Days will go on, and time will pass by, but true fans will never forget the legend that is Akira Toriyama. For all the late 90s and early 2000s kids, Toriyama’s Dragon Ball series was nothing short of a magical experience, and that fascination will never die, even though Toriyama-san isn’t with us anymore.
Although we as kids got to experience this masterpiece leisurely sitting in our homes, Toriyama, however, didn’t have it that easy. And perhaps it’s the perfect time to recall those hardships that he had to get through while bringing Dragon Ball to life. Like any success, it also came from great struggle. Toriyama himself admitted that he faced constant setbacks as he was aiming to make a career in this field.
Toriyama was in an extremely poor financial state when he was just starting out!
It’s always fascinating to get a glimpse into the lives of our favorite creators, and more so if it’s Akira Toriyama himself! In a past interview with this legendary creator of our beloved Dragon Ball series, he revealed some interesting insights into his own life and motivations. In fact, there’s a clip of the interview, where many people first time got the opportunity to see and hear Toriyama.
So, when the interviewer asked about his early life, Toriyama claimed it was extremely painful!
Toriyama admitted to being pretty much unemployed at that time and often asked his mom for money to cover his daily expenses. He’d ask for 150 yen to buy cigarettes or 200 yen to grab a coffee at a cafe from his mom! It’s amusing to think that even back then, Toriyama was such a chad that he used to ask for cigarette money from his parents!
One can’t help but be charmed by Toriyama’s such a laid-back personality, and his sense of humor is also commendable. Despite now being a legend in the manga world, he is very much down-to-earth and also quite relatable to many of us. Had it been anyone else, we might not have gotten to experience a series like Dragon Ball ever.
Toriyama stayed strong with his resolve and eventually, everything worked out
Toriyama’s journey to success wasn’t smooth sailing at all. During the same interview, he opened up about how he faced constant rejections from publishers and editors in his early days. However, Toriyama didn’t let it get him down. Instead, he focused on honing his craft and eventually, saw his own progress, which motivated him even more.
It was something that I’d never drawn before, so I saw myself how I was getting better and better, which was interesting.
Despite all the setbacks, he continued to draw and produced an insane amount of draft works. We’re talking hundreds of pictures (he drew around 500 pages worth of material)! It’s no wonder that he learned so much from this period. It’s quite inspirational how his skills were improving rapidly, and he was able to see the progress himself.
The anime/manga industry was fortunate enough that Toriyama never strayed away from his resolve. He stayed strong, and his dedication eventually led to the creation of the iconic Dragon Ball series. We’re all grateful that he didn’t give up, and now the world is definitely a more exciting place because of it!
The Dragon Ball series is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
