Mario Owes Part of His Legacy to Dragon Ball Creator Akira Toriyama

When it comes to gaming, no mascot can live up to Mario. Nintendo’s famous plumber has been wowing fans for decades, and Mario is now recognizable the world over. It is difficult to think of a time when Mario wasn’t leading his own division of the video game industry, but it did exist. And when Nintendo began crafting Mario years ago, well – they sourced a bit of inspiration from Akira Toriyama.

As it turns out, the creator of Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball influenced the way we see Mario move. The character’s backstory and overall design was coined by creator Shigeru Miyamoto, but the team at Nintendo struggled to nail his movement. It turns out Miyamoto found inspiration for Mario’s movement, and it was found in Arale from Dr. Slump.

“The area around his hips is a big joint that controls which way his body moves. We created all his movements from that point of origins: when he accelerates and inclines forward, when he turns and leans left or right, etc. So Mario sort of runs like Arale-chan with the correct sense of weight in the body,” Miyamoto shared in a resurfaced interview when asked about Mario’s iconic run.

If you are not familiar with Arale, well – you should know the character heads up Dr. Slump. The manga dates back to 1980, and it was Toriyama’s first hit as a manga creator. Arale runs in a specific fashion which Mario has emulated since his creation. The character dates back to 1981 in Donkey Kong, but Nintendo did not give Mario a solo run until 1985. From there, Miyamoto and the team at Nintendo fine-tuned his movements, and Arale was the blueprint for Luigi’s big brother.

Of course, Toriyama has gone on to do bigger things since Dr. Slump went live. The manga creator launched Dragon Ball, and the series is bonafide royalty so far as anime fans are concerned. Son Goku helped redefine shonen with his launch, and the Dragon Ball fighter is still rolling out new content to this day.

What do you think about this piece of Mario history? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!