Akira Toriyama's original job before Dragon Ball got him into a lot of trouble. He constantly asked his mother for money to go to cafes before making history as the godfather of anime

Akira Toriyama is the godfather of anime and has taken the manga and anime industry to great heights. His works need no introduction, because Dragon Ball has become the flagship of the industry and Son Goku is the most popular protagonist in the entire anime.

However, before anime became one of the major forms of entertainment around the world, the mangaka was stuck in a 9-to-5 job that made him quite unhappy, so he decided to take a leap of faith and follow his passion as a manga artist.

In an exclusive interview, Toriyama-Sensei shared his thoughts and the problems he faced during this time, inspiring us to follow our passion no matter how difficult things may get.

Akira Toriyama shares his innermost thoughts before becoming a cartoonist

There is no denying that Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is the only shonen series that is celebrated as the title that took the manga and anime industry to great heights and even inspired the next generation of manga artists such as Eiichiro Oda, Tite Kubo, Masashi Kishimoto, and many others.

However, this is not limited to mangakas, because even though Toriyama-sensei is no longer with us, he continues to inspire his fans to pursue their passion. In an old interview translated and shared by Kanzenshuu, Dr. Slump The author spoke openly about his real job before working as a mangaka.

Toriyama-Sensei said in his “Early 20s”, He worked in a “advertising agency,” and he was constantly “I’m lacking ideas.” However, one fine day he made the spontaneous decision to quit his job and become a mangaka.

He said:

What made me want to become a cartoonist was that I was working at an advertising agency in my early 20s. I was always late and eventually quit, but I quit without even thinking about what I was going to do afterward, so I quickly ran out of money. So I borrowed money from my mom: “I want to go to a cafe, can you lend me 250 yen?” Something like that.

Toriyama-Sensei added:

So. And in the cafe I was reading a comic magazine and there was an ad for a contest with cash prizes. And I was really into manga since elementary school, so I thought, why don't I draw something? So I sent it in because I wanted the prize money, but it was rejected.

However, the mangaka did not give up hope as he talked about how he became a professional manga artist and became the godfather of anime.

Akira Toriyama’s “competitive spirit” made him the greatest mangaka of all time

There is no denying that Toriyama-Sensei’s Dragon Ball is a popular franchise that has been running for several decades, with several additions such as Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT and DBS, along with several cartoons, merchandise and video games.

However, none of this would have ever happened if Toriyama-Sensei had lost heart after losing the competition. In the same interview, translated via Kanzenshuu, the legendary artist told how he used to feel like “to be a big fish in a small pond”, but he did not allow his “Competitive spirit” and soon made his professional debut. He said,

“What the…?” I thought, I'm a big fish in a small pond – and from then on, out of the competitive spirit that comes with being a beginner, I thought, “In that case, I'll keep drawing until I get the prize!” But in the end, I made my debut as a professional without ever getting the prize money. That's how I started.

Nevertheless, the mangaka emphasized that he never wanted to give up halfway through because it was a great passion for him to make a name for himself with something he was immensely proud of and he started drawing at a very young age.

After the mangaka tragically passed away earlier this year at the age of 68, Dragon Ball Z, appears in October 2024in just a few months. The series will be canon and will feature the Z-Fighters in their child form.

Dragon Ball Super can be streamed on Crunchyroll.