AKIRA TORIYAMA

Dragonball Z is the sequel to Dragonball and the prequel to Dragonball GT. There are over 500 Dragonball Z episodes and is the longest running TV series. It was created by a famous Japanese Mangaka, Akira Toriyama in 1984. Akira began his career as a graphic designer. At age 23 was when he started anime and manga. His first well known creation was a weekly series called Dr. Slump that was published in Shonen Jump. It lasted for 8 years. At age 30 Mangaka became his full time career. This career made him a very busy man.

His next famous creation was Dragonball, Dragonball Z, and Dragonball GT. He would work for 7 hours starting at noon. He would take the dog for a walk and work out until 9 at night. Then he works until 11, takes a shower, and works again until 4 in the morning the next day. During all this he would watch television, if no one was with him, to keep him company.

Video games that he helped design were Dragon Warrior series, Chrono Trigger, a famous RPG for Super Nintendo, and his latest Tobal No.1, a fighting/action game for Sony Playstation.

Akira could not work in certain conditions. He didn't like to work when the weather was cold. But if it was too cold and he turned on some heaters, his mind would become unclear and hard for him to think. So it was hard for him. What he was thinking would be expressed in his drawings.

Akira loved his family a lot. He has 2 children, a son and a daughter, and a cat that he found in the rain

Without the great ideas of this brilliant man, the Dragonball series would have never been created.