How manga moved West

The Japanese art forms that have shaped more of the West's story telling than you may realise Manga and anime are no longer the preserve of those in the know. A recent Oscar win, and the death of a Japanese story-telling legend, have caused global ripplesHayao Miyazaki's beautiful hand-drawn film The Boy and the Heron won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards this year. The film will be streamed around the globe on Netflix. Earlier in the month Akira Toriyama, the creator of some of the most iconic characters in anime, and the inspiration behind the top two in the world, died. It was Toriyama's death that shook the corners of the internet. Following the announcement, Akira Toriyama was seeing more traffic on X than the state of the union address by the president of the United States occurring at the same time.Official national statements of mourning were made by the governments of China and El Salvador. The president of France was among many high profile figures to publicly offer a tribute, and thousands of fans have made public displays in his honour.Today on The Detail we look at Toriyama's work and influence, and talk about how Japanese culture has had such a huge influence outside Japan. Anyone who had a TV in their home and children under the age of 13 or so during the 90s might be familiar with Dragon Ball, Toriyama's most famous creation.For many watching, it was the first taste of Anime; animated content from Japan, breaching national barriers to become rooted in popular culture across the globe.Akira Toriyama was a 'mangaka'. A person who draws manga, or Japanese comics.Unlike in the West, where a comic book is the work of a team of people specialising in their own tasks, the creative work of a manga is typically handled by just one individual.This leaves a great deal more room for the truly talented to obtain superstar status with the victory of a popular manga being attached to a single name.Toriyama gained many victories with his breakout success Dr Slump, and immediately afterwards with his biggest work by far, Dragon Ball.It's hard to understate how much influence Dragon Ball and its sequel series Dragonball Z had on the series within its genre that were to follow. With anime and manga becoming ever more prevalent in the West, beginning to affect even works that aren't direct adaptations, that influence can be felt around the world. Directors Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron and the Wachowskis - of Matrix fame - are among them. The Matrix is essentially a live action version of manga series Ghost in the Shell. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details