'A Narrative Necessity': Dragon Ball Editors Finally Reveal Why Akira Toriyama Made Goku a Saiyan in DBZ (2025)

Although the Dragon Ball manga didn't change its name as it did in North America, there was an undeniable shift in tone and genre when it followed Goku's adventures as an adult in Dragon Ball Z. Three editors who worked with the late Akira Toriyama on Dragon Ball explained why the author decided on the inciting incident of making Goku an alien instead of a fantasy hero.

Kazuhiko Torishima, Yu Kondo and Fuyuto Takeda discussed their work history with the late Toriyama on the popular Japanese podcast KosoKoso, co-hosted by Torishima and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii. The recent discussion revealed new insights into the development of the Dragon Ball manga, such as the "Cell Saga" being initially intended to be the series’ endgame, and why Toriyama brought back Goku as the series’ leading hero after building up Gohan as his replacement. Additionally, the editors revealed Toriyama’s unorthodox writing process and how it tied into a major retcon of Goku being a survivor of an alien race, not a human with a monkey-like tail.

Dragon Ball Editors Explain Why Goku Was Retconned Into a Saiyan By His Creator

Social media user @/Venixys translated the editors’ conversation on X (formerly Twitter). According to the editors, Toriyama’s storytelling was simple, direct and tailored toward a younger audience. His depiction of Frieza as a space merchant made it instantly clear to the audience that this character was a villain, and no developments in the story added doubt about his villainous intent: "The Good Guys are Good. The Bad Guys are Bad." Toriyama’s storytelling was also straightforward, favoring hints of surprises rather than overloading a story with elaborate twists and turns.

Toriyama also favored spontaneous developments that would be fleshed out in the future. Retconing Goku into a Saiyan wasn’t something Toriyama had planned since the beginning of Dragon Ball -- rather, it was done to keep the series going with new and exciting storylines set in space. "The revelation that Goku was a Saiyan wasn't the result of an elaborate plan but a narrative necessity -- when the story hit a roadblock, Toriyama quickly found a solution." Goku being an alien gave the series an excuse to explore other worlds (Planet Namek). His monkey-like tail, a visual element representing the influence of Journey to the West, was retconned into a physical trait of the Saiyans for the series’ new sci-fi direction.

Dragon Ball Daima, the last animated Dragon Ball series Toriyama worked on before his death in March 2024, has brought back some of the fantasy elements found in the early stories. The Demon Realm, its inhabitants and the magic-based power-scaling are all based on fantasy. Piccolo -- originally described as a demon before being retconned into an alien race known as the Namekians -- has had his origin redefined to keep his original demonic ancestry while explaining why his people left the Demon Realm for the stars above.

New episodes of Dragon Ball Daima air every Friday on Crunchyroll. The English dub, starring Stephanie Nadolny as Goku (Mini), has begun premiering one new episode per week from Jan. 10. "Goku and company were living peaceful lives when they suddenly turned small due to a conspiracy!" the series’ official description reads. "When they discover that the reason for this may lie in a world known as the 'Demon Realm,' a mysterious young Majin named Glorio appears before them."

Dragon Ball

Author

Akira Toriyama

Artist

Akira Toriyama

Release Date

November 20, 1984

Genre

Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Martial Arts

Chapters

519

Volumes

42

Source: X (formerly Twitter)