A native of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, born on April 5, 1955.
In 1974, he graduated from the design department of the Prefectural Industrial High School and joined an advertising design company to engage in design work. Because he was often late, he resigned after only three years. One day, he saw the "Shonen Jump" weekly magazine in a teahouse. He was attracted by the bonus for the comic submission, and he happily submitted the application, but he was unsuccessful. Unwilling to give in, he drew another one and sent it off. In this way, he continued to submit articles, and finally in 1978 his "Island Wandering" was published in "Shounen Jump". This was his first time coming to prominence.
In 1979, his "Arale" (also known as "Dr. IQ") began to be serialized on "Shounen Jump". The genius doctor in the story and the robot doll Arale he created aroused great interest among readers.
In 1981, "Arale" was made into an animation. The irregular local dialects that Arale often spoke became a popular language in the streets and alleys. Arale's image was printed on various products. People called this year the "Arale Year".
In 1984, the fascinating work "Dragon Ball" appeared.
A sequel to "Dragon Ball" was released in 1992. This masterpiece has been serialized on "Shounen Jump" for 7 years. The story of Sun Wukong and his son and the seven dragon balls that can fulfill people's wishes has led readers from mountain villages to cities, from the earth to aliens, and from now to future.
In addition to drawing comics, Mr. Akira Toriyama is also engaged in modeling design and script creation of video game console software.
A story by Akira Toriyama
Before I became a cartoonist, I designed advertising paintings for an advertising company in Nagoya. I worked there for three years, which is amazing. I have been late almost every day for the past three years. I thought my boss was about to fire me, so I took the initiative to submit my resignation. The cartoonists I admire most are Mr. Osamu Tezuka and Disney in the United States. When I was a kid, I loved drawing the robots in "Astro Boy" until the drawings in my exercise books turned completely black. I think that I can become a cartoonist today thanks to the imitation at that time. Those who want to be a cartoonist must first start with imitation.
To me, the cartoonist is the star. Whenever I meet a famous cartoonist at a banquet, I immediately ask him to give me an autograph as a souvenir. I have saved more than 30 pages of signatures like this. Everyone still remembers the character Sora Dome Misuke in "Arale" who loves to collect autographs, right? In fact, that is my shadow. Akira Toriyama is my real name, and there are only three people in Aichi Prefecture with this weird name. After I became famous, I kept receiving harassing phone calls, which really gave me a headache. So, I thought of a pen name called "Shui Tian Phase 2". However, the editor said the name was too "boring" and had to give up.
I hate being on TV. When that cannon-like camera was pointed at me, I was shaking all over and couldn't say anything. And the thought of millions of people looking at me in front of the camera makes me wet my pants. Therefore, I always find various reasons to refuse to appear on television. Once, I was invited to the "Tetsuko Room" program group and saw the famous Kuroyanagi Tetsuko, who I had only seen on TV before, walking towards me and chatting with me. I was so nervous that my face turned red and I was trembling all over. I didn’t even know what I said. As a result, before I could wake up, the interview program ended. When it comes to TV shows, I just love watching "Animal World."