Akira Toriyama is a legendary figure in the manga and anime industry. He has inspired several mangaka throughout his career and continues to do so. His magnum opus is the most celebrated, popular anime of all time. Every single person has heard the name Dragon Ball, and it doesn’t matter whether they watch anime or not.
Akira Toriyama’s journey is nothing short of iconic. For the past four decades, the Dragon Ball franchise has garnered a massive fandom that could put a country to shame. Unfortunately, the legendary mangaka left his passion after the completion of Dragon Ball Z. Even though he never gave a proper answer, but the fans may have found the reason behind his quitting.
Akira Toriyama Suffered From Fatigue
Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise started the boom in the manga and anime industry, which were later redefined by the Big Three of anime. For eleven straight years, he regularly wrote the manga. From 1984 to 1995, he finished Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z’s manga. The manga was published in the Weekly Shonen Jump every week.
Fans predicted Toriyama might have suffered from fatigue after creating his magnum opus for such a long time. Due to the weekly publication of the manga, he needed to work more and deliver the drafts on time. It was a massive pressure on his part since he had a busy schedule. It must have been hard for him to continuously work without any leisure.
Some predicted the legendary mangaka decided to retire due to his pen holder. Toriyama had a particular pen holder, which he used for keeping his stationary items. But after losing it, he lost his motivation to write. The pen holder had been with him since he was a kid. So, losing such a memorable and close accessory affected him badly.
Dragon Ball Z Was Not His Last Work
Akira Toriyama took a break from writing manga after finishing the final draft of Dragon Ball Z. He wanted to work on something that did not require him to work under a busy schedule. He shifted his focus to writing short stories like Nekomajin, Kowa, Sand Land, etc. It was during the production of Sand Land that he lost his pen holder, which made him take a permanent break from writing any manga.
Toriyama’s body could not handle the constant physical and mental pressure. The same thing happened with Hunter x Hunter creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The fatigue got the better of him, and he fell sick. Thankfully, Toriyama did finish his magnum opus. Yoshihiro Togashi also became physically ill and is suffering from back pain, which made him leave writing Hunter x Hunter midway.
It is sad to see so many mangaka going through mental and physical fatigue, and often time they take a long break before resuming their work. Toriyama worked for eleven years, and it took a toll on his body. But by that time, he had already created an empire. Maybe if he was given more freedom, people might have experienced more legendary stuff from him.
