Akira Toriyama’s Work Has Been My Lifelong Friend

The year is 2000 and I am a 12-year-old boy, one day I’m watching Cartoon Network and a cartoon blasted its way onto my screen. It was wild, over the top and violent as hell — and that was just the opening. This cartoon was Dragon Ball Z, and my fragile young mind was unprepared for it. It was years before I would even learn it was an anime and that Akira Toriyama created it.

I should explain, to an Irish child this was a monumental moment. We didn’t really get much in the way of interesting shows until the 2000s hit. We’d have to go to the local XtraVision (a VHS rental store) to see anything from across the pond and that was usually how far we got. Rarely anything from Japan arrived on our shores (Pokémon had literally only aired on my birthday the previous year).

If Pokémon was a dip into the anime pool, Dragon Ball Z was you being thrown into the deep end. Akira Toriyama had crafted a world that I just fell in love with instantly. I still remember that moment when Goku had a hole punched in his chest by the Special Beam Cannon from Piccolo as “Big Green” himself killed Goku and Raditz. From there my life was changed forever by Akira Toriyama.

Dragon, Dragon, Rock the Dragon, Dragon Ball Z

Akira Toriyama was an inspiration to so many, the list of mangaka he has inspired is endless, a few notable entries include Tite Kubo, Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto. With his work, he has inspired so many people and given so much joy to the world through his irreverent comedy, his phenomenal battles and his iconic characters. Dragon Ball Z became an anime that defined my teens. Without it, I wouldn’t have met many of my friends over the years who opened my eyes to even more anime. I also wouldn’t have spent hours of my life playing the Dragon Ball games. Several notable moments include my mom calling me saying we were keeping the neighbours awake as we screamed fighting each other while playing Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 1 – 3.

Related: I’m Not Sure Who I’d Be Without Akira Toriyama’s Work

Also, I’m not sure how anyone else felt but whenever I saw Toriyama’s name I was instantly excited. It meant something funny, quirky and likely endearing was on the way.

Akira Toriyama had tapped into something elemental when he began his first story all those decades ago with Goku in Dragon Ball. Every boy and girl wanted to be him, this young naive fool who did the right thing because even though he didn’t always know what was going on, he knew right and wrong. It made Goku a mythical figure, a fabled champion of good. This translated well into Dragon Ball Z when I met an adult Goku with young Gohan in tow.

He was a different kind of hero to me and Akira Toriyama had written him beautifully. I wanted to be like Goku; I aspired to be a playful fool saving the day. I even stood up to someone and blasted a Kamehameha wave at them (you can guess how that went). As a person who falls into worlds and loves so many fictional figures, Akira Toriyama is there as one of the greats. My love of his work has never wavered.

Even into my adulthood, I found myself in cinemas surrounded by my friends as we watched Dragon Ball Super: Broly. One of my fondest memories is talking to my friend Sarah as she found it amazing that, “these people get stronger as their hair changes.” It’s a wonderfully hilarious memory and one that I will cherish forever. It’s these kinds of stories that Akira Toriyama ushered into the world with his stories and they’re extraordinary.

As I sit here and gush about my connection with Akira Toriyama, I can’t help but shed a few tears. He was an incredible man, with an incredible imagination and his work will be loved forever.