Dragon Ball's cultural impact as creator Akira Toriyama dies aged 68

Akira Toriyama, the creator of the iconic Dragon Ball manga series, has died at the age of 68.

It was announced on Friday, 8 March that the manga author and artist died on Friday, 1 March from an acute subdural haematoma, a bleeding on the brain that is usually caused by a head injury. Toriyama's death was announced on the Dragon Ball website.

In a statement, Bird Studio announced Toriyama's untimely passing and added: "It's our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation. He would have many more things to achieve. However, he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world.

"Thanks to the support of so many people around the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years.

"We hope that Akira Toriyama's unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come. We inform you this sad news, with gratefulness for your kindness during his lifetime."

Toriyama had his first breakout in the industry with Dr. Slump, and was also the character designer for games like Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon, but it was his work on Dragon Ball that truly redefined the manga and anime industry.

The cultural impact of Dragon Ball

Toriyama first launched his Dragon Ball manga in 1983, while not his first manga series it quickly became his most famous work. Inspired by Journey to the West, Dragon Ball follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood to adult life as the Saiyan and his friend Bulma seek out seven powerful orbs known as the Dragon Balls.

Along the way, Goku meets new friends and faces formidable foes, and also learns to master his martial arts training. The manga series ran from 1983 to 1997, and was initially adapted into anime series Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z by Toei which aired in Japan from 1986 to 1996 and internationally shortly thereafter.

The series went on to be adapted into anime like Dragon Ball Super and 21 films, while several games have also been released based on the series.

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For many, Dragon Ball was the gateway to discovering Japanese culture in the West, with the broadcast of the anime being screened multiple times because of its popularity. It served as the perfect introduction to anime for a generation, likely more than one, and ultimately changed the industry as a whole.

Toriyama's work also created some timeless moments both on the page and screen, with the epic, sprawling fight scenes he created becoming a cause for celebration amongst viewers and also influencing everything that came after it. The Kamehameha stance, for one, is an iconic fight move that has been referenced and copied countless times across cultural spaces, not just in anime and manga.

Dragon Ball not only had a huge impact on viewers, it also influenced countless manga artists in Japan. Goku became the archetype of the Shonen hero, with the creators of series like One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and many more drawing inspiration from Toriyama's work.

Andrew Partridge, CEO of anime distribution company Anime Limited, spoke to Yahoo UK about the impact Toriyama has had globally, sharing that his work is "the very cornerstone that brought Japanese animation into the limelight in the English speaking world."

"I think it changed [the West's understanding of anime] in a lot of ways, before that there were other titles, but it was the first title which really defined an entire culture around anime," Partridge shared. "I mean, it was on TV worldwide, especially in the English world, but it was the first one that really gelled with teenagers.

"It was the first big Shonen title to really make it over here, and it really defines culture to this day. You see it in all kinds of places, ranging from basketball to regular film and TV culture as a whole. It's been seismic, and it's not even just Dragon Ball from Toriyama-san, for me the first experience I had with Toriyama-sensei's work was actually Chrono Trigger, the game.

"His design work stands out wherever he is, as does the content. He's made some of the most compelling content out there, frankly, and it never stops being a wonder to watch."

Partridge added: "It's almost universal the concept of it as well, it's inspired so many people to work in their space or to engage with it. We literally wouldn't be here today, in the UK space especially, without it.

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"[Dragon Ball has] aired multiple times on television, it's rare for a show to air once on any television block in the UK but to now be on BBC iPlayer as well as Dragon Ball Super — it's a statement that it's really, truly an irregular show, if that makes sense.

"Even when you compare it to the current titles like Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, none of them would be where they are today without what Dragon Ball has done to the market. And theatrically, you can say the same for most [anime] films. Dragon Ball Super: Broly as well, in the US it really was the first film to demonstrate that there was a market across territories for theatrical anime. It was the crack in the door that opened the way for a lot of films that followed."

Anime Limited have brought multiple anime films to the screen, like One Piece Film: Red and Your Name, and Partridge added that it's thanks to Dragon Ball that films like this were able to be taken seriously for cinematic releases: "That's really what opened the eyes to cinema that anime could actually be a mainstream thing, not just a nice thing to bring a few teenagers into screens."

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There have been many manga creators to share tributes to Toriyama in the wake of his death, with One Piece's Eiichiro Oda writing: "He is one of the people who took the baton from an era when reading manga would make you stupid, where both adults and children read and enjoy manga. He showed us the dream that manga can do things like this and that we can go to the world. He gave it to me. It was like watching a hero push forward."

Naruto's Masashi Kishimoto shared a moving tribute to Toriyama, explaining how much he loved reading Dragon Ball growing up and how much it helped him through difficult times. He added: "I wanted to create a work like his! I wanted to be just like him!

"And as I followed in his footsteps to become a manga artist, I began to feel less and less lost. It was because I enjoyed making manga. By following him, I was able to find new enjoyment. Sensei was always my guide. He was my admirer."

Speaking of how Toriyama's work has influenced other creators, Partridge went on: "The impact is kind of in terms of how tournament anime are done, like it really set the mould on it. You look at Shonen Jump, and it's not people have ripped it off but people have followed that kind of format, and no matter where you look it's hard not say that people learned from it.

"It doesn't mean that they created something that was a copy of it, but there's little bits of the spirit of Dragon Ball in a lot of the Shonen Jump titles we know today, and it's really inspiring to see.

"It's one of the few franchises in that sense in Japan, which even in Japan has endured the ages on top of new shows coming up. You talk generations have Shonen Jump like this, you think Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and you think Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, but Dragon Ball fits alongside whichever generation you look at."

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super and several Dragon Ball movies are available to stream on Crunchyroll, Dragon Ball Super is also available on BBC iPlayer.