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A blast-from-the-past illustration serves Dragon Ball fans a heaping dose of nostalgia. In a now archived post, it’s revealed that Akira Toriyama once created special promo artwork for 1985’s The NeverEnding Story.
Those who visited the official Dragon Ball website on April 8 may have seen a rare gem from the Toriyama Archives, a trivia page dedicated to old and rare images related to the franchise. The page is refreshed with a new find every 24 hours, making April 8’s featured post all the more special. “Released on February 5th, 1985,” the site read. “This illustration was created for a feature article on the popular 1985 film The NeverEnding Story. This image of Goku riding a dragon was featured alongside a photo of one of the main characters riding the white dragon.” The caption is immediately meaningful to fans of The NeverEnding Story, which is an enduring tale of friendship between Atreyu and Falkor the Luck Dragon.
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Dragon Ball’s Akira Toriyama Was a Fan of 1984’s The NeverEnding Story
The archive image featured original artwork by Akira Toriyama, whose body of work continues to inspire anime fans and creators. A young Goku rides an orange dragon in the illustration, which, according to the note, was first featured in Weekly Shonen Jump 1985 No. 10. As reported in Kanzenshuu, that issue ran a five-page piece about The NeverEnding Story along with Toriyama’s self-portrait and comment about the movie. “I’m impressed at how they translated such a difficult-seeming story to screen,” he wrote. “It’s a little bit leisurely, but I think that’s perfect for fantasy. I really enjoyed the film!” The page is also headlined with splash text that read “From films to manga, dragons are taking the stage!”
The image also appeared in 1995’s first Daizenshuu (Complete Illustrations) and Dragon Ball Chogashu: Super Art Collection. Both publications noted that the illustration was used in a feature article that discussed the popularity of dragons in manga and movies. Dictionary.com offers a comprehensive list of pop culture references for this, which includes Smaug from The Hobbit, Mushu from Mulan, Godzilla‘s King Ghidorah, Falkor and of course, Shenron from the Dragon Ball series. Toriyama himself has left an enduring legacy in this niche with contributions that have since transcended manga, anime and JRPG.
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Dragon Ball is widely celebrated as one of the most successful media franchises of all time. It debuted as a serialized manga in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1985, followed by anime adaptations (Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z) that ran from 1986 to 1996. The franchise has continued to gain international appeal since the series was initially released; the manga is now sold in some 40 countries, while the anime has been broadcast in over 80.
Hulu and Crunchyroll stream Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super in major territories, while VIZ Media publishes the manga in English. The NeverEnding Story is available to stream on Prime Video and Apple TV+.
Dragon Ball
Son Gokû, a fighter with a monkey tail, goes on a quest with an assortment of odd characters in search of the Dragon Balls, a set of crystals that can give its bearer anything they desire.
- Author
- Akira Toriyama
- Artist
- Akira Toriyama
- Release Date
- November 20, 1984
- Genre
- Adventure , Fantasy , Comedy , Martial Arts
- Chapters
- 519
- Volumes
- 42
- Adaptation
- Dragon Ball
- Publisher
- Shueisha, Madman Entertainment, Viz Media
Source: Dragon Ball official website, Kanzenshuu
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