Akira Toriyama, who died on March 1 at age 68, mesmerized the world with his "Dragon Ball" series that not only boosted the popularity of Japanese manga and anime internationally but also introduced a host of unique and adorable manga and game characters born from his imagination.
Initially gaining popularity with "Dr. Slump," which featured a super-powerful girl robot, Arale-chan, a series that started in 1980 in a weekly comic magazine, Toriyama's work also garnered success in anime adaption, spawning a range of merchandise.
Masato Hara, a translator bringing French bande dessinee comics to Japan, said that Dragon Ball -- an adventure story following protagonist Goku on his quest for seven dragon balls that make any wish come true -- was a major catalyst in making Japanese manga and anime a global phenomenon.
"Its stylish pop sensibility was striking. The bold and clear outlines of the drawings, reminiscent of bande dessinee and American comics, likely made it easily accepted as an attractive, good art by people in Europe and the United States," said Hara.
Toriyama also worked on the character designs for the iconic "Dragon Quest" video game series, giving some cuteness even to enemy monsters.
The tear-drop-shaped "Slime" monsters were a "typical" example of Toriyama's work, said Sukezane Watanabe, a game creator involved in the development of the series at Square Enix Holdings Co.
"It left a big impression with their big eyes that meet the player's gaze," Watanabe said. The smiling-face slime monsters were so endearing that overseas players complained they could not consider them an enemy.
Even after Dragon Ball's serialization ended in 1995, new animations and games have been released, pioneering a trend of actively monetizing intellectual property, as seen now with "Naruto" and "Attack on Titan."
Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. said sales of merchandise related to Dragon Ball, including video games and toys, totaled 144.5 billion yen ($980 million) for the fiscal year that ended March 2023, up 16.9 billion yen from the previous year.
The company expressed shock and deep sadness at Toriyama's death, which came to light on Friday ahead of the release in April of a game based on his manga series "Sand Land."
Toriyama's characters have also continued to inspire the next generation of creators.
Eiichiro Oda, creator of the popular manga "One Piece," said Dragon Ball is like a "great tree" to manga artists and other creatives, who "have the excitement and inspiration from the time Dragon Ball was serialized rooted into their childhood."
Oda, who has also successfully expanded One Piece to movies and live-action adaptations, called himself a "child of Toriyama" -- those who "love Master Toriyama down to our very blood."
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Akira Toriyama, creator of "Dragon Ball" manga series, dies at 68
