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In a recent interview, three former Dragon Ball editors, Kazuhiko Torishima, Yu Kondo, and Fuyuto Takeda, shared insights about the creation of Trunks.
Speaking on the Feb 22, 2025, episode of the KosoKoso podcast, the editors revealed that when Trunks first appeared in the manga, effortlessly defeating Frieza, even series creator Akira Toriyama had not yet decided on the character’s identity or backstory.
It was only later that Toriyama connected Trunks to Vegeta and Bulma, declaring, “Okay, Bulma marries Vegeta.”
This revelation stunned the editorial team, as Bulma had shown no prior romantic interest in Vegeta.
Some editors suggested that the relationship should be further explored and explained in detail, but Toriyama dismissed the idea with a casual, “Eh, more or less.”
This, they explained, was reflective of his storytelling philosophy, i.e., avoiding excessive planning, introducing new ideas on the spot, and changing things whenever they became inconvenient or uninteresting. His goal, they noted, was always to surprise the readers while keeping his own workload as simple as possible.
In the same interview they had also revealed that Toriyama originally intended to conclude Dragon Ball with the Cell saga, but strong editorial pressure forced him to extend the series.
Since its debut in 1984, Dragon Ball has become a global phenomenon.
The initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters collected in 42 tankobon volumes by its publisher Shueisha.
The manga’s 42 collected tankobon volumes have over 160 million copies sold in Japan and 260 million copies sold worldwide
Toriyama’s manga was adapted and divided into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which together were broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1996.
Additionally, the studio has developed 21 animated feature films and three television specials, as well as an anime sequel series titled Dragon Ball GT (1996–1997) and an anime midquel series titled Dragon Ball Super (2015–2018). From 2009 to 2015, a revised version of Dragon Ball Z aired in Japan under the title Dragon Ball Kai, as a recut that follows the manga’s story more faithfully by removing most of the material featured exclusively in the anime.
Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1, 2024, at the age of 68 due to acute subdural hematoma.
Source: X
