Akira Toriyama, most popularly known as the creator of the “Dragon Ball Series,” is one of the most influential names in the world of manga and anime. He was born on April 5, 1955, in Nagoya, Japan.
Akira is a manga artist and character designer, and his fame came from the successful manga series “Dr. Slump” before Dragon Ball existed. He is also known for other hits like Dragon Quest, Blue Dragon, and Chrono Trigger.
Akira is one of the most influential figures in the history of manga. Due to his work, the entire manga industry was at its all-time high in the mid-1980s and 1990s.
So, let’s talk about everything you need to know about the legendary Akira Toriyama, his life struggles, and the masterpieces that he has created.
Akira Toriyama’s Early Work (Dr. Slump)
After leaving an advertising agency in Nagoya for three years, Akira quit for two main reasons. The first one was that he wasn’t a morning person and the second one was that he hated dressing professionally, so he decided to quit.
At 23, Toriyama entered the manga industry by submitting his work to Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine called Weekly Shonen Jump. Unfortunately, even though the work he submitted was great, it couldn’t be used as it was a parody of the Star Wars series.
But this didn’t let our sensei stop! He then made Wonder Island which became his first official work. Unfortunately, however, it came in last place according to the reader’s survey, and Toriyama decided to quit.
On the other hand, Akira’s resilience didn’t let him be quick, and he made over 500 more stories and learned a lot during that period. During all the struggle, he created a female lead for his manga called “Dr. Slump.”
The Rest is history. The manga became super popular and gave Akira his first kickstart in life.
The Dragon Ball Series
Kazuhiko Torishima, Akira’s editor, suggested that they should make a Kung-Fu shonen manga. This turned Dragon Boy into reality and finally into Dragon Ball in 1984. Not only Dragon Ball became a popular manga, but it also started receiving hype in other countries.
In 1995, the series hit around 6.53 million copies, making it one of the most widely circulated manga ever. During the Dragon Ball era, Toriyama also worked on RPG games like Dragon Quest and made a lot of interesting characters in other games like Chrono Trigger, Super Famicom, and the Tobal series.
In 1988, Akira contributed to the animation industry for the first time and came up with an original story idea for Kosuke and Rikimaru: The Dragon of Konpei Island film.
Other Projects
In 1996, we saw the “apparently” final installment of the Dragon Ball series called “Dragon Ball GT.” It wasn’t based on the manga, but Toriyama was still involved in many aspects of the series.
He also did other short projects and drew manga for Cowa! (1997), Kajika (1998), and Sand Land (2000). Moreover, in 2005, CQ Motors sold an electric car design that Akira Toriyama made.
Even though the design was genius, electric cars couldn’t be sustained at that time.
One of the most epic projects Akira did was with Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece. They worked on a one-shot called Cross Epoch.
This was quite an exciting era (1996 – 2012) for Akira as he already proved himself with his part work in the 80s and 90s. Now it was all about just having fun.
Dragon Ball Era Returns (2012 – Present)
After releasing the Battle of Gods Dragon Ball Z movie, it was the first film in 17 years to launch. Moreover, the Dragon Ball Super also came into being with a video game called Dragon Ball: Heroes. Finally, in 2015, the Resurrection of Frieza release became a massive success.
Now, Akira is still working on the Dragon Ball Super manga and is here to stay. Akira’s journey has been full of massive success, but he sacrificed his young years to make his dream come through.
Even after all his life’s struggles, he refuses to settle, and that’s why we are still blessed with the Dragon Ball Super manga.
Now let’s talk about some famous characters Akira Toriyama created.
Characters Created by Akira Toriyama
- Dr. Slump:
Akira Toriyama created Dr. Slump, the mark of his proper career. It targeted a young audience and became super popular with 18 tonkabon manga editions. It also got the anime adaptation which lasted around 243 episodes. Akira drew characters like Arale and a plethora of others, and even though he is known mainly for his characters from Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump was a true mark of success for Akira. - Dragon Ball:
Almost every anime fan has watched or read Dragon Ball once in their lifetime. It was a flawless series with interesting characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Roshi. The manga has grown in the modern-day era like fine wine, making Akira reach untouchable heights. - Blue Dragon:
Another famous work of Akira Toriyama is Blue Dragon. The founder of Final Fantasy developed the game, and Akira Toriyama was the character designer.
The game got so popular that a manga and anime adaptation became irresistible. The Blue Dragon series got hype after being aired on Cartoon Network on Toonami. - Chrono Trigger:
Chrono Trigger is known as one of the best JRPGs of all time. It was so popular that even after more than 20 years of its release, countless fans still play the game. Akira Toriyama created the art for this game along with the Dragon Quest series.
Final Verdict
Akira has always been intelligent, hard-working, self-driven, and resilient. He overcame the obstacles to become the most famous mangaka of all time. He also has one of the longest careers in the history of manga which is a win in itself.
