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Akira Toriyama Originally as a graphic designer, Akira Toriyama found himself suddenly rose to fame as a humorous manga artist with the publication of his hit series, Dr. Slump. Telling the adventures of a hapless inventor, his dangerously manic little girl android and their wacky friends, Dr. Slump went on to become a hit animated TV show, as well as an instant multimedia licensing juggernaut. |
| But Dr. Slump was only the beginning. In 1984, Toriyama’s work took a new direction with the publication of the original Dragon Ball manga series. An exiting martial arts comedy (with overtones of Jackie Chan, one of Toriyama’s favorite martial artist), Dragon Balls’ frenetic plot and explosive combat scenes created an entirely new legion of fans for this extremely talented artist/writer. The manga was quickly followed by a hit TV series and another successful tidal wave of related merchandising. |
| After several years, the Dragon Ball manga mutated into the now hugely famous Dragon Ball Z. Now following the adventures of an adult Gokou and his friends, Dragon Ball Z boosted the octane of the original even further, with more spectacular fights and a more mature, involved plot centering around a race of battle born warriors and their quest for their ultimate fighting power. With over 500 episodes and over 3 billion dollars in merchandising, Dragon Ball Z has become truly worldwide phenomenon. |
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Akira Toriyama (Continued) Considered by many to be the natural successor to Osamu “Astro Boy” Tezuka, Akira Toriyama’s work has appeared in gallery exhibitions seen by literally millions of people, as well being displayed alongside of artist the caliber of Miro and Monet. His quirky style and love of the realistic technology (as well as truly awful puns), has made him one of the most productive and unique creators in the manga world. In between his already hectic manga commitments (Dragon Ball has run over 10 continuous years), Toriyama also finds time to design characters for numerous video games (Dragon Warrior, Chrono Trigger), write/draw a literal flood of other manga stories, and still enjoy life with his wife, 2 children, and his cat. |
