Akira Toriyama (鳥山 明, Toriyama Akira^?, born April 5, 1955) is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dr. Slump in 1980 and Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art. Jackie Chan's early movies had a noticeable influence on Toriyama's stories.

He debuted in 1979 with the story Wonder Island, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, and first gained popularity for the manga and anime series Dr. Slump, originally serialized weekly in Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984. In 1982, he won the Shogakukan Manga Award for Dr. Slump for best shōnen or shōjo manga series of the year.

In 1984, Toriyama was responsible for developing Dragon Ball which was initially serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump. It became an instant accomplishment—primarily selling over 35,000,000 copies in Japan, Dragon Ball eventually became a record-breaking best seller with over 120,000,000 copies sold. Aside from the Japanese fame, the series was equally successful internationally as well, including in Europe (1988), Canada (1996) and North America.

In Battle is an extreme metal band from Sundsvall, Sweden. The main lyrical themes of the band focus on Norse mythology and war.

The original line-up consisted of John Frölén on guitar and bass, John Odhinn Sandin on vocals, Håkan Sjödin on guitar and bass, and Otto Wiklund on drums. Håkan Sjödin left the band early so that he could play with Setherial full time. The band's first album, titled In Battle, was recorded at Sunlight Studio in Stockholm, Sweden and was released through Napalm Records in 1997. Their second release, called The Rage of the Northmen, came in March 1998. It was recorded at Ballerina Audio, Umeå, Sweden. In 1999 the only member left was Frölén, who started writing material for a third album. In 2002 he began rehearsing with Sandin (this time on drums), soon asking Hans Carlsson (guitar) of Diabolical to join the band. In 2003, Nils Fjellström of Aeon replaced Sandin on drums and Sandin went back to handling the vocals and the Soul Metamorphosis EP was recorded at Necromorbus Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2004, their album Welcome to the Battlefield (which was recorded in three different studios) was released through Cold Records and Metal Blade Records. The album was mixed and mastered by Erik Rutan from the bands Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal. Rutan also donated a guitar solo to the album. In April 2005, the band parted ways with their label partner Cold Records after that album's release. In 2006, In Battle signed a contract with Nocturnal Art Productions and began working on their 4th full-length album, which turned out to be Kingdom of Fear. The album was released on September 3, 2007. In Battle are currently working on a fifth studio album with a working title of Flames & Death.

Masako Nozawa (野沢 雅子, Nozawa Masako^?, born Masako Tsukada (塚田 雅子, Tsukada Masako^?) on October 25, 1936 in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, Japan) is a Japanese voice actress and actress affiliated with (and the chairman of) Office Nozawa. Her pet name is Mako. Her husband, Masa'aki Tsukada is also a voice actor.

As a voice actress, she is most known for the role of Goku in the original Japanese version of the popular anime franchise Dragon Ball, both as a child and an adult, as well as Tetsuro Hoshino (Galaxy Express 999) and Kitaro (GeGeGe no Kitaro, first and second series). She has also voiced two separate characters named "Hiroshi", a character in Dokonjō Gaeru, and the character known in the U.S. as "Pidge" in Hyakujūō Golion (the "Lion Force" arc of Voltron).

Nozawa made her movie debut as a child actor at the age of 2.

Throughout her career as a voice actress, she has performed many male roles (most notably as all the male members of Goku's family in Dragon Ball Z, except for Raditz), leading Japanese fans to give her the nickname "The Eternal Boy". These days, however, she prefers the roles of elderly woman characters, although she continues to perform other roles (including young boys) occasionally.

Original Concept were an 80s hip hop group from Long Island, New York, arguably best known for their single, “Can You Feel It.” They only made one album and it was notable for the absence of lyrics on many of the tracks. The group are perhaps better known for their production prowess and instrumentals than anything else.

In the early 1980s, a group of young men at WBAU FM formed a group called the "Concept Crew." Their show “The Operating Room” was broadcast on Monday nights from Adelphi University on the same station which featured the Spectrum City DJs (Chuck D and Flavor Flav) who later went on to form Public Enemy. The members were Doctor Dré, T-Money, Rapper G, Easy G and Wildman Steve. By 1986, the group began calling themselves Original Concept and had released their first record, "Knowledge Me" in February of that year. The B-Side of "Knowledge Me" went on to become their first single, "Can You Feel It." The single has since gone on to become one of the most sampled source records in hip-hop music.

Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫, born 手塚 治, Tezuka Osamu^?, November 3, 1928 – February 9, 1989) was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack. He is often credited as the "Godfather of Anime", and is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during his formative years. His prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the father of manga", "the god of comics" and "kamisama of manga". His grave is located in Tokyo's Souzen-ji Temple Cemetery.

Osamu was born, as the eldest son of three children of Tezuka family, on November 3, 1928, in Toyonaka City, Osaka. His nickname was gashagasha-atama (gashagasha is slang for messy, atama means head). His mother often comforted him by telling him to look to the blue skies, giving him confidence. His mother's stories inspired his creativity as well. Tezuka grew up in Takarazuka City, Hyōgo and his mother often took him to the Takarazuka Theatre. The Takarazuka Revue that performed at the theatre is made up in its entirety of women, and so male characters are also played by women. The Takarazuka Revue is known for its romantic musicals usually aimed at a female audience, thus having a large impact on the later works of Tezuka, including his costuming designs. He has said that he has a profound "spirit of nostalgia" for Takarazuka. His animation production company was named Mushi (insect) Production.