Dragon Ball is a globally renowned franchise known for its iconic manga and anime series. Currently, the Dragon Ball Super manga is being published by Toyotarou, a Japanese manga artist. Toyotarou was personally selected by Akira Toriyama to work on the Dragon Ball Super manga, which is based on the storyline of the movie Resurrection ‘F’. Of course, Toriyama continues to be the final decision-maker regarding key plot developments and character designs, while all other necessary tasks are handled by Toyotarou.
So what led Akira Toriyama to step back from the manga?
The short manga Sand Land will be the next work by Akira Toriyama to be adapted into an anime following the immense success of the Dragon Ball franchise. To promote the film, a brief interview with the author was published on the official Sand Land website. Akira Toriyama revealed that while working on the Sand Land manga, he lost his favorite pen that he had been using at the time.
After that, Toriyama purchased a new pen and tried to adjust it to resemble his beloved pen. Unfortunately, the new pen could never feel quite like his previous one. Since then, Akira Toriyama has taken it upon himself to ensure that his tools do not go missing again.
Akira Toriyama shared: “Sand Land was completed with the help of a scan of the manuscript on my computer, and I used software to color it. I almost couldn’t stop… After finishing all the chapters, I felt a deep attachment to the pen that I had used for a long time. That pen became very familiar to my hand, even though it had been worn and rough. It was the pen that had become accustomed to me for a long time. I bought a new pen and tried to do the same work with it, but it felt uncomfortable. Since then, I have taken it upon myself to ensure that I don’t lose my tools again.”
To this day, the debate around whether Akira Toriyama has retired his beloved pen remains unresolved. However, it is clear that this cherished pen holds significant sentimental value for Toriyama. It is known that the Dragon Ball creator purchased this pen at the age of 14, and he adjusted its grip and length to fit his personal preferences.
Toriyama has also acquired several other pens over the years, but he still frequently uses his favorite one. All of Toriyama’s works are created with this one beloved pen. In fact, in the past, he once spent 30 minutes searching for this specific pen just to capture a single image with it.
