Tribute to Akira Toriyama

Once again Bloggers time for a little anime facts and i would like to pay tribute to a Genious in the anime world Akira Toriyama the creator of Dragonball and Dragonball Z i searched the web to find out what i could and this is what i got:
The genius and creator behind Dragonball and Dragonball Z, Akira Toriyama has helped create over 20 different Anime/Mangas. Here you can find all about who this man is and all about his different anime/mangas.

How Akira Got Started:
Akira Toriyama wanted to become an artist. He studied art in high school, and by 1977, he got a job at one of the biggest and well known Manga publishers in Japan known as Shueisha. In 1978, he started a Manga called “ Wonder Island”. It wasn’t a big success, but gave him more confidence in his work. His next piece of work was called “Dr. Slump”, which was a huge success. His most famous piece of work however, is the “Dragonball” series, which is also explained on this page.

After Dragonaball Z had ended, TOEI Animation asked permission from Toriyama to continue the Dragonball trilogy with a new series called Dragonball GT. This new series aired in Japan from 1996 to 1997, and was no where near as successful. Toriyama was not directly involved with Dragonball GT, but he did supervise the development. As Toriyama's success grew he decided to open up his own studio know as Bird Studios where he was able to publish many more of his other stories and comics.

Akira Toriyama Time line:
» 1955 = Akira was Born
» 1974 = Started School of Art
» 1977 = Quit School of Art
» 1978 = Akira's first Manga, Wonder Island
» 1979 = Created Manga Highlight Island
» 1980 = Toriyama's first Big Hit, Dr. Slump
» 1985 = Started the Dragonball Mangas
» 1995 = Akira Ends Dragonball Z

Akira Toriyama Was Staff In:
» Chrono Trigger (OVA): Art
» Chrono Trigger (SNES): Art
» Cowa! (Manga): Story, Art
» Dr. Slump (Manga): Story, Art
» Dr. Slump (Animes): Original Manga
» Dragon Boy: Story, Art
» Dragon Quest: Dai no Daiboken (TV): Producer
» Dragon Warrior: Design
» Dragonball/Z (Mangas): Story, Art
» Dragonball/Z (Animes): Original Story
» Dragonball GT (Anime): Original Creator
» Ikimarusama: Animation
» Kajika (Manga) : Story, Art
» Kennokai-sama (Movie) : Design
» Neko Majin Z (Manga) : Story, Art
» Pink Mizu Dorobou Ame Dorobou (Movie) : Design
» Sand Land (Manga) : Story, Art
» Shinsukesama: Animation
» The Apprentice Mangaka (Manga): Author
» Tobal No. 1: Design
» Wonder Island (Manga) : Story & Art

History of Dragonball

Whats up anime lovers welcome to the Animafiaz blog this is my first post and for my first post i would like to pay tribute to a great anime that goes by the name of Dragon Ball for those who might not know Dragon Ball is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 through 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West. It follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, most of whom also seek the Dragon Balls for their own desires.

The 42 tankōbon have been adapted into three anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. Additionally, Toei has developed seventeen animated feature films and three television specials. In 2009, Toei started rebroadcasting Dragon Ball Z under the name of Dragon Ball Kai which changes the footage from the original anime. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising such as a collectible trading card game, and a large number of video games.

The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga, and in Australia and New Zealand by Chuang Yi. The anime series was licensed by Funimation Entertainment for an English language release worldwide, although the series has been dubbed several times by various studios. In China, a live-action film adaptation was produced in 1989. In 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to produce an American-made live-action film, which was released on April 10, 2009 to critcal lambast.

Since its release, Dragon Ball has become one of the most popular manga series of its time in both Japan and North America. It enjoys a high readership, with over 150 million volumes of the series sold by 2007. Several manga artists have noted that the manga series was the inspiration for their own now popular works, including Naruto and One Piece. The anime is also highly popular, ranking number 12 among the best anime series of all time in 2006. Reviewers praise the art, characterization, and humor of the manga story. The anime series have had more mixed reviews, with the first also praised for its characterizations, but the second has been often criticized for its long, repetitive fights, and the third is widely considered to be completely repetitive.