Inside me, 'Dragon Ball' became a thing of the past, but later, I got upset at the live-action film, revised the script for the anime film, and complained about the quality of the TV anime. I guess, at some point, it became a work that I like so much that I can't leave it alone.

I am not at all particular about things like hair styles and colors. Especially with women, changing their hairstyle or color is a bit too commonplace, don't you think?

It's a pain to draw different-looking humans.

I'd want to be born once more as myself, but more talented.

I like efficient people. I'm pretty impatient, so I can't stand people who putter around.

A good aspect of me is that I'm not too particular about things. A bad aspect is that I'm indecisive.

After graduating from high school, I worked at an advertising agency as a designer. After I left, I spent a year doing nothing in particular. At age 23, I drew my first comic.

I'm an economic human without any likes or dislikes!

I love girls, whether they wear glasses or not!

I prefer things nice and simple.

At one point, I had close to 100 birds.

I liked how 'Star Wars' felt both old and new. I even built a model of R2-D2, taking about two months mixing two kits to make one that looked just like the real thing. I'm the kind of person who gets really into it when I do something like that.

The nice thing about gag manga is how it has this aspect where, at the very least, you're permitted to come out with anything. In my case, anything can talk. Like the mountains.

I have memories of reading comics when I was in primary school, but that's about it.

I'm not the kind of person who enjoys big crowds very much.

There have been times when I didn't quite make my deadline.

I've been really frugal with money since way back, so I can't buy something if it's too expensive. I'm not that brave.

I wanted to change up the tempo and setting of my comics in the sense of giving them some variety, for one thing. So where, for 'Slump,' the art was very America-esque, in the case of 'Dragon Ball,' I made it as Chinese as could be.

I'm flying by the seat of my pants, never creating with a thought to what's up ahead!

Back when I watched 'Future Boy Conan,' I thought I might like to try my hand at animation, but now, not at all.

It's a secret, but when I decided to apply to 'Shonen Magazine,' it was already past the deadline, so I had no choice but to go with 'Shonen Jump.' My motivation for becoming a cartoonist was... to put it bluntly, the ¥100,000 prize money.

The setting of 'Dragon Ball' has a sort of Chinese feel to it, but it's not necessarily limited to China. For the time period as well, exactly when it takes place is indeterminate.

If you make friends with dogs, they can be really cute!

Back before I entered primary school, I liked to draw, even though I was a brat. I especially liked animals and vehicles, and I drew that sort of thing constantly.

In spite of being so absorbed in comics when I was in primary school, for whatever reason, I stopped reading them that much once I started junior high. I think it's probably because I got caught up in movies and TV.

Since I liked to draw, I entered a design-oriented high school.

I was one of the more talented ones at the design firm I joined, so I conducted my work pretty shrewdly. Except I wasn't a morning person, so I was quite frequently late for work. On top of that, it was a fairly big company, they were fussy about the dress code, and I got chewed out quite often.

If you're doing gags, I think it's important to have characters who are as strong-willed and impactful as possible.

Rather than deliberately trying to draw something, use something you yourself like and want to draw, and I think the characters that come out of that will really have their own individuality.

I usually live an extremely normal life, since I live in the countryside. Even when people call me 'famous' and such, I can't really fathom it, even now.

I felt that working at an office from the early morning was impossible for me. Anyway, I wanted to be free from that lifestyle as soon as possible. I wanted to take it easy.

I say that I've never been late with a manuscript, but I don't mean to be arrogant; it's that I simply want to get it done as soon as possible so I can be set free.

Maybe I'm just like a child. I'm full of curiosity about things, and it's fine as long as it's fun at that time, yet at the same time, I hate things that are tough.

When I got into the second half of 'Dragon Ball,' I had already become more interested in thinking up the story then in drawing the pictures. Then I started to not place much emphasis on the pictures.

I generally leave the television on while I'm working.

When I draw something, the incredibly annoying thing is that it doesn't come out like I pictured.

It's too bad that 'Dragon Ball,' which I drew for a very long time, has ended. Just kidding. I'm incredibly glad. Now I can just leisurely sit around!

I'm a lazy person, but if I'm not absent-mindedly doing something, I can't really relax. I can't just veg out.

When I look at it, I don't really like people, and socializing is really awful. Outside of my family, friends, and those connected to my job, I don't think I actively want to meet anyone. I've always lived in the country, after all.

When I'm out and about, it's rare for me to be recognized. But for some reason, every now and then, someone will know who I am. It might be because my picture occasionally appeared in 'Weekly Jump.'

I'm just a manga artist, so I can't stand being scrutinized.

Both my assistant and my wife tell me that during battle scenes, when a character is making a 'guwaa' sort of face, my face also ends up going 'guwaa.' So afterwards, my whole face is tired. I guess it's because I'm the kind of guy who gets caught up in his own work.

In the second half of primary school, I liked live-action shows and giant-monster movies, and then in junior high, I got into regular movies.

I don't remember the very first animation I saw, but the one that stays deepest in my memory is definitely 'Astro Boy.'

Basically with everything, I choose my criteria based on what can be easy. If I made the real world the setting, I'd have to draw looking at reference materials for stuff like buildings and vehicles. When you do that, people complain even if it's just a little bit off.

I guess that if I was a normal cartoonist who did things properly, I'd think up the background information first and then come up with the story. Saying that, you'd think that I don't really think through anything.

I use a G-Pen from Zebra. Different people have different preferred pen nibs. I don't put much force on it when I draw, so I'll generally use a single nib for about three chapters.

I use Pilot's document ink, but their drawing ink is OK, too. It's just that I don't like the impression that clings to the pen tip.

I believe that comics are entirely for entertainment.

I used to play role-playing games a lot when I was younger, but once you start an RPG, it takes a lot of time. So I like things like action games you can just pick up and play.