Legendary manga creator Akira Toriyama might have built the pillars for the anime and manga industry with his projects like Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball, but the story that started his journey as a mangaka was actually a Star Wars parody. During his unemployment years, the mangaka got hooked on George Lucas’ galactic universe and decided to sprinkle some of his own spice on it.
He created a parody series called Mysterious Rain Jack that featured prominent Star Wars characters like R2-D2, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, C-3P0, Princess Leia, etc. The series majorly focused on the humor part of the narrative and set the base for Toriyama’s entry into the manga industry.
Not only that, but Mysterious Rain Jack also featured in his later works, as both Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball had references from his early work, but they were so creatively placed that Toriyama fans had a hard time noticing them.
Akira Toriyama Created A Humorous Star Wars Universe
In 1977, when Toriyama was suffering from unemployment, he decided to take his chance by creating a manga called Awawa World and submitting it for the Monthly Young Jump Award, a contest sponsored by Shueisha. While he failed in the first year, the second year was even more tough as he was outright disqualified because of the submission of a Star Wars parody.
Just like every other person in the 70s, Toriyama was obsessed with the Star Wars franchise and wanted to create his own version of the universe, and thus came Mysterious Rain Jack. The series was a perfect blend of humor and action and reflected Toriyama’s creativity, which he later used in Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball.
Stressed after being disqualified from the contest, Toriyama was about to quit the manga industry when his soon-to-be editor Kazuhiko Torishima sent a telegram to the Dragon Ball creator. He appreciated him for his work and suggested him not to give up just yet, and the rest is history. Mysterious Rain Jack later became quite famous for its unique take on Star Wars.
The Star Wars Parody Never Left Akira Toriyama’s Side
Mysterious Rain Jack never actually saw the light of day as pages from its original draft were stolen in 1990 during a Japan tour. The loss of these original pages meant that Toriyama could never commercially release Mysterious Rain Jack, however, some of its pages were revealed in the Akira Toriyama Exhibition catalogs.
Akira Toriyama even tried to use some of its references in his projects. In Dr. Slump, the protagonist of the series, Arale Norimaki, would often be seen in an R2-D2 outfit. Also, Drop-kun, the police officer in Penguin Village, was always wearing his stormtrooper helmet.
Dragon Ball took it one step further as the franchise had more Mysterious Rain Jack (or Star Wars) references than one can count. The biggest one was the parallel between Ki and the Force, which worked as a superpower for the characters. Later on, healing tanks, spaceships, and other aspects from Star Wars also made their debut in Dragon Ball.
Although Dragon Ball takes most of its notes from Journey to the West, these references from George Lucas’ franchise cannot be ignored. Toriyama’s obsession with Star Wars was quite evident, and it was the reason why the anime and manga industry got one of the biggest franchises of all time.
You can watch Dragon Ball on Crunchyroll.
