Beyond Dragon Ball: 15 of Akira Toriyama'southward Best Manga, Anime and Video Games

Beyond Dragon Ball: 15 of Akira Toriyama's Best Manga, Anime and Video Games

by Will Heath | ART

In the worlds of manga, anime, and even Japanese video games, Akira Toriyama needs no introduction. Depending on how fanatical you are near the things you read, watch, and play, it's easy to know very little about the people behind the art. Toriyama is dissimilar; almost anyone with a passing interest in manga and anime has at least heard his name. The human behind the hugely successful Dragon Brawl manga and the grapheme artist of the Dragon Quest serial is a household name for many. But who is Akira Toriyama? And what makes his art and his stories and then timeless and unique?

Who is Akira Toriyama?

Born in Nagoya in 1955, Toriyama is all-time-known today as the man behind the original Dragon Ball and its shonen genre-defining anime sequel, Dragon Ball Z . Before that, however, Toriyama was a rising star in the globe of manga, with his breakout hitting work being Dr. Slump. It was this early 80s manga, and its anime adaptation, which established Toriyama's now signature visual style. Dr. Slump cemented Toriyama as an up-and-coming star in the manga world, and brought him a decent amount of notoriety and financial rewards. From here, nonetheless, he leapt virtually immediately into Dragon Ball, and the rest is history.

Akira Toriyama'southward art and his approach to drawing manga is extremely unique. While it is notwithstanding, to a Western eye, distinctly Japanese in its features, it is very hard to misfile Toriyama's art with whatsoever other mangaka's. There is a kittenish glee to his characters' expressions, a softness to their concrete designs, and a assuming clarity to his linework that steers clear of clutter and fine detail. Everything in Toriyama's works is bold, bright, made from articulate shapes that are either round or precipitous. His spaces are sparse and his characters large. It's a sweet and friendly style of art that seems to emanate kindness and fun. Even in black and white it is somehow vibrant and bright.

Akira Toriyama's fine art goes beyond way, however. In his manga, Toriyama has a genius eye for framing, flow, and focus. In a 2022 article for Kotaku.com, Brian Ashcraft discusses the genius of the Dragon Ball manga, explaining how the layout of both the private panels and the full pages encourages a natural flow for the reader to follow with their line of sight. It almost gives the illusion of animation as the placement of characters and the move of the scene draws the centre from one place to the next. This is incredibly savvy design, and shows an empathy in Toriyama for his readers, particularly the children who loved Dragon Ball the well-nigh.

Information technology'south not just Akira Toriyama's fine art that makes him such a dear mangaka. It'south also his characters and the stories they live in. Toriyama has a knack for creating positive protagonists with good hearts and a healthy hunger for risk and discovery. This discovery, best personified past his almost famous grapheme, Son Goku, is both internal and external. In both Dragon Brawl and its sequel, this boy-turned-human travels more than i world, exploring and adventuring with broad eyes, but he also grows internally, becoming more considered, good, and kind. There are lessons to be learned from Toriyama's characters, making them both timeless works of fine art and the perfect form of action entertainment for young kids to enjoy.

Manga lovers should cheque out the 10 All-time Female Manga Artists Y'all Need to Know. If you're interested in the darker side of manga, take a wait at our articles on Kentaro Miura and horror king Junji Ito!

Akira Toriyama's Manga

While Toriyama has his fingers in several pies across the total spectrum of Japanese media entertainment, from TV, through movies, to video games, he is - showtime and foremost - a manga artist and a storyteller. And it is these manga that best ascertain his style and his legacy.

1. Dr. Slump

This is where it all began for Akira Toriyama. Dr. Slump was a serialised manga aimed at a younger audition, which appeared in Weekly Shonen Leap for five years, from 1980 to 1984. It was and then collected and bound into eighteen volumes of tankobon manga. Dr. Slump besides received a pop anime adaptation - Toriyama'due south first tryst with anime television - which ran for a very impressive 243 episodes. While Yoriyama is unquestionably all-time-known for Dragon Ball and its sequels, Dr. Slump was, in itself, an astonishing success story, even though it has been and so completely overshadowed since.

The manga of Dr. Slump follows the antics of an inventor named Senbei Norimaki and his invention: a robot girl called Arale. The one-act of the serial comes from Arale's sweet naivete and how that clashes with her superhuman force, leading to some hilarious situations. Dr. Slump is perfect children'southward entertainment, featuring wacky inventions, anthropomorphic animals (a staple of Toriyama'due south art and writing), and this blend of goofy comedy with wholehearted sugariness.

Dr. Slump – Available at Amazon

ii. Akira Toriyama'southward Manga Theater

A sweeping glance across Toriyama's library of works reveals an eerie recurrence of the word dragon. From Dragon Ball to Blue Dragon via Dragon Quest, Toriyama is synonymous with this give-and-take. But, as Dr. Slump proves, at that place's a lot more to this genius mangaka than that. And if you actually desire to meet the full telescopic of Toriyama's work, in that location are three collections which fully showcase his latitude of narrative talents: Akira Toriyama'southward Manga Theater.

Collected in 3 separate volumes, these are anthology books of generally self-contained stories, some of which fifty-fifty saw anime moving-picture show adaptations, which all originally appeared in various mag publications. These are stories of science fiction, police detectives, martial artists, and more than, each one uniquely Toriyama only besides far removed from the serials he is best known for.

iii. Dragon Ball

This is the big one. Dragon Ball is Akira Toriyama's legacy wrapped up in a unmarried, perfect series. Reading the manga today shows a remarkably respectable ageing process; the Dragon Ball manga is like a fine vino. But what was it about Dragon Ball that made it one of the most beloved and iconic manga of all time?

That'due south difficult to say. Ultimately, information technology's the sum of its parts. Dragon Brawl is a martial arts manga, which was a subgenre increasingly popular in the 80s. But it was unique with its wide-eyed and uppity child protagonist, which had the manga resonating with kids of all ages. Combine this with a smart world populated past original alien grapheme designs and anthropomorphised creatures, and cap it off with the fact that the Dragon Brawl narrative is a retelling of the legendary 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the W, written by Wu Cheng'en.

This narrative gives Dragon Ball a fairy tale risk tone that young boys were so heavily drawn to and mesmerised by, but the martial arts excitement and Chinese inspiration is something that any adult can be attracted to and entertained by. In this sense, Dragon Ball is an all-ages martial arts gamble epic that speaks to the positivity and sense of gamble in all readers. A true masterpiece.

Dragon Ball – Bachelor at Amazon

four. Cowa!

While many of Toriyama's manga works, outside of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, are brusk 1-shot pieces, collected in Akira Toriyama'due south Manga Theater, some spanned multiple chapters. And Cowa! was i of them. Toriyama's first manga later on the stop of Dragon Ball, Cowa! spanned fourteen chapters and was nerveless in a unmarried tankobon.

The story follows 2 child monsters and a human equally they journey out from their village in search of a medicine that will salvage their home from a spreading and deadly flu virus. Reception to Cowa! was mixed, and it certainly didn't live up to its predecessor'southward legacy.

Cowa! – Available at Amazon

5. Sand Country

sand-land.jpg

Similar Cowa!, Sand State was a xiv-chapter series nerveless into a single tankobon manga. This ane was released in 2000 and took place in a post-apocalyptic desert earth known as Sand Land.

The manga shares similarities with the Mad Max franchise, with one greedy king monopolising the earth's limited water supply, and a detective named Rao heading out in search of a fresh supply of water in social club to relinquish the king of his monopoly. Rao teams upward with two demons in lodge to complete his quest. Their designs, every bit well as those of the state and the vehicles, showcase Toriyama's unique approach to art and blueprint beautifully. One time again, this manga didn't reach the heights of Dragon Ball but it was well-received by fans and critics, who loved both the art and the characterisation.

Sand Land – Available at Amazon

vi. Jaco the Galactic Patrolman

This was a very unique approach to storytelling for Toriyama. Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is an 11-chapter serial which originally appeared in Weekly Shonen Leap in 2013. It isn't until the last chapter that it becomes clear: Jaco is a prequel to Dragon Ball . Since this reveal, characters from the serial take appeared in Dragon Brawl media for the past several years.

The story follows Jaco, who is sent to World to protect it from invasion from an evil conflicting. Information technology's a short series, collected in a unmarried tankobon, and it was relatively well-received. What makes it unique is its novel way of tying into the world of Dragon Brawl, especially beyond its ain release, working to farther expand the world, timeline, and lore of the Dragon Ball franchise.

Jaco the Galactic Patrolman – Bachelor at Amazon

Akira Toriyama's Video Games

Running chronologically parallel to his successes with manga and anime have been Akira Toyirama'south work with Japanese video games, beginning with the legendary Dragon Quest series and continuing to this day. Some of the games he has worked on have been adaptations of his own manga, and many more than have not.

7. Dragon Quest

Bursting onto the scene in the very same year that the Dragon Brawl anime adaptation striking Japanese TV screens, Dragon Brawl immediately became a cultural phenomenon in Japan. Part of the reason for its success is the series' consistently bright, colourful, and sugariness art way that helps the whole serial feel so suitable for young players as much as developed ones. And this art has been handled past Akira Toriyama from day one, correct up to and including 2017's Dragon Quest Xi.

This series is so wonderfully suited to Toriyama's established approach to art and storytelling. These are elementary, focussed stories nearly expert overcoming evil. The character designs are likewise very recognisably Toriyama, with Dragon Quest XI'due south King Carnelian looking delightfully similar to Dragon Brawl'due south Dr. Gero. The magical pairing of Toriyama's fine art and the games' approach to narrative and theme has made this one of Japan'southward about successful and dearest video game franchises.

Dragon Quest – Available at Amazon

8. Chrono Trigger

chrono-trigger.jpg

A JRPG which is still revered as one of the finest games in its genre more than 2 decades later. Chrono Trigger is a smart and captivating game with an unforgettable story, the likes of which we rarely run across even today. Just like with the Dragon Quest series, the fine art for this game (though not for its sequel Chrono Cross) was done by Akira Toriyama.

Chrono Trigger was also directed by Final Fantasy mastermind Hironobu Sakaguchi. Pairing his direction and writing with Toriyama'southward art was always going to be a recipe for success, and given just how well-loved this game has remained to this day, that success actually shows. Chrono Trigger is a masterpiece, and Toriyama's video game art is proven here to be equally iconic equally his manga art.

Chrono Trigger – Available at Amazon

9. Bluish Dragon

Though not a huge success upon release, Bluish Dragon had all the makings of the perfect JRPG. Written by Terminal Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, with music from Terminal Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu and at by Akira Toriyama, this game, on paper, should have been a masterpiece. What we got instead was a mildly successful game that got a lukewarm reception. This may have been because it launched on the American-made Xbox 360 rather than the Japanese PS3, and so far fewer Japanese players got their hands on it. Either way, Toriyama's art withal shone here as brightly as it always does.

Bluish Dragon – Available at Amazon

ten. Dragon Ball FighterZ

There have been many Dragon Ball fighting game adaptations, only 2018's Dragon Ball FighterZ was, arguably, the kickoff true great ane. The success of this game is, at least in part, attributed to the fact that its gameplay animations to beautifully mirror the art and blitheness of the anime which inspired it: Toriyama'due south Dragon Ball Z. The dream of countless fans is to exist able to play as Son Goku and for it to really feel and look similar Goku. FighterZ managed this perfectly.

This game is also unique in that it features a playable graphic symbol never seen earlier in whatsoever manga or anime: Android 21. This character was designed past Akira Toriyama himself just for this game, which made the game'southward release something uniquely special indeed.

Dragon Ball FighterZ – Bachelor at Amazon

11. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

kakarot.jpg

This contempo 2022 video game, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, is an action RPG in which players embody series protagonist Son Goku and play through the narrative of the Dragon Ball Z anime. Information technology was received relatively well and proves faithful to its roots. But what makes it a unique game is that, similar with Dragon Ball FighterZ, Akira Toriyama himself worked on a unique character for this game which appears in-game as a boss for Goku to fight: Bonyu.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Available at Amazon

Akira Toriyama's Movies and Tv Shows

A large part of Akira Toriyama's global success lies in the popularity of his mangas' anime adaptations, the biggest of all being Dragon Ball Z. These adaptations were all, in one manner or another, hits across the globe, and they all successfully paid homage to Toriyama'southward unique and cute way of art.

12. Dr. Slump

There accept been two Dr. Slump anime adaptations, the start ambulation for an incredible 243 episodes through the early and mid-eighties. The second adaptation ran for seventy-4 episodes during the nineties. Unfortunately, the anime never saw a proper Due north American release.

Dr. Slump – Available at Amazon

13. Dragon Ball

Akira Toriyama's magnum opus, Dragon Ball, received a fantastic anime adaptation. It ran for the second one-half of the eighties and spanned 153 episodes. Interestingly, while the manga follows the life and adventures of Son Goku through his childhood and adulthood, and all of which is just known as Dragon Ball, the anime was carve up up differently. This anime adaptation spanned the beginning 194 episodes of the manga: Goku's childhood, and is titled Dragon Ball.

Dragon Brawl – Bachelor at Amazon

14. Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z was a continuation of the previous manga, but with a v year gap in-between for Goku to abound up and have a child of his own. It adapts the final 325 episodes of the Dragon Brawl manga and was rebranded Dragon Ball Z for television set (a name which Toriyama himself decided upon).

This is, arguably, Toriyama's legacy. This anime had a global success story never seen earlier or since in the world of anime. Here is the anime that set up so many children and teenagers in the West on a path to discovering and loving Japanese animation. It made Toriyama a household name beyond the whole world, and is still a favourite anime for countless fans to this solar day.

Dragon Ball Z – Bachelor at Amazon

15. Dragon Brawl Super

While the anime Dragon Ball Z did receive a sequel in the form of Dragon Ball GT, Toriyama himself had nothing to practice with information technology and the show was an overall disappointment. Dragon Ball Super, however, is a return to class for both Toriyama and the Dragon Ball franchise, with the manga and anime plotted and written by Toriyama himself, though he does non handle the art this time around. That privilege was given to mangaka Toyotarou, whose accolades are entirely made up of Dragon Ball-related fine art. The manga of Dragon Ball Super is ongoing, just the anime ran from 2022 to 2022 and received a theatrical sequel in 2022 titled Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

Dragon Ball Super – Available at Amazon

JO SELECTS offers helpful suggestions, and genuine recommendations for high-quality, authentic Japanese fine art & blueprint. Nosotros know how difficult it is to search for Japanese artists, artisans and designers on the vast internet, and so nosotros came upwardly with this lifestyle guide to highlight the most inspiring Japanese artworks, designs and products for your everyday needs.

All product suggestions are independently selected and individually reviewed. We try our best to update information, but all prices and availability are subject to change. As an Amazon Associate, Japan Objects earns from qualifying purchases.

July 17, 2022 | Art

RELATED JAPANESE ART

Near POPULAR