Toriyama's DBZ inspirations - Visual Guide

[Mr. Frog]

I thought it would be fun to make a thread focused on rediscovering some of Akira Toriyama's inspirations for the Dragon Ball franchise. But first things first, I want to be clear that this is not meant to try to 'out' him in any way. As the saying goes, "Good artists copy, great artists steal.", meaning that all creatives are inspired by things that already exist, regardless of what some may claim.

And thats completely fine. Its just the way the process works.

With that out of the way, I would like to add that I obviously dont know everything and its all meant in fun. Feel free to help me correct mistakes, or share some of your own information that might help to shed light. Many of Toriyama's inspirations are from the 1980's era, so if youre more familiar with obscure manga & anime from that time please share your knowledge.

Now enough talk, onto Vegeta!



Probably Vegetas most distinct feature is his gravity defying hair. But what exactly inspired this iconic style? I have two theories.

#1. At some point in the 80's, Toriyama either read the Akira manga or saw the film and was inspired by Tetsuo Shima's wild hairstyle. Interestingly, the Akira film was released the same year that Vegeta first debuted in the Dragon Ball manga, 1988. The Akira manga, however, began earlier in 1982.

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#2. Something Toriyama drew dozens of times over in his DB manga, Goku's windblown hair while flying.

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Again, these are just theories based on observation. What do you think?

**P.S. Almost forgot! Its also incredibly likely that Vegetas widows peak at least was inspired by Radditz, which appeared a few pages before Vegetas manga debut. (I know, I know. Nothing groundbreaking here. )

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[Mr. Frog]

I've always wondered what inspired Toriyama to create so many dome shaped buildings in the Dragon Ball universe.



Just a few days ago, I came across some pictures of a 'dome home' village built in Brittany, France sometime in the 60s (from what I can gather). It seems to be called "The Ty Nod Tourist Village". Since it existed 10+ years before Dragon Ball, I cant help but wonder if Toriyama came across pictures of these homes at some point in the 70s or 80s?

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Quite a resemblance.

"... inspired by prolific architect Buckminster Fuller, who first popularized the geodesic dome in the 1940s and 1950s and inspired the most well-known geo-dome, the Spaceship Earth dome at Disney World. Advocates of Buckminster's idea went on to build their own dome homes before selling the concept to the public."

[Nejishiki]

I can't verify if he saw those buildings in his travels, but I do know his current household is slightly dome-based.

[Mr. Frog]

I can't verify if he saw those buildings in his travels, but I do know his current household is slightly dome-based.

Thats awesome! lol. How fitting.

[Deathbringer]

I always thought Vegeta was inspired by General Zodd, probably not visually but he kinda feels similar, not to mention that Toriyama had parodied Superman before with Suppaman and that Superman II came out in 1980 which may have given Toriyama some inspiration, I also think Nappa might have been inspired by Non, who was the big strong guy working with Zod in the movie.

[Mr. Frog]

I always thought Vegeta was inspired by General Zodd, probably not visually but he kinda feels similar, not to mention that Toriyama had parodied Superman before with Suppaman and that Superman II came out in 1980 which may have given Toriyama some inspiration, I also think Nappa might have been inspired by Non, who was the big strong guy working with Zod in the movie.

Interesting. Now that you mention it, I definitely can see some of that calm, cold, arrogance in Zod. And like you said, Toriyama has shown at least a vague interest in Superman.

[Mr. Frog]

Next, is the famous Saiyan Battle Armor. First revealed by the Raditz character in the 1989 manga, but most strongly associated with Vegeta.



Its not quite as easy to figure out, since theres so many different types of armor through the centuries. But I do have some theories.

1. The strongest reference within Toriyamas past works (that I'm aware of), is the hero of the first Dragon Quest/Warrior videogame on the Famicom/NES from 1986. Three years before the Saiyans were revealed. Remove the sword, shield, and helmet, and you can see a resemblance to King Vegeta.

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2. In the Dragon Ball series, the closest resemblances I could find are in the exaggerated shoulders of Oolong's giant robot transformation, and the Pirate Robot's armor shape, coloring, and 'ribbing' inspired by the "Alien" movies Xenomorph creature.

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3. The size and shape of the actual shoulder pads most resemble Piccolo's, which become more exaggerated as the Z series goes on.

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4. According to Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, the shoulder-less version of armor that Bardock wore was inspired by Toshirō Mifune’s character in the "Seven Samurai" film. Similar armors can be found worn by commoner Ashigaru foot-soldiers of Shogun-era Japan. It would appear the similar battle armor created by Bulma was inspired by this look.

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5. Japanese tokusatsu series, such as Super Sentai (Power Rangers in USA), and Kamen Rider (Masked Rider in USA). I'm grasping at straws a bit, but Toriyama has stated in the past that he used them as inspiration for the ridiculous poses of the Ginyu Force, Gohans Great Saiyaman alter ego, and more recently, Jaco the Intergalactic patrolman. So although it doesnt explain the armor, it would explain why Saiyans/Freeza's goons often wear gloves, boots, & a jumpsuit.

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