Did Toriyama Akira really created a “Chibi” style?

summation

• The popularity of Chibi style is partly thanks to the early work of Toriyama, but it was also influenced by many people before and after.

• Chibi refers to a small and cute figure. Dr. A character like Toriyama's Chibi in SLUMP inspired the term SD Gundam and the term “SD”.

• The origin of Chibi dates back to Japan's 1300s and gradually developed into otaku and developed into a popular culture around the world.

Toriyama Akira's legacy can be much beyond the world of animation and cartoons. Hollywood blockbuster, cartoon, webtoon; Whatever the popular story you are now enjoying, it is likely to be influenced by the work of Toriyama Akira. After he passed away in 2024, more discussions on the degree of contribution to Toriyama to the art world were concentrated. One of the most controversial arguments was whether Toriyama was in charge of the popularization and even creation of “Chibi”.

Even before Dragon Ball, Toriyama is dr. He was creating a classic like SLUMP, and in this story, his chibi design was actually successful. But was this really the beginning of Chibi style? Or are Toriyama simply working on their own inspiration? Let's take a look at Chibi's history in cartoons and animations and find out what Toriyama's contribution is.

Anyway, what does Chibi mean?

There may be more after the term “chibi” than you think.

The term chibi can suggest a specific style type, but is there an exact parameter that defines the art style as “chibi”? Well, the term itself simply means a small or short key of what it is facing (similar to Kerubim). This expression is often used positively to declare something cute in cartoons and animations, but it may have a negative meaning in real life. The term itself is originally derived from the term Chibiru, which means to be tired in Japanese. This is related to the current meaning of Chibi. Because when something wears, it usually becomes round and soft (for example, the more sharp pencils are used, the softer and round). Now, in more modern usage, it represents a rather small, round person or object.

The exact specifications may be different in terms of the rules that make up the “Chibi” description, but in general, the character's head should be the same or much larger than the body. This is not an official rules declared anywhere, but following these guidelines, generally a little like a little person.

A case of Toriyama invented the kid

Toriyama's early work has a lot of Chibi style.

If the concept of 'little' becomes firm, you can see this style in Toriyama's work. Dr. Seul Lump has a lot of characters that can be called 'little', and by the time of launch, the appearance of similar designs is often increased in other mass media. At that time, the character was not known as “chibi”, but soon it was mentioned in a different way called SD style or Super Deformed.

This style soon began to spread in Japan, so it is reasonable to say that Toriyama's SD character may be the origin of Chibi style. However, SD and Chibi became known throughout otaku and popular culture thanks to another breakthrough series.

SD Gundam and 'Super Dipore'

Toriyama painted in a chibi style, but the term SD “Super Deformed” and the term chibi were not originally related to his art. But his description of Dr. Slump's characters, especially Godzilla and Ultraman, will lead to the birth of a “SD” toy line that will fire a series of events that led to the explosive increase in popularity and led to the popularization of Chibi in Otaku. Circle and more. Koji Yokoi, who was a student at the time of Dr. Slump and is still an artist, lends his talent to Bandai as an artist of a new mini Gundam toy collection. Yokoi is Toriyama and his mini dr. The slump character and this new Gundam Toy Line will be named SD Gundam World, which is derived from the Chibi style.

Yokoi's design not only contributed to this toy line, but also became so famous that he published a cartoon with his “SD” Gundam character.

SD and Toriyama Previous

Toriyama definitely got his own inspiration.

Toriyama is often known as the most influential mangaka, although not a history of artists/writers, but he can share his position with other famous artists in his field. Known as a father or godfather of cartoons, Osamu Tezuka is in charge of notable things in cartoons and animations today, and the Chibi style is one of them.

Among Tezuka's remarkable creations, Astro Boy is probably his most famous work. And if you look at his design, you can find some features that are very reminiscent of modern “Chibi” style. Small, round characters with exaggerated eye ratios and features are not exactly chibi, but they can be recognized for their inspiration for the later Chibi design. Pinoco, the character of the Blackjack series, can be more suitable for the “Chibi” style frame.

Sanrio and Hello Kitty

If you have the most powerful reputation for Chibi's founder today, it may be a well -known but not often suspected character. Hello Kitty, a popular character worldwide, was originally created in 1974 and meets many standards that define chibi style today. Many people approach Chibi by transforming Chibi by the popularization of the Chibi Paing series, but Hello Kitty has always maintained this.

The term chibi may have been older than you think.

It is difficult to know exactly where Chibi started.

The little character and style were popular in the 70's and 80's, but there are some evidence that suggests that this is the first to go back to the 1300s. Since then, it has not been popular for centuries, but it gradually influenced Japanese language and popular culture.

Nowadays, Chibi Toys and Chibi Fide series are popular all over the world. In some of the popular animations and cartoon titles, there are also additional “chibi” versions such as Attack on Titan. You can also see the Chibi Gag version of your favorite cartoons in the bookstore. Funko Pops is one of the most famous toys in the world and is famous for its little style. Toriyama may not be recognized as 'creating' Chibi style, but his position was firmly established in Chibi -style history. And like everything else included in his work, his little character continued to inspire many people.