Dragon Ball might not be a major part of this year’s Jump Festa, but the legendary shonen franchise is preparing to host an event of its own in 2026 to hint at the future of the franchise. In the present, however, a previous editor for the shonen’s manga has been making his displeasure with the current state of the franchise known. Thanks to a recent interview with former editor Kauhiko Torishima, fists are flying almost as fast as those of the Saiyans as the long-time Dragon Ball figure throws blows at a current producer and the state of the shonen series.
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During a recent podcast interview, Torishima took swings at producer Akio Iyoku, without specifically naming the Dragon Ball producer, by proclaiming that Iyoku was arrogant, “He is the head of a secret society. Someone who hasn’t created a single page or written a single line of Dragon Ball, yet gives orders on everything with that arrogant air.” On top of the knock against Akio, Kauhiko also spoke about his recent visit to the official Dragon Ball store, holding nothing back, “It’s sh**. Actually, it’s beneath sh**. It looks like a shop put together overnight. To tell the truth, the producer at Capsule Corporation Tokyo has absolutely no aesthetic sense, which is why things like this come out. Shueisha can’t communicate well with Capsule Corp, or CCT is so annoying that they’ve stopped telling them anything.”
Torishima even went one step further during the podcast, asking Dragon Ball fans not to spend money at the store in Japan, “Apologies for saying this to fans who went to the Dragon Ball store, but guys, they are treating you like ducks to be plucked. They think: ‘They don’t understand anyway, just lining this stuff up is enough.’ The only choice is not to buy and slam in their faces the fact that everything there now is sh**. If it stops selling, everyone will reflect. It is because it sells that they stop thinking.”
No Love Lost Between Torishima And Dragon Ball
This isn’t the first time that the former Dragon Ball editor has fired slings and arrows at the state of the manga world. During the 2025 Japan Expo, Torishima shared his thoughts on how the manga medium should be excelling more than it already is, “Today, there’s a real problem, kids don’t read manga anymore. Editors say kids can’t follow panel layouts, but I tell them, your paneling just isn’t good, it’s hard to read. For example, Toriyama’s manga was crystal clear. One Piece should be readable by elementary school kids, in terms of panel layout. It’s not the mangaka’s fault, it’s the editors, who don’t have strong enough skills in manga layout and readability. One reason is that publishers hire people who’ve only ever read manga. If you don’t hire people with broader tastes – cinema, literature – the creative world keeps shrinking.”
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