Following the passing of Akira Toriyama, the warehouse factory responsible for printing Weekly Shonen Jump magazine disclosed internal disputes over handling the Dragon Ball manga.
NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, reported on Kyodo Printing’s Goka Factory in Ibaraki Prefecture. Factory Manager Hiroaki Amemiya, who began working at Goka Factory in 1993 during the serialization of Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga, shared insights from his 15-year experience.
According to Amemiya, the manga’s immense popularity often led to conflicts among workers vying for the privilege of printing duties.
A factory prints Shonen Jump more than a week before its release date. According to factory staff, "There was a weekly fight over who should be in charge of printing Dragon Ball. We were so obsessed with DB that it took longer than usual to inspect it after it was printed.🤣" pic.twitter.com/WaxNJfy8e7
— sandman (@sandman_AP) March 22, 2024
“Every week, there is a struggle to decide who will be in charge of printing,”
Amemiya revealed.
“Some employees were so absorbed in the content that they took extra time to inspect it after printing.”
Printing responsibilities extended beyond mere reading, encompassing quality control to ensure ink quality and prevent issues like ink bleeds that could compromise readability or overall quality.
Expressing his sorrow over Toriyama’s passing, Amemiya, a longtime fan since the days of Dr. Slump, lamented not being able to support the manga artist further.
“I feel sad because I wanted to help Toriyama-sensei a little more,”
he shared.
“However, I can still contribute to preserving his legacy through printing, so I will continue to pursue Toriyama-sensei’s dream. I would like to print it out and give it to the children.”
Tributes honoring Toriyama have poured in since his passing. Fellow Shonen Jump creators like Eiichiro Oda (One Piece) and Tite Kubo (Bleach) expressed heartfelt condolences.
Additionally, Dragon Ball Z screenwriter Takao Koyama initiated a viral campaign encouraging fans to perform the Spirit Bomb technique in real life as a tribute.
Meanwhile, the latest release of Dragon Ball Super, Chapter 103, concluded the Super Hero movie adaptation while paying homage to Toriyama’s monumental contributions to the franchise.
