Kazuhiko Torishima

Kazuhiko Torishima
Native name 鳥嶋 和彦
Born (1952-10-19) October 19, 1952
Ojiya, Niigata, Japan
Alma mater Keio University
Occupation President of Hakusensha
Employer Hakusensha

Kazuhiko Torishima (Japanese: 鳥嶋 和彦 Hepburn: Torishima Kazuhiko, born October 19, 1952 in Ojiya, Niigata) is the president of the Hakusensha publishing company. He formally worked at Shueisha, where he began as an editor before becoming a Senior Managing Director (or CEO), and later a Shueisha-Shogakukan Productions director. He is mostly associated with works from the manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump, for which he was editor-in-chief of from 1996 to 2001, and is best known for being author Akira Toriyama's editor during the run of Dr. Slump and through the first half of Dragon Ball.

Career

Torishima joined Shueisha in 1976, the year he graduated from Keio University, and was assigned as an editor at Weekly Shōnen Jump. He was most notably editor to Akira Toriyama during Dr. Slump (1980) and the beginning of Dragon Ball (1984),[1] and to Masakazu Katsura during Wingman (1983). He was editor-in-chief of V Jump when it launched in 1993. In February 1996, he took over as editor-in-chief of Weekly Shōnen Jump during declining sales. While circulation continued to decline, blockbuster series such as One Piece and Naruto were launched. He was the magazine's editor-in-chief until June 2001.

He became a member of the board of directors at Shueisha and was appointed full-time Director of Business in August 2004. He served during the establishment of Shueisha-Shogakukan Productions in 2008.[2] Torishima became a managing director (CEO) at Shueisha in August 2009 and promoted to Senior Managing Director in August 2010.[3] In December 2010, he spoke at the New Manga Creators Awards in response to the Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths's controversial passing of the industry opposed Bill 156. There he challenged new manga artists to "produce manga that would blow away [Tokyo Governor] Shintaro Ishihara."[4]

Torishima retired from Shueisha in August 2015 and became president of Hakusensha in November 2015.[5]

Influence on fiction

Torishima convinced Toriyama to make Arale the main character of Dr. Slump instead of Senbei Norimaki, which the author agrees turned out better.[6] Toriyama stated that Torishima enjoys romance and that the relationships of Arale and Obotchaman, Akane and Tsukutsun, and Taro and Tsururin in Dr. Slump were all his ideas. He also stated that when starting Dragon Ball, Torishima had wanted Goku and Bulma to form a relationship.[6] Toriyama also created the Dragon Ball character Cell after Torishima, no longer his editor, was disappointed with Androids 19 and 20, and later Androids 17 and 18, as villains.[7] Masakazu Katsura credits Torishima with coming up with ideas for Video Girl Ai.[8]

Torishima has been parodied often in many manga series serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump. The most notable being the character Dr. Mashirito in Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump, who serves as the series' most prominent antagonist and has the same name but with the syllables reversed.[1] He also inspired other manga characters such as Matoriv in Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibōken, Torishiman in Tottemo! Luckyman, and the character King Bonbi in the board game Momotaro Dentetsu.

Direct parodies of Torishima appear in Kinnikuman written by the duo Yudetamago and Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Dragon Ball". Anime News Network. 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  2. ↑ "Shueisha-Shogakukan Production Co., Ltd. established" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. ↑ "集英社（決算＝5月期）" (in Japanese). Shinbunka. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. ↑ "Tokyo's Youth Ordinance Bill Approved by Committee". Anime News Network. 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  5. ↑ "集英社、微減収増益決算" (in Japanese). Shinbunka. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  6. 1 2 Toriyama, Akira (2008) [1984]. Dr. Slump 16. Viz Media. pp. 48, 130. ISBN 978-1-4215-1060-6.
  7. ↑ "Shenlong Times 2". DRAGON BALL 大全集 2: STORY GUIDE (in Japanese) (Shueisha): 6. 1995.
  8. ↑ "Interview with Masakazu Katsura". 4C R-side (in Japanese) (Shueisha): 69–77. August 9, 1998.
  9. ↑ "Bakuman. - House of 1000 Manga". Anime News Network. 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2015-04-01.

External links


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