Top 95 Akira Toriyama Quotes

Since I’m a contrarian, I don’t want to go along with what everyone else thinks.

I use Pilot’s document ink, but their drawing ink is OK, too. It’s just that I don’t like the impression that clings to the pen tip.

It’s too bad that ‘Dragon Ball,’ which I drew for a very long time, has ended. Just kidding. I’m incredibly glad. Now I can just leisurely sit around!

I’d want to be born once more as myself, but more talented.

Both my assistant and my wife tell me that during battle scenes, when a character is making a ‘guwaa’ sort of face, my face also ends up going ‘guwaa.’ So afterwards, my whole face is tired. I guess it’s because I’m the kind of guy who gets caught up in his own work.

When I draw something, the incredibly annoying thing is that it doesn’t come out like I pictured.

I felt that working at an office from the early morning was impossible for me. Anyway, I wanted to be free from that lifestyle as soon as possible. I wanted to take it easy.

I’m good at – or, rather, I like – giving names to characters.

Weekly, monthly, or whatever, I’m just not good with being told I have to finish up according to a set schedule.

For a long time, I’ve loved the kind of characters who are boastful yet petty. I was originally a gag manga artist, after all.

I have memories of reading comics when I was in primary school, but that’s about it.

The setting of ‘Dragon Ball’ has a sort of Chinese feel to it, but it’s not necessarily limited to China. For the time period as well, exactly when it takes place is indeterminate.

It’s a pain to draw different-looking humans.

I like efficient people. I’m pretty impatient, so I can’t stand people who putter around.

After graduating from high school, I worked at an advertising agency as a designer. After I left, I spent a year doing nothing in particular. At age 23, I drew my first comic.

After graduating from high school, I worked at an advertising agency as a designer. After I left, I spent a year doing nothing in particular. At age 23, I drew my first comic.

Maybe I’m just like a child. I’m full of curiosity about things, and it’s fine as long as it’s fun at that time, yet at the same time, I hate things that are tough.

Come to think of it, even though I’ve received tons of fan letters and presents from everyone, I’ve never written anyone back. How rude of me!

I say that I’ve never been late with a manuscript, but I don’t mean to be arrogant; it’s that I simply want to get it done as soon as possible so I can be set free.

There have been times when I didn’t quite make my deadline.

I used to play role-playing games a lot when I was younger, but once you start an RPG, it takes a lot of time. So I like things like action games you can just pick up and play.

The women I draw all have the same sort of personality. I can’t draw gentle girls; I only know how to draw ones who are strong-willed.

For characters where, in a comic, I’d avoid using screen tone because it’s such a bother, I’d deliberately use it in animation in order to highlight their individual characteristics.

There’s how, basically, Son Goku from ‘Dragon Ball’ doesn’t fight for the sake of others but because he wants to fight against strong guys. So once ‘Dragon Ball’ got animated, at any rate, I’ve always been dissatisfied with the ‘righteous hero’-type portrayal they gave him.

I’m not very good at depicting the characters’ psychology on the page.

Back when I watched ‘Future Boy Conan,’ I thought I might like to try my hand at animation, but now, not at all.

I’m always impressed with the work of animators. You have to be able to draw the scenes in between movements. I’m impressed with the way they can do that – I don’t think I could.

I’m not very good at depicting the characters’ psychology on the page.

In spite of being so absorbed in comics when I was in primary school, for whatever reason, I stopped reading them that much once I started junior high. I think it’s probably because I got caught up in movies and TV.

The nice thing about gag manga is how it has this aspect where, at the very least, you’re permitted to come out with anything. In my case, anything can talk. Like the mountains.

So many, many people have helped me out with ‘Dragon Ball’ through the years. Obviously, there are the fans from all over the world who’ve cheered me on.

I say that I’ve never been late with a manuscript, but I don’t mean to be arrogant; it’s that I simply want to get it done as soon as possible so I can be set free.

With enemies, it’s easier to just have them be straight-up bad guys so they can just get beaten up.

In the second half of primary school, I liked live-action shows and giant-monster movies, and then in junior high, I got into regular movies.

I felt that working at an office from the early morning was impossible for me. Anyway, I wanted to be free from that lifestyle as soon as possible. I wanted to take it easy.

I’m flying by the seat of my pants, never creating with a thought to what’s up ahead!

I generally leave the television on while I’m working.

I’m an economic human without any likes or dislikes!

I’m always going to the toy store; I even have a room full of plastic models.

Do you remember ‘Super Saiyan 3?’ I forgot about it, and I thought that was ‘Super Saiyan 2,’ even though I created those characters.

I’m personally not terribly interested in designing wholesome characters, so I don’t have many variations to offer.

I have memories of reading comics when I was in primary school, but that’s about it.

If you’re doing gags, I think it’s important to have characters who are as strong-willed and impactful as possible.

I’m a lazy person, but if I’m not absent-mindedly doing something, I can’t really relax. I can’t just veg out.

I like efficient people. I’m pretty impatient, so I can’t stand people who putter around.

I was one of the more talented ones at the design firm I joined, so I conducted my work pretty shrewdly. Except I wasn’t a morning person, so I was quite frequently late for work. On top of that, it was a fairly big company, they were fussy about the dress code, and I got chewed out quite often.

I think it’s best to know about lots of different things besides comics. I don’t think you can become a cartoonist if you look at nothing but cartoons.

The women I draw all have the same sort of personality. I can’t draw gentle girls; I only know how to draw ones who are strong-willed.

If you want to depict something exactly the way it is, it takes a tremendous amount of time. If you don’t get the details right, the inaccuracies will accumulate somewhere.

Rather than deliberately trying to draw something, use something you yourself like and want to draw, and I think the characters that come out of that will really have their own individuality.

When I got into the second half of ‘Dragon Ball,’ I had already become more interested in thinking up the story then in drawing the pictures. Then I started to not place much emphasis on the pictures.

Most Saiyans are born with a talent for battle, but they still need to be taught the trick behind flying and stuff like that.

I like Piccolo about the same as I like Goku.

There have been times when I didn’t quite make my deadline.

With manga, in my art style, I don’t do much in the way of techniques to create depth. But even though I don’t do depth techniques through my art, I am conscious of depth itself.

In manga, nothing actually moves, and you just have to draw the poses in each panel, but in anime, you have to draw the movements between those poses.

Awww, I was so shy about watching my own work broadcast on TV.

I’m just a manga artist, so I can’t stand being scrutinized.

I am not at all particular about things like hair styles and colors. Especially with women, changing their hairstyle or color is a bit too commonplace, don’t you think?

It’s a secret, but when I decided to apply to ‘Shonen Magazine,’ it was already past the deadline, so I had no choice but to go with ‘Shonen Jump.’ My motivation for becoming a cartoonist was… to put it bluntly, the ¥100,000 prize money.

When I’m out and about, it’s rare for me to be recognized. But for some reason, every now and then, someone will know who I am. It might be because my picture occasionally appeared in ‘Weekly Jump.’

I believe that comics are entirely for entertainment.

I like Piccolo about the same as I like Goku.

A teleporter would be nice. There are lots of places I want to go, but getting there is a pain.

Basically, I’m always coming up with ideas for mixing the things I want to draw with things targeted at children.

There was a manga boom, so I read ‘Astro Boy,’ ‘Osomatsu-kun,’ and such. But what influenced me the most were things like ‘Popeye’ and Disney animation.

If I had moved to Tokyo, I might even have become a completely different person… although, ever since the start, I’ve never wanted to move to Tokyo. I just can’t handle there being so many people.

The method of producing comics in Japan is very hectic, but it’s also rewarding because it’s possible to do both the story and art all by yourself.