Shonen Jump #33

Akira Toriyama X Takehiko Inoue interview (WSJ Issue 33).

Toriyama says that there was a time after serialisation where he was very bitter and had health issues. He told his editor that he can't draw manga any longer, so his editor told him to write down his name. When he did that his editor said that if he can write his name, he can draw and laughed at him.

- Inoue says Toriyama's comics are very unique, so Toriyama tells him that he didn't really read WSJ much back then that's probably why. He says that once he was recommended to check out Slam Dunk which was very popular and drawn nice back then.

He was told it was the hypest thing around. Inoue meanwhile says he felt that way when he first encountered One Piece and Naruto.

- Toriyama says that others can't help you at drawing what you really want to.

- Inoue says that he learned a lot about drawing during Slam Dunk's run, that's why the art is so different across volumes.

- One of them (unclear) tried to get into Young Magazine, but settled for WSJ.

- Toriyama had only like 2 assistants throughout their works.

- At one point Toriyama was so tired, he only drew like 13 pages a week and wanted out, because he couldn't draw any longer. He was told back then that if Dragon Ball is not interesting for 10 weeks in a row they will let him go. Sadly Toriyama failed at making it uninteresting.

- Toriyama is like a textbook to Inoue.

- Toriyama's first assistant was during his stuff before DB and in the beginning of DB with him, the second around the middle of DB onwards.

- Both of them said that if they look at the newest Jump Comics, it feels like these new mangaka are too influenced by the old comics that they've enjoyed. So although the artwork of WSJ Manga got better over time, for Toriyama and Inoue, a lot of personality was lost in the process. Toriyama adds that he things a lot of stuff is just boring and he'd rather see something that makes him go "Wow look at this guy, he must be stupid in the head! How amazing!".