In the world of Japanese manga, Akira Toriyama, the popular manga artist who passed away on March 1 due to a brain condition, is one such artist who has influenced several generations. He is renowned for works like “Dr. Slump” and “Dragon Ball,” which had a significant impact in Japan, across Asia, and the entire world.

Road to Success

Mr. Toriyama was born on April 5, 1955, in a very modest family in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. He grew up loving to draw, and he was fascinated with robots from the manga series Astro Boy. One of his greatest influences when he was young was Disney, particularly “One Hundred and One Dalmatians.” He would spend his days practicing and honing his skills by drawing various robots and animals.

During his school years, Mr. Toriyama won various awards in school for his artwork, boosting his confidence in his artistic abilities. He studied design at a local technical high school, and after graduating in 1974, he worked in illustration and flyer design at an advertising company. However, due to his laid-back attitude and frequent tardiness, Mr. Toriyama found it difficult to adapt to Japan’s strict and disciplined work culture. In 1977, he resigned from his job.

Without a job, Mr. Toriyama struggled financially. At the age of 23, he started drawing manga for the first time to win a 500,000 yen (around $3,300 in today’s exchange rate) prize that he saw in a submission form in the Weekly Shonen Magazine. However, he missed the submission deadline.

He continued to create and submit other manga works, but the publisher selected none of them. Nevertheless, his works caught the attention of Kazuhiko Torishima, an editor at the Weekly Shonen Magazine. Mr. Torishima recognized Mr. Toriyama’s talent and potential and encouraged him not to give up and keep creating more work.

Mr. Torishima had a reputation for rejecting many of the submissions. Despite finding Mr. Toriyama’s submissions well-written with creative ideas, he continued to reject them, eventually accumulating 500 rejections within a year.

In 1978, after all the rejections, Mr. Toriyama finally made his debut with “Wonder Island” in Weekly Shonen Jump. However, the series ranked at the bottom in reader surveys, becoming the least popular debut manga. Despite the setback, Mr. Toriyama and Mr. Torishima persisted in their collaboration, even though the series continued to struggle in popularity.

The duo continued to brainstorm and eventually came up with the concept for “Dr. Slump,” a manga series depicting the comedic adventures of a genius doctor and his robot girl, Arale Norimaki, in Penguin Village. The manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1980 to 1984, totaling 18 volumes.

At the time of its debut in 1980, “Dr. Slump” immediately became a sensation in Japan, garnering immense popularity and quickly being adapted into a weekly television anime series on Fuji Television. The anime’s rating peaked in Japan at 36.9 percent, making it the third-highest-rated anime in Japan’s history.

The popularity of “Dr. Slump” not only brought success to Mr. Toriyama’s career but also brought him love. In 1982, he married manga artist Yoshimi Kato, who provided significant support to Mr. Toriyama throughout his career. The couple had one son and one daughter.

Due to “Dr. Slump’s” popularity, Mr. Toriyama’s wealth soared. In 1981, at the age of 27, his income was nearly 540 million yen (approx. $4 million).

Chinese Culture’s Influence on Dragon Ball

In Aug. 1984, “Dr. Slump” ended its four-year serialization. Mr. Toriyama soon started to work on his next manga series, “Dragon Ball.” He and his wife traveled to China for inspiration since he intended to incorporate Chinese culture, art, and martial arts elements into his new manga. Due to Mr. Toriyama’s love for the landscapes of Guilin, China, the first few volumes of “Dragon Ball” reflected the landscapes of rural China.

“Dragon Ball” combined the martial arts elements from Hong Kong action movies with a story background adapted from the Chinese classic novel “Journey to the West.” The protagonist, Son Goku, and his friends embark on a quest to find the legendary dragon balls. “Dragon Ball” is widely viewed as a masterpiece in the history of Japanese manga.

“Dragon Ball” began serialization in November 1984 and incorporated elements of comedy and action. The protagonist, Son Goku, is a young boy living alone in the mountains. He met an urban girl named Bulma, who told him that by collecting the seven scattered dragon balls from around the world, one could summon Shenron and have any wish granted. Goku decides to embark on a journey with Bulma to find the dragon balls. Initially, the series garnered high expectations and received great reviews, but its ranking gradually declined in reader surveys, with its popularity dropping to around tenth place.

Almost facing cancellation, “Dragon Ball” underwent multiple analyses by Mr. Torishima and Mr. Toriyama. The storyline shifted from searching for dragon balls to participating in the “Tenkaichi Budokai,” a world martial arts tournament, adopting a style that was half comedy and half martial arts, leading to a rapid resurgence in popularity.

“Dragon Ball” was serialized from 1984 to 1995 for a total of 11 years, spanning 519 issues. It broke numerous records and became one of the best-selling manga series of all time, influencing the entire manga industry. The series was also adapted into anime series, films, and games, gaining worldwide popularity. Regarding manga publication and box office revenue, the series became one of Japan’s most valuable global intellectual properties.

The “Dragon Ball” anime series has been dubbed into multiple languages and aired in over 80 countries. Currently, the manga and anime of “Dragon Ball” have been licensed for distribution in over 40 countries and regions worldwide. The anime series had the highest viewership rates in European countries such as France and Spain. It also enjoys high popularity in the United States, rivaling American superhero comics. Numerous live-action adaptations of “Dragon Ball” have been made. In Denmark, with a population of only 5.5 million, the sales of “Dragon Ball” manga exceed 1.5 million copies.

“Dragon Ball” has been adapted into animated films and derivative works. It is the manga with the most video game adaptations in the world, earning a place in the Guinness World Records.

Generational Influence 

Through his work, Mr. Toriyama brought entertainment to people in Japan and around the world. With over 45 years of manga creation, his works “Dragon Ball” and “Dr. Slump” have become global phenomena with huge fan followings.

Upon the news of his passing on March 1, fans worldwide expressed that his works had impacted their youths and changed their lives. Millions of children around the world grew up wishing to be as powerful as Goku.

Goku’s clumsy, cheerful, and kind attitude to life left a deep impression on an entire generation of readers. Many children in the 80s and 90s grew up following the “Dragon Ball” universe and were often referred to as the “Dragon Ball generation.”

The official Dragon Ball account on social media platform X posted an English obituary for Mr. Toriyama, which quickly garnered more than 32 million views, over 248,000 reposts, and 442,000 likes, and the numbers are still increasing.

Mr. Toriyama may have passed away, but people have not forgotten him. He was honored on March 9 at the 18th Seiyu Awards in Tokyo, which aims to recognize the most active, popular, and talented voice actors and actresses.

Today, his works are still being released. On March 4, Disney announced that Sand Land: The Series, based on Mr. Toriyama’s manga of the same name, will be released exclusively on Disney Plus starting March 20. The new spin-off Dragon Ball Daima is also scheduled to premiere this fall in Japan.