A Tribute To Akira Toriyama

It’s hard to know what to say when someone like Akira Toriyama passes away. Toriyama was a living legend whose work and creativity changed the industry forever. His contributions to the anime and video game fields were revolutionary. His manga and their anime adaptation created a blueprint for modern Shonen and Comedy series that is still closely followed to this day, while also being one of a kind. His artwork and style also permeated the Dragon Quest series (one of the first major Role-Playing Game series in Japan aimed at Japanese audiences) and many other video games. His influence on video games can still be felt even after his passing in the upcoming Sand Land and Dragon Ball Sparkling Zero video games.

His friendship and work also influenced and was influenced by creators far and wide. He befriended so many important creators including Hisashi Eguchi, Rumiko Takashi, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Eiichiro Oda, Yusuke Murata and Masashi Kishimoto (just to name a few). His influence was even felt in unexpected areas and people such as martial arts and comedy actor Jackie Chan, Dreamworks director Pierre Perifel, Steven Universe Producer Ian Jones-Quartey, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki. Despite the large differences in style Araki was so deeply interested in Toriyama’s work and structure that he analyzed it closely in his book Manga in Theory and Practice; examining in detail why Dragon Ball was such a successful series.

While I could continue at length to share about how important Toriyama’s was to so many other people, I want to focus this tribute on the effect Toriyama’s work had on me and many others of my generation. I first experienced Toriyama’s stories while helping my father go through comics in his closet. There I found an issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump that featured an early Dragon Ball story. While it was in Japanese and I was probably too young to grasp it, it was fascinating to me. It wasn’t long until I sought out Dragon Ball at my local library (Mansfield Public Library) and at local bookstores.

Despite being a “boys,” adventure title and having some raunchy elements I didn’t fully understand, Dragon Ball still greatly appealed to me. Its sense of fun and adventure, with Goku’s innocent enthusiasm and Bulma’s more worldly knowledge immediately stood out to me. Dragon Ball was a journey into Toriyama’s world of creativity and fun; a world that fascinated me. This also drove me to seek out his other major series, Dr. Slump, a manga filled with all sorts of humor, fun, and wacky parodies.

Much to my delight I also found that my local video store stocked VHS copies of Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies and the Dragon Ball TV series. For some context, this was at a time long before Dragon Ball aired on TV, and was especially surprising considering the availability of anime within rural Connecticut. I rented these tapes (along with Sherlock Hound, Tut Boy King, and Godzilla films) a lot and they became a core part of my viewing experience and in me developing an interest in anime.

Moving forward a few years, as a teenager Dragon Ball Z was a staple of my television viewing experience. While I was in Junior High DBZ was one of the flagship shows of Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. This block featured shows aimed at teenagers and included many important anime and animated series. I would often come home from school in the afternoon and put on Toonami so that I could see Dragon Ball Z and the other series airing. While I always preferred the original Dragon Ball to the violence found in this later incarnation, DBZ still holds a special place in my heart. DBZ was a show that I would (and will continue to) talk excitedly with my friends about; a shared world we would explore together. Years after seeing it on TV I still can recall many key moments from the show, have seen many of the series movies, collected the cards, played many of the Dragon Ball video games, and even followed the new Dragon Ball Super sequel show.

After Toriyama’s passing I was initially concerned that I wouldn’t have enough personal thoughts on his works to warrant a tribute. As I reflected more and more on my memories and experiences while writing this piece though, I quickly came to realize just how interictal Toriyama was to my anime and manga experience. His works, especially Dragon Ball, pushed me to seek out not only more of his comics, but also to explore all sorts of anime and manga. While I have had many influential experiences that made me the fan and scholar I am today, Toriyama played a huge role in opening my eyes to the world of manga and anime, and remains a vital part of my reading experience. To this day works such as MangaOTheater, continue to entertain and fascinate me, and I probably will continue to be a fan of Toriyama’s works for the rest of my life. Despite all that Akira Toriyama has done I realize upon reflection that it is this love and fascination for anime and manga that he shared with the world that may be his biggest legacy.