Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1st after leaving an indelible mark on the anime industry. Many of our writer’s lives were touched by the master mangaka, so we asked them to say a few words about the impact he had on them. Here’s Quinton, with his tribute to Toriyama-sensei.
Dragon Ball Z Helped Me Bond With Friends and Family
Like many of our readers, Akira Toriyama’s most famous work, Dragon Ball Z, was the first time I was introduced to his signature art style. I’ll never forget the first time I saw it. It was September of 1998. My brother and I had just returned from school. I had already been watching some anime in the form of Gatchaman (known as G-Force: Battle of the Planets at the time) and Sailor Moon. We turned on Cartoon Network to see a strange scene unfolding. A green alien man and a martial artist were fighting a guy with huge hair. Then the green one shot a laser, killing the other two. We had just caught the end of the Raditz story arc and were instantly hooked. We even tried to give Goku our energy for the Spirit Bombs!
My brother eventually grew out of anime, but I still cherish those memories. We watched it together up to around the Cell saga and even caught some of the movies. Luckily, I found several kids in school who shared my love of DBZ and anime as a whole, which formed friendships and hobbies that still last to this day. I spent many nights playing DBZ games with friends, from Super Botuden to the amazing Budokai games. My favorite memory is when I brought the first Budokai to school on the last day of the year. My friends and I set it up in the band room, on a giant screen TV, and an impromptu tournament was held. Before long, classmates of all grades and ages came to watch and play for the whole day, with many friendships being made.
Akira Toriyama’s Work on JRPG’s Kept Me Invested
Akira Toriyama’s biggest impact on my life lies in the games he’s worked on. The first of which was Chrono Trigger. When I first played it, I had no idea it was Toriyama’s art I was seeing. Though it would be unfair to attribute the game solely to him, there’s no denying his iconic art is a large part of its legacy. Chrono Trigger would cement itself as an all-time favorite of many players. That said, I want to focus on one of his lesser-known works: Blue Dragon for the Xbox 360. Though not as fondly remembered, Blue Dragon brought back the “dream team” of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu, and Toriyama. Microsoft put a lot of hype behind this game, and to me, it delivered. It even had the incredibly campy boss theme, sung by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple.
Blue Dragon stars Shu and his band of friends as they travel the world to confront the evil ruler, Nene. The fairly basic story has the familiar beats you’d expect, but the game’s charm lies in its art and simplicity. Blue Dragon is filled to the brim with all the colors and unique designs that Akira Toriyama is known for. It’s a shame it never left the 360, as the game deserves to be remembered. It’s a Dragon Quest title in all but name. It received two sequels on the Nintendo DS and an anime adaptation, but never managed to find a big audience. It’s dear to me, as it helped keep my interest in the genre as I swapped to Xbox and started to drift away from Japanese culture. It runs on Xbox One and Xbox Series, so give it a try sometime.
Rebuilding Through Dragon Quest
Most important to me is Dragon Quest. In 2017, I was going through a really rough patch in my life. I had just recently escaped homelessness and was rebuilding my life. I had recently met my wife, and I didn’t have much to my name. One of the only possessions I had was a Nintendo 2DS, that I bought secondhand with a copy of Dragon Quest 8. I was working a dead-end telemarketing job and Dragon Quest 8 got me through many shifts. It was nice to escape the turmoil of my life and lose myself in this world brought to life by Akira Toriyama and Square Enix. As my wife and I grew closer, we eventually moved in together and she took a small interest in Dragon Quest.
I picked up Dragon Quest Builders to unwind after more setbacks hit us, and we both got lost in the world of Builders. Everything from the music to the art was comforting in ways we didn’t expect. For her, it reminded her of times playing Dark Cloud with her grandma as a child. For me, it brought me back to those days spent with my brother watching DBZ. Though the game lacked a multiplayer mode, we still had fun together. Between sessions of building our settlements, we also played Final Fantasy X. Those experiences and the memories made with them convinced me that she was who I wanted to marry. To this day, we will occasionally listen to the soundtrack and just let the nostalgia wash over us.
No matter who I’m with or how old I get, whatever Akira Toriyama touched left an impact.
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Though my stories related to Akira Toriyama aren’t about being directly inspired by him, they do share a common theme in bonding with loved ones. His work is timeless and touched many people across the globe. So much of what he worked on has helped shape relationships from schoolyard friendships to my marriage. His impact is immeasurable. But what about you, dear readers? Did Toriyama’s work help you build bonds? Do you have any favorite stories to share? We’d love to hear them as we mourn the loss of this legendary creator.
