Akira Toriyama has been knighted by France for his prolific work as an artist.
Dragon Ball is a pretty big name all over the world, so it should come as no surprise that the name is also big in France. Both the original manga and the television series are huge over there, so much so that they’re described as a cultural sensation by the Huffington Post.
Some of the kids that grew up with Dragon Ball must now be in charge, since the French government honored Toriyama last Thursday with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres commendation, or translated as Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Which basically means he’s a knight of France now.
Toriyama, a famously reclusive man, didn’t actually attend the May 30th ceremony at the French Embassy in Japan. Instead, he sent his publisher Akio Iyoku, who provided a brief statement thanks on behalf of the prolific artist.
"Mr. Toriyama is always very grateful to his French fans who have appreciated his works since the early days of his career,” said Iyoku. “Unfortunately, Mr. Toriyama almost never attends ceremonies and so I have the honor of receiving this award in his place. He instructed me to tell you how honored he is to receive this award from your country."
Dragon Ball is credited with popularizing manga in France. The Dragon Ball TV show was also aired in the late '80s as part of the Club Dorothée children's show, which set the stage for the manga to become a phenomenon in the early ‘90s and pave the way for other Japanese publications.
However, Toriyama isn’t just known for manga. He’s also a prolific character artist that has worked on such video games as Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, and most recently the anime fighting game Shonen Jump. We sometimes need to remind ourselves that Toriyama isn't just about Dragon Ball.