Astro Boy Creator Osamu Tezuka Officially Named Akira Toriyama As His Successor In An Old Statement
But the biggest compliment Toriyama could ever receive out of all is Tezuka calling him “heir apparent,” basically calling him his successor.
If you think Toriyama isn’t hailed as one of the best mangakas of all time, with the entire world mourning for his loss, and the theme park being built, then this following piece of information will certainly come across as a surprise because I was too!
Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Astro Boy, is regarded as the founding father of Shonen manga. He’s so legendary that he even has an award named after him dubbed “The Tezuka Award” presented to aspiring manga artists by Shueisha!
And that legendary mangaka name-dropped Akira Toriyama when he was alive, calling him “almost too good,”.
But the biggest compliment Toriyama could ever receive out of all is Tezuka calling him “heir apparent,” basically calling him his successor, carrying forward his will to show the beauty of shonen manga to the world.
I'm oldtaku enough to remember Osamu Tezuka's death in 1989. I see echoes of it in the response to Akira Toriyama's passing. Tezuka called Toriyama "almost too good," and his "heir apparent." Toriyama wrote, "without Tezuka's work, I don't think I'd have become the artist I am." pic.twitter.com/rZmUN4IRMu
— Matt Alt (@Matt_Alt) March 8, 2024
This is huge for Toriyama, considering Astro Boy greatly influenced him and his work. In fact, he confirms that Goku’s ICONIC spiky hair was a direct reference to Astro Boy’s horn-like hair.
Moreover, this has never happened before in the history of the industry. You never see manga authors calling another their successors casually, especially if they’re working for the same magazine.
About Dragon Ball:
Dragon Ball is a manga series by Akira Toriyama. It first began its serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1984.
The manga was later adapted into a multitude of animated series, movies, and games.
The franchise consists of five different anime series, about 21 animated movies, and around 10 games spanning various platforms, from Famicon to Playstation and Xbox.
Synopsis of the Dragon Ball anime:
Goku Son is a young boy who lives in the woods all alone—that is, until a girl named Bulma runs into him in her search for a set of magical objects called the “Dragon Balls.”
Since the artefacts are said to grant one wish to whoever collects all seven, Bulma hopes to gather them and wish for a perfect boyfriend.
Goku happens to be in possession of a dragon ball, but unfortunately for Bulma, he refuses to part ways with it, so she makes him a deal: he can tag along on her journey if he lets her borrow the dragon ball’s power.
With that, the two set off on the journey of a lifetime.
Source: Twitter
