Akira Toriyama
Two Creators Share Their Passion for Illustration
Artist Eiichiro Oda, who creates engaging characters in a world filled with dreams and adventure, greatly admires the works of manga artist Akira Toriyama
Born on April 5, 1955, in Nagoya City, Japan. After working in an advertisement design company, debuts as a manga artist in Weekly Shonen Jump. Releases to the world many hit works, such as Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball.. At Oda’s request, his dream conversation with Toriyama became a reality. Although they are from different regions of Japan and their ages are far apart, the passion they each share for manga and illustration led to a memorable conversation between the two!
Moderator: First of all, Mr. Oda, please explain your feelings about Mr. Akira Toriyama and his works.
Oda: He is like a god to me, of course. He is in a different dimension. More than anything else, his drawing skills are too good to be true!
Toriyama: Oh boy, I don’t feel too comfortable here (laughs loudly).
Oda: To tell you the truth, I didn’t read Arale-chan
In reference to Dr. Slump, Toriyama Sensei’s first serialization. at all. My first encounter with Toriyama Sensei’s manga was the second episode of Dragon BallThe most famous work of Toriyama Sensei that was serialized from 1984 to 1995 in Weekly Shonen Hump. An adventure-drama about the fantastic “Dragon Balls” that grant wishes when they are all collected. and I fell in love with it at first sight. I thought to myself, “It’s too good!” I liked Disney a lot, but I thought it was even better than Disney! Do you remember a character named Ran-Fan
A female martial arts fighter who appears in Dragon Ball. During a match at the Tenkaichi Budokai, she takes off her clothes to distract her opponentduring the Tenkaichi Budokai (World Martial Arts Tournament)?
Toriyama: Oh yeah, I remember that one!
Oda: It’s strange to ask you if you remember, but it seems like you’ve forgotten about a bunch of characters (laughs). Remember how Ran-Fan took off her clothes? Her armpit in that scene was drawn extremely well. I believed you were the first person to draw the armpit that well. During that time, I drew mostly armpits. Back then, I also copied Tao-Pai-Pai's
A master assassins who appears in Dragon Ball. Although he heralds himself as an invincible fighter, he is defeated by the main character of the series, Son Goku hand.
Toriyama: Tao-Pai-Pai…? That’s starting to become a more obscure character for me.
Oda: What do you mean? Tao-Pai-Pai is a major character in the series.
Toriyama: The guy with the braids?
Oda: Yes, yes, the hit man. The character that launches a column into the air and travels on top of it.
Toriyama: Oh yes, I did draw that one.
Oda: His hand, as he stood in fighting stance, was depicted extremely well. After seeing it, I kept on drawing hands for a while. Those were the two great impacts Dragon Ball had on me: the armpit and the hand.
Toriyama: But in Dragon Ball, the number of characters with muscular physiques increased as the story continued. I probably should have studied the muscle structure of the human body more, I kind of regret the fact that I didn’t do it…
Oda: The way that you drew the muscles on your characters was so cool! I was astounded by the way they looked, even thought I was a reader of Kinniku ManA popular martial arts manga that was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump (laughs)
Toriyama: I was only concentrating on how well they looked, and in reality, the muscles on the characters are pretty much exaggerated.
Oda: No, no, they are perfect. The girls that you draw are also kind of muscular. Actually, because of that style, they end up looking sexy.
Toriyama: They simply appear like that because I’m not good at drawing girls (laughs embarrassedly).
Oda: I wanted to tell you that I think your mechanical illustrations are really incredible.
Toriyama: Most of those are actually exaggerated too. For mechanical designs, I try to think about things like the propulsion source and where the fuel tank is located.
Oda: That’s what is amazing. A person can’t usually think of stuff like that. I don’t know anything about machines so I can’t draw them.
Toriyama: Even though the designs may be irrational and the machine might have a weird shape, I still try to figure out aspects like how it can be boarded by the passenger.
Oda: The appearance of the design doesn’t need to have a practical use.
Toriyama: I don’t mind drawing the illustrations, but it becomes a hassle when they appear in a manga and you have to draw them many times over. If you become too ambitious, you end up creating more trouble later on.
Oda: It’s really difficult if you have to actually depict the moving. Do you remember when Pilaf and his gang were on machines that attached
This is also a scene form a story in Dragon Ball. Goku's rival Pilaf and his gang are riding individual machines that combine to become one giant robot to each other ?
Toriyama: ???
Oda: They were on machines that attached to each other and the sight mesmerized me! I thought, “Wow!” and when two of them are combined, it is in the shape of an ostrich.
Toriyama: Huh, so it’s a vehicle?
Oda: Yes.
Toriyama: A robot?
Oda: Yes.
Toriyama: Ah, I think I remember drawing that in the past.
Oda: You were even thinking about the idea of transformation with machines.
Toriyama: Oh, I guess I was thinking about that.
Oda: Yes, you were thinking about it. (laughs)
Moderator: To the extent that each of you remembers, what is an example of an illustration that you felt was completed with great satisfaction?
Toriyama: Completed with great satisfaction?
Oda: I know which one it is. You probably don’t remember it, but I read a comment you made saying something like that.
Toriyama: Really?
Oda: You mentioned it in some interview.
Toriyama: This one?
A weekly Shonen Jump poster that Toriyama commented 'This picture is my favorite one'
Oda: You’re correct (laughs). You said that was the only one that you liked… I asked myself, then what about the others?
Toriyama: Yes, yes. I did say that is the one I’m really satisfied with! When I see it now, I wonder why I thought that it was this one.
Oda: (laughs)
Toriyama: Maybe I liked it because the yellowish-green background is done beautifully.
Oda: The comment at the time stated how you really liked the balance of the vehicle.
Toriyama: Back then, maybe I believed that it was well done.
Oda: It’s one of those things where if you don’t know, nobody knows (laughs).
Toriyama: What is the illustration that you feel really satisfied with?
Oda: The illustration that I’m satisfied with how it turned out… I suppose it’s the one where the five characters are swown together
for the first time on the large special Jump poster. This is an illustration where Luffy and his crew are sitting on a polar bear. I drew that picture really large.
Toriyama: What!? You drew it full size?
Oda: I tried to draw it as close to the actual size as possible. I used two sheets of drawing paper and drew all the way to the edges.
Toriyama: What?! You used two papers?!
Oda: In the beginning, I drew the two-page spread illustration by actually adding a page to make a spread. I realized later that I could just do it on a piece of A3 paper.
Toriyama: Hmm, you’re so serious (laughs). But that’s the case with most people. You just don’t know how to draw a manga.
Oda: (laughs) Yes, you just don’t know how to do it.
Toriyama: Even with me, I was drawing the sound effects like “BANG” with straight-edge rulers (laughs).
Moderator: Which one of Toriyama Sensei’s illustration is the best in the eyes of Mr. Oda.
Oda: I like the cover of volume 2
An illustration for the cover of Dragon Ball episode 19. It is also use as the cover of volume 2 of graphic novels of the graphic novels. The color looks very handsome and cool.
Toriyama: This illustration was drawn on a piece of colored paper. I was telling myself, “I can’t draw on a piece of white paper!” It’s one of the works from the five consecutive weeks of color illustrations.
Oda: Are you kidding?! Five straight weeks of color!!
Toriyama: Mr. TorishimaMr Kazuhiko Torishima, Toriyama Sensei’s first editor at Weekly Shonen Jump. There is also a rumor that he is the model for Demon King Piccolo… forced me to do it. That person made me do crazy things (laughs)!!
Oda: Five consecutive weeks is too much! Two straight weeks is enough for me.
Toriyama: Why do you like this illustration?
Oda: I think it’s incredible how calm it looks, even though it’s supposed to be moving. The entire feeling of the illustration makes it really fantastic.
Moderator: You both have drawn many illustrations, but is there one that gave each of you considerable difficulty?
Toriyama: I learned that it’s difficult to draw battle tanks and cars that exist in reality, because you can’t make any mistakes. Whenever I’m too lazy to think of a design and decide to draw something from the real world, it ends up creating more trouble.
Oda: That’s why I think people who draw stories set in the contemporary world face more challenges.
Toriyama: I agree. This picture
An original illustration for the catalogue of Akira Toriyama’s World” exhibition, which toured various museums throughout Japan. The illustration is, overall, colored in a very subtle way gave me lots of trouble because this motorbike does exist in reality. That’s why you shouldn’t draw things that exist in reality.
Oda: I don’t know if I would go that far. (laughs)
Toriyama: Is there an illustration that you struggled with?
Oda: I end up liking everything that I make. It’s fun to draw illustrations. I try to work on it right up to the deadline and when the person from the editing department takes it away, I still don’t want to let go of it.
Toriyama: That’s very admirable! That aspect is where we are complete opposites. If I could do it with your philosophy, it would surely be fun.
Moderator: Next, we will have a discussion on characters. Will each of you tell us the favorite character from your own works?
Toriyama: For me, it’s Piccolo. Piccolo
A character that appears in Dragon Ball. Alhough initially a figure known as The Demon King, he starts to reform as a result of battles against Goku and his friends. For the first time in my manga, I felt that it was a character that was cool, despite having a scary face. I know it’s the “Grand Tradition” in manga for the “Bad Guy” to become “Good”, but it still feels nice to do it in the story.
Oda: Yes, the readers enjoy it too when it happens. It’s an example of being happy reading it, even though you know it’s a cliché.
Toriyama: I agree. Do you have a favorite character in your own works?
Oda: I like Luffy of course. But the character that I’m most proud of is Gaimon
He gets stuck in a tresure chest after falling from a cliff. Since then, for 20 years, this man has been stuck in the treasure chest.. It’s not going to be easy to surpass the impact of that idea - a man who has been trapped in a treasure chest for 20 years. That scenario is astonishing, even for me.
Toriyama: How did you come up with that idea?
Oda: At first, it was supposed to be a barrel. I’ve forgotten the circumstances of how it developed into the final result (laughs).
Toriyama: When you create a character, do you concentrate on the context of the story?
Oda: No, for me it’s the momentum. I put emphasis on the momentum of the story. You know how you make a rough sketch of a new character? I then naturally write in dialogue without even needing to think about it. The first words spoken by the character help me portray it, even at a much later stage.
Toriyama: Yeah, I understand what you’re talking about.
Oda: I begin building up a character from the point where I feel, “This guy probably talks about this kind of stuff!”
Toriyama: I know precisely what you’re talking about! We each have different approaches, but the inspiration is similar!!
Oda: Is that true?! That’s great!!
Toriyama: Do you naturally come up with ideas that the readers enjoy? Or do you concentrate on pleasing the readers?
Oda: It’s both cases for me.
Toriyama: For example, would it be different if you started drawing without necessarily thinking about pleasing the readers?
Oda: It may change but I like the fact that I can have the readers enjoy my story.
Toriyama: That’s another aspect where we are similar.
Oda: Wow! I decided from the time I was really young that I was going to become a manga artist. When I used to be just a reader, I thought of what I wanted to draw when I became a professional manga artist. There is a large stock of ideas from back then and my data as a reader is still in my head. That’s why there are instances when I think, if I do it this way, the readers will be happy. Unfortunately my sensibilities today are different from what they were when I was a child, but I try to draw my manga by thinking how I would’ve been happy as a reader back then.
Toriyama: That’s really important. You consciously make yourself think like when you were a kid.
Oda: Yes. That’s why I don’t really trust the data that other people have, but if I feel the work I made would have been exciting to read when I was a child. I believe I can present it to the world with confidence.
Moderator: What were you thinking as you created Luffy?
Oda: I was thinking about manliness. In Dragon Ball, every type of thing that kids enjoy reading had already been done (laughs). I used the theme of manliness as a center of focus to help the story avoid becoming too much like Dragon Ball.
Toriyama: But you’re succeeding in gaining people’s attention with the adventure story. It’s hard making something that’s like a road movie. I like the sense of a “man’s world” in the manga.
Oda: Yes, I think everybody gets kind of shy when speaking about a “man’s world”, but people actually love it.
Toriyama: When I draw that kind of stuff, I also think of it as being “cheesy”.
Oda: But people enjoy it.
Toriyama: It just ends up being that way.
Moderator: In conclusion, please exchange some words of encouragement!
Oda: Please do anything that you feel like! Whatever you decide to do as long as you are drawing pictures, I am happy. Even if the people in the editing department pressure you to make a serialization (laughs).
Toriyama: For me I would like to see you continue to draw the “Grand Tradition” of boys’ manga. You don’t need me to say anything to you! My kids are totally into reading One Piece. That’s why I decided to read it too and I found out why everybody is raving about One Piece! Please continue to do your best!