragon Ball Only Came To Be For a Shocking Reason

Creating iconic and groundbreaking manga such as Dragon Ball is often believed to be the work of creators with an unequaled passion for the medium, industry, and profession. According to Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, however, he got into the manga business by coincidence rather than passionate creative inspiration.

Toriyama’s comment was made during a 2018 interview by Weekly Shōnen Jump commemorating the magazine’s 50th anniversary. Toriyama appeared in the interview with Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue, and both were asked by the host a variety of questions regarding their experiences becoming and being two of the legendary manga anthology’s most popular and respected authors. The speech was uploaded to the well-known fan site Skullknight.net website by a member known as Hitoshura.

Toward the mid-point of the interview, Toriyama and Inoue are asked how they chose Weekly Shōnen Jump to publish and distribute their work. Toriyama’s answer, in particular, was as amusing as informative. Indeed, unlike more than a few mangakas, including Inoue, Toriyama did not have a lifelong passion to be a manga author. At the time, he’d already carved out a relatively stable life working as a designer. It was only after he decided to quit his position that he got the idea to author a manga.

Necessity Was The Inspiration That Drove Toriyama To Create Dragon Ball

The legendary author got into the business by coincidence – and luck

After quitting his position as a designer due to a dislike for the corporate world, Toriyama confesses to having plenty of spare time, which, like many creatives, he spent in local coffee shops where he’d read magazines. Ultimately, Toriyama came across a contest for new manga authors in Weekly Shōnen Jump‘s rival Weekly Shōnen Magazine that would award ¥500,000 – about $4,500 in current conversion rates.

Given Toriyama’s natural artistic abilities honed as a designer, he was immediately drawn to the contest, especially since he didn’t have a steady income. In other words, the birth of one of the most iconic manga authors of all time was not sparked by a lifelong desire to be in the business. Rather, it was a simple necessity for Toriyama to earn a living. As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention”, and Toriyama proved that.

Dragon Ball Almost Never Happened

Toriyama missed his first deadline

While Toriyama’s need to get paid might have ultimately led to Dragon Ball‘s creation, it still almost never happened. Indeed, in a situation that more than a few freelance content creators can identify with, Toriyama missed the deadline for submission for the Weekly Shōnen Magazine contest. With the next deadline for submissions half a year away, Toriyama could have easily dropped the manga idea and found another job.

Fortunately for Toriyama, and the manga fanbase in general, soon after missing the deadline for the Weekly Shōnen Magazine submission, Toriyama ran across a call for manga artists from Weekly Shōnen Jump, which had just begun asking for monthly submissions. A mere coincidence, which ultimately led to Toriyama getting started in the business, and growing to become the most celebrated author after Osamu Tezuka.

Toriyama’s journey from unemployed designer to legendary mangaka is an eye-opening illustration of the randomness and coincidence that sometimes fuel the most momentous developments in life. Indeed, but for Weekly Shōnen Jump‘s call for submissions at that particular time, Toriyama might have been doing something else and Dragon Ball – along with all his other works – would have never come to be, which would have been a terrible loss for the entire world.

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Source: Skullknight.net