Akira Toriyama needed to replace Dr. Slumps main character if he wanted it to gain huge popularity, but he was against a female main character.

Akira Toriyama's rise to fame can be attributed to his most famous work, Dragon Ball, but his journey began much earlier. As the mastermind behind Dr. Coincidentally, there was an experience that helped him understand the right and wrong of what can make a manga work. The manga created a foundation for him that helped shape his second series into existence.

With the fame it garnered, it would be hard to believe exactly what his original plans were with Dr. Chance. The series is considered brilliant, even with Dragon Ball's shadow looming over it. Toriyama was under the influence of stereotypes that shaped much of what Shonen Jump was for many years. However, it was his editor Kazuhiko Torishima who pushed various ideas to the fore.

Dr. Slump is a very successful manga by Akira Toriyama with a female character at the center. It was highly unusual to see female protagonists in his era and the mangaka was equally hesitant to work with the idea as well. During an interview with Forbes, his editor Kazuhiko Torishima discussed how the manga needed a push.