Though the anime industry is filled to the brim with iconic stories, memorable characters, and encapsulating adventures, there are only a few that stand above all the rest. Those who have come to write these tales have found themselves immortalized in not only their work but also in the words of others, as their legacy has been so influential that they have changed the landscape of their industry.

One such name is Akira Toriyama, the man behind innumerable works that have stood the test of time, chief among them being Dragon Ball. Due to the rich world, vibrant characters, and unique approach to writing and storytelling, this series has propelled Akira Toriyama to becoming one of the Godfathers of the anime industry. In this article, let's see how his magnum opus, Dragon Ball, transformed Shonen anime forever.

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Early Life Before Dragon Ball

Born in Nagoya, Japan on the 5th of April 1955, Akira Toriyama began his career as a budding artist looking to create stories through his art. Since his youth, he was inspired by many works, such as Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka as well as citing One Hundred and One Dalmatians as one of his earliest inspirations, being blown away by the incredible art style and animation of the series.

After high school, Toriyama began his work in an advertising agency, designing posters for three years in the same town that he was born in. However, he eventually quit the job and, needing money, he began to enter manga contests which saw him gain some success, although there were many flops as well. Eventually, he created Dr. Slump, which made him a household name and led to Toriyama sticking with being a mangaka, eventually creating his most famous series, Dragon Ball.

Dragon Ball Arrives on the Scene

After Akira Toriyama's editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, suggested that he should make a Shonen series that stems from his love of Kung Fu films and Martial Arts, Toriyama created a story called Dragon Boy, which was published in August and October of 1983. This short story was very well received, causing Toriyama to change its name to Dragon Ball and serialize the series in 1984. The rest is history.

Dragon Ball would go on to become a world-spanning franchise and one of the most successful comics of all time, selling 159.5 million copies in Japan alone. Starting as a funny, action-adventure series but later transforming into a fighting series with its main focus being on action, Dragon Ball is often dubbed as the 'most influential Shonen manga of all time'. From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, manga circulation was at the highest it had ever been, and Dragon Ball was considered to be one of the main reasons for this.

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Dragon Ball was not only famous in Japan, but also in the rest of the world, having sold 300-350 million copies all across the globe. The series eventually continued with Dragon Ball Z, which had even greater success with its anime and several full-length featured films. The success of the series carried on to video games, as Dragon Ball remains a franchise with some of the most video game releases under its label.

After Dragon Ball Z ended, the demand for the series would not die down. Despite the anime and manga both having ended after the Buu Saga, Toei Animation kept the franchise going with their own creation in 1996, Dragon Ball GT. Though GT was met with heavy criticism, the love for the series remained with the continual release of even more video games and the eventual revival of the canon storyline with Dragon Ball Super in 2015.

How Dragon Ball Influenced The Shonen Genre

Many believe that the Shonen genre would not be the same had it not been for Dragon Ball. This is quite true, as the series had many aspects that were replicated many times over in not only anime but also in Western media. Although there were many things that Dragon Ball itself adopted from other sources, their use within the franchise eventually became synonymous with it, so let's see what some of these things were.

A greater focus on action:

Dragon Ball was not the first series to put such a great focus on action, but the way that this series implemented it was unique. This is because the action itself was such an integral part of the series, making the fights extremely memorable and the stakes of every confrontation with a villain were higher than ever before. This sort of tone was one that has been echoed by many Shonen series since.

Transformations:

The transformations in Dragon Ball are some of the most recognizable in all of anime, and they have had a massive influence on the genre. This is because, despite transformations being a thing even before the series, they were never before so integral to a franchise. Goku's first transformation into Super Saiyan was a cultural moment that has either been replicated completely or has inspired almost all other kinds of anime transformations.

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Character designs:

Anime, as a genre of entertainment, has always had a very distinct style in terms of how different series depict their characters. Dragon Ball is one of the most unique, as the characters and Akira Toriyama's art style are instantly recognizable, greatly influencing various other masters of the craft, such as the creators of Naruto, One Piece, and One Punch Man, to name a few.

Themes:

Many themes that are explored in Dragon Ball are those that all kinds of stories have been telling for centuries. However, very few have had such potent storytelling and the same representation of these themes quite like Dragon Ball, as people from all around the world view the Z-Fighters as a symbol for never giving up. Toriyama wrote themes of hard work, family, love, and forgiveness into this series in a way that is incredibly unique and in a way that only a few others have achieved.

Akira Toriyama was a master at his craft. The worlds he created and the characters that he wrote have become a mainstay of pop culture, inspiring millions of children and adults across the globe to never give up.

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Dragon Ball (1986)

Action

Comedy

Adventure

Release Date

February 26, 1986

Seasons

9

Creator

Akira Toriyama

Number of Episodes

153