Akira Toriyama, the highly influential Japanese manga artist who created the mid-sized popular series Dragon Ball in the 1980s and spearheaded its growth until it became a global phenomenon, died on March 1st after suffering from acute dural He died due to hematoma. He was 68 years old.
Toriyama’s death confirmed The official Dragon Ball website posted a statement Thursday night praising the creator.
“It is a great shame that he still has so many works in progress that he is so passionate about, and we know he has so much more to accomplish,” Bird Studio said in a statement. This includes a disclaimer that it has been machine translated. He left behind many comics and works of art. Thanks to the support of many people around the world, he has been able to continue his creative work for more than 45 years. We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique creative world will continue to be loved by everyone for many years to come. ”
Mr. Toriyama is the author of the popular “Dr. Slump” series, which was serialized in the late 1970s and won the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1981, and later supervised two anime adaptations. But that acclaim was nothing compared to “Dragon Ball,” a sequel to his one-shot “Dragon Boy,” which was influenced by kung fu movies. Serialization began in 1984, and “Dragon Ball” has grown to become one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It is also credited with popularizing the medium of manga all over the world, and the fact that its various animated works have continued to be viewed in Western countries has made this even more popular.
An artist who primarily worked outside of the public spotlight, Toriyama’s work extended beyond “Dragon Ball” throughout his lifetime, especially after taking a small creative role at the institution in the ’90s. His other credits include his designs for various one-shot manga series and video game classics such as “Chrono His Trigger” and the “Dragon Quest” series.
Mr. Toriyama returned to “Dragon Ball” in the 2010s, and Mr. Toriyama was credited as the screenwriter for the movie “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods”, making it the first “Dragon Ball” feature film in about 20 years. He has remained involved with the property throughout recent film productions, including the latest in 2022, “Dragon Ball Super Super Heroes.”
Toriyama’s family has already held a private funeral. He is survived by his wife Yoshimi Kato and two children.
