The Akira Toriyama Database: Contacting Akira Toriyama

For some reason, people seem to think that I have an inside connection to Toriyama, or that I at least have his home address on file.

I don't. I have no way of contacting Toriyama any more than any other western anime fan.

Usually, when someone wants Toriyama's e-mail address (he doesn't have one - Toriyama has only recently started using a computer for making artwork, and he doesn't have time to use the internet, or e-mail) the expectation is that they can send him a story or game idea for review and/or sale.

This is like trying to make a cold-call to Madonna. Forget it -- it doesn't happen that way.

Toriyama is not merely a silly little man sitting in a room somewhere drawing funny little pictures. Toriyama is one part of a major manga empire. When he draws character designs for a game, that game is guaranteed to make BIG money. When he decides to work on a story idea, it is HIS idea -- he doesn't need to buy ideas from other people. In fact, Toriyama has specifically stated that he is not interested in drawing manga based on someone else's concepts. If you want to try to hire Toriyama to do character designs for your game, you better be prepared to lay out the kind of money that you'd have to pay someone like Steven Speilberg. And, if you want to ask Toriyama to look at your artwork just to get his comments, don't expect him to get back to you.

Toriyama gets fan mail from millions of people around the world. He has stated in one of the Complete Illustration books that he doesn't have time to personally read fan mail, or to thank people for the presents that they send him. Usually, that task goes to one of his editors, or an editorial peon. So, sending a manuscript to Toriyama to ask him for his opinion on it is a waste of time. He'd never see it.

With that all said and out of the way, there really is no reason to not send fan mail, money, or your cute 16-year-old sister to Toriyama. Just make sure that your cover letter, or fan letter, is written in Japanese. Toriyama's editors apparently don't have time to try to read letters in any other language. Then, pop over to the Shueisha web site, and click on the link to send them your missive. (You need a web browser that supports the Japanese character set.)
  

Shueisha Publishing web site.


  

  
This Section of the Akira Toriyama Super Database is maintained by Curtis H. Hoffmann.
  

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