With ‘Dragon Ball,’ Akira Toriyama Made The Most Hip-Hop Anime Ever

Contrary to popular belief, rappers – and hip-hop fans at large – have always been nerds. Look no further for proof than Wu-Tang Clan, ostensible stalwarts of hardcore, no-frills, gun-grime-and-crime street rap, who also chose a number of aliases from the world of Marvel Comics. Now, “nerds” isn’t here to demean anybody; after all, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo deliberately reclaimed the term for hip-hop heads with the name of both their experimental rock project, N.E.R.D., and their label, Star Trak (a direct reference to the OG geek obsession, Star Trek). But just in case none of that was enough to convince you that hip-hop culture and geekdom are as inextricably tied together these days as politics and corruption, just look at the outpouring of admiration, grief, and respect from rappers and their fans for the late Japanese comics creator, Akira Toriyama, upon the news of his death last week — and for his unintended but undeniable contributions to the culture through his best-known work, Dragon Ball. Incidentally, I wrote just last month about the sprawling impact of anime on hip-hop, and much of that — I’m talking a good 80 percent or better — is very likely due to...