Summary

• Toriyama's interest in animation goes beyond Dragon Ball, as he revealed his desire to create an anime for all ages and audiences.
• COWA! (1997-1998) and Sand Land (2000) showcase Toriyama's attempt to craft stories that appeal to a wide range of audiences.
• Despite his success with Dragon Ball, Toriyama sought to create works that emphasize friendship, trust, and universal themes of good vs evil.

Over the years, Akira Toriyama has endeavored to give the Dragon Ball fandom insight, understanding, and perspectives on the story, its characters, and himself, that are not readily found in the manga. In an October 1995 interview, the last of his "Super Interview" series, which was translated and posted to Kanzenshuu, Toriyama - among other topics - discusses his interest in and fascination with animation.

When a manga, like Dragon Ball, reaches a certain level of success and popularity, one of the next steps in its evolution is an anime adaptation. However, while the story is the same, since manga and anime are completely different mediums, the original manga creator rarely heads and is sometimes completely uninvolved in, the anime productions. But, as Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama revealed, this doesn't mean that the original manga creator is not interested in the adaptation or, more importantly, not interested in anime in general.

In the interview, Toriyama stated that while his role in the Dragon Ball anime series was largely relegated to the role of advisor, he did, on occasions, have some direct input into the production, such as being tabbed to design several characters, including Bojack and Brol. Even more interesting in his conversation, however, were his thoughts on anime in general.

Toriyama Wanted To Make The Ultimate Crowd-Pleasing Anime

Referring to a previous Kanzenshuu Super Interview, where he spoke about the unlimited possibilities that animation gives to an artist to create, Toriyama itted to wanting to do an original anime story that everyone could enjoy.

I think “a work that young and old, boy and girl alike can enjoy would be nice”. - Akira Toriyama

Coming from the creator of a legendary manga that caters to teenage boys and young men, and is published in a magazine - Shōnen Jump - whose title literally refers to its target audience as adolescent boys, Toriyama's answer is quite surprising. It certainly raises eyebrows to see the master of a "macho" martial arts and battle manga like Dragon Ball wanting to produce an anime that caters to a wide range of audiences.

On the other hand, and more importantly, Toriyama's interest in making an anime for all audiences is also quite telling of his mindset towards the manga and anime industries at the time. It reveals and highlights Toriyama's very forward-thinking and progressive attitude - a refreshing contrast to the traditionally conservative Japanese shōnen manga and anime industry.

After Dragon Ball, Did Toriyama Finally Get The Anime He Wanted?

Also, if possible, if I do a comic myself first before it becomes animation, I’d like to make it so that it’s easy to convey the work’s feeling when it’s animated. By drawing it myself, I’d be able to tell whether it’s enjoyable or not; a one-shot would be fine, so I’d like to draw it. - Akira Toriyama

This is not to say that Toriyama was not up to the task of bringing his vision to life. In fact, in two works he completed after the conclusion of Dragon Ball in 1995, and then after the debut of Dragon Ball Super in 2015, Toriyama comes as close as possible to crafting a story that everyone can enjoy. He also had that personal input that he believed would allow him to get the right feel for the story.

The first is COWA! (1997-1998). The series follows the adventures of three monsters and a human on a quest to obtain a cure for a sickness that is decimating the monsters living in the village near a human city. The second, and more well-known work is Sand Land, which was originally published in 2000, and most recently adapted into an anime for Disney in 2024. Sand Land follows three characters from a perpetually drought-stricken village in their quest to find a new source of water and freedom from the King, whose hoarding of water has done untold damage to the village and its inhabitants.

Both series tell classic "hero's journey" stories that emphasize the friendship, trust, and camaraderie that develops between the team during the quest. Both also include those universal themes of good versus evil, courage, growth, transformation, and empowerment that - as Dragon Ball's Toriyama wanted - appeal to audiences across ages, genders, and cultures.

Sources: Kanzenshuu (1), (2)