Akira Toriyama is a christian!??

[Protege]

Ofcourse take this with the grain of salt but on one thing i can definitely prove you that Toriyama is religious. Because in one of his interviews he did state that he turns to God in times of trouble which indicates why he has such a big respect for gods in general and even made Goku lose against Beerus

Now this is from his actual interview
http://www.kanzenshuu.com/translations/ ... interview/

Q:One part of the series’ version of the world are all of the gods that turn up. The fact that they’re also aliens is distinctive as well.

A: "I always turn to God in times of trouble. (laughs) Gods and aliens and other unknown beings like that make it easy to craft the story. After all, gods can do practically anything. I have my gods be straightforward and not too fussy, so that children can feel comfortable with them. The reason I give gods attendants… Well, I guess it’s because important people always need butlers, and it’s easy to develop the story through conversations"

There is also many Easter eggs in the series that hint that Toriyama was heavily influenced by Christianity in his story.

Such as naming one of his favorite characters Mr.Satan (which basically stands for christian devil)



Then we have after life and parts where you go to either Hell or Heaven.

Spoiler:

And we also see halos in dragon ball which come from christian religion


Ofcourse there is also a chance that Toriyama could be a false prophet or a satan worshipper for liking a character that is a deciever or humanity and is named as satan which draws some red flags for me.


But what do you guys think? Do you think Toriyama is a christian? And if he is do you think hes a satan worshipper or not? Personally i dont think so, but who knows...

Maybe he has a god complex?

[Cetra]

I always thought Toriyama-san's first name was Akira, not Christian.

[Danfun64]

I don't think Toriyama is a Christian. I think he is aware of Christian imagery, but not necessarily religious himself.

[Sandubadear]

A: "I always turn to God in times of trouble. (laughs) Gods and aliens and other unknown beings like that make it easy to craft the story. After all, gods can do practically anything. I have my gods be straightforward and not too fussy, so that children can feel comfortable with them. The reason I give gods attendants… Well, I guess it’s because important people always need butlers, and it’s easy to develop the story through conversations"

He says he turns to god as a joke, because introducing gods in the story is an easy way to expand the story. First there's Kami, and because of him Goku could meet another god, Kaio, and when another god appeared (Kaioshin), he introduced the Majin Boo threat. And now there's all a tournament, several new characters from other universes all because of Beerus. He's not talking about religion, but about his story.

[Protege]

A: "I always turn to God in times of trouble. (laughs) Gods and aliens and other unknown beings like that make it easy to craft the story. After all, gods can do practically anything. I have my gods be straightforward and not too fussy, so that children can feel comfortable with them. The reason I give gods attendants… Well, I guess it’s because important people always need butlers, and it’s easy to develop the story through conversations"

He says he turns to god as a joke, because introducing gods in the story is an easy way to expand the story. First there's Kami, and because of him Goku could meet another god, Kaio, and when another god appeared (Kaioshin), he introduced the Majin Boo threat. And now there's all a tournament, several new characters from other universes all because of Beerus. He's not talking about religion, but about his story.

But then why would he say that gods can do anything? is he talking about all powerful gods who have omnipotence, omniscience or omnipresence?

[Nejishiki]

I take that as him saying that you don't have to explain the power of gods as he will with mortal characters. It stops him from having to worry about rules in the established story.

[Sandubadear]

I guess it means that a god can have any kind of different power that no-one has and you don't need to explain since it's a god.

[kei17]

The answer is NO, he is not.

In Japan, there once was a rumor that Toriyama is a believer in Jehovah's Witnesses, and he abandoned any rights related to Dragon Ball because he had noticed that he was controlled by Satan (I'm not talking about Mr. Satan here, of course) when he was drawing the manga. This strange rumor is believed to originate in a local bulletin of Jehovah's Witnesses and their aim was to make their children stop reading/watching Dragon Ball for religious reasons, but the source hasn't been actually found yet.

After the rumor, Toriyama clearly denied it in an interview included in a book named 消えたマンガ家 アッパー系の巻. In it, he also said "基本的に宗教は嫌い (I basically dislike religions)".

There is still a possibility of him nominally being Christian, but only less than 1% of the population in Japan believes in Christianity, so it's unlikely.

I always thought Toriyama-san's first name was Akira, not Christian.

Christians in Japan tend to have a traditional Japanese first name.

[Tyro]

The answer is NO, he is not.

In Japan, there once was a rumor that Toriyama is a believer in Jehovah's Witnesses, and he abandoned any rights related to Dragon Ball because he had noticed that he was controlled by Satan (I'm not talking about Mr. Satan here, of course) when he was drawing the manga. This strange rumor is believed to be originates in a local bulletin of Jehovah's Witnesses and their aim was to make their children stop reading/watching Dragon Ball for religious reasons, but the source hasn't been actually found yet.

After the rumor, Toriyama clearly denied it in an interview included in a book named 消えたマンガ家 アッパー系の巻. In it, he also said "基本的に宗教は嫌い (I basically dislike religions)".

Really fascinating stuff as always, Kei. That's a spectacular tidbit. (I guess this interview isn't on Kanzenshuu?)

[Danfun64]

Not all that surprising. If he was a Christian there is a good chance that he would have tried pleasing the fundamentalists through making DB with no perversity; no nudity; no blatant magic use unless the user is evil (Fortuneteller Baba wouldn't exist, but Bibidi and Babidi would); toned down violence ; Mr. Satan, Videl and possibly Pan not being called those names etc.

Also, him saying that he doesn't like religions might explain how complex and at times ridiculous the religious system of the DB Universe is.

[Sandubadear]

The answer is NO, he is not.

In Japan, there once was a rumor that Toriyama is a believer in Jehovah's Witnesses, and he abandoned any rights related to Dragon Ball because he had noticed that he was controlled by Satan (I'm not talking about Mr. Satan here, of course) when he was drawing the manga. This strange rumor is believed to be originates in a local bulletin of Jehovah's Witnesses and their aim was to make their children stop reading/watching Dragon Ball for religious reasons, but the source hasn't been actually found yet.

After the rumor, Toriyama clearly denied it in an interview included in a book named 消えたマンガ家 アッパー系の巻. In it, he also said "基本的に宗教は嫌い (I basically dislike religions)".

There is still a possibility of him nominally being Christian, but only less than 1% of the population in Japan believes in Christianity, so it's unlikely.

How weird, lol

[Gaffer Tape]

Mr. Satan, Videl and possibly Pan not being called those names etc.

Pan means "bread," so I can't imagine what any particular sect of Christianity could have against that, unless they thought it was an attack on communion wafers.

[Danfun64]

It can also refer to the Greek god, keeping with the religious theme of her family. I didn't say her name would definitely have been changed, however.

[Hellspawn28]

Aren't most people in Japan buddhist? I remember people telling me that there is not many christians in Japan.

[Gaffer Tape]

It can also refer to the Greek god, keeping with the religious theme of her family. I didn't say her name would definitely have been changed, however.

It COULD refer to that, just like it could potentially refer to a frying pan, but in this instance, it definitively doesn't. I mean, a Greek god doesn't tie into the devil naming scheme in the first place. But the fact is, Pan's naming scheme is in line with her father, not her mother.

[RedRibbonSoldier#42]

Aren't most people in Japan buddhist? I remember people telling me that there is not many christians in Japan.

Yet somehow every anime ever gets a Christmas episode.

[Kamiccolo9]

Aren't most people in Japan buddhist? I remember people telling me that there is not many christians in Japan.

Buddhism isn't an exclusive religion. A lot of Japanese people are both Buddhist and Shinto, or at least label themselves as such.

Christianity never really gained much of a foothold in Japan. It started to, once, but then, uh, things happened. After all that, they weren't to keen on the idea again.

[JulieYBM]

If it's any consolation, Furukawa Toshio is a Christian. I assume his wife, Kakinuma Shino, is one, too. Kakinuma, of course, voiced Videl in Dragon Ball Kai.

[Gaffer Tape]

Haha, I never knew that. The Daimao is a Christian! That cracks me up!

[Hellspawn28]

Aren't most people in Japan buddhist? I remember people telling me that there is not many christians in Japan.

Yet somehow every anime ever gets a Christmas episode.

Japan is a big capitalism country just like the US. So I can see why they have Christmas over in Japan. Not to mention Christmas is often celebrated in major cities in China from what I've read.