Akira Toriyama is one of the most influential names in the world of manga and anime, recognized mainly for being the creator of Dragon Ball, one of the most iconic and revolutionary series of this genre. Toriyama had been regarded as one of the authors who changed the history of manga, as his works are highly influential and popular, particularly Dragon Ball, which many manga artists cite as a source of inspiration.
Born on April 5, 1955, in Nagoya, Japan, Toriyama has stood out for his unique drawing style and his ability to tell captivating stories that have captured the imagination of audiences around the world.
From a young age, Toriyama showed an interest in drawing, but it wasn’t until after dropping out of college and working at different jobs that he decided to pursue a career in manga. His talent was soon recognized, and in 1978, he published his first serialized work, “Wonder Island,” in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine.
Toriyama found early success in the manga industry with the creation of the popular “Dr. Slump” series in the late ’70s, winning a Shogakukan Manga Award in 1981 and supervising two subsequent anime adaptations. However, that acclaim was nothing compared to “Dragon Ball,” a continuation of his kung fu movie-influenced “Dragon Boy” one-shot. First published as a serial in 1984, “Dragon Ball” has grown to become one of the best-selling manga series ever. It’s also credited as popularizing the medium of manga across the globe, further bolstered by its various anime adaptations’ enduring audience in Western countries.
An artist who largely worked outside the public spotlight, Toriyama’s work extended beyond “Dragon Ball” throughout his life, especially after taking a smaller creative role with the property in the ’90s. His other credits include various one-shot manga runs, as well as character designs for video game classics like “Chrono Trigger” and the “Dragon Quest” series.
Toriyama returned to “Dragon Ball” in the 2010’s, with the manga artist receiving a screenplay credit on the film “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods,” then the first “Dragon Ball” feature adaptation in nearly 20 years. He has stayed involved with the property throughout its recent run of film productions, including the most recent, 2022’s “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.”
Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama dies at 68
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i wouldn’t have guessed i’d still be crying hours later over this. didn’t think he meant that much to me. i mean, i watched dragon ball as a kid but it wasn’t my favorite thing even back then, and it’s certainly not my favorite even within that sphere of shonen action. but seeing all the ways everyone around the world is paying tribute to him, thinking about how vast this one man’s influence was. it gets to me
things that don’t exist without toriyama (or are at least completely different)
i’m sure i’m missing some massive ones, he was just that big a deal
obviously the first thing everyone will say is dragon ball, but his influence is definitely vast. the drsgon quest designs are iconic and I didn’t realize he contributed to chrono trigger as well. like what didn’t this guy influence?
I forgot he did Dragon Quest’s art. That’s fucking huge. I just remembered chron trigger.
yeah dragon quest is genuinely maybe as important as dragon ball, the fact that he did 2 unimaginably influential genre and industry defining works is unfair. like, dragon ball alone is like if george lucas was single-handedly responsible for star wars, and then dragon quest is on the same level? who could possibly compare
Yeah, I never really thought of it but he gets credit for jrpgs looking how they typically do. Especially the monsters.
yeah, like. pokemon doesn’t exist without dragon quest and his monster designs and the fact that you could tame and train monsters in dragon quest v. final fantasy doesn’t exist if dragon quest isn’t a massive hit, which it wouldn’t be without him and his art and world and everything. every generic fantasy isekai (and the generic non-isekai fantasy stuff in that space as well) is fundamentally riffing on dragon quest and the aesthetic made by akira toriyama.
He’s also responsible for my elementary school being full of kids who wanted to fight all the time cause of dbz and didn’t know how fighting actually worked cause of dbz and I got in trouble a lot for winning those fights.