Akira Toriyama, Eiichiro Oda, and Masashi Kishimoto are three of the most renowned names in the manga industry thanks to some of their legendarily revolutionary works that gave birth to multiple phenomenons among fans. Some of these include masterpieces like the Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece series.
But despite being in pretty much the same league when it comes to their fame, there is still one honor that was bestowed on Dragon Ball Mangaka Toriyama that One Piece and Naruto Mangakas Oda and Kishimoto may never have: The honor of designing a new logo for a city in his home prefecture by himself in his style at its anniversary.
Akira Toriyama Earned The Honor Of Designing A Logo For A Major City
Mangaka Akira Toriyama may have stopped drawing mangas because he lost his “lucky” pen holder (at least that’s the excuse he has been giving around), but that didn’t stop him from accepting the honor of designing a new logo for a major city in his home prefecture.
As shared by Natalie, the Dragon Ball Mangaka is from Aichi Prefecture in central Honshu Island in Japan. Within this prefecture is a renowned urban locale known as Kiyosu City, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next year in 2025.
The city, which is notably “the starting point for Nobunaga Oda’s Tianbei,” is named after Kiyosu Castle, i.e. the place famous for its warlords; especially Nobunaga Oda, the renowned warlord who used it as a military base during his attempts at unifying Japan.
Since the city holds major importance to the people and their culture because of its connection to the warlord and how it critically helped him rise to power successfully, it was a great honor for him when Toriyama was offered to design a commemorative logo for the same.
Thus, Akira Toriyama agreed to do the very thing that even Mangakas Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto may never get, despite having stopped drawing a long time ago: Design a memorial logo for a beloved major city from his home prefecture in Japan.
What Does Akira Toriyama’s Design For Kiyosu City Look Like?
The logo that Mangaka Akira Toriyama has created to commemorate the major city from Aichi Prefecture, i.e. Kiyosu City, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary is nothing short of as brilliant as his masterworks in the Dragon Ball manga series.
In his illustration, as shared by Natalie, a joyful character can be seen standing, beaming at the viewers. This character is wearing a green samurai-style kimono with a top knot and has a sword dangling from his waist.
This thoughtful design used in creating the memorial logo is presumably inspired by Kiyosu City’s rich historical ties to the Sengoku era or the Warring States period in Japan, which was also when the Kiyosu Castle was created.
All in all, the logo that Dragon Ball Mangaka Akira Toriyama has created is nothing short of an epic depiction of the entire region through one character, and will likely be used to promote multiple municipal projects in the city.
