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In the same way, that his masterpiece Dragon Ball left its mark on the lives of so many people, the passing of Akira Toriyama has left a tremendous void. No one is prepared for moments like this, especially as it’s easy to believe that authors like Akira Toriyama are as immortal as the work they created.
Toriyama’s stories are an integral part of the childhood of millions of people, who grew up laughing, crying, and getting excited with Dragon Ball. There are a few things that bring people from all over the world together. One of them is nearly all fans having tried to turn into a Super Saiyan like Goku. What is more is that the impact of Toriyama’s opus extends even beyond his creations, making him a legend of pop culture.
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When Toriyama began his work, anime and manga, at least outside Japan, were seen as something for children. Today, they are legitimized as a form of art that conveys feelings and emotions to people of all ages. This is only possible thanks to the success of Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, which inspired all the other major franchises, such as Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece and Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto.
Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama inspired an entire generation of mangaka
Since the 90’s, anyone who wanted to create a shonen series has had to confront the legacy of Dragon Ball. Whether directly or indirectly, Akira Toriyama’s work has influenced all modern anime and manga, to the point where fans often consider him the spiritual father of every author after him.
The skillful mix of comedy and epicness, the various recurring tropes, and the idea of characters using their spiritual energy are now part of most shonen franchises. However, it was Toriyama who was the initiator of this revolution.
Series such as Fist of the North Star, Saint Seiya, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Captain Tsubasa also played a huge part in establishing the shonen genre. That being said, fans believe that the popularity achieved by Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is unparalleled, as is its legacy.
One Piece and Naruto feature an entangled worldbuilding and deal with complex themes which makes them more elaborate as compared to the much more straightforward Dragon Ball.
Still, to be simple and get straight at the heart of people was Toriyama’s deliberate intent. The sensei worked with a smile on his face, aiming to entertain not only others but also the eternal child within himself. Moreover, several fans believe that One Piece, Naruto, and many other shonen franchises would have never existed without the success of Dragon Ball.
Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto themselves recognized the unreplaceable value of Toriyama’s work, which they praised as a milestone of the shonen genre and their personal source of inspiration.
Even Oda and Kishimoto acknowledged Toriyama’s greatness
Upon learning of Akira Toriyama’s demise, countless people shared messages of sympathy and gratitude for the mangaka. Among them, are the authors of One Piece and Naruto.
Eiichiro Oda expressed deep sadness, and paid tribute to Toriyama, recalling how much he had admired the latter since his childhood. Oda remembered how proud he was to be acknowledged by Toriyama. He then went on to praise the creator of Dragon Ball for shaping a new era where manga became a medium capable of reaching people of all ages and nationalities.
The author of One Piece noted that despite the prominence of Toriyama’s work in the industry, he had an easygoing and affable personality. Oda also expressed a heartfelt thanks to Toriyama, just like Masashi Kishimoto also did.
After recalling how Toriyama’s Dragon Ball became a part of his life, Kishimoto described how he began to see the former as someone whose example he wanted to follow, choosing him as his role model and spiritual guide.
This isn't the first time that Kishimoto and Oda have expressed their appreciation and respect towards Akira Toriyama. In an interview contained in the One Piece Artbook Color Walk 1, Eiichiro Oda already declared his admiration for the creator of Dragon Ball. When asked how he felt about Toriyama, Oda called him "God."
"Of course, he's god! He is in an entirely different dimension. All in all, he's just too good at drawing!" Oda said.
Upon being asked about what he thought of while creating his iconic character Luffy, Oda responded:
"Manliness. Dragon Ball has already done all the things that a child could possibly be happy about. (laugh) So, I used that as the basis to start from so I didn't go against it," the mangaka said.
As Toriyama was also present during the interview, the two authors exchanged words of mutual appreciation.
"Please, be free and do whatever you want to! No matter what you do, I will be happy so long as you keep drawing illustrations, Toriyama sensei. However, I'm sure the editorial staff will say something like "Draw a series!" Oda told Toriyama.
In response, the creator of Dragon Ball asked Oda to "keep drawing in the 'ultra-mainstream'."
"I would like you to keep drawing in the 'ultra-mainstream', Oda kun. There's nothing else for me to say! My own child also reads One Piece really voraciously, too. So, I also read it... and I really understood why everyone was crazy about One Piece! So, just keep doing your best from now on!!" He told Oda.
In the special volume Art Collection: Uzumaki, Kishimoto declared that Dragon Ball's Son Goku was the "ultimate Shonen Jump model" which led him to want to create a character like Goku.
“Son Goku from Dragon Ball is the ultimate Shonen Jump model that made me think ‘THIS is a main character’ I wanted a character like Goku in my manga. It’s that clear & simple mindset that makes readers feel great. It motivated me too. That’s my image of a hero!” Kishimoto said.
Cheerful, simple-minded, but essentially good-natured, Toriyama’s Goku is the archetype for all the typical shonen protagonists. Eiichiro Oda took inspiration from Goku to create Luffy, and like the protagonist of Dragon Ball, Luffy only cares about eating good food and protecting his friends.
Both Luffy and Goku follow their own moral code, as they don’t do something just because society tells them so, but because they feel it’s right. Luffy ends up being more interesting, as his wish for freedom and boundless adventure is innately more eye-catching than Goku’s desire to grow stronger. However, the overall similarities between the two protagonists are clear.
Just like every shonen protagonist has a bit of Goku in him, it’s easy to see something of his counterpart, Vegeta, in the various deuteragonists. Each one in their own way and with different facets, both One Piece’s Roronoa Zoro and Naruto’s Sasuke Uchiha belong to the same trope of the powerful, stoic individual who eventually befriends the protagonist.
There are differences between Nami, who wanted money to free her village, and Bulma, who was more selfish in her own right. However, it’s evident that they have obvious likenesses as supportive female characters who help the protagonist. The same goes for Bardack and Minato, as the heroic fathers of Goku, and, respectively, Naruto Uzumaki.
That’s not even considering some direct homages to Toriyama’s masterpiece. For example, in Naruto’s sequel Boruto, Sasuke, who once tried to kill Naruto, became the teacher of the latter’s son, much like Piccolo started up as an enemy but ended up as the teacher of Goku’s son, Gohan.
To take another example, one of the Tailed Beasts in Naruto is named Son Goku, and its jinchuriki is named Roshi, just like the Turtle Hermit. Needless to say, Naruto’s Son Goku is a gigantic monkey with four tails, just like the Great Apes from Dragon Ball. Additionally, Son Goku is the Four Tails, while the protagonist of Toriyama’s story has inherited the Dragon Ball that has four stars on it.
Multitudes of examples could be cited concerning how much Dragon Ball impacted the shonen industry, leaving a mark on Naruto, One Piece, and many other series.
Whenever fans see a scene where characters sacrifice themselves to protect others, they can’t help but think of Dragon Ball’s timeless moments. These include Vegeta blowing up himself to destroy Majin Buu, Goku giving his life to stop Cell, or Piccolo acting as a human shield for Gohan.
Likewise, every epic transformation gets compared to Goku becoming Super Saiyan for the first time, or Gohan turning into Super Saiyan 2 against Cell. With this in mind, it becomes evident why fans are as united by the sorrow at Toriyama’s passing.
From the people who read the Dragon Ball manga from the very beginning to the kids, who grew up with the Dragon Ball anime and AMVs, up to the newest fans of the everlasting franchise, Akira Toriyama’s work has impacted generations. He entered people’s hearts, making them laugh and cry with the manga.
Toriyama’s absence hurts fans, but they will always remember his legacy. As one of the authors who picked up Toriyama’s baton wrote one day, "people never really die unless they are forgotten." If this is true, then it is even more so for the unforgettable creator of Dragon Ball, Dr Slump, and more.
It would be nice to collect the Dragon Balls together and ask Shenron to bring back the man whose imagination made so many people smile. Unfortunately, however, that can only remain a dream. At least, if the afterlife is anything like the place depicted in Akira Toriyama’s stories, fans can imagine the sensei taking the Snake Way to reach Goku on King Kai’s planet.
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