Akira Toriyama set a benchmark in the shonen genre with his trailblazing series Dragon Ball. From friendships to rivalry, the series pioneered some major tropes. This also included power-ups and transformations of major characters. The series features some of the legendary powerups, including the iconic Super Saiyan. But there’s a catch to it.
Toriyama sensei had a rather unplanned approach to the infamous transformation. Or a rather villainous approach per se, as he revealed in an interview. While binaries and dualities are recurrent in the series, they also resound in Goku’s transformations and evolution in the Dragon Ball series.
Akira Toriyama had an unplanned approach toward Super Saiyan transformation
Akira Toriyama is a celebrated legend in the world of manga. He’s inspired and shaped the Shonen series for decades. From Naruto to One Piece, the most iconic shonen mangas borrowed concepts from Dragon Ball. This extends to the mangaka’s approach towards power-ups and transformation. And there’s more to it.
Power-ups are the core of most Shonen series, including Dragon Ball. What sets Shonen apart from other genres is its underlying persistence. Growth and evolution go hand-in-hand, especially through the medium of training.
Toriyama sensei brilliantly captures brute strength and complexities in his series. There’s a caveat to that, however, as he later revealed in an interview. This is especially true for the infamous Super Saiyan transformation in the series.
The mangaka revealed his unplanned approach toward the powerup in an interview. This was published in the 6th round of Dragon Ball Daizenshuu. He quoted:
I actually hadn’t planned Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation at all. Then, when I came up with the idea of the Super Saiyan, in order to show that Goku had gained a massive power-up all at once, I thought “there’s no choice but to change his form, too”. But in terms of design, the facial expressions and such would become like the design for a villain. I felt, “I wonder if it’s really OK for him to be like this.” Granted, since his transformation is accompanied by rage, I also thought, “I suppose that part’s fine.”
The themes of rage and aggression is often associated with Saiyans. Mostly as a part of the stereotype pertaaining to their race. The protagonist, however, defies this through his innate duality in the anime. The theme of duality reverberates throughout the course of the series especially with the hero’s moments of rage and aggression.
Goku’s duality is a resounding theme in the Dragon Ball series.
From his compassion to his rage, Goku is a layered character in the Dragon Ball series. Despite his Saiyan lineage, he defies the stereotypes associated with the race. Being a pure-blood Saiyan, he can unlock his true power while embodying human qualities.
This, however, doesn’t negate the duality present within the character. Especially when it comes to his aggression and rage during the series. It is evident when he is revealed to be the cause of Grandpa Gohan’s death. There’s more to it, however, than meets the eye.
Toriyama sensei doesn’t explicitly explore the hero’s evil side per se. Zamasu is probably the closest thing to an evil twin. The character reflects an unadulterated evil version of the kind and compassionate hero. The protagonist did have moments of pure rage. This is clear during Krillin’s death when he unleashed his anger at Frieza.
In other instances, he wreaked havoc in his ape form during Emperor Pilaf Saga. Despite his pure heart, the character is morally grey in several aspects. Interestingly, it is the childlike innocence that keeps him from reaching villainy. Toriyama also made sure he remained glorious in viewers’ eyes.
All in all, Toriyama sensei’s decision to make the hero a morally grey character benefitted the series. Despite its flaws, Dragon Ball continues to be an iconic series even after the mangaka’s passing.
Dragon Ball is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is available for reading on Viz Media.
