Episode #0510 (05 April 2024) — Akira Toriyama: Personal Impact & Legacy

[VegettoEX]

Episode #0510 (download MP3) (rss feed) (subscribe in iTunes) (Spotify version) (YouTube version) (SoundCloud version)
3:23:11; 128 kbps, mono; 196 MB

SHOW DESCRIPTION:
The extended Kanzenshuu family and friend community comes together to share their memories of, gratitude toward, and the impact of Akira Toriyama.

SEGMENTS:
00:22 – Introduction
01:42 – Who We Are
05:15 – Mike & Meri Fandom Primers
17:49 – Reaction to the News
23:17 – Brief Career Spotlights & Differentiators
32:37 – Julian (SaiyaJedi)
44:25 – Heath (Hujio)
51:28 – Jake (Herms)
53:34 – (Surprise)
58:30 – (Surprise)
59:50 – (Surprise)
1:01:08 – (Surprise)
1:02:06 – (Surprise)
1:05:55 – (Surprise)
1:06:59 – (Surprise)
1:09:39 – (Surprise)
1:12:46 – (Surprise)
1:17:00 – (Surprise)
1:19:49 – (Surprise)
1:26:34 – (Surprise)
1:29:05 – (Surprise)
1:30:49 – (Surprise)
1:32:53 – (Surprise)
1:35:00 – (Surprise)
1:35:53 – (Surprise)
1:38:41 – (Surprise)
1:40:54 – (Surprise)
1:44:43 – (Surprise)
1:48:47 – (Surprise)
1:50:28 – (Surprise)
1:55:09 – Wrap-up

NOTE:
Though we always post our podcast episodes on YouTube, this particular episode has been given some additional light editing with the occasional example screen or video clip to accompany some of the discussion points, as well as on-screen names/handles for each of the contributors.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Long have I waited for this.

Toriyama only deserves the best, I'm sure this won't disappoint as you have all been fans long enough.

[sangofe]

In 1988 my French grandpa introduced me to Dragon Ball. Sadly my family moved to Norway, and my passion was brutally torn away until I rediscovered it 5-6 years later.

In school, I was bullied but found strength in Dragon Ball. I dreamt I could use my ki ­to fly, fire Kamehameha's, and transform into a Super Saiyan. At home my brother drew Dragon Ball and made Dragon Ball characters that would represent us in an alternative version. Which is where my nick and avatar comes from.

In my quest to satisfy my hunger for more I asked my grandma to record episodes. I bought all VHS and magazines I could find. In my search for connections and sharing my passion, VegettoEX's Ultimate DBZ Links page and its evolutions contributed greatly.
Later, Dragon Ball Super let me re connect with an old friend. I have shared endless fun and exiting moments with my daughter. It was especially exiting and moving to read the manga for her making character voices.

When Akira Toriyama passed away, I mourned deeply. I have never felt so sad for anyone that I didn't personally know. It felt like a family member was gone. I cried for days. And now, one month later, I shed a couple of tears listening to other people saying what Dragon Ball means to them.

Thank you, Akira Toriyama for giving me strength when I was bullied, excitement and joy on grey days, passion without limits and the opportunity to connect with others. Without your creations, I would not have met the people I have. Thank you so much. May your legacy live forever.

[TrunksTrevelyan0064]

Wrote up my full thoughts on all this a few days ago and figured this would be a good place to post them.
(This is also in response to that Kanzenshuu Twitter post where you called for comments/memories/stories)

---

Given that I'm Dutch, one of the first things I do every morning is check a Dutch news website. On the morning of April 8th, I spotted an image near the bottom of my screen of a blue-haired Goku and Vegeta from the "Broly" poster. I thought, huh, what's Dragon Ball doing here of all places?

I scrolled down and saw the headline. I'm pretty sure my inital reaction was an audible "WTF". This had come COMPLETELY out of nowhere.

It was surreal to see this mind-blowing, earth-shattering event being treated as just another random piece of news, halfway down a webpage. As though it was a mere footnote. The article was respectful and accurate enough, but because it WASN'T being treated as breaking news, I felt a strange disconnect, like the news wasn't hitting me as hard as it should. I felt like I should be on the floor, bawling my eyes out, but I wasn't doing that.

I wondered if checking Kanzenshuu would make it hit home harder. My thoughts had immediately gone there anyway, imagining what the crew must be going through, and also because I needed to verify whether this news was real or not. Which I knew I could trust Kanzenshuu to do.

I spent the rest of that day thinking about it non-stop. Rambling on Discord, seeing countless tributes on Twitter, just trying to process it all. I visited my parents later that day, and thankfully they were aware enough to know that Toriyama was my biggest artistic inspiration, even if they clearly didn't feel the news the way I did. To them, he was just another random guy. I tried to explain just how huge Toriyama was, comparing him to other legendary people. By far the best comic artist I've ever seen.

Toriyama may not have written the deepest stories - they consist mostly of simple action and simple humor - but it is EXTREMELY WELL-DONE simple action and humor. So much so that it took over the world. Just like his characters often did, Toriyama transformed the world around him for the better without ever deliberately attempting to do so.

For the next month, I was highly anticipating Kanzenshuu's next podcast episode, hoping it could substitute for a kind of memorial service and give me some closure. I found myself agreeing with Ajay, who spoke about how he hadn't really felt Toriyama's absence just yet, and how he was struck by an overwhelming sense of appreciation for the impact of Toriyama's work. Those are pretty much my feelings as well. His passing hasn't truly sunk in for me yet because I'm still constantly surrounded by his work and influence. I'm imbued with it.

I liked Ken's comment about deliberately trying to break away from Toriyama's art style yet still having people go "Hey, that looks like DBZ", because I'm in the exact same boat. All my artwork "looks like DBZ". It used to bother me, but recently I've been seeing it as more of an honor. If people consistently compare me to the greatest comic artist I've ever seen, then that's the best compliment I could ask for. Not that I'll ever ACTUALLY reach his level, but if my comic pages look good and easy to follow, it's because of what I learned from him.

It probably won't be until new Dragon Ball material comes out WITHOUT Toriyama's personal touch that I'll truly start feeling the loss. But even then, his legendary magnum opuses (yes, plural) will continue to exist for us to revisit whenever we like. Which I've been doing a lot lately. More than ever, I'm struck by how vibrant and full of LIFE his artwork is. The facial expressions, the movement and subtle gestures, the adorable stubby-limbed creatures clinging hilariously to trees and buildings and people's faces - Toriyama's essence is still very much alive in those pages. Forever immortalized.