Manga critic Jason Thompson declared Toriyama 's art influential , saying that his " extremely personal and recognizable style " was a reason for '' Dragon Ball '' 's popularity . He points out that the popular '' shōnen '' manga of the late 1980s and early 1990s had " manly " heroes , such as '' City Hunter '' and '' Fist of the North Star '' , whereas '' Dragon Ball '' starred the cartoonish and small Goku , thus starting a trend that Thompson says continues to this day . Toriyama himself said he went against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size , designing many of the series ' most powerful characters with small statures . Thompson concluded his analysis by saying that only Akira Toriyama drew like this at the time and that '' Dragon Ball '' is " an action manga drawn by a gag manga artist . " However , James S. Yadao , author of '' The Rough Guide to Manga '' , points out that an art shift does occur in the series , as the characters gradually " lose the rounded , innocent look that Toriyama established in '' Dr. Slump '' and gain sharper angles that leap off the page with their energy and intensity . " Thompson stated in 2011 that " '' Dragon Ball '' is by far the most influential shonen manga of the last 30 years , and today , almost every '' Shōnen Jump '' artist lists it as one of their favorites and lifts from it in various ways . " David Brothers for ComicsAlliance wrote that : " Like Osamu Tezuka and Jack Kirby before him , Toriyama created a story with his own two hands that seeped deep into the hearts of his readers , creating a love for both the cast and the medium at the same time . " Many artists have named Toriyama and '' Dragon Ball '' as influences , including '' One Piece '' author Eiichiro Oda , '' Naruto '' creator Masashi Kishimoto , '' Fairy Tail '' and '' Rave '' author Hiro Mashima , '' Boruto : Naruto Next Generations '' illustrator Mikio Ikemoto , '' Venus Versus Virus '' author Atsushi Suzumi , '' Bleach '' creator Tite Kubo , '' Black Cat '' author Kentaro Yabuki , and '' Mr. Fullswing '' author Shinya Suzuki . German comic book artist Hans Steinbach was strongly influenced by Toriyama , and Thai cartoonist Wisut Ponnimit cited Toriyama as one of his favorite cartoonists . Ian Jones-Quartey , a producer of the American animated series '' Steven Universe '' , is a fan of both '' Dragon Ball '' and '' Dr. Slump '' , and uses Toriyama 's vehicle designs as reference for his own . He also stated that " We 're all big Toriyama fans on '' Steven Universe '' , which kind of shows a bit . " In 2008 , Oricon conducted a poll of people 's favorite manga artists , with Toriyama coming in second , behind only '' Nana '' author Ai Yazawa . However , he was number one among male respondents and among those over 30 years of age . They held a poll on the Mangaka that Changed the History of Manga in 2010 , '' mangaka '' being the Japanese word for a manga artist . Toriyama came in second , after only Osamu Tezuka , due to his works being highly influential and popular worldwide . Toriyama won the Special 40th Anniversary Festival Award at the 2013 Angoulême International Comics Festival , honoring his years in cartooning . He actually received the most votes for the festival 's Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême award that year ; however , the selection committee chose Willem as the recipient . Toriyama was decorated a '' Chevalier '' or " Knight " of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government on May 30 , 2019 for his contributions to the arts . He was also a 2019 nominee for entry into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame . Due to his video game design work , IGN named Toriyama number 74 on their list of the Top 100 Game Creators of All Time
Angoulême International Comics Festival
Angoulême International Comics Festival
Akira Toriyama