Dragon Ballis a juggernaut of the anime industry today, so it’s hard to imagine a time when its future as a series was in doubt. However, there was one point in the series where Toriyama’s editors feared the worst, and that happens to have been the transition point where Goku finally matured into the look fans know him for today.
Dragon Ball, of course, introduced Goku as a child of mysterious origins. The manga was originally pretty adventure-focused, but with the advent of Goku’s training with Master Roshi and his eventual entrance into the World Martial Arts Tournament, it quickly switched to being a battle-focused manga. That would remain the case for much of the originalDragon Ballseries' run, until the Piccolo Jr. arc. At that time, Goku is requested to train with Kami on the lookout for three years, leading to a time skip, after which Goku returns for the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament as an adult.
Toriyama’s Editors Hated the Idea of Aging Goku Up
The Editors Feared a Major Change to Goku’s Appearance Would Scare Off Fans
Akira Toriyama had good reasons for wanting to age Goku up into an adult. According to aninterview in the “Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary Super History Book,” as translated by Kanzenshuu,Toriyama said, “[Goku’s] head/body ratio made fighting hard, so I said that if the series was going to start focusing more on battles, then I needed to make him an adult.“However, Toriyama knew that this plot development would lead to a lot of resistance from his editors, who felt that “in shōnen manga, changing what the main character looked like was a big no-no.”
Toriyama reported his editors reacting, quoting them as saying “The series has finally gotten popular, and now you want to go and change everything!”. Toriyama was always one to have things his own way, though, so his solution to dealing with the situation was a simple one: “First I drew a sketch of adult Goku and sent it over to the editorial office to get their feedback. But then I started drawing the rough draft before I even heard back from them. By the time I sent the rough draft to the editorial office, there wasn’t any time left to make major revisions, so they were just like ‘if you’re so dead-set on doing this, then fine…'”
In essence, Toriyama predicted their objections, and left the editors in a situation that ultimately forced them to go along with what he wanted, finally allowing him to age up Goku to an adult after around 170 chapters. Toriyama’s editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, recounts events similarly in the Daizenshuu 2 book. “…the thing I felt was the biggest crisis for serialization was when he told me that Goku would grow up.Toriyama-senseithreatened that ifGoku didn’t grow up, then he couldn’t continue with serialization. It was terrible, breaching the subject like that. ‘You can have the protagonist grow up, just don’t scare me like that,’ I said.”
How Goku’s Aging Affected the Rest of the Series
Toriyama may have gotten what he wanted, but there’s reason to think that he ultimately had to make some concessions. Goku did indeed grow into an adult for what would turn out to be the final saga underDragon Ball, before moving on to another time skip and the start of what most fans know asDragon Ball Z–although it’s all considered one in the manga. This era also saw the introduction of Goku’s son Gohan, who seemed intended to take on a major role in the series, especially onceGoku died in battle with Raditz.
Perhaps Gohan was designed to be a little easier to draw in fight scenes than Goku had been.
One can’t help but wonder if Gohan was meant to draw back some fans who had grown less interested in the series once Goku had aged up, giving them a new child hero to follow. It’s certainly interesting that Toriyama would choose to create another child character after complaining about the difficulty of drawing child characters in fight scenes. Perhaps Gohan was designed to be a little easier to draw in fight scenes than Goku had been; Goku’s hair can certainly be difficult at times, especially in his younger form when it’s a much larger percentage of his design.
Gohan did become exceptionally popular upon his introduction, skyrocketing to first place in theShonen Jumppopularity poll in 1993, beating out his father, who only placed fifth. Gohan’s popularity led to him having a big role in many arcs, andeven being the first character to attain Super Saiyan 2in the Cell Games. Toriyama has never really commented on Gohan being difficult to draw, even in spite of his big roles, so presumably he was happier with drawing Gohan than Goku.
How Much Was Goku’s Age-Up Planned?
Goku’s Aging Was Largely Done Out of Convenience
It’s no secret that Akira Toriyama rarely planned his story out very far in advance. Toriyama would sometimes joke that he was eager to see what happened in next week’s chapter, just like the fans.Aging up Goku likely didn’t have any bigger story purpose besides making him easier to draw.On the other hand, it did feel like a very natural continuation of the story; Goku had been through so much and hadn’t grown so much as an inch, so finally seeing him as an adult was a very satisfying moment for fans. Just look how our boy has grown!
While Goku’s aging was an incredibly controversial decision with his editors at the time, Toriyama found a way to have the best of both worlds, aging Goku up into an adult and allowing him to mature, while still having a child protagonist in the form of Gohan. And, of course, the series’ popularity only grew after Goku was aged into an adult, and now when people think of Goku, they almost always think of his adult design first.Dragon Ballaging up Goku was a fantastic idea that struck at just the right time, and it’s hard to imagine what the series would be like today without this time skip.
