
Akira Toriyama (鳥山明) was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for creating the popular manga series Dr. Slump, before going on to create Dragon Ball (his most famous work) and acting as a character designer for several popular video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. Toriyama came to be regarded as one of the most important authors in the history of manga with his works highly influential and popular, particularly Dragon Ball, which many manga artists cite as a source of inspiration. He earned the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen/shōjo manga with Dr. Slump, and it went on to sell over 35 million copies in Japan. It was adapted into a successful anime series, with a second anime created in 1997, 13 years after the manga ended. His next series, Dragon Ball, would become one of the most popular and successful manga in the world. Having sold 260 million copies worldwide, it is one of the best-selling manga series of all time and is considered a key work in increasing manga circulation to its peak in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Overseas, Dragon Ball's anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and are credited with boosting anime's popularity in the Western world. In 2019, Toriyama was decorated a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts. In October 2024, Toriyama was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.
Awakening to his true power, the once meek Gohan pummels Cell, the former strongest being alive! But rather than suffer the indignity of defeat, Cell has a last desperate option--self-destruct and take the planet with him! Can the Saiyans and their allies save the world from being turned to ashes? With the death of six billion people only seconds away, Goku and Gohan--father and son--must fight to
When Kuririn is killed by a lizard-like monster, Goku goes in search of the culprit and finds his most terrifying enemy yet: the evil Demon King Piccolo! Freed after centuries of imprisonment, Piccolo sends waves of monsters on a mission to find the Dragon Balls and destroy any martial artists who might oppose him. With his flying cloud destroyed, Goku finds himself lost in the jungle where he mee
On the green skies and blue plains of Planet Namek, a war rages between two equally evil forces: Emperor Freeza, who wants to use Namek's Dragon Balls to become immortal, and Vegeta, last prince of the Saiyans, who has betrayed his former master in search of the same prize. Trapped between these two mighty enemies are the peaceful Namekians and Earth's heroes Kuririn, Gohan and Bulma! As Freeza's
The Tenka'ichi Budôkai is heating up, and there can only be one winner! Last tournament's champion Jackie Chun goes up against three-eyed "Crane School" kung fu master Tenshinhan! Then, it's the long-awaited match between former classmates Goku and Kuririn--and guess who has some tricks up his sleeve! But Tenshinhan isn't just fighting to win, he's carrying out a deadly grudge--to avenge his maste
With a wish on the Dragon Balls, Piccolo restores his youth, becoming more powerful than ever! Flying to the palace of the King of the World, he announces that he is the new King, and broadcasts his reign of terror on international TV! Only Tenshinhan and Goku have a chance to stop Piccolo: Tenshinhan by mastering a martial arts move that can kill the one who uses it, and Goku by drinking a magic
Having defeated the Red Ribbon Army single-handedly and taken their Dragon Balls, Goku finds that one is still missing! To locate it, he goes to the palace of the All-Seeing Crone, Baba Uranai, who can find anything in the world...for a price! The crone agrees to find the Dragon Ball for free if Goku and his friends--Yamcha, Pu'ar, Kuririn and Upa--can best her five supernatural champions in on
In the frozen north, Goku's one-man fight against the Red Ribbon Army continues as he storms the perilous Muscle Tower! Can he defeat General White's squad of ninjas, cyborgs, and worse, and save the peaceful people of Jingle Village from their oppressors? Then, Goku travels to the City of the West to visit his old friend Bulma, who joins him on his quest, bringing her latest inventions. Their que
Goku has made it to the Tenka'ichi Budôkai, the world's #1 martial arts tournament...but even the training of the martial arts master Kame-Sen'nin hasn't prepared him for this! Only seven finalists remain. Will the champion be Goku? His fellow student Kuririn? Yamcha, master of the "Fist of the Wolf Fang"? Fighting woman Ran Fuan? Giran, a rubbery monster who's part dinasaur? Namu, an Indian mysti
In the final round of the "Strongest under the Heavens" martial arts competition, it's down to Goku vs. Jackie Chun, the mysterious old man who's as powerful as Kame-Sen'nin himself! Will the audience survive the confrontation? After the smoke clears, Goku jumps on his flying cloud and returns to his quest to find the seven Dragon Balls, but now he's not the only one looking for them. The evil Red
Son Goku is the greatest hero on Earth. Five years after defeating the demon king Piccolo, he's grown up and had a family--he's married, and he has a child, Son Gohan. But what is the real reason for Goku's incredible strength? A visitor from outer space arrives bearing terrible news--Goku is an alien, and the visitor, Raditz, is Goku's brother! When Raditz turns out to be a ruthless killer, Goku
The world's greatest heroes have fallen, absorbed by the ever more powerful Boo, who has slaughtered everyone on the planet. Only Goku remains alive to fight...but even his strength will not be enough, unless he uses the Fusion Earrings to permanently merge with another warrior! Who will he choose...and when the dust has cleared, who or what will he become? On earth, among the stars, and in Boo's
Goku is dead--but his journey is just beginning. Now he must travel through the afterlife along the million-kilometer Serpent Road to find Kaiô-sama, the Lord of Worlds, who will teach him martial arts techniques so powerful they're reserved for the gods! And he'd better hurry, too, because Earth has only nine months until the evil Saiyans, Vegeta and Nappa, will arive to wipe the planet clean of
Before there was Dragon Ball Z, there was Akira Toriyama's action epic Dragon Ball, starring the younger version of Son Goku and all the other Dragon Ball Z heroes! Meet a naive young monkey-tailed boy named Goku, whose quiet life changes when he meets Bulma, a girl who is on a quest to collect seven "Dragon Balls." If she gathers them all, an incredibly powerful dragon will a
In the aftermath of his battle with Goku, Vegeta retreats from Earth, vowing revenge. In search of a way to resurrect their dead friends, Kuririn, Gohan, and Bulma go into space in search of Namek--Piccolo's home planet where the Dragon Balls were originally made. But Namek has become a battleground, where evil emperor Freeza and his minions are slaughtering the peaceful Namekians to fulfill Freez
With the mighty Kaiô-ken amplifying his strength, Goku fights Vegeta in a desperate battle to save the world--only to find that the elite Saiyan warrior is even stronger than his new techniques! In desperation, Goku calls upon the Genki-dama, the "spirit ball," drawing power from the Earth, its people, plants, and animals. But alone, even Goku is not enough. The last worn-out survivors, Gohan, Kur
With the Dragon Balls gone and Bulma's summer vacation over, Goku goes to the remote house of the Turtle Hermit, Kame-Sen'nin, to be trained in the martial arts. There, the girl-ogling old master promises to teach Goku everything he knows...and prepare him for the Tenka'ichi Budôkai, the great tournament to determine the Strongest Fighter in the World! But Goku's fellow student, the Shaolin monk K
With the (reluctant) help of the shapeshifting pig Oolong, Goku and Bulma have found almost all the Dragon Balls they need to get their wish! To get the sixth Dragon Ball, the fearsome Ox King sends Goku on a mission: to find Kame-Sen'nin, the Turtle Hermit, whose mighty powers can put out the raging fires of Fry-Pan Mountain! But the sleazy old martial artist might just make it more trouble than
Goku is the world's only hope--the only being on Earth capable of fighting Piccolo, the Great Demon King! But the city-demolishing battle ends with Piccolo birthing a younger, even tougher version of himself, who will return in three years time to finish the destruction wrought by his father! In search of a way to defeat the new Piccolo, Goku's gaze turns skyward--to the heavenly realm of Kami-sam
It's the "Strongest Under the Heavens" martial arts tournament, and the world's greatest fighters have gathered! But Kuririn, Goku, Tenshinhan and Yamcha face mighty enemies. Taopaipai the assassin has returned as a cyborg--and Goku and Tenshinhan are on his hit list! A mysterious young woman has a grudge against Goku. The only "mystery" about bumbling salaryman Shen is how he made it to the final
As the "Strongest Under the Heavens" martial arts tournament draws to a close, only Goku, Piccolo, and Shen--the disguised Kami-sama--remain! But even a god is no match for Piccolo's new powers, and soon Goku finds himself fighting...alone... in a battle which will decide not just who is strongest, but who or what will rule the world! The audience flees for their lives as the struggle shakes the h
Tired of losing their best operatives to Son Goku, the commanders of the Red Ribbon Army hire Taopaipai, the world's greatest assassin, to "take care" of him permanently! To have a chance of defeating this new opponent, Goku must climb the miles-high Karin Tower, where a mysterious hermit guards a jug of magic water which will grant the one who drinks it super strength. And while Goku struggles to
Goku needs just one more Dragon Ball to wish Upa's father back to life...but the Ball is in the hands of an old enemy! Then, Goku and his friends part ways, promising to meet again in three years at the Tenka'ichi Budôkai, the "Strongest-Under-the-Heavens" Martial Arts Tournament. But this time the competition is stronger than ever: Tenshinhan and Chaozu, the deadly disciples of Tsuru-Sen'nin, the
Only Goku, Bulma and Kuririn stand between the Red Ribbon Army and the seven Dragon Balls which can grant any wish in the world! Using a submarine loaned by Kame-Sen'nin, the heroic trio explores a pirate's undersea cave in search of the next Dragon Ball , but gun-toting bad guys are on their tail! Now they must face not only perilous pirate traps but the sinister General Blue, a
While Goku races towards Earth along the million-kilometer Serpent Road, the world's mightiest martial artists make their last stand against alien invaders determined to wipe out the human race! Piccolo. Gohan, Kuririn, Tenshinhan and Chaozu struggle five-to-one against Nappa, only to find their opponents' power is greater than they ever dreamed. Their last chance is Goku...but can he get there in
As Freeza changes into new forms, each more powerful than the last, the desperate heroes--Gohan, Kuririn, Piccolo and the self-serving Vegeta--find themselves struggling merely to stay alive. Desperate for a trump card, Vegeta asks Kuririn to mortally wound him, so that his auto-evolving mechanism will turn him into the legendary strongest fighter in the universe--the Super Saiyan! On the other si
Forced to ally with Vegeta against their common enemy, Gohan and Kuririn fight desperately against Freeza's elite troops, the seemingly unstoppable Ginyu Force! But the tables may be turning as Son Goku finally arrives on Planet Namek, his strength and speed increased ten-fold by training under 100 times Earth's gravity! Could Goku have become the legendary "Super Saiyan"!? And even if they defeat
A seminal series from a legendary creator. "Dragon Ball," a wry update on the Chinese "Monkey King" myth, introduces us to Son Go Son Goku, a young monkey-tailed boy whose quiet life is turned upside-down when he meets Bulma, a girl determined to collect the seven "Dragon Balls." If she gathers them all, an incredibly powerful dragon will appear and grant her one wish. But the precious orbs are sc
With an entire planet for their battleground, Goku and Freeza continue their showdown to see who's strongest in the universe! But Goku's determination turns to horror as he realizes that his enemy has just been toying with him...and at just 50% of his full power, Freeza is more than strong enough to beat Goku! Gohan, Piccolo and Kuririn distract Freeza while Goku powers up for a gigantic genki-dam