The manga and anime fans are intensely shocked and sad as it is revealed that the legendary creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama, passed away at the age of 68. The author has left an indelible mark in the world of manga with creations like Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump.
Before Akira Toriyama became a legendary figure in the world of manga by creating Dragon Ball, he was driven to mainstream success by his Dr. Slump manga. Interestingly, Dr. Slump manga also had a massive impact on the works of Jackie Chan. Earlier, it was revealed in Toriyama’s interviews that movies by Chan and Chinese literature were the main inspiration behind Dragon Ball. However, in a rare interview, Jackie Chan has also admitted Toriyama’s impact on his films.
What did Jackie Chan say about Akira Toriyama’s Dr. Slump?
Dr. Slump follows the adventures of a girl robot, Arale Norimaki, and her creator, Senbei Norimaki, in a strange Penguin Village. The manga series played an impactful role in the career of Akira Toriyama and provided him with a stepping stone to success before the creation of Dragon Ball. However, ardent Toriyama fans would be delighted to know that the manga series even influenced Jackie Chan‘s flicks.
Unknown to many fans, Jackie Chan and Akira Toriyama met once, the details of which were published in Bird Land Press in 1986. Bird Land Press was a popular magazine that published everything Akira Toriyama. When The Dao of Dragon Ball managed to translate the magazine, uploaded on Flickr by a fan, some rarely known details were revealed. The Rush Hour star said:
“I took influence from Dr. Slump when making my movies!!”
Interestingly, Jackie Chan also dressed as Dr. Slump‘s protagonist, Arale Norimaki, for a scene in his 1985 film My Lucky Stars. Both actors also decided to take inspiration from the works of each other. Chan was also one of the main reasons we got the legendary Dragon Ball.
How did Jackie Chan inspire Akira Toriyama to create the Dragon Ball?
Dragon Ball is undoubtedly a timeless creation known for changing the world of shōnen manga and anime. The ardent fans also praise it as the flagbearer of shōnen manga and anime. However, the fans were surprised when it was revealed that the pop culture phenomenon was inspired by Jackie Chan’s films.
It was revealed in the Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 2: Story Guide (translated by Kanzenshuu) by Akira Toriyama that after he completed writing Dr. Slump, he could not understand what to write next. That was when his love for Drunken Master gave him the idea about the story of the adventures of Son Goku and his friends.
“As it happened, at that time I loved Jackie Chan’s movies and had seen ‘Drunken Master’ dozens of times. Since I liked that sort of thing, Torishima-san advised me to try and make a kung-fu shōnen manga, so I drew a one-shot called ‘Dragon Boy’.”
The one-shot became such a success that it led Toriyama to go with the idea of Dragon Ball. Besides the 1978 Jackie Chan film, the late Manga artist also took inspiration from Chinese literature. He tried to make a modernized version of the Journey to the West through his work. It cannot be denied that Mangaka left a lasting impact with his iconic creations.
Rest in Peace, Akira Toriyama.
