Villains of consecutive arcs of Dragon Ball are alien Hitler, a time-traveling homunculus and an ancient force of cosmic evil. Toriyama throws the most random shit ever into the series and it just works. I think Yukinobu also shares that aspect, and what makes their stories so great is that they aren’t afraid to go nuts.
It's funny to list it out like that, his string of villains, because it makes it so easy to see how off the wall it really is. It also sets this precedent that, since anything can go, you're never sure what to expect. Which is such a difficult precedent to set and uphold, but Toriyama wields it so well.
100% agree about Yokinobu. Actually writing another piece with a similar takeaway, highlighting how Yokinobu goes so bonkers but never really loses the grounding in human emotion. It's remarkable.
I really like this take. I think a lot of creative would benefit from reading it. You've also mirrored and really fined some thoughts I had with my storytelling. I think it's really damaging when advice gets contorted into axioms, all because a well meaning MFA prof. wanted to save you from your own mistakes.
It's a fine line to walk, with craft on one side, and love on the other.
I'm definitely quoting your add on to Hemingway, by the way.
Thank you for reading! And yeah, completely agree. It took me way too long into my writing life to realize that professors "imparting wisdom" too often just means them forcing their manner of creation onto you and penalizing you if you don't accept it. Or speaking from their own experiences, when it's the individual's experience that will hone their writing style.
And don't even get me started on craft books, ha! Aside from gems like On Writing, maybe a few others, they're all just... prescriptive, often condescending. Like digging through a mountain of dirt for the hopes of finding some insightful gem to make reading the book worth it.
Villains of consecutive arcs of Dragon Ball are alien Hitler, a time-traveling homunculus and an ancient force of cosmic evil. Toriyama throws the most random shit ever into the series and it just works. I think Yukinobu also shares that aspect, and what makes their stories so great is that they aren’t afraid to go nuts.
It's funny to list it out like that, his string of villains, because it makes it so easy to see how off the wall it really is. It also sets this precedent that, since anything can go, you're never sure what to expect. Which is such a difficult precedent to set and uphold, but Toriyama wields it so well.
100% agree about Yokinobu. Actually writing another piece with a similar takeaway, highlighting how Yokinobu goes so bonkers but never really loses the grounding in human emotion. It's remarkable.
I really like this take. I think a lot of creative would benefit from reading it. You've also mirrored and really fined some thoughts I had with my storytelling. I think it's really damaging when advice gets contorted into axioms, all because a well meaning MFA prof. wanted to save you from your own mistakes.
It's a fine line to walk, with craft on one side, and love on the other.
I'm definitely quoting your add on to Hemingway, by the way.
Thank you for reading! And yeah, completely agree. It took me way too long into my writing life to realize that professors "imparting wisdom" too often just means them forcing their manner of creation onto you and penalizing you if you don't accept it. Or speaking from their own experiences, when it's the individual's experience that will hone their writing style.
And don't even get me started on craft books, ha! Aside from gems like On Writing, maybe a few others, they're all just... prescriptive, often condescending. Like digging through a mountain of dirt for the hopes of finding some insightful gem to make reading the book worth it.