It appears that Akira Toriyama who created Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball had an impact on how Mario moves.
Mario is unarguably the most famous character in the gaming world. People all over the world love him. Super Mario games made a lot of money, over $396.8 million by March 2022, more than any other video game series.
Before Mario became a prominent figure in the video game world, there was a time when it wasn’t as popular. During Nintendo’s early development of Mario, they drew inspiration from Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball. So, the famous game got some inspiration from the famous show.
However, the connection between Mario and Dragon Ball’s Akira Toriyama might astonish numerous fans.
Akira Toriyama’s Influence on Mario’s Movement
While Shigeru Miyamoto came up with Mario’s story and look, the Nintendo team had trouble figuring out how he should move. So, Miyamoto took some inspiration from Arale in Dr. Slump for Mario’s movement.
When Miyamoto and the other developers at Nintendo were working on Mario’s movement, they studied Dr. Slump closely to understand how Akira Toriyama created designs that showed speed and momentum.
Miyamoto talked about Mario’s famous running style in an interview (via ComicBook):
“The area around his hips is a big joint that controls which way his body moves. We created all his movements from that point of origins: when he accelerates and inclines forward, when he turns and leans left or right, etc. So Mario sort of runs like Arale-chan with the correct sense of weight in the body,”
Both were created by iconic and popular Japanese creators (Akira Toriyama and Shigeru Miyamoto), Miyamoto drew inspiration from Toriyama’s work to shape Mario. He mentioned creating Mario’s attacks, his running style, and even designing the Wing Cap similar to Arale’s hat from Toriyama’s creation.
How Dr. Slump’s Character Influenced Mario’s Movements and the Creation of Luigi
Arale is a character from the manga Dr. Slump, which was created by Toriyama in 1980. Arale’s way of running influenced Mario’s movements in video games like Donkey Kong from 1981, but Mario didn’t get his own game until 1985. Nintendo improved Mario’s actions using Arale as a model, and Arale also inspired the creation of Mario’s brother, Luigi.
After Dr. Slump, Toriyama became famous for creating the Dragon Ball. This series, especially its main character Son Goku, significantly impacted anime and remains extremely popular among fans. The Dragon Ball series continues to release new content, keeping fans engaged.
