Mar 10 2024

Remembering Akira Toriyama, the “true father of Goku.” Dragon Ball creator dies at age 68.

Of all the tribute articles I have written, this one hits hard, like kissing a freight train. This is a tougher loss than Stan Lee because the world this man has created has influenced so many other people and inspired so many more that it is almost incomprehensible that he is gone from our lives. The content we create here at J1 Studios is because of this man, because his work and dedication has inspired us to do the same. It is because of him that we do what we do, and it is going to be hard to imagine a world without him. Akira Toriyama’s passing has Dragon Ball fans all over the world in a state of shock. I know I am.

Akira Toriyama has created several series, but none have been as influential as Dragon Ball, his most beloved masterpiece that has generated fans across the world.

Akira Toriyama was born in Kiyosu, the capital city of Aichi prefecture in Japan. He drew picture from a young age, animals and vehicles mostly. He became further engrossed into illustration after seeing “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” and cites Osamu Tezuka’s “Astro Boy” as the original source for his interest in manga. Though he did not read much manga, Toriyama would draw one himself every once in a while. Despite his parents’ strong apprehensions, he was confident about entering the work force upon graduation instead of continuing his education. He worked at an advertising agency for three years before quitting after he grew tired of the environment. Needing money after quitting his job, Akira Toriyama entered the manga industry by entering an amateur contest in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine and then Weekly Shonen Jump who was accepting submissions for their Newcomer Award. Kazuhiko Torishima, who would become his editor, read and enjoyed Toriyama’s work, but it was not eligible because it was a Star War parody and not an original piece. However, Torishima encouraged Toriyama to keep drawing. This resulted Toriyama’s first publication known as Wonder Island to appear in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1978, which was followed by Wonder Island 2 the same year. Sadly, both stories underperformed, but Toriyama’s stubbornness prevented him from quitting manga and he continued to draw failed stories for a year. Torishima advised Toriyama to draw a female lead character which Toriyama was hesitant about, but he did create 1979’s “Tomato the Cutesy Gumshoe,” which saw some success. Encouraged, he decided to create another female lead and created “Dr. Slump,” which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1980 to 1984 and became a huge success, making Toriyama a household name. He wanted to end Dr. Slump six months after its creation, but Shueisha would only allow it if he agreed to start another series shortly afterward. Torishima worked with Toriyama on several one-shot stories until Torishima suggested that Toriyama make a kung-fu shonen manga since he enjoyed the films. The led to the two-part “Dragon Boy” in 1983. It was well received and evolved to the popular serial Dragon Ball in 1984.

Arale, from his previous manga “Dr. Slump”, has appeared in Dragon Ball media several times. Here, she reunites with Goku in Dragon Ball Super.

Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995 and having sold 159.5 million copies in Japan alone, Dragon Ball is one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Aside from its popularity in Japan, it has found huge success internationally, including Asia, Europe, and the Americas, with nearly 350 million copies sold worldwide. Dragon Ball was responsible for Weekly Shonen Jump hitting a record circulation high of 6.53 million copies in 1995. It is considered by many to be the “most influential shonen manga.” The success of the manga led to five anime adaptions, several animated films, numerous video games and mega-merchandise. At the series’ end, Akira Toriyama asked if he could end the manga so he could “take some new steps in life.” He was recruited by Torishima as character designer for the 1986 RPG Dragon Quest, which he would work on every installment in the series. He also served as character designer for Chrono Trigger (1995) and the fighting game Tobal No. 1 (1996) and its 1997 sequel. Toriyama would also work on the third Dragon Ball series, “Dragon Ball GT,” where he was involved in some overarching elements, including character designs and name of the series. He worked with One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda on a 2006 one-shot called “Cross Epoch” which was a crossover the features characters from both Dragon Ball and One Piece. Toriyama was brought in as a creative consultant for the 20th Century Fox live action adaptation of his manga, “Dragonball Evolution” which was a commercial and financial failure. In 2013, he stated that the script felt “bland” and “did not capture the world or characteristics” of his series. Despite his warnings and suggestions for changes, Hollywood producers ignored Toriyama’s advice and the result was a film that Toriyama himself “cannot call Dragon Ball.”

Akira Toriyama served as character designer for the Dragon Quest series, contributing towards each installment.

Akira Toriyama would return to Dragon Ball with the theatrical film, “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods” in 2013. It would be the first film in 17 years and one that Toriyama would be involved with in its early stages. The follow-up film, “Resurrection ‘F’,” released in April 2015, features even more contributions from the Dragon Ball creator who wrote the film’s script. He provided the basic storyline and some character designs for the Dragon Ball Super manga which began serialization in V Jump in 2015 with an anime counterpart following in July. Though the anime ended in 2018, Akira Toriyama continued to provide story ideas for the manga while Toyotarou illustrated it. Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022) continued Toriyama’s deep involvement with the films.

Akira Toriyama died from acute subdural hematoma on March 1, 2024, at age 68. He leaves behind his wife Yoshimi Kato, a former manga artist, and their two children, son Sasuke (35) and daughter (33). His funeral was privately held with only his family in attendance. His production company Bird Studio announced his death one week later on March 8, 2024.

There is no doubt that Akira Toriyama has left behind an incredible legacy that not only crosses generations but has broken down boundaries and has influenced so many artists the world over. Friendships have been formed because of a common love and appreciation for Dragon Ball. Other manga artists cite Akira Toriyama’s beloved series as inspiration for their work. I dare you to find even a single piece of manga or anime that does not have a reference to Dragon Ball in it. I bet you that you can’t. Dragon Ball set the foundation for shonen genre, period. Think about it. One Piece is Dragon Ball with pirates. Naruto is ninja Dragon Ball. Bleach could be Dragon Ball with grim reapers. The point is that Dragon Ball is so influential, so endearing, and has such an incredible story that it can’t help but inspire others to draw something from it whether they are an illustrator, a music writer or a film maker.

The Dragonball Xenoverse Community gathered to pay tribute and respect to Akira Toriyama.

Masako Nozawa, JP voice actor of Goku since the beginning, expresses her sorrow over the passing of her mentor.

Kyle Hebert, US voice actor for Gohan, gives his thanks to Toriyama.

Colleen Clinkenbeard, Young Gohan’s VA in Dragon Ball Z: Kai, pays her respects.

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda and Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto leave their condolences over Akira Toriyama’s passing. (via Anime Corner)

Rapper/YouTuber SCRU FACE JEAN struggles to keep his emotions in check while talking about how Dragon Ball helped connect him with friends only to be overcome by them in the end.

Cosplayer Adonia GameGoddess (a regular attendee at J1 Con) shows how much Dragon Ball means to her in a heartfelt message: “Rest in Peace to the legendary Akira Toriyama, the Creator of Dragonball Franchise. The news hit us pretty hard for all of us late last night. He is one of the reasons why we got into anime and reading mangas, given us iconic characters such as Goku Son, Vegeta (Prince of all Saiyans), Gohan, Bulma, Chichi, Piccolo and more. I have been cosplaying as Bulma, my fave character since 2017. My first cosplay was her iconic red dress, yellow scarf and brown boots. I started to get more creative as I go with her over the years with two mash ups.
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Thank you so much Akira Toriyama-san. We are forever grateful. You’re one of the first to introduce us to anime, and you will be deeply missed. Rest well Akira Toriyama-san.

Even we at J1 Studios have been inspired by Akira Toriyama and his works. I draw inspiration from Dragon Ball for my characters and ideas for my stories “Gunslinger Swordsman” and my upcoming second novel “Xeo Nexus.” My art style is anime inspired and, yeah, I looked to Dragon Ball for that inspiration. My main character Ecks from “Gunslinger Swordsman” has Super Saiyan style hair which also has elements of Minato Namikaze from “Naruto.” Xeo Nexus will have the biggest Dragon Ball influences in terms of characters, story elements and fighting. I have been a fan of Dragon Ball since the first film, “Curse of the Blood Rubies” was aired as a TV special in 1989 and I have been hooked ever since.

J1 Studios founder and CEO Jason Richardson (@officialj1studios) says how Akira Toriyama inspired him.
“My series Angel Savior was HEAVILY INFLUENCED by Toriyama! Actually, every popular Shonen, their creator has admitted to being influenced by DBZ because they are super fans. He not only influenced so many in the industry, not just Naruto, One Piece, Bleach and so on…
He influenced gaming like Sonic the Hedgehog, and too many fighting games! You can’t tell me Kazuya (from Tekken) isn’t Vegeta mixed with Ryu (from Street Fighter)! The indie scene for comics and games all show huge influences, whether you’re a fan of Dragonball Z, Chrono Trigger, or even the epic gems like Tobal No.1!
A lot of my work has been heavily influenced by Toriyama! The moves and the powers in Angel Savior. The opening scene of Super Bounty J1 was totally when Nappa and Vegeta first arrive on the planet. He was a cultural icon to the Black and Latin communities! Mr. Toriyama is one the MAJOR reasons why anime is mainstream today!

Thank you for all you’ve done for all of us.”

Like I stated earlier, this was not an easy tribute to write simply because this hits home with so many people on so many levels. My eyes were swelling as I was writing this because like any fan of Dragon Ball, we found a connection and have become close because of it. Arigato, Toriyama Akira-san. Thank you for everything. Thank you for your work. Thank you for bringing us together.

BrianM