Akira Toriyama (Japanese:鳥山明,Hepburn:Toriyama Akira; April 5, 1955 – March 1, 2024) was a Japanesemanga artist and character designer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors in thehistory of manga and created numerous highly influential and popular series, with his most famous beingDragon Ball.
Toriyama first achieved mainstream recognition for creating themanga seriesDr. Slump, which wasserialized inShueisha'sWeekly Shōnen Jump magazine. He earned the 1981Shogakukan Manga Award for bestshōnen/shōjo series. Dr. Slump went on to sell over 35 million copies in Japan. It was adapted into ananime, with a second series created in 1997, 13 years after the manga ended. Toriyama wrote and illustrated theDragon Ball manga from 1984 to 1995. It became one of thebest-selling manga series of all time, with 260 million copies sold worldwide,[1][a][c] and is considered a key work in increasing manga circulation to its peak in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Overseas,Dragon Ball's anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and similarly boosted anime's international popularity.
In 2019, Toriyama was decorated aChevalier of the FrenchOrdre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts. In October 2024, Toriyama was posthumously inducted into theHarvey Awards Hall of Fame.[7]
Akira Toriyama was born in the town ofKiyosu,Aichi Prefecture,Japan.[8][9] He had a younger sister.[10] Toriyama drew pictures since a young age, mainly of the animals and vehicles that he was fond of. He remembered being blown away after seeingOne Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and said he was drawn deeper into the world of illustration by hoping to draw pictures that good.[11] He was shocked again in elementary school when he saw themanga collection of a classmate's older brother, and again when he saw a television set for the first time at a neighbor's house.[11] He citedOsamu Tezuka'sAstro Boy (1952–1968) as the original source for his interest in manga.[12] Toriyama recalled that when he was in elementary school all of his classmates drew imitatinganime and manga, as a result of not having many forms of entertainment.[13] He believed that he began to advance above everyone else when he started drawing pictures of his friends.[13] Despite being engrossed with manga in elementary school, Toriyama said he took a break from it in middle school, probably because he became more interested in films and TV shows.[11] When asked if he had any formative experiences withtokusatsu entertainment, Toriyama said he enjoyed theUltraman TV show andGamera series ofkaiju films.[14]
Toriyama said it was a "no-brainer" that he would attend a high school focused on creative design, but admitted he was more interested in having fun with friends.[11] Although he still did not read much manga, he would draw one himself every once in a while. Despite his parents' strong opposition, Toriyama was confident about going into the work force upon graduation instead of continuing his education.[11] He worked at anadvertising agency inNagoya designing posters for three years.[10] Although Toriyama said he adapted to the job quickly, he admitted that he was often late because he was not a "morning person" and got reprimanded for dressing casually. Resenting the routine, he became sick of the environment and quit.[11]
After quitting his job at the age of 23 and asking his mother for money while unemployed, Toriyama entered the manga industry by submitting a work to an amateur contest inKodansha'sWeekly Shōnen Magazine, which he had randomly picked up in a coffee shop.[11][15] The timing did not line up for that contest, but another manga magazine,Weekly Shōnen Jump, accepted submissions for their Newcomer Award every month.Kazuhiko Torishima, who would become his editor, read and enjoyed Toriyama's manga, but it was not eligible to compete because it was a parody ofStar Wars instead of an original work. Torishima sent the artista telegram and encouraged him to keep drawing and sending him manga.[15][16] This resulted inWonder Island, which became Toriyama's first published work when it appeared inWeekly Shōnen Jump in 1978. It finished last place in the readers survey.[11][15] Toriyama later said that he had planned to quit manga after getting paid, but becauseWonder Island 2 (1978) was also a "flop", his stubbornness would not let him and he continued to draw failed stories for a year; claiming around 500 pages' worth, including the publishedToday's Highlight Island (1979).[11] He said he learned a lot during this year and even had some fun. When Torishima told him to draw a female lead character, Toriyama hesitantly created 1979'sTomato the Cutesy Gumshoe, which had some success. Feeling encouraged, he decided to draw another female lead and createdDr. Slump.[11]
Dr. Slump, which was serialized inWeekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984, was a huge success and made Toriyama a household name. It follows the adventures of a perverted professor and his small but super-strong robotArale.[17] In 1981,Dr. Slump earned Toriyama theShogakukan Manga Award for bestshōnen orshōjo manga series of the year.[18] An anime adaptation began airing that same year, during theprime time Wednesday 19:00 slot onFuji TV. Adaptations of Toriyama's work would occupy this time slot continuously for 18 years—throughDr. Slump's original run,Dragon Ball and its two sequels, and finally a rebootedDr. Slump concluding in 1999. By 2008, theDr. Slump manga had sold over 35 million copies in Japan.[19]
AlthoughDr. Slump was popular, Toriyama wanted to end the series within roughly six months of creating it, but publisherShueisha would only allow him to do so if he agreed to start another serial for them shortly after.[20][21] So he worked with Torishima on severalone-shots forWeekly Shōnen Jump and the monthlyFresh Jump.[22] In 1981, Toriyama was one of ten artists selected to create a 45-page work forWeekly Shōnen Jump's Reader's Choice contest. His mangaPola & Roid took first place.[11] Toriyama was selected to participate in the contest again in 1982 and submittedMad Matic.[11] His one-shotPink was published in the December issue ofFresh Jump.[23] Selected to participate inWeekly Shōnen Jump's Reader's Choice contest for a third time, Toriyama had the bad luck of drawing the first slot and had to work over New Year's on 1983'sChobit. Angry that it was unpopular, he decided to try again and createdChobit 2 (1983).[11]
An official Toriyama fan club, Akira Toriyama Hozonkai (鳥山明保存会; "Akira Toriyama Preservation Society"), was established in 1982. Its newsletters were calledBird Land Press and were sent to members until the club closed in 1987.[24] Toriyama founded Bird Studio in the early 1980s,[25] which is a play on his name; "tori" (鳥) meaning "bird". He began employing an assistant, mostly to work on backgrounds.
Torishima suggested that, as Toriyama enjoyedkung fu films, he should create a kung fushōnen manga.[26] This led to the two-partDragon Boy, published in the August and October 1983 issues ofFresh Jump.[23] It follows a boy, adept at martial arts, who escorts a princess on a journey back to her home country.Dragon Boy was well-received and evolved to become the serialDragon Ball in 1984.[20][27] But before that,The Adventure of Tongpoo was published inWeekly Shōnen Jump's 52nd issue of 1983 and also contained elements that would be included inDragon Ball.[23]
Serialized inWeekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995 and having sold 159.5milliontankōbon copies in Japan alone,[28]Dragon Ball is one of thebest-selling manga series of all time.[29] It began as an adventure/gag manga but later turned into a martial arts fighting series, considered by many to be the "most influentialshōnen manga".[17]Dragon Ball was one of the main reasons for the magazine's circulation hitting a record high of 6.53 million copies (1995).[30][31] At the series' end, Toriyama said that he asked everyone involved to let him end the manga, so he could "take some new steps in life".[32] During that near-11-year period, he produced 519 chapters that were collected into 42 volumes. Moreover, the success of the manga led to five anime adaptations,several animated films,numerous video games, and mega-merchandise. Aside from its popularity in Japan,Dragon Ball was successful internationally as well, including Asia, Europe, and the Americas, with 300–350million copies of the manga sold worldwide.
While Toriyama was serializingDragon Ball weekly, he continued to create the occasional one-shot manga. In 1986,Mr. Ho was published in the 49th issue ofWeekly Shōnen Jump.[23] The following year saw publication ofYoung Master Ken'nosuke, which had a Japanesejidaigeki setting.[23] Toriyama published twoWeekly Shōnen Jump one-shots in 1988;The Elder andLittle Mamejiro.[23]Karamaru and the Perfect Day followed in issue #13 of 1989.[23]
Also duringDragon Ball's serialization, Torishima recruited him to work as character designer for the 1986role-playing video gameDragon Quest. The artist admitted he was pulled into it without even knowing what an RPG was and that it made his already busy schedule even more hectic, but he was happy to have been a part after enjoying the finished game.[21] Toriyama continued to work on every installment in theDragon Quest series until his death. He also served as the character designer for theSuper Famicom RPGChrono Trigger (1995) and for thefighting gamesTobal No. 1 (1996) andTobal 2 (1997) for thePlayStation.[33]
The September 23, 1988, festival filmKosuke & Rikimaru: The Dragon of Konpei Island marked the first time Toriyama made substantial contributions to an animation. He came up with the original story idea, co-wrote the screenplay with its directorToyoo Ashida, and designed the characters.[34] It was screened at the Jump Anime Carnival, which was held to commemorate the 20th anniversary ofWeekly Shōnen Jump.[35]
A third anime adaptation based onDragon Ball, entitledDragon Ball GT, began airing in 1996, though this was not based on Toriyama's manga directly. He was involved in some overarching elements, including the name of the series and designs for the main cast.[36] Toriyama continued drawing manga in this period, predominantly one-shots and short (100–200-page) pieces, includingCowa! (1997–1998),Kajika (1998), andSand Land (2000). On December 6, 2002, Toriyama made his only promotional appearance in the United States at the launch ofWeekly Shōnen Jump's North American counterpart,Shonen Jump, in New York City.[37] Toriyama'sDragon Ball andSand Land were published in the magazine in the first issue, which also included an in-depth interview with him.[38] Toriyama also wrote a shortself-parody ofDragon Ball entitledNeko Majin, in the form of eight one-shots released sporadically from 1999 to 2005. The eight chapters were collected into a single volume and published in April 2005.[39]
On March 27, 2005, CQ Motors began selling anelectric car designed by Toriyama.[40] The one-person QVOLT is part of the company'sChoro-Q series of small electric cars, with only 9 being produced. It cost 1,990,000 yen (about $19,000 US), has a top speed of 30 km/h (19 mph) and was available in five colors.[40] Toriyama stated that the car took over a year to design, "but due to my genius mini-model construction skills, I finally arrived at the end of what was a very emotional journey."[40]
He worked on a 2006 one-shot calledCross Epoch, in cooperation withOne Piece creatorEiichiro Oda. The story is a shortcrossover that presents characters from bothDragon Ball andOne Piece. Toriyama was the character designer and artist for the 2006MistwalkerXbox 360 exclusive RPGBlue Dragon, working withHironobu Sakaguchi andNobuo Uematsu, both of whom he had previously worked with onChrono Trigger.[41] At the time, Toriyama felt the 2007Blue Dragon anime might potentially be his final work in animation.[42]
In 2008, he collaborated withMasakazu Katsura, his good friend and creator ofI"s andZetman, for theJump SQ one-shotSachie-chan Good!!.[43][44] It was later published in North America in the free SJ Alpha Yearbook 2013, which was mailed out to annual subscribers of the digital manga magazineShonen Jump Alpha in December 2012. The two worked together again in 2009, for the three-chapter one-shotJiya inWeekly Young Jump.[45]
Toriyama was engaged by20th Century Fox as a creative consultant onDragonball Evolution, an Americanlive-action film adaptation ofDragon Ball.[46] The film was released in 2009 and failed both critically and financially. Toriyama later stated in 2013 that he had felt the script did not "capture the world or the characteristics" of his series and was "bland" and not interesting, so he cautioned them and gave suggestions for changes. The film's producers did not heed his advice, "And just as I thought, the result was a movie I cannot callDragon Ball."[47][48]Avex Trax commissioned Toriyama to draw a portrait of pop singerAyumi Hamasaki, and it was printed on the CD of her 2009 single "Rule", which was used as the theme song to the film.[49]
Toriyama drew a 2009 manga titledDelicious Island's Mr. U forAnjō's Rural Society Project, a nonprofitenvironmental organization that teaches the importance of agriculture and nature to young children.[50] They originally asked him to do the illustrations for a pamphlet, but Toriyama liked the project and decided to expand it into a story. It is included in a booklet aboutenvironmental awareness that is distributed by the Anjō city government.[50] As part ofWeekly Shōnen Jump's "Top of the Super Legend" project, a series of six one-shots by famedJump artists, Toriyama createdKintoki for its November 15, 2010, issue.[51] He collaborated withWeekly Shōnen Jump to create a video to raise awareness and support for those affected by the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.[52]
In 2012,Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods was announced to be in development, with Toriyama involved in its creation. The film marked the series' first theatrical film in 17 years, and the first time Toriyama had been involved in one as early as the screenwriting stages.[53] The film opened on March 30, 2013. A special "dual ticket" that could be used to see bothBattle of Gods andOne Piece Film: Z was created with new art by both Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda.[54]
On March 27, 2013, the "Akira Toriyama: The World ofDragon Ball" exhibit opened at theTakashimaya department store inNihonbashi, garnering 72,000 visitors in its first nineteen days. The exhibit was separated into seven areas. The first provided a look at the series' history, the second showed the 400-plus characters from the series, the third displayed Toriyama's mangamanuscripts from memorable scenes, the fourth showed special color illustrations, the fifth displayed rareDragon Ball-related materials, the sixth included design sketches and animationcels from the anime, and the seventh screenedDragon Ball-related videos.[55] It was there until April 15, when it moved to Osaka from April 17 to 23, and ended in Toriyama's native Nagoya from July 27 to September 1.[55][56]
To celebrate the 45th anniversary ofWeekly Shōnen Jump, Toriyama launched a new manga series in its July 13, 2013, issue titledJaco the Galactic Patrolman.[57]Viz Media began serializing it in English in their digitalWeekly Shonen Jump magazine, beginning just two days later.[58] The final chapter reveals that the story is set before the events ofDragon Ball and features some of its characters. It would become the final manga that Toriyama wrote and illustrated himself.
The follow-up film toBattle of Gods,Resurrection 'F', released on April 18, 2015, features even more contributions from Toriyama, who personally wrote its original script.[59] Toriyama provided the basic story outline and some character designs forDragon Ball Super, which began serialization inV Jump in June 2015 with an anime counterpart following in July. Although the anime ended in 2018, he continued to provide story ideas for the manga whileToyotarou illustrated it.[60]Dragon Ball Super: Broly, released in theaters on December 14, 2018, andDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, released on June 11, 2022, continued Toriyama's deep involvement with the films, the latter being his final complete work on the Dragon Ball franchise.[61][62]
In January 2024, a logo Toriyama designed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his hometown ofKiyosu was unveiled.[63] Toriyama created a new story arc for the 2024original net animation adaptation of his mangaSand Land.[64] He also created the story and character designs for the upcomingDragon Ball Daima anime series.[65] Toriyama's final contribution toDragon Ball was directing Toyotarou to redraw the end of chapter 103 ofDragon Ball Super, so that a departingPiccolo appears to wave back at the reader. A short tribute was included at the bottom of the page when it was published on March 28, 2024.[66]
On October 11, 2024, theHarvey Awards announced[67] that Toriyama was one of five comics creators to be inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame at the 36th annual Harvey Awards ceremony on October 18 at theNew York Comic Con.[7][68] Acknowledging the accolade for Toriyama, Bird Studio Co., Ltd. and Capsule Corporation Tokyo issued a statement saying, "We are very honored to receive the news that Akira Toriyama has been selected for the prestigious Harvey Award Hall of Fame. As a creator, he had always said that his work says it all. We are especially grateful to the American fans for their long-standing enthusiasm and dedicated support. We hope you will continue to support his work for many years to come as we continue to develop and expand upon his masterpieces."[69]
Toriyama married Yoshimi Katō on May 2, 1982.[70][71] She is a former manga artist from Nagoya under the pen name Nachi Mikami,[72] and occasionally helped Toriyama and his assistant onDr. Slump when they were short on time.[73] They had two children: a son named Sasuke (born 1987)[74] and a daughter named Kikka (born 1990).[75][76] Toriyama lived in his home studio inKiyosu.[25][77] He was a well-knownrecluse, who avoided appearing in public or media.[78][79][80] In an extension to his shyness, Toriyama had used a robot avatar since 1980 to represent himself in manga and interviews.[81]
Toriyama had a love of cars and motorcycles, something he inherited from his father who used to race motorbikes and operated an auto repair business for a brief time, although he did not understand the mechanics himself.[82] He was an animal lover, and had kept birds, dogs, cats, fish, lizards, and bugs as pets since childhood.[82] Some were used as models for characters he created such asKarin andBeerus. Toriyama had a lifelong passion forplastic models,[82] and designed several for the Fine Molds brand. He also collected autographs of famous manga artists, having over 30 includingYudetamago andHisashi Eguchi, a hobby he gave to the characterPeasuke Soramame.[10][83]
French PresidentEmmanuel Macron shared a photo of an autographed illustration Toriyama gave him as a gift and paid tribute to him and his fans on social media.[96] French Prime MinisterGabriel Attal also paid tribute and lamented that not even "the [Dragon Balls] andShenron" could revive him.[97] The foreign ministries of China and El Salvador issued statements of condolences over Toriyama's death.[98][99]Justin Chatwin, who portrayed Goku in the live-action filmDragonball Evolution, paid respects to Toriyama and apologized for the quality of the film by posting on hisInstagram story, "sorry we messed up that adaptation so badly".[100] Several Mexican voice actors who dubbedDragon Ball characters in Spanish for Latin America also lamented Toriyama's death via social media.[101] A large gathering was held at thePlaza de la Constitución in Mexico City, where hundreds of fans did the Genki-dama hand motion (arms up, palm facing the zenith, pooling energy together) to honor the artist.[102] During the 18thSeiyu Awards on March 9, amoment of silence was held for Toriyama and voice actressTarako, who died on March 4, in recognition of their contributions to the anime industry.[103] On March 10, in Argentina, thousands of fans gathered at theObelisco monument to remember Toriyama.[104] InLima, Peru, over 40 artists led by "Peko" painted a mural tribute to Toriyama, which showcases characters fromDragon Ball as well as Toriyama himself, spanning six meters high and over 110 meters long.[105][106]
It was Toriyama's sound effects inMysterious Rain Jack that caught the eye ofKazuhiko Torishima, who explained that usually they are written inkatakana, but Toriyama used theRoman alphabet, which he found refreshing.[112] Torishima has stated that Toriyama aimed to be a gag manga artist because the competitions that he submitted to early on required entries in the gag category to only be 15 pages long, compared to story manga entries which had to be 31.[15] In his opinion, Toriyama excelled in black and white, utilizing black areas as a result of not having had the money to buyscreentone when he started drawing manga.[112] He also described Toriyama as a master of convenience and "sloppy, but in a good way." For instance, inDragon Ball, destroying scenery in the environment and giving Super Saiyans blond hair were done in order to have less work in drawing and inking. Torishima claimed that Toriyama drew what he found interesting and was not mindful of what his readers thought,[113] nor did he get much inspiration from other comics, as he chose not to re-read previous works or read manga made by other artists, a practice that Torishima supported.[114] Furthermore, the bookA History of Modern Manga (2023) describes Toriyama as "a perfectionist at heart" who "didn't hesitate to redraw entire panels under the worried eye of his editor atJump".[115]
Dr. Slump is mainly a comedy series, filled withpuns,toilet humor, and sexual innuendos. But it also contained many science fiction elements: aliens,anthropomorphic characters,time travel, and parodies of works such asGodzilla,Star Wars, andStar Trek.[17] Toriyama also included many real-life people in the series, such as his assistants, wife, and colleagues (such asMasakazu Katsura), but most notably his editor Kazuhiko Torishima as the series' main antagonist,Dr. Mashirito.[17][116] A running gag inDr. Slump that utilizes feces has been reported as an inspiration for thePile of Poo emoji.[117][118]
WhenDragon Ball began, it was loosely based on the classic Chinese novelJourney to the West,[27][119] withGoku beingSun Wukong andBulma asTang Sanzang. It was also inspired by Hong Kong martial arts films,[120] particularly those of Jackie Chan,[121] and was set in a fictional world based on Asia, taking inspiration from severalAsian cultures includingJapanese,Chinese,Indian,Central Asian,Arabic, andIndonesian cultures.[17][122] Toriyama continued to use his characteristic comedic style in the beginning, but over the course of serialization this slowly changed, with him turning the series into a "nearly-pure fighting manga" later on.[17] He did not plan out in advance what would happen in the series, instead choosing to draw as he went. This, coupled with him simply forgetting things he had already drawn, caused him to find himself in situations that he had to write himself out of.[17]
Toriyama was commissioned to illustrate the characters and monsters for the firstDragon Quest video game (1986) in order to separate it from other role-playing games of the time.[123] He worked on every installment inthe series until he died. For each gameYuji Horii first sends rough sketches of the characters with their background information to Toriyama, who then re-draws them. Lastly, Horii approves the finished work.[124][125] Toriyama explained in 1995 that for video games, because thesprites are so small, as long as they have a distinguishing feature so people can tell which character it is, he can make complex designs without concern of having to reproduce it like he usually would in manga.[126] Besides the character and monster designs, Toriyama also does the games' packaging art and, forDragon Quest VIII, the boats and ships.[125] In 2016, Toriyama revealed that because of the series' established time period and setting, his artistic options are limited, which makes every iteration harder to design for than the last.[79] The series'Slime character, which has become a mascot for the franchise, is considered to be one of the most recognizable figures in gaming.[127]
Manga criticJason Thompson declared Toriyama's art influential, saying that his "extremely personal and recognizable style" was a reason forDragon Ball's popularity.[17] He points out that the popularshōnen manga of the late 1980s and early 1990s had "manly" heroes, such asCity Hunter andFist of the North Star, whereasDragon Ball starred the cartoonish and small Goku, thus starting a trend that Thompson says continues to this day.[17] Toriyama himself said he went against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size, designing many of the series' most powerful characters with small statures.[128] Thompson concluded his analysis by saying that only Akira Toriyama drew like this at the time and thatDragon Ball is "an action manga drawn by a gag manga artist."[17] James S. Yadao, author ofThe Rough Guide to Manga, points out that an art shift does occur in the series, as the characters gradually "lose the rounded, innocent look that [Toriyama] established inDr. Slump and gain sharper angles that leap off the page with their energy and intensity."[129]
The role of my manga is to be a work of entertainment through and through. I dare say I don't care even if [my works] have left nothing behind, as long as they have entertained their readers.
Patrick St. Michel ofThe Japan Times compared Toriyama to animatorWalt Disney andMarvel Comics creatorStan Lee: "All three of these individuals, Toriyama included, had a personal artistic style that has become the shorthand for their respective media."[131] Speaking ofDragon Ball, David Brothers ofComicsAlliance wrote that: "Like Osamu Tezuka andJack Kirby before him, Toriyama created a story with his own two hands that seeped deep into the hearts of his readers, creating a love for both the cast and the medium at the same time."[132] Thompson stated in 2011 that "Dragon Ball is by far the most influential shonen manga of the last 30 years, and today, almost everyShōnen Jump artist lists it as one of their favorites and lifts from it in various ways."[17] Patrick W. Galbraith, an associate professor at the School of International Communication atSenshu University, similarly said, "One can sense the DNA of Toriyama's work in all subsequent shōnen releases."[131]
In a rare 2013 interview, commenting onDragon Ball's global success, Toriyama admitted, "Frankly, I don't quite understand why it happened. While the manga was being serialized, the only thing I wanted as I kept drawing was to make Japanese boys happy."[130] He had previously stated in 2010, "The truth is, I didn't like being a manga artist very much. It wasn't until relatively recently that I realized it's a wonderful job."[111] Many artists have named Toriyama andDragon Ball as influences, includingOne Piece authorEiichiro Oda,[133]Naruto creatorMasashi Kishimoto,[134]Fairy Tail andRave authorHiro Mashima,[135]Boruto: Naruto Next Generations illustratorMikio Ikemoto,[136]Venus Versus Virus authorAtsushi Suzumi,[137]Bleach creatorTite Kubo,Black Cat authorKentaro Yabuki, andMr. Fullswing author Shinya Suzuki.[138] German comic book artistHans Steinbach was strongly influenced by Toriyama,[139] and Thai cartoonistWisut Ponnimit cited Toriyama as one of his favorite cartoonists.[140] St. Michel wrote that the impact Toriyama andDragon Ball had extends beyond inspiring newer artists, "he influenced the style of anime as a whole and revealed new economic potential, as the comic series mutated into an anime, video games and infinite merchandise."[131]Ian Jones-Quartey, a producer of the American animated seriesSteven Universe, is a fan of bothDragon Ball andDr. Slump, and uses Toriyama's vehicle designs as reference for his own. He also stated that "We're all big Toriyama fans on [Steven Universe], which kind of shows a bit."[141] French directorPierre Perifel cited Toriyama andDragon Ball as influences on hisDreamWorks Animation filmThe Bad Guys.[142]
In 2008,Oricon conducted a poll of people's favorite manga artists, with Toriyama coming in second, behind onlyNana authorAi Yazawa. He was number one among male respondents and among those over 30 years of age.[143] They held a poll on the Mangaka that Changed the History of Manga in 2010,mangaka being the Japanese word for a manga artist. Toriyama came in second, after only Osamu Tezuka, due to his works being highly influential and popular worldwide.[144] Toriyama won the Special 40th Anniversary Festival Award at the 2013Angoulême International Comics Festival, honoring his years in cartooning.[145][146] He actually received the most votes for the festival'sGrand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême award that year, though the selection committee choseWillem as the recipient.[147] In a 2014NTT Docomo poll for the manga artist that best represents Japan, Toriyama came in third place.[148] That same year, entomologist Enio B. Cano named a new species ofbeetle,Ogyges toriyamai, after Toriyama, and another,Ogyges mutenroshii, after theDragon Ball characterMuten Roshi.[149] Toriyama was decorated aChevalier or "Knight" of theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government on May 30, 2019, for his contributions to the arts.[78][150] He was also a 2019 nominee for entry into theWill Eisner Hall of Fame.[151] Toriyama was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024Tokyo Anime Awards Festival.[152] Due to his video game design work,IGN named Toriyama number 74 on their list of the Top 100 Game Creators of All Time.[33]
BesidesDr. Slump (1980–1984) andDragon Ball (1984–1995), Toriyama predominantly drew one-shot manga and short (100–200-page) pieces, includingPink (1982),Go! Go! Ackman (1993–1994),Cowa! (1997–1998),Kajika (1998),Sand Land (2000) andJaco the Galactic Patrolman (2013). Many of his one-shots were collected in his three-volume anthology series,Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater (1983–1997). He also collaborated with other manga artists, such as Katsura and Oda,[153][154] to produce one-shots and crossover shorts.
Besides manga-related works, Toriyama also created various illustrations, album and book covers, model kits, mascots and logos.[158][159][160] For example, he sketched several versions of theDragon Ball Z logo, whichToei Animation then refined into a definitive design.[161]
^Dragon Ball 大全集 2: Story Guide [Dragon Ball Complete Works 2: Story Guide] [Dragon Ball Complete Works 2: Story Guide] (in Japanese).Shueisha. 1995. pp. 261–265.ISBN4-08-782752-6.
^Suzuki, Haruhiko, ed. (December 19, 2003). "Dragon Ball Children".Dragon Ball Landmark (in Japanese).Shueisha. pp. 161–182.ISBN4-08-873478-5.
^"Manga+Comics: A Midnight Opera".Tokyopop. Archived fromthe original on January 11, 2010. RetrievedMay 29, 2018.Hans' art sensibilities have been strongly influenced by Japanese artists, especially Go Nagai (Devilman) and Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball).
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