Akira Toriyama

Biography: The genius behind the scenes who created one of the best anime in the world which is still watched even after the production has stopped for over a half of a decade. Look into the past of this great man and see how he became one of the best manga creators. Well it maybe because he is the original creator of Dragonball and Dragonball Z and considered by my opinion as one of the best manga creators there is. By some people he is considered as a "manga god". People say that Toriyama is currently is working on a manga series knows as "Kajika". The last time I heard of the great artist making an appearance was when he met with Fox executives to discuss the future project for the Dragonball Z live action movie.

The artist was born on 5th of April 1955 in the Aichi Prefecture which is on the outskirts of Nagoya, Japan. Akira graduated from a design department of the prefecture industrial high school in 1974. After graduation he started working in an advertising firm but after 3 years he lost interest in continuing his work for the company and decided to quit. He wanted a change in his life and decided to take on manga drawing. Akira was a man who was determined to achieve success.

By 1978 he joined Shueisha (biggest manga publisher in Japan). His first short little comic was the "Wonder Island" which was published on a weekly base in a magazine called Shuukan Shonen Jump. This was not a major success but his break through came the following year when his new work was published know as "Dr. Slump". This manga was a huge success for Akira Toriyama and lasted till 1984 just when the all so famous Dragonball manga has begun. The manga lasted for 10 years and in spring 1995 it was closed down. It was the best seller in Japan and was one of the biggest successes in Akira's career. The reason why Toriyama ended the manga was mainly because of the busy weekly schedule which put him under lot pressure and he found very little time for his family. Akira wanted to draw manga at more leisurely pace so he would have more time for him self and for his family (wife, son and daughter).

Toriyama is the type of man who enjoys outdoors and the countryside. Much of the scenery we see in his drawings comes from the surroundings in which he lives in. He is a family man who enjoys spending time with his wife and kids. Also loves to spend time with his pets. He dislikes cold weather but enjoys playing video games.

The mangas he created are "Wonder Island", "Dr Slump", "Dragon Boy", "Kajika", "Sand Land", "Journey to the west", "Dragonball" and the sequel known as "Dragonball Z". Dragonball Z was airing in Japan from 1989-1996. After Dragonaball Z has ended TOEI Animation asked permission from Toriyama to continue the Dragonball Z with another sequel known as Dragonball GT (grand tour) Which aired in Japan from 1996-1997. This was due to the overwhelming amount of success and popularity Dragonball Z gained. Toriyama was not directly involved in this production but supervised the development. The same characters have been used in the series but new characters were also drawn (e.g. Super Saiyan 4 Goku) by a different group of artists and not Toriyama him self. As his success was growing Toriyama has opened his own studio know as the Bird Studio where he published many more of his other stories and comics.

Dragonball Z was probably in my opinion the greatest success for Toriyama. This comic was aimed more at teenagers or young adults rather than kids. In the uncut Japanese version the scenes were bloody and violent and in some parts characters were swearing. In America and UK these scenes were edited so the series can be viewed by younger audience. The American version has 276 episodes where as the Japanese has 291.

However the sequel Dragonball GT seemed less popular, possibly because it was not drawn by Toriyama or people liked the way Dragonball Z ended and didn't want any spoilers. However the GT series had total of 64 episodes. The GT episodes are only airing now in UK and should shortly air in the USA. The beginning of GT reminds a bit of the original Dragonball where "Goku" (the main character) is traveling with his friends to gather the magical Dragonballs.

At the same time as drawing manga Toriyama was part of other projects such as designing games for Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) and for Sony Playstation. One of the games in which he took part in the designing is "Dragon Warrior" and "Tobal No. 1". He was also part of smaller productions "Alien X" and "Cowa". Was also part of an animation known as "Ikimarusama and Shinsukesama".… Expand