Akira Toriyama and the True Source of Japanese Soft Power
The death in early March of Akira Toriyama, the creator of manga series Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball, drew heartfelt and teary-eyed reactions from around the globe. The outpouring of praise for Toriyama, in addition to the recent Academy Awards honors for Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla: Minus One” and Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” and the success of “One Piece” on Netflix, have led commentators to call attention to Japan’s soft power. Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga series spawned numerous anime, films, video games, and merchandise, and has been the cornerstone of contemporary Japanese pop culture. Toriyama himself drew inspiration from the classic Chinese novel “Journey to the West” and Chinese action stars, such as Jackie Chan, for the Dragon Ball series. Still, Toriyama’s work compelled the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-owned newspaper famed for its hawkish stances, to run a story featuring Chinese netizens’ adoration for Toriyama and Japanese cultural goods.
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