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| '''{{nihongo|Akira Toriyama|鳥山 明|''Toriyama Akira''}}''' born on ]<sup>th</sup>, |
'''{{nihongo|Akira Toriyama|鳥山 明|''Toriyama Akira''}}''' born on ]<sup>th</sup>, 1955,<ref name=""> </ref> in ], ], ],<ref name=""> </ref> is a widely known and acclaimed ] noted mostly for his work in the making of the '']'' ], as well as ] which he began in 1984. | ||
| == Biography == | == Biography == | ||
| He debuted in |
He debuted in 1979 with the story ''Wonder Island'', published in '']'' magazine, and first gained popularity for the ] and ] series '']'', originally serialized weekly in ''Shonen Jump'' from 1980 to 1984. | ||
| In 1984, Toriyama was responsible for developing ''Dragon Ball'' which was initially serialized in ''Weekly Shonen Jump''. It became an instant accomplishment — primarily selling over 35,000,000 copies in Japan,<ref name="-"></ref> ''Dragon Ball'' eventually became a record-breaking best seller with over 120,000,000 copies sold.<ref name="-"></ref> Aside from the Japanese fame, the series was equally successful worldwide as well, including in the ] and ]. | In 1984, Toriyama was responsible for developing ''Dragon Ball'' which was initially serialized in ''Weekly Shonen Jump''. It became an instant accomplishment — primarily selling over 35,000,000 copies in Japan,<ref name="-"></ref> ''Dragon Ball'' eventually became a record-breaking best seller with over 120,000,000 copies sold.<ref name="-"></ref> Aside from the Japanese fame, the series was equally successful worldwide as well, including in the ] and ]. | ||
| Toriyama is mostly acknowledged for his hit series ''Dragon Ball''. This work was one of the linchpins for what is accepted as the Golden Age of ''Jump''. Its success "forced" Toriyama to work on ''Dragon Ball'' from 1984 to |
Toriyama is mostly acknowledged for his hit series ''Dragon Ball''. This work was one of the linchpins for what is accepted as the Golden Age of ''Jump''. Its success "forced" Toriyama to work on ''Dragon Ball'' from 1984 to 1995. During that eleven-year period, he produced 519 chapters, collected into 42 volumes. Each volume has an average of 200 pages, so the entire ''Dragon Ball'' storyline extends to almost 9,000 pages. Moreover, the ''Dragon Ball'' manga has been adapted into two ] series: '']'' and '']'', and has inspired another '']'' anime sequel, numerous ], ], and mega-merchandising. Though Toriyama had been planning to end the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series for quite a while,<ref name="26-244">Referenced in ''Dragon Ball'' manga, Volume 26, Page 244 — ISBN 1-4215-0636-X</ref> his editors agreed to let him end the manga so he could "take some new steps in life," as he put it.<ref name="26-244">Referenced in ''Dragon Ball'' manga, Volume 26, Page 244 — ISBN 1-4215-0636-X</ref> However, due to the popularity of the series, the anime still continued with '']''. Toriyama was still involved in the project by supervision, although in a limited way.<ref> at http://www.myfavoritegames.com/</ref> The ''Dragon Ball'' anime series altogether spawned over 500 episodes made in Japan, and are produced and licensed for ] and ] by ]. | ||
| Toriyama's clean line and design sense led to jobs designing characters for the phenomenally popular '']'' series of ] (formerly called ''Dragon Warrior'' in the United States). Toriyama has also served as the character designer for the ] RPG '']'' and the ] '']'' for the ] (as well as its sequel, '']'', released only in Japan), and continues to produce the occasional manga story. | Toriyama's clean line and design sense led to jobs designing characters for the phenomenally popular '']'' series of ] (formerly called ''Dragon Warrior'' in the United States). Toriyama has also served as the character designer for the ] RPG '']'' and the ] '']'' for the ] (as well as its sequel, '']'', released only in Japan), and continues to produce the occasional manga story. | ||
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| This may be my final anime, I'm a little worried (about it). There's incredible pressure, but at the same time, there's a sense of accomplishment — that it's worth doing. Blue Dragon will be a masterpiece, not simply because I'm working hard on it, but because the staff is expecting nothing less.<ref> at http://kotaku.com/</ref>|30px|30px|}} | This may be my final anime, I'm a little worried (about it). There's incredible pressure, but at the same time, there's a sense of accomplishment — that it's worth doing. Blue Dragon will be a masterpiece, not simply because I'm working hard on it, but because the staff is expecting nothing less.<ref> at http://kotaku.com/</ref>|30px|30px|}} | ||
| ''Blue Dragon'' began airing on ] on |
''Blue Dragon'' began airing on ] on Saturday, ], ]. | ||
| == Notes and references == | == Notes and references == | ||
Revision as of 12:18, 28 May 2007
| Akira Toriyama | |
|---|---|
| File:Akira21.jpgAkira Toriyama | |
| Born | 5 April 1955 Kiyosu, Aichi, Japan |
| Occupation | Mangaka |
| Employer(s) | Shueisha, Bird Studio |
| Spouse | Yoshimi |
| Children | 2 (son and daughter) |
Akira Toriyama (鳥山 明, Toriyama Akira) born on April 5, 1955, in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a widely known and acclaimed mangaka noted mostly for his work in the making of the Dragon Ball metaseries, as well as the series franchise which he began in 1984.
Biography
He debuted in 1979 with the story Wonder Island, published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and first gained popularity for the anime and manga series Dr. Slump, originally serialized weekly in Shonen Jump from 1980 to 1984. In 1984, Toriyama was responsible for developing Dragon Ball which was initially serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. It became an instant accomplishment — primarily selling over 35,000,000 copies in Japan, Dragon Ball eventually became a record-breaking best seller with over 120,000,000 copies sold. Aside from the Japanese fame, the series was equally successful worldwide as well, including in the United States and Latin America.
Toriyama is mostly acknowledged for his hit series Dragon Ball. This work was one of the linchpins for what is accepted as the Golden Age of Jump. Its success "forced" Toriyama to work on Dragon Ball from 1984 to 1995. During that eleven-year period, he produced 519 chapters, collected into 42 volumes. Each volume has an average of 200 pages, so the entire Dragon Ball storyline extends to almost 9,000 pages. Moreover, the Dragon Ball manga has been adapted into two Japanese animation series: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, and has inspired another Dragon Ball GT anime sequel, numerous feature-length animated movies, several video games, and mega-merchandising. Though Toriyama had been planning to end the Dragon Ball manga series for quite a while, his editors agreed to let him end the manga so he could "take some new steps in life," as he put it. However, due to the popularity of the series, the anime still continued with Dragon Ball GT. Toriyama was still involved in the project by supervision, although in a limited way. The Dragon Ball anime series altogether spawned over 500 episodes made in Japan, and are produced and licensed for North America and Australia by FUNimation.
Toriyama's clean line and design sense led to jobs designing characters for the phenomenally popular Dragon Quest series of role-playing games (formerly called Dragon Warrior in the United States). Toriyama has also served as the character designer for the Super Famicom/SNES RPG Chrono Trigger and the fighting game Tobal No. 1 for the PlayStation (as well as its sequel, Tobal 2, released only in Japan), and continues to produce the occasional manga story.
His works after Dragon Ball tend to be short (100-200 page) stories, including Cowa!, Kajika, and Sand Land, as well as one-shots, like the self-parody Neko Majin.
Most recently, he has been the character designer for Dragon Quest Swords for the Nintendo Wii and Dragon Quest IX for the Nintendo DS.
Toriyama recently worked on a one-shot called Cross Epoch, in cooperation with One Piece's creator Eiichiro Oda.
The name of Toriyama's studio is Bird Studio, which is a play on his name, meaning "Bird Mountain". 鳥 tori means "bird" and 山 yama means "mountain". 明 akira means "intelligent" or "brightness".
Selected bibliography
Manga
- Awawa World (1977, unpublished)
- Wonder Island (1978-1979, 2 one-shots)
- Today's Highlight Island (1979, 1 one-shot)
- Tomato (1979, 1 one-shot)
- Hetappi (1982, 1 tankōbon, drawing lesson) - Co-author: Akira Sakuma
- Dr. Slump (1980-1985, 18 tankōbon, kanzenban)
- Escape (1981, 1 one-shot)
- Pola & Roid (1981, 1 one-shot)
- Pink (1982, 1 one-shot)
- Mad Matic (1982, 1 one-shot)
- Chobit (1983, 2 one-shots, This series is not to be confused with the later Chobits, drawn by Clamp)
- Dragon Boy (1983, 2 one-shots)
- Tongpoo (1983, 1 one-shot)
- Toriyama Akira's Manga Theater Vol.1 (1983, 1 tankōbon)
- Dragon Ball (1984-1995, 42 tankōbon, later reassembled into 34 kanzenban special editions)
- Mr. Ho (1986, 1 one-shot)
- Lady Red (1987, 3 one-shots, adult gag manga)
- Kennosuke (1987, 1 one-shot)
- Sonchoh (1987, 1 one-shot)
- Mamejiro (1988, 1 one-shot)
- Toriyama Akira's Manga Theater Vol.2 (1988, 1 tankōbon)
- Karamaru (1989, 1 one-shot)
- Wolf (1990, 1 one-shot)
- Cashman Saving Soldier (1991, 3 one-shots - 1998, 1 tankōbon)
- Dub & Peter 1 (1992, 4 one-shots)
- Go!Go!Ackman (1993, 11 one-shots)
- New Dr. Slump (1994, 3 slim tankōbon, nothing to do with the 1998 anime)
- Chotto Kaettekita DR Slump (third manga)
- Tokimecha (1996, 1 one-shot)
- Alien X-Peke (1997, 1 one-shot)
- Bubul (1997, 1 one-shot)
- Toriyama Akira's Manga Theater Vol.3 (1997, 1 tankōbon)
- Cowa! (1997-1998, 1 tankōbon)
- Cashman Saving Soldier/New Cashman Saving Soldier (1998, 1 tankōbon)
- Tahi Mahi (1998, 1 tankōbon)
- Kajika (1999, 1 tankōbon)
- Neko Majin (1999-2005, 5 one-shots, 1 tankōbon/kanzenban)
- Sand Land (2000, 1 tankōbon)
- Kochikame (2006, 1 one-shot, omake)
- Cross Epoch (2006, 1 one-shot)
Video games (character design)
- Dragon Quest series: Role-Playing Game (RPG) series published by Enix (now Square Enix). Appeared on Nintendo's Famicom/NES, Super Famicom/Super NES, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Sony's PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and soon Nintendo's Wii.
- Dragon Quest Monsters series: Role-Playing Game (RPG) series published by Enix (now Square Enix). Appeared on Nintendo's Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Sony's PlayStation.
- Chrono Trigger: Role-Playing Game (RPG) developed by SquareSoft (now Square Enix) for Nintendo's Super NES. It was relaunched with a few additions for Sony's PlayStation.
- Tobal: Two fighting games for Sony's PlayStation developed by SquareSoft.
- Blue Dragon: Role Playing Game (RPG) for Microsoft's Xbox 360 developed by Mistwalker studio for Artoon based on a design by Final Fantasy series originator Hironobu Sakaguchi.
Children's Books
Blue Dragon (anime production)
Main article: Blue Dragon animeToriyama recently announced that his help with the production of the Blue Dragon anime series may very well be his final assistance in anime. In his own words, he said:
The offer to direct an animated version of Blue Dragon came in February of last year. Studio Pierrot approached me regarding it. I knew that Sakaguchi had been working on assembling staff to produce a game, although at the time Blue Dragon hadn't yet been formally announced. According to the materials, it was to be a fantasy world like "Lord of the Rings", with a detailed world view and story. This may be my final anime, I'm a little worried (about it). There's incredible pressure, but at the same time, there's a sense of accomplishment — that it's worth doing. Blue Dragon will be a masterpiece, not simply because I'm working hard on it, but because the staff is expecting nothing less.
Blue Dragon began airing on TV Tokyo on Saturday, April 7, 2007.
Notes and references
- Spouse listed as "Yoshimi" in Dr. Slump manga, Volume 18
- Anime 3000 Biography
- Anime 3000 Biography
- ^ Shonen Jump
- ^ Referenced in Dragon Ball manga, Volume 26, Page 244 — ISBN 1-4215-0636-X
- Akira Toriyama at http://www.myfavoritegames.com/
- Blue Dragon, Toriyama's Final Anime? at http://kotaku.com/
External links
- Akira Toriyama profile on MobyGames
- Akira Toriyama information at http://www.dbzgtlegacy.com/
- Akira Toriyama short bio, interviews, and photo gallery at the Square Haven People Database