If you stop random people on the street and ask them if they know who Goku is, more would answer “yes” than you would expect. Goku is the main character of the most popular anime in the world, Dragon Ball. But, who is the man behind the popular manga? It’s Akira Toriyama, the creator who has given us so much more than we realize.
Born in 1955, Akira Toriyama started drawing at a young age and became particularly interested in manga when his friend’s brother showed him his collection, including the popular manga Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka. After that, Toriyama started drawing small cartoon books about his daily life and took a job in advertising as a poster designer right out of high school. This job gave him the financial freedom to pursue his artistic passion.
However, after three years of office life, where he found it difficult to rise early and often got scolded for dressing too casually, Toriyama quit. At age 23, with no money in his pocket and his parents on his case about becoming a productive member of society, he decided to enter into amateur manga competitions.
Toriyama submitted his work to the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in 1978. Shonen Jump’s editor at the time, Kazuhiko Torishima, thoroughly enjoyed Toriyama’s submission, but it was rejected for being a parody of Star Wars and not an original work. Still, Torishima saw Toriyama’s talent, and periodically sent him telegrams encouraging him to continue drawing. Later that year, the manga Wonder Island became Toriyama’s first official published work for Weekly Shonen Jump, and it kickstarted his long and storied career.
After gaining some traction with his first female-led manga, Toriyama followed up with another female-led and first popular manga in 1980 called Dr. Slump, which turned Toriyama into a household name and earned him the Shogakukan Manga Award for best shonen manga series of the year.
The shonen genre is typically targeted to adolescent boys who enjoy action and adventure, Dr. Slump’s popularity with a female protagonist further demonstrates Toriyama’s ability to draw anyone into his stories even if you think it’s not necessarily made for you. Dr. Slump’s success continued for four years with its continued publication in Weekly Shonen Jump as well as its anime adaptation in 1981.
In addition to shattering glass ceilings in the male-led world of anime and manga, Dr. Slump served as inspiration for Shigeru Miyamoto, who would go on to design a little character named Mario in a game called Donkey Kong.
When Dr. Slump ended several years later, Toriyama decided to make an adventure manga inspired by kung fu and martial arts movies, and in 1984, Dragon Boy, starring everyone’s favorite Saiyan Son Goku, hit the shelves. Initially, Toriyama didn’t want to make Dragon Boy too serious and didn’t intend for it to last very long. However, the readers’ positive reaction to Goku made Toriyama steer things in a more serious direction. By 1986, Dragon Boy evolved into Dragon Ball, which would spawn multiple spinoffs, card games, and movies, and go on to become one of the highest-grossing media franchises ever.
Since then, Goku has captured the hearts of millions, including Eiichiro Oda, Tite Kubo, and Masashi Kishimoto, known as the creators of One Piece, Bleach, and Naruto, which have their own successful franchises (and, in the case of One Piece, a wildly popular live-action Netflix adaptation).
Goku going “Super Saiyan,” considered one of the greatest transformations in anime history, even inspired Sonic the Hedgehog to go “Super Sonic.” Goku’s impact can also be felt in everything from Black Panther, where Michael B. Jordan’s (himself a self-professed anime superfan) outfit as Killmonger takes a cue from Dragon Ball, to the WWE’s Ronda Rousey and the songs and raps of Childish Gambino.
Then, there are the regular people like me. I joined the Dragon Ball fandom after a lengthy lecture from my brother and his friend explaining all things Goku to me. What I didn’t realize at the time was that falling in love with Goku and his journey would make me fall in love with the entirety of anime and manga.
The life lessons woven into the intricate storytelling provided a much-needed escape, and I’m sure many fans can agree that kind-hearted characters like Goku could make you believe that they’d be your friend if they were real. Sometimes all any of us needs is a friend in our corner.
The impact and longevity of Dragon Ball showcase Toriyama’s dedication to his editors and publishers, his family and friends, and most importantly his readers and fans around the world.
Last month, Akira Toriyama passed away from a subdural hematoma, and fans across the world came together in mourning. Governments publicly shared their condolences and acknowledged his impact on their citizens and many others.
Some might not even realize this impact, or not know who to thank for a fond childhood memory of screaming “kamehameha!” with their friends. Maybe Toriyama himself wasn’t even aware of his impact, that his stories and their characters touched the hearts of millions.
I like to think that he knew how important his work was even if he didn’t expect it to be. His light-hearted yet driven approach to fulfilling his dreams helped create a space for those who felt different or misunderstood. It helped lift people out of dark days and show them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The creator of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto, shared, “I honestly don’t know what to write in such a sudden situation. But I want to convey what I’ve always wanted to ask Toriyama-sensei, my thoughts. From early elementary school with Dr. Slump to later years with Dragon Ball, Sensei’s manga has always been with me.”
One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda said in his tribute post, “It’s too early. The hole is too big. The thought of never seeing you again fills me with sadness. I’ve admired you so much since I was a child, and I even remember the day when you called me by name for the first time.”
Oda even took a month-long break from One Piece to mourn his friend and beloved teacher.
The anime/manga industry as well as fiction in its entirety will continue to be influenced by Akira Toriyama’s characters and their ability to draw the reader into the story, cheering them on to the very end. His legacy lives on through them and will continue to spread for generations to come.
Mario Inspiration source: https://comicbook.com/anime/news/mario-dragon-ball-akira-toriyama-arale/
Sonic Inspiration source: https://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43669#:~:text=As%20many%20fans%20know%2C%20Yuji,inspiration%20from%20King%20Kai's%20Planet.
Other manga artists tribute quotes:
Kishimoto:
