Kazuhiko Torishima, the other man behind the manga "Dragon Ball"

The global success of the Dragon Ball saga is naturally attributed to its genius creator, Akira Toriyama, who died in March 2024. But some readers are unaware that the adventures of Son Goku owe a lot to the publisher who discovered him and helped bring his series to life: Kazuhiko Torishima, 72, one of the prestigious guests of Japan Expo, which is being held until Sunday, July 6 at the Villepinte exhibition center (Seine-Saint-Denis). He also accompanied several other mangakas such as Masakazu Katsura, author of the romantic comedy for boys Video Girl Ai .

Yet, when he applied to the major publishing house Shueisha in 1976, the young graduate didn't read any manga, preferring literature. "We were just after the 1973 oil crisis and most companies were in recession. I applied to 48 companies and only two wanted me. At Shueisha, I was aiming for their Playboy magazine where I had read interesting interviews," Kazuhiko Torishima told Le Monde . No luck, he was assigned to edit the pre-publication manga magazine for young boys ( shonen ), Weekly Shonen Jump , a powerful incubator of manga hits. The young employee was bored and couldn't find anything that moved him either in the pages or in the archives of his magazine.

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