Sometimes the same idea blooms in two gardens at once
En el cruce entre el anime y los videojuegos, una teoría persistente acusa a Akira Toriyama de haber copiado el diseño de Link para crear a Tapion, uno de sus personajes más emblemáticos. Sin embargo, la cronología desmiente la acusación con elegancia: Tapion nació en 1995, más de tres años antes de que Ocarina of Time llegara al mundo. Lo que queda, una vez disipada la sospecha, es algo más interesante que el plagio: la posibilidad de que dos artistas, sin conocerse, alcancen la misma visión.
- La teoría tiene fuerza visual suficiente para sobrevivir años: túnicas verdes, espadas, una aura casi mítica compartida entre Tapion y Link.
- Pero los datos cronológicos la derrumban sin piedad: el film de Dragon Ball Z se estrenó el 15 de julio de 1995, y Ocarina of Time no existiría hasta noviembre de 1998.
- Los escépticos intentan salvar la teoría apuntando al período de desarrollo del juego y a la conexión de Toriyama con Nintendo a través de Chrono Trigger, aunque sin ninguna evidencia concreta.
- El diseñador de Link, Yusuke Nakano, zanja la posibilidad de influencia inversa al declarar que su inspiración fue Leonardo DiCaprio, no ningún personaje de Toriyama.
- Lo que emerge no es un escándalo de plagio, sino una coincidencia artística: dos creadores llegando de forma independiente al mismo lenguaje visual de héroe, espada y misterio.
Desde hace años circula entre fans del anime y los videojuegos una teoría tentadora: que Akira Toriyama se inspiró en Link de Ocarina of Time para diseñar a Tapion. El parecido superficial es innegable —túnicas verdes, espadas, una presencia casi legendaria— y eso ha bastado para mantener viva la sospecha.
Pero la cronología lo desmiente de raíz. Tapion debutó el 15 de julio de 1995 en Dragon Ball Z: El ataque del dragón, una película de despedida diseñada por Toriyama y escrita por Takao Koyama. Ocarina of Time no llegaría a Japón hasta el 21 de noviembre de 1998, más de tres años después. Toriyama no pudo inspirarse en un juego que aún no existía.
Algunos han intentado sostener la teoría señalando que el juego estuvo en desarrollo desde 1994 y que Toriyama tenía vínculos con Nintendo a través de Chrono Trigger. Es una pregunta legítima, pero sin respuesta: no hay evidencia de que viera diseños previos de Link.
Más revelador es el propio historial de Toriyama. El mohawk, la vestimenta guerrera, la espada: estos elementos forman parte de su vocabulario visual desde que comenzó como mangaka en 1978. Tapion no fue una excepción, sino una síntesis de lo que siempre había dibujado. La ocarina y la caja de música que definen al personaje vinieron del guion de Koyama, no de ninguna influencia externa.
En cuanto a la influencia inversa —¿pudo Link inspirarse en Tapion?— el propio diseñador Yusuke Nakano la descarta al afirmar que su referencia fue Leonardo DiCaprio. Ningún creador de Ocarina of Time ha mencionado jamás a Toriyama.
Lo que queda es una coincidencia hermosa: dos artistas, en medios distintos y sin contacto entre sí, llegaron al mismo arquetipo visual. A veces la misma idea florece en dos jardines a la vez, sin que nadie haya plantado la semilla en ambos. El parecido entre Link y Tapion es real. La copia, no.
For years, a persistent rumor has circulated among anime and video game fans: that Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, borrowed the design of Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time when crafting Tapion, one of his most visually striking characters. The theory has enough surface appeal to stick around. Both characters wear green tunics. Both carry swords. Both possess an almost mythic quality that sets them apart from their respective worlds. But the timeline tells a different story entirely.
Tapion arrived first. In 1995, as Dragon Ball Z was winding down, Toei Animation and Toriyama collaborated on a final original video animation for the series. Screenwriter Takao Koyama penned the script, and Toriyama designed the cast, including the mysterious warrior Tapion. The film, titled Dragon Ball Z: The Attack of the Dragon, premiered at Toei's anime fair on July 15, 1995. It was a farewell gift to fans, a chance to send the saga off with new characters and fresh energy.
Ocarina of Time did not exist yet. Nintendo's landmark Zelda game would not release in Japan until November 21, 1998—more than three years later. By the time Link appeared on screen, Tapion had already been part of Dragon Ball lore for years. The chronology alone makes direct inspiration impossible. Toriyama could not have drawn from a game that had not yet been conceived.
But skeptics have offered a counterargument: what if Toriyama saw early designs or concept art during Ocarina of Time's development window, which ran from 1994 to 1998? It is not an unreasonable question. During those same years, Toriyama was involved in another Nintendo project—Chrono Trigger, released in 1995. He had access to Nintendo's world. He could have glimpsed what was coming. Yet this remains speculation without evidence.
More telling is what Toriyama's own body of work reveals. The mohawk, the warrior's garb, the sword—these were not inventions born from Ocarina of Time. They were signatures of Toriyama's visual language since he began his career as a manga artist in 1978. Decades of his characters carried these elements. Tapion was not a departure; he was a distillation of what Toriyama had always done. The ocarina and music box that define Tapion's story came from Koyama's script, not from any external inspiration.
Then there is the question of reverse influence. Could Link have been inspired by Tapion instead? It is theoretically more plausible given the timeline. But Yusuke Nakano, the designer who brought Link to life, has stated plainly that he drew inspiration from Leonardo DiCaprio. None of the writers or designers behind Ocarina of Time have ever credited Tapion or Toriyama as an influence on their work. The connection remains unconfirmed by anyone who actually made the game.
What remains is a beautiful coincidence. Two artists, working in different mediums on opposite sides of the world, created characters who share a visual language—green, swords, mystery, heroism. They arrived at similar aesthetics without one copying the other. It happens in art. Sometimes the same idea blooms in two gardens at once, and no one planted the seed in both places. The resemblance between Link and Tapion is real. The copying is not.
Citações Notáveis
Link's designer Yusuke Nakano stated that he based the character on Leonardo DiCaprio, not on any work by Toriyama— Yusuke Nakano, Link's character designer
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
So the core claim is that Toriyama stole Link's design for Tapion. What makes people believe that in the first place?
The surface similarities are striking—both wear green, both carry swords, both have this almost timeless warrior quality. If you're a fan who loves both franchises, it's easy to see a connection and assume one artist borrowed from the other.
But the timeline doesn't support it. Tapion came out in 1995, Ocarina of Time in 1998. That's three years.
Exactly. Toriyama couldn't have copied a game that didn't exist yet. The only way the theory works is if he somehow saw early concept art during development, which is possible but completely unproven.
What about the reverse—could Link have been inspired by Tapion?
It's more plausible chronologically, but the people who actually designed Link say no. Yusuke Nakano, who created Link, has said he was inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio. No one at Nintendo has ever mentioned Tapion.
So what's really going on here?
Toriyama had been using these design elements—mohawks, warrior outfits, swords—since 1978. They're his signature. Tapion is just Toriyama being Toriyama. The resemblance to Link is coincidence, not copying.