Akira Toriyama Part 1: Dragon Ball

Sorry, been busy folks! I imagine you're looking at me the way little Krillin is the above picture so I'll be good and get to my writing.



AKIRA TORIYAMA



I'll be honest: I've always been a fan of Akira Toriyama's work. He gets a lot of flack for Dragon Ball Z and it's long drawn-out execution of somewhat shallow stories, but when you consider that even he was tired of making DBZ ("How much more powerful can I make these guys?!"-Akira Toriyama) I think you can cut him a little slack.

There were about 2 big anime series to speak of in the 90's before the boom of Pokemon and a million others, and those were Sailor Moon and Dragonball(and it's Z variation). Now I did see Sailor Moon first and while the unique anime things caught my eye.. it was far too feminine for me to really get into. I enjoyed it the way I enjoy watching Cinderella.. but less "Wow the animation is so beautiful and smooth" and more "Wow that animated chick is kinda hot".



ANYWHO then there was my first viewing of Dragonball. Not Z, the original Dragonball.

I remember where I was exactly. I must've been about 7... I was hanging out at my friend Eddie's house on a lazy Sunday. Coming fresh off a hot game of Co-op Bubble Bobble we decided to channel surf for some cartoons. A few clicks of the remote later we were greeted with a monkey boy on flaying around on a yellow cloud. Being used to American cartoons we were both a bit perplexed and kept it on the channel if only to figure out what the hell was going on.


Where Sailor Moon had failed to capture my interest, Dragonball captivated me. This anime was definitely masculine. It was cute to be sure, but there was a MANLY view of the world to be seen here. It was a bold style in color and design. Hell, Toriyama's women often don't even look all that feminine. ChiChi and Bulma's proportions are not exactly the perfect hourglass figures. Much like Olive Oyl of Popeye fame though, I find that to be part of their charm as animated characters. They're appealing characters and not at all ugly. (Also, does anyone else like the fact that almost all of Toriyama's girl characters are strong-willed and likable? I can't think of one that is a generic damsel in distress.)


And despite sharing some of the flaws inherent to most anime (conservatively even proportions , Pac-Man wakkawakka mouth movement, reused expressions) there was a fun cartoonyness to it all. I mean, the kid had a monkey tail! There were Dinosaurs running around! Perverted old men! Funny animals! The cities had interesting rounded shapes! There were kickass airships and robots and motorcycles and junk! The story premise was fairly simple and not overwrought with details. It screamed "fun"!



And did I mention how wonderful the colors are?! So warm and inviting without being kitsch. all the characters seem to belong in their environment and even though there are some abstract things(blue hair, bright green foxes ect) the colors aren't competing with one another for attention. Compare the above shot with this screencap from Family Guy.


EEEEEYYYYUUUCCKKK. I'm not gonna make this post about ripping Family Guy apart(many people have that arena covered) but that is horrid. It's physically painful to look at. It's like someone colored it with the MS Paint bucket tool. The colors are bold primaries that are all trying to grab your attention and it leaves you with no real focus. Not to mention the boring expressions, lack of construction, and mathematically even composition on display. This "art" should not be unleashed onto television.


If there's one thing anime is pretty consistent about, it's having good color theory. Composition is often pretty spot on too. I say that partly comes from the Disney influence in Japanese comics... but that's for another post!


Toriyama is one of the best in this regard and actually has a few high profile imitators such as Eiichiro Oda(One Piece) and Masashi Kishimoto(Naruto). "Imitator" is a bit harsh.. but they haven't denied that Toriyama was a huge influence on them. I'll admit, they do add their own special touches( especially Oda... his color work is absolutely lush!) .


But getting back to Dragonball... the original series was a fun adventure with a delightful sense of humor. It's no wonder it was so popular! Of course they wanted more so now we move on to...

Ah yes... dear beloved Dragonball Z. No longer a fun-time adventure story but a martial arts drama where greater power levels must be achieved at any cost. Much as Superman at some point veered away from his simple super-powered adventures on earth and began to explore his Kryptonian origins, Goku was visited by invaders from his hardly-talked-about home planet and was faced with some people that could match and even best him in power. Suddenly, just knowing Kamehameha wasn't such hot shit.




The tone got pretty serious and things got crazy sci-fi with aliens, space/time travel, bio-engineered villains, and much more. Things weren't quite as magical(beyond multiple death cheats). Goku wasn't a kid anymore.

Despite this intense stylistic change, I find myself with a particular fondness for Dragon Ball Z. I can't quite bring myself to hate it even though I understand why some people do.

Yes it was insanely long and drawn out. I think if they'd have shortened it by 100 episodes or so people wouldn't have been so offended by it's popularity and we would have a much tighter show on our hands. I think what made it all tolerable though is that there was an honesty about it... to me it feels as though the writers knew how over-the-top it was and never really took it all that seriously. The characters were pretty corny and stereotypical but I think the writers took note of that. Whatever cheesiness the show exuded I believe was intentional.



And you've gotta admit, there were just some cool character designs throughout the show. The kind that are so badass a young boy can't help but to love them. That's probably the biggest part of it's success. Toriyama has an apealling, distinctive art style that can also look cool. I preferred his old work that had more charm but I was eating up this cool stuff too.



The serious tone did get old, and Toriyama(bless his heart) did interject some more magic and comedy into the final Buu Saga, my personal favorite of the four. There was the fusion dance! Heavenly tournaments! More Hercule! The Great Sayiaman! Majin Buu was a magical creature... he turned people into Candy! What's not to love?



Dragon Ball Z ended and so did Toriyama's involvement. It should have all ended there but the sweet smell of money enticed another series.



Dragonball GT was made but the lack of the original creator's touch was evident. They just continued to build on the superficial aspects and the stories became more and more convulted and stupid. They tried hard.. dear lord did they try... but it just didn't work. The ratings declined. The series didn't last long.

But hey, despite all it's flaws I enjoy the Dragonball series as a whole(though I adore the original show). I'll definitely defend it, if only because Akira Toriyama rocks so hard.



Part 2 will focus on Toriyama's game artwork. Don't miss it!


On another note HOLY CRAP DBZ PEZ