Summary
- Toriyama believed his artist Toyotarou could succeed him as the next Dragon Ball mangaka.
- Toyotarou began working on Dragon Ball manga in 2012 and has since taken on more creative duties.
- Toyotarou's growth as an artist has impressed Toriyama, who sees him as the best fit to lead Dragon Ball into the future.
Ever since the tragic passing of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama earlier this year, fans have speculated who could become the iconic mangaka's true successor, and carry the torch of Dragon Ball into the future. Many fans believe that Toyotarou, the artist for Dragon Ball Super who worked closely with Toriyama, is the best candidate, and it seems Toriyama himself agreed.
Toyotarou has been working on Dragon Ball manga since 2012, when he was hired by Dragon Ball publisher Shueisha to work with Toriyama as an artist. Toyotarou is believed to have been the creator of a well-respected Dragon Ball doujinshi, or fan comic, Dragon Ball AF, which caught the attention of many back in 2000, so he has a long history of drawing Dragon Ball characters even prior to his hiring at Shueisha.
In recent years, Toyotarou has stepped up to perform some of the other duties associated with creating Dragon Ball Super, such as character design.
Akira Toriyama Truly Believed in Toyotarou's Skill
Toriyama Supported Toyotarou as His Successor
In an interview from the release of the first volume of Dragon Ball Super, as translated by fan site Kanzenshuu, Toriyama speaks about the possibility of Toyotarou as his successor. When discussing the 30th anniversary illustrations, created by various manga artists, it was mentioned that many of them found emulating Toriyama's style difficult. Toriyama then said, "Speaking of reproducing my style, Toyotarou-san is amazing at it!" Toyotarou was understandably a bit embarrassed at the praise, but Toriyama continued, saying, "Don't be so hard on yourself! You might actually be the closest to my style. There aren't many people who can manage that!"
Toriyama strongly believed in Toyotarou's skills as an artist, and has been encouraging him and giving him more responsibilities over the years. Later in the interview, they even discuss the possibility of Toyotarou taking on some of the writing duties for Dragon Ball Super, with Toriyama stating that it was a "good idea" to include some of Toyotarou's original concepts in the series. Toyotarou was a little intimidated by the idea, but liked the thought of helping Dragon Ball reach its final chapter.
Over the years since this interview took place, Toyotarou's style and skill have only grown. Even comparing his work from the 2015 Resurrection 'F' manga adaptation to recent chapters of Dragon Ball Super, the growth is obvious, and Toyotarou has only become more skilled at perfectly capturing Goku and friends as Toriyama imagined them. Of course, Toriyama's own art style has evolved substantially over his career as well; comparing Toriyama's art from the earliest chapters of Dragon Ball to more recent illustrations can reveal a vast change in his style. Toyotarou seems best at capturing Toriyama's modern style, something which is noted to be difficult for many artists.
Needless to say, no one will ever truly be able to replace Akira Toriyama, but if there's anyone fit to pick up the torch and bring Dragon Ball into a new era without Toriyama's guidance, it seems to be Toyotarou. Toriyama's confidence in Toyotarou's abilities is proof enough of that, but the quality of Toyotarou's artwork also stands as a testament to his skill. Toyotarou has learned from Toriyama for over a decade, and there's no one more fitting to become the new guiding light of Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
- Created by
- Akira Toriyama
- First Film
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
- Latest Film
- Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
- First TV Show
- Dragon Ball (1986)
- Latest TV Show
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes
- First Episode Air Date
- April 26, 1989
- Latest Episode
- 2019-10-05
- Cast
- Sean Schemmel , Laura Bailey , Brian Drummond , Christopher Sabat , Scott McNeil
- Current Series
- Dragon Ball Super
- Video Game(s)
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 , Dragon Ball FighterZ , Dragon Ball: The Breakers , Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission , Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z , Dragon Ball Xenoverse , Dragon Ball Z Kakarot
Summary
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
