Dragon Ball, Tome 3 : L'initiation

The training scenes are both humorous and intense, but I wonder what influenced Toriyama's choices for these methods and their tone.

His naivety and determination made me root for him, but some of the training antics felt over-the-top—was that intentional for humor or character development?

The story moves quickly during training but slows down at other moments. I’m curious if this was planned to build anticipation or to focus on character growth.