Today it is impossible to talk about souls without mentioning Dragon Ballone of the most famous and long -lived sagas in the history of Japanese animation. Known and loved all over the world, the franchise born from the mind of Akira Toriyama has influenced entire generations. But behind his success there is an often forgotten inheritance: that of Astro Boythe masterpiece signed by Osamu Tezuka who literally changed the face of Japanese television.
Dragon Ball is not born out of nowhere. Toriyama himself has repeatedly declared that the series would never exist without the contribution of previous works. Among these, Astro Boy It occupies a special place: it was in fact the first serialized anime to achieve a lasting success and laid the foundations for the entire animation industry as we know it today.
When Astro Boy it was broadcast in 1963, Toriyama was a seven -year -old boy. It is not surprising, therefore, that that vision has left an indelible imprint in his imagination. While not deepening too much the bond in public, in an official interview the mangaka recognized Astro Boy as one of his most important influences. And the signs of this inspiration can be found in all its work.
I robotfor example, play a key role both in Dr. Slump – with the protagonist Arale – both in some of the most iconic moments of Dragon Ball Zlike the Android saga. A thematic choice that seems a clear tribute to the young android protagonist of Astro Boy.
In the early 1980s, Dragon Ball was born as comic action manga inspired by martial arts, very different from the other titles of the time. The series immediately achieves great success in Japan, but it is with the animated adaptation of Dragon Ball Z That the phenomenon explodes worldwide, defining the canons of the genre Shonen forever.
Still, it’s really Astro Boy ad aver route the road firsttransforming the anime from simple episodic entertainment into a serial narration with complex characters and adventurous themes. If today the genre is dominated by spectacular fighting and high emotional rate plots, it is also due to that first, courageous experiment signed by Tezuka.
It is no coincidence that many of the greatest modern mangaka quote Dragon Ball as a source of inspiration – just as Toriyama did with Astro Boy. In this sense, Dragon Ball became for contemporary anime what Astro Boy was for Toriyama: a creative model, a source of language and a cultural watershed.
Anime come Plutodark and adult reinterpretation of Astro Boy signed by Naoki Urasawashow how much that character still continues to stimulate the collective imagination, even if in new and unexpected forms.
In a world where only the most recent successes are often celebrated, it is worth remembering that Without Astro Boy, Dragon Ball would never have existed. And, with it, perhaps not even the anime as we know it today. The merit of Tezuka is not only to have created an icon: it is that it has made it possible to have an entire narrative universe, opening the way to all the heroes who would come later.
Read also: who is the strongest character of Dragon Ball? Toriyama revealed it, but you won’t like it
Source: CBR
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