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Although Dragon Ball is Akira Toriyama’s most famous work, Toriyama is an industry veteran who has been working since the ’70s, and he has a huge body of work that most of his fans might not be familiar with. Whether it’s manga, video games, anime, or anything else, Toriyama’s art and creative sense can be felt all over.
8 Cowa!
Cowa! is one of Akira Toriyama’s first works after finishing up Dragon Ball, and it is one of his many short series. Only fourteen chapters long, the story follows a trio of monsters as they journey to get medicine in order to save their fellow monsters. It is a series that is packed with child-like humor and whimsy.
While Cowa! is quite childish in comparison to something like Dragon Ball, it has a fairytale-like charm that keeps it compelling. It is not a masterpiece, but it is a pleasant read that anyone of any age can enjoy.
7 Sand Land
Another one of Toriyama’s many short works, Sand Land takes place in a world where water is scarce and controlled by the tyrannical king. As water prices soar, the common folk are forced to steal water in order to survive. Demon prince Beelzebub, one such thief, is asked by Rao to join him in his quest to find a new water supply.
Unlike Cowa!, Sand Land is a much more mature adventure that explores the effects of the environment while also showing off Toriyama’s trademark charm. The character designs are distinctive, and though the story is more serious, there’s still more than enough room for humor.
6 Tobal (No. 1 & 2)
Dragon Ball’s immense popularity brought Akira Toriyama’s style to the attention of the masses. As a result, many flocked to have him also do art for their own projects, whether it be an album cover or a video game. Tobal No. 1 is one such game, featuring characters designed by Akira Toriyama.
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Tobal No. 1 was Square Enix’s first foray into fighting games, and it had a sequel in Tobal 2. However, unlike another fighting game Toriyama was involved with, it never managed to take off competitively. Nowadays, it is mostly known for being one of many games to feature Akira Toriyama’s art style.
5 Blue Dragon
Blue Dragon is a role-playing game released in 2006 by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy. While the game is a fairly traditional JRPG, it is distinctive in that it features Akira Toriyama once again as a character designer. His unique art style became one of the game’s main selling points.
In Blue Dragon, players play as five young children who have the ability to turn their shadows into powerful monsters. The shadows can become stronger by equipping classes and learning more skills. The game also has a manga adaptation, although it focuses on different characters and is not drawn by Akira Toriyama.
4 Jaco the Galactic Patrolman
Another short manga series, Jaco the Galactic Patrolman follows Jaco, who has come to Earth in order to protect it from alien attacks. He soon befriends Omori, a retired scientist, and Tights, a young girl who joins their adventures out of curiosity.
At the end of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, it is eventually revealed that the entire manga happens years before the events of Dragon Ball take place, with the alien attack Jaco was expecting being Goku’s arrival on Earth as a baby. Jaco eventually reappears again in Dragon Ball Super as a minor character.
3 Dr. Slump
While Dragon Ball is Akira Toriyama’s most famous work, he first found fame with Dr. Slump. The manga follows the adventures of Arale Norimaki, a robot with the appearance of a young girl, and her creator, Senbei Norimaki. Arale’s naivety and Senbei’s unscrupulousness cause a variety of problems and headaches for the people they live by.
Dr. Slump is a pure comedy series, with a massive cast of bizarre characters that inhabit the quaint little Penguin Village. The ludicrous situations and shenanigans that the characters of Dr. Slump get up to have to be seen to be believed, and the series is a staple of Toriyama-brand humor.
2 Chrono Trigger
In 1995, a collaboration occurred between the creators of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest in order to create a role-playing game that would eventually be called Chrono Trigger. Many stars in the JRPG industry worked on this game, including Akira Toriyama, who once again provided the character designs.
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Chrono Trigger is generally considered one of the greatest video games of all time, and Toriyama’s character designs are definitely part of the reason why. Every main character has an intensely unique design, and the monster designs show Toriyama at his most grotesque.
1 Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest is the first game to ever feature Akira Toriyama’s art and character design, and it has become one of his most enduring relationships. Akira Toriyama has created the designs for every Dragon Quest game and continues to do so to this day. Toriyama’s art and designs are just one of many reasons why Dragon Quest is so popular in Japan.
In Japan, Toriyama’s work on Dragon Quest is as recognizable as his work on Dragon Ball, if not more. His impeccable monster designs, such as the adorable slime, give Dragon Quest the charm and humor that it is so known for today.
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