It had been a long time since I resumed that healthy habit of searching through the lesser-known works of Akira Toriyama. If a couple of months ago we reviewed the history of Kintoki (What a pity that he only stayed in a one-shot!), Today I bring you an even less known work of the master. We talk about Toccio, The Angel (Toccio, The Angel).
Toccio, the Angel: a children's picture book that never crossed the borders of Japan
Toccio, The Angel (て ん し の ト ッ チ オ) was born in the land of the rising sun in 2003. It is about a 47-page children's story with full-color illustrations, with texts and art by Akira Toriyama himself.
Due to the particularity of the product, Toccio's illustrated book has never been published abroad. It is not a manga, but it is not a book either, and the fact that it has a unitary format, in addition to the audience it is intended for, probably has not helped much in its dissemination.
It is so unpopular that there are not even unofficial translations in English or Spanish, beyond a few scans on specialized websites like Kanzenshuu.
The story of Toccio, The Angel
The synopsis of the book reads as follows: “Fat lazy guardian angel Toccio really enjoys playing games, but hates studying. The head of Paradise, however, is tired of Toccio's behavior, and orders him to go down to Earth to help the people, if he does not want to be expelled from heaven. Upon reaching Earth, Toccio befriends a group of animals, lending them a hand with the help of his magical powers.. " A 100% typical Toriyama plot.
The story is full of humor and misunderstandings between Toccio and the animals he is supposedly trying to help. Oh, and there is also a tank and some kind of lizard dragon. Not bad.
The truth is that it is not too different from other short stories written and drawn by him. In that sense, the fact that it is classified as a children's book should not be put off.
The art contained in this small volume
The drawing is probably the most attractive point of this work. Here Toriyama has already made the leap to his new style, with a thicker inking, very much in the line of the previously mentioned Kintoki (2000). Also, remember that all pages are in color. Something that always helps to see everything with better eyes.
The author introduces us to Toccio, a character that inevitably reminds us of Majin Boo in his most plump version. He also has time to enjoy drawing a large number of animals, the main protagonists of the artistic section, along with the great dragon that appears towards the end of the story.
Each page is presented as a panel with one or more illustrations that come out of the frame, giving the images greater dynamism. All this accompanied by short accompanying texts that fulfill the voice of the narrator.
What does Akira Toriyama think of this work?
The truth is that there is not much information about it. Everything we know is part of an interview they did In issue 43 for the July 2006 issue of Shonen Jump:
“When you drew Toccio, The Angel, the children's book, did you do it thinking that your own children would like it?
The truth is that I started it a long time ago, so at first yes, I had my children in mind. But it took me so long to finish it, that by the time I did, my kids had grown up. They were already in high school, and they weren't interested in this kind of thing. So while I was drawing, I started to include things that I liked, such as animals. "
If we are interested in getting this particular work by Akira Toriyama, although it is not published in Spanish, you can still get the original edition on sites like Amazon or eBay for a price that is between 25 and 30 dollars.
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