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A Son Goku statue in Tokyo: “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama is dead
Photo:
Franck Robichon / EPO
Akira Toriyama is a legend. Many people were already aware of this. Even more people became aware of this on Friday. Me too. This morning it was announced that the Japanese illustrator had died at the age of 68. Toriyama is the creator of the “Dragon Ball” manga series.
The series tells the stories of young Son Goku, who collects magic balls and wants to protect the world from evil with his allies. And thus became a global success. The mastermind behind the manga “One Piece,” Eiichiro Oda, described Toriyama as a “big tree” for younger artists, “he showed us all these things a manga can do.”
I never watched it myself, I watched Pokémon and Digimon. And above all: football. But I was aware of the appeal of “Dragon Ball.” The global success made it into the living rooms of my school friends. I couldn't find anyone in the SPIEGEL editorial team with whom I could talk about it. So the old WhatsApp group.
So Comic Planet. An institution in Lower Saxony. Perry Pallaske has been working at Comic Planet since 2005, is now the store's branch manager and a big comic fan himself. A call to Osnabrück.
SPIEGEL:
I was just writing with friends about the death of "Dragon Ball" inventor Akira Toriyama - and the name of your store came up.
Mr. Pallaske, how did you understand death?
Pallaske:
When I picked up my phone this morning and read that Toriyama had passed away, I was shocked.
I was close to tears.
The comic book “Dragon Ball” number 36 by Toriyama was the first manga that I picked up.
That really impressed me.
If I hadn't read this "Dragon Ball" manga back then, I probably wouldn't be here now, working in this store.
SPIEGEL:
The love for comics began with “Dragon Ball.”
Pallaske:
I was hooked, so to speak.
I wanted to have all the other volumes after that and then you keep discovering more manga.
It all started with “Dragon Ball”.
SPIEGEL:
There is a large group of fans in the millennial generation, especially for “Dragon Ball,” because the series later ran on television.
Pallaske:
“Dragon Ball” first ran on RTL Zwei.
I was born in 1986, the first episodes were shown on German television there in 2002, and I always followed them directly.
The internet back then wasn't like it is today, you couldn't stream the entire series online.
That was quite a street sweeper.
Everyone at school also talked about “Dragon Ball.”
SPIEGEL:
Why do manga like “Dragon Ball” have such a big impact on people?
Pallaske:
The fascination probably lies in the fact that they are completely alien worlds.
And everyone wanted to be Son Goku, the underdog and the hero.
“Dragon Ball” was one of the first big manga, followed by others like Bleach and One Piece.
Without “Dragon Ball” these manga would never have been created.
The illustrators themselves also say this, they expressed their condolences on Twitter and Instagram.
SPIEGEL:
So Toriyama was the starting signal?
Pallaske:
There was already Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka in the sixties.
But Toriyama got the big start with “Dragon Ball”.
Without “Dragon Ball,” manga culture wouldn’t be what it is today.
SPIEGEL:
To what extent does “Dragon Ball” and the entire franchise that has developed around it still play a role in your store today?
Pallaske:
“Dragon Ball” still plays a big role.
People come into the store every week asking about “Dragon Ball.”
The younger generation starts with manga, the older generation, who are in their mid-20s, still want to have figures, be they action figures or statues.
It's still a huge thing.
“Dragon Ball” is still being bought very well, even by the younger generation.