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Chrono Trigger composer Yasunori Mitsuda, commenting on his own blog about a fan-made “Toriyama-style” Dragon Quest illustration, offered his personal view that “perhaps Dragon Quest as a series should be put on hold for now, and Yuji Horii allowed to create a new RPG.” The remark sparked discussion on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board. The thread saw a wave of pushback — “Horii barely has anything to do with recent entries anymore,” “some works, like Sazae-san or Doraemon, can keep going even without their original creator being involved” — and the debate spread into whether it’s appropriate for artists other than the late Akira Toriyama to draw characters “in the Toriyama style.”
The “Toriyama-style” illustration for Dragon Quest RPG: Makaiju to Michibikareshi Shima (lit. “The Demon Tree and the Guided Isle”) has been making waves, but I feel this direction isn’t good for the person who drew it, for Akira Toriyama’s fans, or even for the late Mr. Toriyama himself. Speaking just for myself, no matter how hard anyone tries, nothing truly new can be created anymore, so I feel that the “Dragon Quest” series should be brought to a close for now, and that Horii should go create a new RPG instead. (There have already been plenty of remakes, after all.) What matters most, I sincerely hope, is giving the young kids who’ll be playing games from here on a sense of dreams and hope — an experience only games can offer. Still, every time a topic like this comes up, it really shows just how wonderful a game Dragon Quest is, and how many people it has captivated.
Source: procyon-studio.com / Original article here
What people said
He's still pretty active — who knows, he might have some new potential left in him.
Horii barely has anything to do with it these days anyway.
What exactly have you been learning online?
Are you filtering out our posts or something?
After that it's just a question of what Square Enix does with a Dragon Quest that's lost its "three pillars" (creator, artist, composer).
…I can't see a bright future there.
But since he can't, this is where we end up.
Final Fantasy is done no matter who's in charge.
Kingdom Hearts is done once Nomura's gone.
Honestly, it's all already done.
There's no future left.
Kawazu's Romancing SaGa got a pass, though.
I don't really feel "godly" about it, and I doubt it'll get that popular, but the art does fit naturally into the Dragon Quest world.
Maybe they should just drop the "Toriyama style" thing and hand character design over to this person entirely.
I think it was only up through 5.
After that, people from his "disciple" lineage split up the detailed work — episodes, town quests, and so on — with Horii just reviewing and correcting it.
These days there's a massive amount of entertainment out there.
There's no particular reason or benefit for them to specifically pick Dragon Quest out of all that.
No, Mitsuda is saying to stop making Dragon Quest, period.
And instead make a new title that the younger generation can actually enjoy.
They need to break free of both the "Toriyama style" art and recycling Sugiyama's old compositions — but since there's a high chance that won't be accepted, I think closing the brand might be necessary too.
So what's actually wrong with Dragon Quest, then? It's the lack of love for Dragon Quest — and the lack of respect for Akira Toriyama — from Square Enix and Horii.
Those shows can keep going without needing to create new characters.
If they had a proper division-of-labor system like Saito Production or Fujiko Pro, sure, Golgo 13 could keep running forever even after its creator died, lol.
But Armor Project and Bird Studio clearly aren't set up with that kind of division-of-labor system that lets things continue after their lead figure dies, lol.
What do you even think "Studio" means?
Posting like you know everything without even explaining why, lol.
There's zero love for the work and zero respect for originality in that.
Same goes for the anime, too.
Toriyama's name will keep appearing in the credits until they finally retire the slime mascot.
Would it really be a problem to just honestly admit, "This was actually drawn by Nakazuru-san, by Toyotarou-san"?
They're the unsung heroes who've been playing Toriyama's stand-in in anime and manga this whole time, lol.
A Dragon Quest uninfluenced by Final Fantasy, huh.
There was a blog post where he praised Baldur's Gate (´・ω・｀)
Background and key points of this discussion
Akira Toriyama passed away in 2024, and Dragon Quest’s character designs have continued since then to be handled by a different artist working under the “Toriyama style” banner. The thread was also split on how involved Yuji Horii still is — some said “only up through the fifth entry,” others “up through the seventh to ninth” — making it hard for outsiders to know just how much of the work he’s actually doing himself. It’s easy to overlook that Mitsuda’s comment wasn’t an argument to “erase the series and end it,” but rather a proposal that “Horii should go make a new RPG.” The core disagreement in the thread centered on the structural difference between works like Sazae-san or Doraemon, which continue through a division-of-labor system even without their original creator, and Dragon Quest, which has built its brand around being “designed by the creator himself.”
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “Chrono Trigger composer Yasunori Mitsuda: “Dragon Quest should be put to rest for now”.”
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