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Akira Toriyama might have passed away but his legendary works will always remain in the hearts of people. As the creator ofDragon Ball, he has already cemented his place in the anime and manga industry. Generations of mangakas and creators have been inspired by Toriyama’s works.
His artstyle is appreciated as much as his plot. You can’t hide from the fact that you, too, have attempted to draw Goku at some point in your childhood. But did you know that even Toriyama was inspired by the swift and speedy drawings of another colleague whose technique he ended up adopting?
Akira Toriyama Talks About the One Person Who Helped Him DrawDragon BallFaster
Akira Toriyamawon the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tokyo Anime Festival 2024 on August 01, 2025. However, the author passed away before the day on which he was supposed to receive the award on stage. Hiscomments on winning the awardreveal the mangaka’s gratefulness towards Toyoo Ashida, the late Japanese character designer and director who also founded Studio Live and the Japanese Animation Creators Association.
Gintama: Hideaki Sorachi Created the 4th Wall Breaking Masterpiece after Reading One of Akira Toriyama’s Famous Pre-Dragon Ball Manga
Akira Toriyama and Toyoo Ashida worked together on a project calledKosuke and Rikimaru: Dragon of Konpei Island(1988), a one-episode OVA. According to Toriyama, one of his most unforgettable memories in the animation industry was when he met Ashida. Since the project did not have manga as source material, a meeting was held. The mangaka observed Ashida to be an amiable person, and they quickly bonded. But every time Toriyama saw Ashida’s drawing style, he was moved by the careful and swift touches employed.
I thought, ‘Alright, I guess this kind of touch I need to speed up the drawing process and make Dragon Ball look much smoother.’ The drawing time was reduced to about two-thirds of what it used to be. We influenced each other in many ways, and I think it was a truly fulfilling time.
Both Akira Toriyama and Toyoo Ashida’s designs are pretty similar. In fact, Ashida got his art style from when he was working on Dr. Slump, Akira Toriyama’s hit creation prior to Dragon Ball. But it is insane to think that Ashida, who developed his style from Toriyama, was the one who ended up inspiring theDragon Ballmangaka.
Akira Toriyama was Embarrassed to Receive His Lifetime Achievement Award
In his comments about winning the Lifetime Achievement Award, Akira Toriyama confessed that he was extremely embarrassed to receive it.The author recountedhowhe never had much interest in anime. Even when his own works were adapted into animation format, he did not watch much of them. For this, the author feels extremely ashamed and apologized to the staff via his comments.
Then, the author began to reminisce how, around a decade ago, he was asked to revise the script for aDragon Ballanime movie. This task came out of the blue, and the author ended up drawing some simple designs for the characters and backgrounds. He remembered how he had thought of leaving the difficult parts to the staff.
Dragon Ball DAIMA: Akira Toriyama’s Parting Gift to Dragon Ball Fans Gracefully Aced the Challenge at Which GT Failed Miserably
Thus, for Akira Toriyama, it was truly embarrassing to be the recipient of the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. However, the author had actually redeemed himself with hishigh involvement in the creation of Dragon Ball DAIMA.Toriyama did not want to be involved much at first but ended up creating the plot, character design, mecha, worldview, and various other aspects of the series.
Dragon Ballmanga is available to read on Viz Media, and theDragon Ballanime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Aaheli Pradhan
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :1558
Aaheli is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with 1300+ published articles. With five years of experience under her belt, she is a living, breathing encyclopedia for anime and manga. From Shonen and Shojo to the most niche anime, nothing escapes her radar. Her poisons of choice are Assassination Classroom, Gintama, Ouran High School Host Club and every Ghibli movie ever. She believes in living a slow life, surrounded by incomplete art projects and her beloved cats.
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