Loads of anime and manga have been turned into pachinko machines, including Fist of the North Star, Evangelion and Lupin the Third. However, there is no Dragon Ball pachinko machine and probably wonāt be anytime soon.
Among pachinko players in Japan, the question as to why Dragon Ball doesnāt have a pachinko machine has been asked for years. Granted, Dragon Ball isnāt the only famous anime to be pachinko-free, but itās curious, no? There has to be a reason, especially because anime-themed pachinko machines do good business
Several years back respected business journal Toyo Keizai reportedly asked a pachinko maker why there has been a Dragon Ball pachinko machine, receiving this reply: āAll the [pachinko] companies asked about Dragon Ball, but creator Akira Toriyama will not give his consent.ā
To become a pachinko machine, the companyās need to get permission from the publisher and the original author. Since Toriyama wrote the original manga, he has a say in how his work is portrayed. (Also, it doesnāt hurt that his Bird Studio is one of Dragon Ballās copyright holders.)
Toyo Keizai asked publisher Shueisha was asked if a Dragon Ball pachinko machine was going to be released and at the time it replied that there were no plans.
Online, there are quotes attributed to Toriyama in which he says he couldnāt tolerate his characters being used by gamblers and that he would ādefinitelyā not okay a pachinko machine. These quotes have recently resurfaced. However, their source and authenticity are unclear, but they have been floating around online since at least 2009
Last year, Gambling Journal reported that even if Toriyama did sign off on a Dragon Ball machine, the amount of money that would be needed to pay the copyright fee would be staggering.
Itās now 2018, and there still hasnāt been a Dragon Ball pachinko machine. Donāt hold your breath for one.
