It is time to once again to dust off a few issues of V-Jump, pull out a few randomly-purchased magazines, and attempt to put another minor dent in our ever-growing translation backlog! This time around we are hitting a few lengthier interviews, intermixed with some short Q&As and commentaries, with original manga author Akira Toriyama as well as a few others associated with the Dragon Ball franchise.

• V-Jump, May 2013 Issue – “Double Dragon Talk” Interview
  This interview with Naho Ooishi (author of Dragon Ball SD) and Toyotarō (author of Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission) was released on 21 March 2013, just shortly before Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods officially debuted on 30 March 2013. The two manga artists gave their review of the film, having just seen an early screening, and each includes a short humorous comic strip about it.
• V-Jump, June 2014 Issue – Kōzō Shioya & Unshō Ishizuka Interview
  With the “Majin Boo arc” of Dragon Ball Kai just underway in Japan, this issue of V-Jump contains an interview with some of the other stars of the series, Kōzō Shioya (Majin Boo) and Unshō Ishizuka (Mister Satan). The two discuss their respective characters, the change in their performances from Dragon Ball Z, and of course the recording session after-parties.
• Men’s Non-No (January 2014) – Akira Toriyama Interview
  In late-2013 Men’s Non-No, a fashion and lifestyle magazine for the young single male business professional, interviewed Akira Toriyama just shortly after Jaco the Galactic Patrolman wrapped up its run in Weekly Shōnen Jump. The author discusses his early career, how he stumbled into the manga business, his most popular series (Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball), as well as some of his more recent works.
• Training the Manga Mind – Akira Toriyama Q&A
  Published by Shueisha on 19 March 2010, Training the Manga Mind was a special book released as a part of the Weekly Shōnen Jump 40th anniversary celebration (the anniversary itself was in 2008). It features interviews with, and articles about, 37 different Jump manga artists and their techniques, conducted/written by Shima Kadokura. Naturally, Toriyama is quite shy about this, and while most other artists have face-to-face interviews where they show Kadokura their studio and tools in person, Toriyama’s is a Q&A conducted by e-mail.

While not from a print publication, Fuji TV’s own website published a brief series of comments with Dragon Ball Kai production staff earlier this year:

• Fuji TV Information: “Dragon Ball Kai” Producer Comments
  As part of their promotional hype for the revival of Dragon Ball Kai in 2014, Fuji TV’s public relations department released statements from two of the series’ producers, Osamu Nozaki and Norihiro Hayashida. While they contain nothing too eye-opening regarding the production process, you can certainly “feel” the hype level they are striving for. It also marks the first time anyone associated with its production notes that this new production coincides with the 25th anniversary of Dragon Ball Z.

As always, you can now find these listed on our “Translations” page along with many others. Check back soon for our next batch of translations, as we attempt to clear out as much as we can in preparation for the upcoming 2015 Dragon Ball Z movie!