Toriyama's Style

Tom Servo · Post by **Tom Servo** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 6:58 pm

It really angers me that Toriyama doesn't get the respect he deserves. If you don't like his stuff because of the storyline and charcters that's another story, but he should at least get some respect for his artwork. In my opinion Toriyama is one of the greatest Manga artist of all time (Leiji Matsumoto and Katsuhiro Otomo are about equal) in terms of having a unique style. He can show the most extreme emotion without resorting to pop style. He's somehow able to blend the cartoonish with the realistic without it looking stupid. A lot of this detail is lost in the Anime, but you could look for hours at DB Mangas just appreciating his work. Of course because DB is a "kid's manga" he doesn't get respect.

SonGokuGT · Post by **SonGokuGT** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:09 pm

So true, I love his style because it's so unique... In Anime, every other character design looks the same to me. The Anime version of DB has some weird/crappy art moments, so focusing on the manga, his true art, you can just see great attention to detail and proportions as well as complex angles and poses. I'm a artist too, and to me he's not only an influence, but a god!

Sun_Wukong · Post by **Sun_Wukong** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:14 pm

If you ask me, Oda-sama is a god. But that's just me. Toriyama's current style is a lot better than his style he originally used. The Kaizeban(sp?) covers look so much better than the actual manga. Toriyama's style in the 80's/90's was ok. It wasnt revolutionary or anything but it was nice to look at.

If Toriyama is going to be up there with Katsuhiro Otomo, it should be on how amazing DB is, not on his art style. And SonGokuGT, you must be blind. I havent seen one repeated or similar character design in One Piece. Sorry, its my new obsession ^^

oponok · Post by **oponok** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:24 pm

I don't know if he's a GOD, per se, but I do think he's one of the best manga artists, especially in regards to proportion, style, and actually drawing backgrounds instead of leaving it white or filling it with tones and feathers.

Oda? Meh. Never really impressed me. Nothing against his work, though.

Oda. Toriyama. None of 'em have anything on Degas, man. NOTHING.

Izlude · Post by **Izlude** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:33 pm

What I like best about Toriyama's technique is he rarely uses tones and never goes nuts with them like a lot of manga-ka do.

The S · Post by **The S** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:01 am

If you think about it, nearly every mangaka after Toriyama has listed him as an influence and/or one or more of his works as their personal favorites.

*PINHEAD* · Post by ***PINHEAD*** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:29 am

I especially love Toriyama's early art style, such as in Dragon Boy and early Dragon Ball, and his style from the Freeza to Cell story arcs. As for Oda...his artwork never struck me as that great. I mean, it's great, but I think Toriyama's style is better. On the contrary, I think that Kishimoto's style is better than Toriyama's.
But I also like the story of Dragon Ball. To me it feels "cartoony" enough to be enjoyed by a kid and serious enough to be enjoyed by an adult.

SonGokuGT · Post by **SonGokuGT** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:55 am

Yes, I do find Kishimoto to be a lot better that Toriyama. Oda... I like Oda a lot, because his style is different from "regular" anime, it's got a different, more 'cartoony' feel to it, that just sets it appart, unfortunately as good as Kishimoto's art is, it's not as original as Toriyama or Oda's.

and why the fuck am I blind?

Shenron_3000 · Post by **Shenron_3000** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 2:52 pm

Toriyama-Sama's artwork is an inspiration to us all, Dragonball could have been seen as a childrens manga, but the Dragonball Z series attracts lots of grown men/women. Especially today, where you see (pardon my language) crappy (so sorry) anime like Beyblade and Duel masters (slightly more bearable) and no offense to all you yu-gi-oh fans, but the anime is unwatchable same goes for the English dub of Shaman King i enjoyed the manga(slightly off topic). The kids of today love these programs half of them dont know its japanese.

But Toriyama-Sama's newer work "Sandland" looks nice but if an anime is released it wont look nice. Basicly this is the case with all anime/manga, with the exception of Dbz Buu Fights, IT LOOKS BEST ON PAPER.

Tom Servo · Post by **Tom Servo** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:10 pm

It's not just style but ability. I mean when you seriously look at the artwork from the fights from the Piccolo Daimao saga to the end of DBZ, it's really impressive. I mean when you watch the fights in the Anime, you're amazed at how quick the movements are and Toriyama is completly able to replicate these movements (well the Anime's really the replication of the Manga but I just phrased it like that to prove a point). I mean seriously what other Manga artist could pull off a fight as good as Toriyama?

*PINHEAD* · Post by ***PINHEAD*** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 11:51 pm

Yeah, I agree that Toriyama best conveys fight scenes in his art. I have trouble understanding what's going on when I read other manga, but in Dragon Ball, the action is intense while maintaining a certain smoothness that's easily viewed.

Post by **TripleRach** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 11:56 am

*PINHEAD* wrote:Yeah, I agree that Toriyama best conveys fight scenes in his art. I have trouble understanding what's going on when I read other manga, but in Dragon Ball, the action is intense while maintaining a certain smoothness that's easily viewed.

YES. I've noticed the same thing. In some other manga I read, I sometimes don't understand what's going on visually, and I have to do a double or even triple-take.

But Toriyama really does make the action so vivid and easy to follow.

Like a lot of other people have said, I also admire the fact that he doesn't use things like over the top expressions. His work just feels so down to earth, and solid. And I love most of his designs, too.

Shenron_3000 · Post by **Shenron_3000** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 4:24 pm

Toriyama-Sama's work is questionable. His fight scenes are spectacular, in a league of their own, but when you look at his other Manga you notice the difference in his technique and style. Dragonball Z fights were a development on Dragonball, which is a lot more similar to his other work.

Let's try not to forget Dr Slump, now if Akira Toriyama has a style this is it.

We must try and think of Toriyama-Sama as a multi-talented man in his way of creating such different series' and how he kept Dragonball running so long that it could develop into a japenese fighter only to be ruined by a certain GT.....

admin · Post by **admin** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:20 pm

Toriyama's work cannot be disrespected in anyway. However you put it, you can't deny the man's talent. He created a series that lasted over 10 years in Japan and is running strong in many different countries as of right now. He made people love a family that wasn't even real, he made people show strong emotions for and talk about a cartoon series...just think about that. He deserves all the respect he can get and I myself give him the highest credit.

Dragon · Post by **Dragon** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 4:04 pm

I've only seen his art for the DB and DBZ series, (I heard that Toei made DBGT). But I love his style, it's one of the best I've seen, better than a lot of American cartoon artists I've seen anyway.

oponok · Post by **oponok** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 5:41 pm

Well, if you're thinking about the animes, Toriyama is just a manga artist. Thus, he had nothing to do with GT, as there was never a GT manga. He did do some designs for it, namely Giru and their spaceship, the latter proving to be the most appealing aspect of the show. I just want to know whose brilliant idea it was to make all the colors so... coolish and purple. It's... just not... Dragonball.

Post by **SaiyaJedi** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 9:02 pm

Dragon wrote:I've only seen his art for the DB and DBZ series, (I heard that Toei made DBGT).

Well, yes, but Toei also animated DB and DBZ, while DBGT was based (to an extent) Toriyama's artwork and (obviously) art style. Actually, what I found was that the characters felt less like they were from DB and more like Toriyama's Dragon Warrior designs, but maybe that's just me.

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Toriyama's Style

Toriyama's Style

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