On a more somber episode of Rookie Pirate Radio than usual, Jon and Travis discuss the legacy and cultural impact of the late Akira Toriyama, best known for creating the long-running Dragon Ball manga and anime. We celebrate the history of Toriyama’s prolific career, from his early success with Dr. Slump to the worldwide domination of Dragon Ball Z through the 1980s and 90s. Plus we get into much of the other great work Toriyama produced over the years, ranging from movies to video game designs. And we of course get into how Toriyama changed the world of Shonen manga/anime forever. Finally, we end the show talking about what we’ve been watching, including Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete and Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix.
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Discussion points: Akira Toriyama Tribute
- How Akira Toriyama’s work, particularly Dragon Ball Z, influenced anime and manga for generations
- Our specific connections to Dragon Ball Z as kids. And why it was so successful for people of various backgrounds and ethnicities
- Toriyama’s early influences and what inspired him to make Dragon Ball
- Why characters like Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo endure and resonate (and how Gohan is totally misunderstood!)
- Toriyama’s storytelling and artistic design and why it’s so iconic
- The uncomfortable, but necessary discussion around the toll on manga artists’ health
Extra Credits
Our intro music this week is ”Makafushigi Adventure,” the original opening of Dragon Ball composed by Hiroki Takahashi. Our podcast artwork is by Jon Negroni. Travis Hymas is the Anime & Manga editor of InBetweenDrafts, and Jon Negroni is the Film Editor of InBetweenDrafts.
Jon is one of the co-founders of InBetweenDrafts. He hosts the podcasts Thank God for Movies, Mad Men Men, Rookie Pirate Radio, and Fantasy Writing for Barbarians. He doesn’t sleep, essentially.
