It's True: A New Dragon Ball Interview Just Busted One of the Anime's Biggest Myths
Dragon Ball's Cell Saga is likely the most complex section in Akira Toriyama's iconic long-running series. Featuring several moving parts, multiple enemies, time travel, training arcs, and time skips, the Cell Saga is a section which keeps the audience guessing until the final climactic Father-Son Kamehameha. Many rumors have followed the arc in the years since its completion, the most common being that Toriyama intended to end the series at its completion.
As it turns out, a recent interview with three of Dragon Ball's longtime editors revealed that rumor, among others, to be true. On-the-fly writing was a specialty of the legendary artist, who rarely planned for any of the series' story developments in advance. Another widespread rumor, which has quite a bit to do with his style of writing, centered around Toriyama's editors forcing several changes to the Cell Saga's primary antagonists, but unlike others, this rumor was disputed by Kazuhiko Torishima.
Dragon Ball's Editor Claims He Never Criticized the Cell Saga's Androids
A Long-Standing Rumor Attributed the Cell Saga's Many Enemies to Criticism From Editors
One of the most popular rumors surrounding Dragon Ball is that Akira Toriyama's editors influenced him to continuously change the Cell Saga's antagonists. It's likely the story originated from a decades-old interview brought to light by X user NazChris_dj, in which it was printed that Torishima responded negatively to the Androids. Thanks to another X user, Venixys, Torishima's supposed statements regarding Gero and #19 translate to, "But it's an old man and a fat guy, right?". Later, when presented with Androids #17 and #18, his response was, "And now they're kids?"
However, in the latest interview from the podcast KosoKoso, Torishima denied ever making any statements like those attributed to him. The editor has a history of not quite biting his tongue, commenting that the Dragon Ball Super manga was missing a vital quality of Toriyama's original series during Jump Festa 2025. However, with confirmation from Torishima himself, it seems one of the longest-standing rumors about the series has been proven false.
Akira Toriyama Was Given More Creative Freedom Than Fans Realize
Dragon Ball's Editors Recall Their Time Working With the Series' Creator
With the popular rumor regarding the Cell Saga being dispelled, it's likely the arc's many changing enemies were due to Toriyama's own unique, improvisational writing style, which the series' editors also touched on in the interview. Kazuhiko Torishima, Yu Kondo, and Fuyuto Takeda all admitted to being shocked by certain developments in the story, recalling that not even Toriyama knew Trunks' identity at the time of his introduction to the series.
"It Is Challenging Work": Dragon Ball Producer Unpacks the Anime's Future Without Its Creator
Dragon Ball's legendary creator, Akira Toriyama, passed away almost a year ago, and the series' producer sat down to discuss the franchise's future.
Based on their comments, it seems Toriyama was given more creative freedom with Dragon Ball than fans realize. They also recalled allowing the artist to lean into his gag manga habits during the Buu Saga, as they were desperate to keep him motivated to continue the series further. While the interview revealed many of the rumors surrounding Dragon Ball to be true, one of the most popular seems to have been disproven by the very editor it was attributed to. Instead, it's likely the Cell Saga's many complexities came from the manga master himself.
Sources: KosoKoso (translation and summary by Venixys on X), NazChris_dj on X
- Created by
- Akira Toriyama
- First Film
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
- Latest Film
- Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
- First TV Show
- Dragon Ball
- Latest Episode
- 2019-10-05
- Current Series
- Dragon Ball Super
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
