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Akira Toriyama originally intended to conclude Dragon Ball with the Cell saga, but strong editorial pressure forced him to extend the series, according to a recent interview with three former Dragon Ball editors: Kazuhiko Torishima, Yu Kondo, and Fuyuto Takeda.
This was revealed during a recent episode of KosoKoso podcast on Feb 22, 2025.
During the conversation, they confirmed that Toriyama repeatedly expressed his desire to conclude the series during the final phase of the Cell saga.
According to them, the editorial team did not fully grasp his intentions, believing the series could continue in a different direction even after the Cell Saga’s conclusion.
Due to the franchise’s massive popularity, the pressure to keep the series running overruled the author’s creative wishes.
However, Takeda had sided with the author and sought ways to ease his workload.
He supported Toriyama’s desire to end the series, though the pressure from the editorial side ultimately led to the continuation of the story with the Majin Buu saga.
Eventually, both Toriyama and Takeda insisted that the series should definitively conclude with the end of the Majin Buu arc, bringing Dragon Ball to a close in 1995.
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
