Goku, celluloid by Akira Toriyama

AKIRA TORIYAMA (Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 1955 - 2024).
Three original celluloids of "Goku, Dragon Ball".
Painting on acetate (celluloid).
Includes three pencil drawings stapled to the acetate.
Measurements: 24,5 x 27 cm.

Before the digital era, traditional Japanese animation (also known as anime) used the technique "cell animation" or "cel animation", consisting of painting the frames meticulously by hand on sheets of acetate or celluloid. This method, predominant in animation before the advent of digital techniques, turned each celluloid into an original work of art, capturing a unique moment in the production of the series. The elaboration process was as follows: first the sketch was created and then inked on the acetate and painted by hand on this surface. The colors were applied to the back of the cell with acrylic or gouache paint, ensuring that the lines inked on the front remained sharp.
Due to their rarity and artistic value, these celluloids are not only coveted by collectors and fans of the most iconic series, but also represent a tangible testimony of the creative process of one of the most emblematic fields of animation and pop culture.

Creator of "Dragon Ball" and "Doctor Slump", Akira Toriyama is considered one of the artists who changed the history of manga. His leap to fame came with Dr. Slump, a saga published between 1980 and 1984. Thanks to it, he received in 1981 the Manga Award granted by the Shgakukan publishing house. The acceptance of the manga was massive. In total, 18 volumes of manga were collected (40 in Spain, published by Planeta de Agostini) and the television series surpassed 240 episodes. Dr. Slump narrates the ironic and crazy adventures of Professor Senbei Norimaki and his creation, a robot in the shape of a 10-year-old girl, and the other inhabitants of a strange place called Penguin Village. Torishima suggested that since Toriyama liked kung fu movies, he should create a sh?nen kung fu manga. This resulted in the two-part Dragon Boy, published in the August and October 1983 issues of Fresh Jump. Dragon Boy was well received and evolved into the Dragon Ball series in 1984. In terms of his style, Toriyama admired Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembered for its high quality animation. He was a fan of Hong Kong martial arts films, especially those of Bruce Lee, such as Enter the Dragon (1973), and Jackie Chan, such as Drunken Master (1978), which greatly influenced his later work. He also cited the science fiction films Alien (1979) and Galaxy Quest (1999) as influences. Toriyama stated that he was influenced by animator Toyoo Ashida and the anime television series adaptation of his own Dragon Ball, from which he learned that separating colors rather than mixing them makes art cleaner and coloring illustrations easier.