Culture news “Be crazy!” The author of Dragon Ball gave his opinion on modern manga and he is not kind to this problem
A few years before his tragic death, which occurred in early 2024, Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) gave some advice to young manga authors… Incisive words, but rather fair.
No matter what job you do, having the advice of your peers is often useful. So manga authors have undoubtedly read the Weekly Shonen Jump of July 2018 carefully. At the time, it was a special issue celebrating the fifty years of the magazine. For the occasion, two masters of Japanese comics are interviewed. Takehiko Inoue, known for Slam Dunk, and the “father of modern manga”, Akira Toriyama. Although the creator of Dragon Ball passed away earlier this year, his words – like his work – will resonate for a long time to come. And this is what he says to new authors.
Pride and originality
At the end of the interview, the “Shonen Jump” journalist asks the two creators to say a few words to the new generation… Dragon Ball’s dad doesn’t take it lightly : “it’s nice to see people influenced by their favorite authors – but I would like them to show pride and an originality that only they have the secret to”. To which Takehiko Inoue replies “yes, definitely”. The rest of Akira Toriyama’s speech is of the same ilk:
I feel like as the quality of the work itself increases, individuality and pride decreases, and I’d like to come across a manga that makes me think, “this author must be crazy!” » – Akira Toryama, Weekley Shonen Jump (July 2018)
It is not an end in itself
For his part, the author of Slam Dunk alerts creators who see a publication in Shonen Jump as an end in itself… “You have to see (this magazine, editor’s note) as a place to present your work,” he explains. , in the same interview. Three years later, in 2021, the duo reunited as judges for the Tezuka Prize, a prestigious award reserved for new artists. For the occasion, Inoue recommended that budding cartoonists “imagine a unique character” – and a universe with a “certain level of realism”.