一個漫畫時代的結束 / The end of Akira Toriyama's era

突然在新聞上看到一個熟悉的名字，鳥山明，對不常看少年熱血類漫畫的朋友，可能沒聽過鳥山明這位作者，鳥山明是日本知名漫畫家，漫畫作品包括《怪博士與機器娃娃》和《七龍珠》，兩部作品都很知名，而我也都很喜歡，還有知名遊戲勇者鬥惡龍的角色設定，這幾天，鋪天蓋地的悼念鳥山明的新聞，對我而言，其實一點也不奇怪，因為，以《七龍珠》熱門的程度，這幾年來，可以說提到日本漫畫作品，就一定會提到《七龍珠》。

雖然《七龍珠》漫畫單行本在1995年8月完結，但是之後鳥山明陸續以漫畫《七龍珠》的世界觀，創作出《七龍珠Z》、《七龍珠GT》、《七龍珠超》等衍生作品，所以，年輕人對於《七龍珠》應該也不陌生，身為華人的我們，對於《七龍珠》的主角孫悟空這名字一定知道，那不就是我們四大名著之一《西遊記》中法力通天、桀驁不馴的齊天大聖嗎？在《七龍珠》的故事中，前幾集的故事中，就有提到幼年的孫悟空只要看到月亮，就會變成超巨大的猩猩，失去理智般地大肆破壞，後來還和牛魔王的女兒，琪琪結婚生子，隱隱約約地可以看到和齊天大聖的關聯性，鳥山明大師一定閱讀過《西遊記》，然後，參考《西遊記》的一些設定做二創，形成後來如此熱門的《七龍珠》。

不論如何，鳥山明的奇思狂想，是成就《七龍珠》這部漫畫如此成功的原因之一，因為假如照抄《西遊記》，就了無新意，不會成功，他在畫《怪博士與機器娃娃》時，就可以看出他的天馬行空的想像力，一個自稱天才，常常發明一些奇怪的東西的科學家，和村中幾乎都是些無俚頭怪咖的居民們，所發生的大大小小不可思議的事件。

總之，鳥山明的作品陪伴了很多人的童年，包含我，我有收集《七龍珠》漫畫，對於那時還是學生的我，收集漫畫不但是自己的執念，也是對漫畫家的支持，可惜的是，我並未收集完整，我可能只有收集一半而已，看到鳥山明不幸過世的新聞之後，我特別去我的書櫃，把珍藏在書櫃底層的《七龍珠》找出來，真難想像，我曾經有過那段時光。

我特地用工具運算了幾張《七龍珠》相關的圖，不算是跟風，只是我想這樣做，聽說在鳥山明逝世過後，鳥山明的作品或作品周邊被買到斷貨，就連運算出來的圖片，也有不肖業者準備拿來生產模型公仔，來蹭熱度，我還真有點佩服，生意人的腦筋動得真快，不過，還是請大家尊重原創的版權。

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I suddenly saw a familiar name in the news, Akira Toriyama. For friends who don't usually read Japanese comic book, they might not have heard of him. Toriyama is a well-known comic artist from Japan, famous for works like "Dr. Slump" and "Dragon Ball." Both are widely known, and I personally love them. Also, he's known for character design in the famous game series "Dragon Quest." These days, there's been an overwhelming amount of news mourning Toriyama's passing. For me, it's not surprising at all because with the popularity of "Dragon Ball" over the years, whenever Japanese comic is mentioned, "Dragon Ball" is a sure mention.

Even though the original "Dragon Ball" comic book ended in August 1995, Toriyama continued to expand the world with spin-offs like "Dragon Ball Z," "Dragon Ball GT," and "Dragon Ball Super." So, young people are likely familiar with "Dragon Ball" as well. Being Chinese, we must know the name of the main character, Son Goku, right? Isn't he the same as the rebellious Monkey King from one of our Four Great Classical Novels, "Journey to the West"? In the early story of "Dragon Ball," there's mention of a young Goku turning into a giant ape when he sees the moon, losing control and causing destruction. Later, he even marries Chi-Chi, the daughter of Ox-King, hinting at the connection with the Monkey King. Toriyama must have read "Journey to the West" and borrowed some concepts to create the immensely popular "Dragon Ball."

Anyway, Toriyama's wild imagination is one of the reasons behind the success of "Dragon Ball." If he had just copied "Journey to the West," it wouldn't have been successful. You could see his imagination in full swing even in "Dr. Slump," with a genius scientist inventing strange things and the bizarre events in the village.

In any case, Toriyama's works accompanied many people's childhoods, including mine. I used to collect "Dragon Ball" comic book, which was not only a personal obsession but also a way of supporting the comic artist. Unfortunately, I didn't collect the complete set; I probably only have about half of it. After hearing about Toriyama's passing, I went to my bookshelf and retrieved the "Dragon Ball" volumes tucked away at the bottom. It's hard to imagine I once had that time.

I even used some tools to create a few images related to "Dragon Ball." I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon; I just felt like doing it. I heard that after Toriyama's passing, his works and related merchandise were selling out, even the images I created might be used by unscrupulous businesses to produce model figures to capitalize on the hype. I have to admit, businessmen are quick to think. But still, please respect the original creator's copyright.