Biography
A Japanese manga artist, Akira Toriyama is the creator of Dragon Ball, one of the most popular and influential manga series of all time. Born in 1955, Toriyama was interested in art from a young age, drawing images of animals and vehicles before moving on to manga and anime-style illustrations of his classmates. More interested in having fun with his friends than his schoolwork, he chose not to further his education after leaving school and instead found himself a job designing posters for a design agency.
At the age of 23, he entered a manga competition for newcomers; although he was not successful, he was encouraged to continue, and in 1978 he published his first manga story, Wonder Island. It was not popular, finishing last in a readers survey, which spurred Toriyama on to continue drawing to spite his critics. He enjoyed little success for a year, but in 1979 published Tomato The Cutesy Gumshoe, which provided the inspiration for his breakthrough manga series: Dr Slump.
Published between 1980-1984, the series made Toriyama a household name, and it was adapted into a hit television series. Toriyama, however, was keen to end the series; reaching an agreement with his publisher, he was allowed to finish it on the condition that he start a new one straight away. In 1983, he combined his love for manga and kung fu to create Dragon Boy, which evolved into Dragon Ball in 1984.
Running between 1984-1995, it sold over 159 million copies in Japan alone, making it one of the bestselling manga series of all time, and spawned numerous spinoffs, TV series, films, video games and merchandise. Toriyama continued to create one-shot mangas during the Dragon Ball years, and the years afterwards collaborated with many of the artists he inspired, including Eiichiro Oda (creator of One Piece) and Masakazu Katsura (creator of Wing-Man and Zetman).
Notoriously publicity shy, Toriyama’s death in 2024 wasn’t announced until a week after his funeral. The announcement caused an outpouring of grief from his many fans around the world, including actors, presidents and prime ministers.
Helping to bring anime and manga into the mainstream, Akira Toriyama remains a highly influential and pivotal figure in manga history. Blending thrilling action with humour, relatable challenges and the dramas of friendship, his distinctive style captivates audiences worldwide and continues to inspire the next generation of manga artists.
