Pokemon : An Unexpected Journey

Sorry, but the update will still be tomorrow. I just woke up and saw the news of the passing of Akira Toriyama. He was my childhood. Dragon Ball was my childhood. So, I just wanted to share some words. I may not be some big celebrity; my words are only for you guys; thanks for reading my words.

I want to talk about a little something that Akira Toriyama contributed to manga. Dragon Ball is my favorite manga.

It's not the best, but it's my favorite.

Nowadays, it's a good manga, but there are many things about it that many others have done and maybe have even done better. In fact, so many mangas have borrowed or been inspired by Dragon Ball that Dragon Ball can seem basic at times.

But for a while, Dragon Ball was new and tried different things.

Goku is a weird character. Originally, he was this tiny and cute monkey boy. This was in contrast to characters of the time who were hulking behemoths like those found in JJBA and Fist of the North Star.

Goku was tiny and cute. He was silly as well. Toriyama famously started off as a gag manga artist, so he always loved comedy. He also loved Kung fu movies, so he created Dragon Ball as a sort of mix between Journey to the West, his own blend of comedy and martial arts.

This is reflected a lot in early Dragon Ball.

Another thing Toriyama took a chance on was aging up Goku. This was huge. Back in the day, characters really didn't age. They were perpetually stuck in their ages. (For the most part). Toriyama fought to allow Goku to age. It's how we saw him go from kid, to teen, to young man, and to an adult. This can be seen in other anime that followed, like Naruto, where we see Naruto from the day he's born to when he becomes an adult.

Some people poke fun at how Toriyama is lazy because he forgets characters like Launch. He wasn't. A mangaka can't be lazy. It's a highly demanding job, and once he went 13 years without a vacation. And he got sick when he had time off. He hated that.

But Toriyama did try to reduce his workload and found creative ways to do this alongside his team. He created amazing statues that were going to be annoying to draw every week? He had Goku destroy them.

He was bored of drawing the Nimbus? Well, Goku can fly. It takes too long to color Goku's hair? Well, Super Saiyan is blonde, so now he doesn't have to waste time coloring in the hair.

It saves time and created the most iconic transformation in manga. No other transformation is as iconic.

Also, want to add that Nachi Mikami, Toriyama's wife, created the Kamehameha.

I know I'm just rambling now, but this is my little tribute to Toriyama. I wanted to add something he took a risk on that helped change manga.

And even if Dragon Ball becomes basic or if you stop liking it. Remember that it took risks and paved the way for new mangas in the future.

Bleach. Naruto. One Piece. HxH. One Punch Man. MHA. Zatch Bell.

The creator of MHA lists Superman and Goku as inspiration for All Might.

And references to it pop up on everything. From movies to other manga such as Nagatoro, SpyxFamily, Doctor Stone, JJK, Fire Force, My Bride Is a Mermaid, Yu-Gi-Oh!, To Love Ru, Gintama, Assassination Classroom, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.

I can't list all the manga that have dropped references to Dragon Ball. Its impact is huge.

Just. Remember that Dragon Ball mattered to a lot of people and Akira Toriyama really did change the landscape of manga and anime as we know it.

From the words of some nobody writer on the internet who was inspired by Dragon Ball to share his own story, to better himself, to be stronger.

Thank you, Akira Toriyama.