Dragon Ball Creator Reveals Why Goku Was Aged Up So Quickly

Dragon Ball may have been created by Akira Toriyama back in the day, but the series wouldn’t be the one we know without Kazuhiko Torishima’s help. The editor brought the series to life as Toriyama’s editor at Shueisha, and he oversaw the first half of Dragon Ball after helping on Dr. Slump. These days, the manga legend is reliving his career in a new book, and an anecdote from the novel reveals new info about Goku’s aging.

As shared by Herms98 on Twitter, Torishima’s new book features a text chat between himself and Toriyama. During this section of the book, the two talk shop about manga, and Toriyama thinks back to an important moment in Dragon Ball. When the series began shifting from a more explorative shonen to a battle-centric one, the manga aged up Goku, and it turns out Toriyama had a specific reason for doing this.

And what is it? Well, it has to do with battle choreography. Toriyama felt Goku’s small body was too much of an obstacle while drawing action sequences, so he wanted to age up Goku. Torishima opposed this idea when it was first raised, but Toriyama said it had to happen lest he quit the series entirely. That shows just how set Toriyama was on Goku being aged up, and Torishima was left to pitch adult Goku to the editor-in-chief at Shueisha.

As we all know today, the change was approved, and Dragon Ball was hardly hit over Goku’s aging. It seems a single complaint was lodged at Shueisha over the ordeal, so Toriyama’s vision panned out. In order to create an action manga with dynamic battles, Goku needed to be an adult, so Toriyama made that change happen with help from Torishima.

If you have never read Dragon Ball’s earliest chapters, you better brush up on them now! Kid Goku is far too often overlooked by the fandom at large. You can read all of Dragon Ball courtesy of Viz Media in English, so you can get copies digitally or in stores. For more details on Dragon Ball, you can read its official synopsis below:

“Goku is a very special boy who has had to fend for himself in the middle of nature and without contact with others. One day, he meets Bulma, a girl who is looking for the seven Dragon Balls. When gathered, these magical artifacts invoke a dragon god named Shenron who will grant a single wish, whatever it may be. Goku joins Bulma in the search for the balls without knowing that there are other dangerous beings who also desire them.”

What do you think about this latest explanation of Goku’s growth spurt? Do you think Dragon Ball rushed the hero? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!