Akira Toriyama, a prolific manga artist known worldwide for creating the “Dragon Ball” franchise, died on March 1 from an acute subdural hematoma, a type of blood clot. The death of the 68-year-old was announced by his production company Bird Studio a week later, on Friday, March 8, following a private funeral ceremony. Toriyama’s passing will be mourned by his fans around the globe, including in Poland, where “Dragon Ball” came to be a cultural phenomenon formative for an entire generation growing up at the turn of the millennium.
“It’s our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm,” the studio said in a statement posted on the official “Dragon Ball” website. “We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.”
Akira Toriyama was born on April 5, 1955, in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, in Central Japan. Interested in drawing from an early age, Toriyama picked a high school with a graphic design class. Following graduation, he worked for three years for an advertising agency in his home city, before his work was first published in 1978 in “Shōnen Jump” magazine when he was only 20.
His first big break came in 1980, with the publication of the “Dr. Slump” manga series, which had proven so successful it was picked up to be made into an animated series.
It was not long thereafter, in 1984, that he published the first installment of his best-known and beloved work, “Dragon Ball,” which he worked on until 1995, ultimately producing 42 volumes of the comic that spawned several anime series (totaling more than 500 episodes), animated and live-action feature films, and video games. The manga alone sold 260 million copies worldwide.
Inspired by “Journey to the West,” a 16th-century Chinese novel, “Dragon Ball“ tells the story of Son Goku, a boy from a distant planet who ends up on Earth.
An important part of the plot, especially in the initial years, was the hunt for the eponymous dragon balls, gems that once all collected, can be used to summon a powerful wish-granting dragon.
But as time progressed, the focus shifted gradually to Son Goku training to become the most powerful martial artist in the world, eventually coming to face increasingly more powerful foes from outer space, including representatives of a hostile race of space warriors, who originally dispatched him to Earth.
Akira Toriyama was born on April 5, 1955, in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, in Central Japan. Interested in drawing from an early age, Toriyama picked a high school with a graphic design class. Following graduation, he worked for three years for an advertising agency in his home city, before his work was first published in 1978 in “Shōnen Jump” magazine when he was only 20.
His first big break came in 1980, with the publication of the “Dr. Slump” manga series, which had proven so successful it was picked up to be made into an animated series.
It was not long thereafter, in 1984, that he published the first installment of his best-known and beloved work, “Dragon Ball,” which he worked on until 1995, ultimately producing 42 volumes of the comic that spawned several anime series (totaling more than 500 episodes), animated and live-action feature films, and video games. The manga alone sold 260 million copies worldwide.
Inspired by “Journey to the West,” a 16th-century Chinese novel, “Dragon Ball“ tells the story of Son Goku, a boy from a distant planet who ends up on Earth.
An important part of the plot, especially in the initial years, was the hunt for the eponymous dragon balls, gems that once all collected, can be used to summon a powerful wish-granting dragon.
But as time progressed, the focus shifted gradually to Son Goku training to become the most powerful martial artist in the world, eventually coming to face increasingly more powerful foes from outer space, including representatives of a hostile race of space warriors, who originally dispatched him to Earth.
’Dragon Ball’ in Poland
The 1990s were the first time Polish audiences were exposed to a large number of Japanese cartoons. Private television stations that first appeared in Poland following the collapse of communism found that old Japanese cartoons, some dating back to the 1960s (“Sally the Witch”), but many of them from the late 1970s and 1980s (among them “Yatterman,” “Captain Hawk,” and “Dash Kappei”), made for easily obtainable, cheap programming for young audiences. Whatever the motivation behind the choice of IPs to broadcast was, to this day many Poles growing up at that time fondly remember those shows. “Sailor Moon,” a more recently produced animation at that time, was also popular.
But none of those animations could be called a phenomenon of the magnitude “Dragon Ball” quickly became when it first aired in Poland in the autumn of 1998.
It took some time for the “Dragon Ball” anime to reach Poland. The first episode aired in Japan in 1986, and the final installment in the anime series franchise concluded the year before the show first made it to the screens of Polish television sets. Perhaps one of the most curious things about the way Polish kids got to experience “Dragon Ball” was that the version aired in Poland was dubbed… into French.
For the benefit of the Polish audiences, the dialogues were read by a single voice-over actor, a still common practice in Poland, where full dubbing of shows is a practice usually reserved for programming aimed at younger audiences, but not necessarily universal, as is the case in point with “Dragon Ball”. As to why voice-over was applied on top of the French-language dubbing instead of the original Japanese? Well, as the old Polish saying goes, if you don’t know the reason behind something, then the reason is probably money…
It did not in the least take away from the fun of watching the show packed with action, particularly notoriously extended fight scenes, but also a lot of somewhat risque humor. And because there were already more than 500 episodes, “Dragon Ball” would air daily. If at some point during the afternoon the sound of children playing outdoors (we used to that back in the day) would make way for complete silence, it was because of another episode about the adventures of Son Goku and his friends shown on television. The three series of “Dragon Ball” produced up to that point were aired by private RTL 7 (later rebranded as TVN 7) between 1999 and 2003.
In addition to sparking interest in the source material and manga in general, the massive popularity of the show spawned a flood of merchandise, including collectible cards, stickers, pens, notebooks, and of course action figures.
“Dragon Ball” remains an enduring global phenomenon. That is also the case in Poland, where the original manga remains in print to this day. And it is hard to think of anyone who would be in their mid-30s and did not experience the phenomenon that was the popularity of “Dragon Ball” in its heyday in Poland.
One could easily make the claim that it was the first piece of Japanese popular culture that caught on so widely. And even though the interest may not have endured for all, the news of the passing of Akira Toriyama is certain to bring a tear to the eye of many who have fond memories of daily following the adventures of Son Goku.
The 1990s were the first time Polish audiences were exposed to a large number of Japanese cartoons. Private television stations that first appeared in Poland following the collapse of communism found that old Japanese cartoons, some dating back to the 1960s (“Sally the Witch”), but many of them from the late 1970s and 1980s (among them “Yatterman,” “Captain Hawk,” and “Dash Kappei”), made for easily obtainable, cheap programming for young audiences. Whatever the motivation behind the choice of IPs to broadcast was, to this day many Poles growing up at that time fondly remember those shows. “Sailor Moon,” a more recently produced animation at that time, was also popular.
But none of those animations could be called a phenomenon of the magnitude “Dragon Ball” quickly became when it first aired in Poland in the autumn of 1998.
It took some time for the “Dragon Ball” anime to reach Poland. The first episode aired in Japan in 1986, and the final installment in the anime series franchise concluded the year before the show first made it to the screens of Polish television sets. Perhaps one of the most curious things about the way Polish kids got to experience “Dragon Ball” was that the version aired in Poland was dubbed… into French.
For the benefit of the Polish audiences, the dialogues were read by a single voice-over actor, a still common practice in Poland, where full dubbing of shows is a practice usually reserved for programming aimed at younger audiences, but not necessarily universal, as is the case in point with “Dragon Ball”. As to why voice-over was applied on top of the French-language dubbing instead of the original Japanese? Well, as the old Polish saying goes, if you don’t know the reason behind something, then the reason is probably money…
It did not in the least take away from the fun of watching the show packed with action, particularly notoriously extended fight scenes, but also a lot of somewhat risque humor. And because there were already more than 500 episodes, “Dragon Ball” would air daily. If at some point during the afternoon the sound of children playing outdoors (we used to that back in the day) would make way for complete silence, it was because of another episode about the adventures of Son Goku and his friends shown on television. The three series of “Dragon Ball” produced up to that point were aired by private RTL 7 (later rebranded as TVN 7) between 1999 and 2003.
In addition to sparking interest in the source material and manga in general, the massive popularity of the show spawned a flood of merchandise, including collectible cards, stickers, pens, notebooks, and of course action figures.
“Dragon Ball” remains an enduring global phenomenon. That is also the case in Poland, where the original manga remains in print to this day. And it is hard to think of anyone who would be in their mid-30s and did not experience the phenomenon that was the popularity of “Dragon Ball” in its heyday in Poland.
One could easily make the claim that it was the first piece of Japanese popular culture that caught on so widely. And even though the interest may not have endured for all, the news of the passing of Akira Toriyama is certain to bring a tear to the eye of many who have fond memories of daily following the adventures of Son Goku.
Source: PAP, Reuters, ppe.pl, dragonball.fandom.com, TVP World
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