‘Dragon Ball Super’ Reveals How Much Control Toei Has Over Toriyama's Ideas

If there is one thing the Dragon Ball fandom covets, it is their canon. Akira Toriyama's iconic franchise has lots of parts, but the fandom is still meticulous about what gets to be categorized as canon. So, it isn't surprising for some fans to question if Dragon Ball Super is really left up to Toriyama. That doesn't mean they are onto something though.

Recently, two executives with Dragon Ball Super traveled to Barcelona for an annual anime convention. Hiroyuki Sakurada and Kimitoshi Chioka opened up with fans about how the anime's behind-the-scenes work at Toei Animation goes. It was there the two clarified one important thing about the show's stories.

As summarized by translators on social media, the producer and director were asked if Toei has the power to change Toriyama's drafts. The creator came back to Dragon Ball just for its ongoing anime, and the artist has given its team episode drafts. Some fans have wondered how much Toei Animation may alter Toriyama's work to make Dragon Ball Super more lucrative, but both of the show's executives laughed off the idea.

"Does Toei have power to change Toriyama's draft?"
Both laugh
"Basically not" They might make requests, but "you can't tell God to change"

— Todd Blankenship (@Herms98) November 4, 2017

According to the pair, Toei does not have the power to change any part of Toriyama's story. The executives said the studio may "make [change] requests" but "you can't tell God to change."

So, there you have it. When it comes to Dragon Ball, Toriyama is the one and only kami.

Dragon Ball Super's "Universal Survival" saga is part of the recent simulcast agreement that sites like Crunchyroll and Funimation have scored. Dragon Ball Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturdays at 7:15 p.m. CST. Toonami airs the English dub on Adult Swim Saturdays at 11:30 p.m.