his alter-egos in 'Dr. Slump'
Akira Toriyama, best known for creating the manga series, “Dragon Ball,” has been knighted by the French government. The decoration, formally known as Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (translated as: Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) was awarded to Toriyama in a ceremony at the French Embassy in Japan on May 30.
The ceremony was attended by Toriyama’s publisher, Akio Iyoku, instead of Toriyama himself, who rarely makes public appearances. Iyoku apologized for Toriyama’s absence but stated that Toriyama is “very grateful to his French fans who have appreciated his works since the early days of his career,” and described how he had been instructed by Toriyama to “tell you how honored he is to receive this award from your country.”
For those who aren’t familiar with the series, “Dragon Ball” tells the story of Son Goku from childhood to adulthood as he learns martial arts and journeys to find the seven Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon when collected together. The collected volumes of Toriyama’s “Dragon Ball” are estimated to have sold 250-300 million copies worldwide, making it the second best-selling manga series (after “One Piece”). The popularization of manga in France is credited to the series which was published by Glénat in 1993, following the airing of the anime adaptation in the late 1980s.
Born in 1955, Toriyama, 64, is also best known for the comedy series “Dr. Slump,” which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1980 to 1984 before “Dragon Ball” (which ran in the magazine from 1984 to 1995). Since 2015, Toriyama has overseen a sequel series, “Dragon Ball Super,” illustrated by artist Toyotarou. He is also best known as a character designer on several video games, such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger and Blue Dragon.
