Akira Toriyama, the man behind Japan’s immensely renowned and influential “Dragon Ball” comics and anime cartoons, passed away on Friday at the age of 68, according to a statement from his production organisation.
One of the all-time best-selling manga series, “Dragon Ball” debuted in serial form in 1984 and has since inspired a plethora of anime series, motion pictures, and video games.
According to a statement made to the official “Dragon Ball” account on X, formerly Twitter, Toriyama passed away on March 1 from an “acute subdural haematoma,” or blood clot on the brain.
The statement credited to Toriyama’s Bird Studio expressed “our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation” and highlighted the artist’s “great enthusiasm”.
“He would have a lot more goals to pursue. But he has left this world with a wealth of manga titles and artistic creations,” the statement continued.
“We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.”
A young kid named Son Goku appears in the animated series “Dragon Ball”; he gathers magical balls containing dragons to aid him and his comrades in their battle to keep evil forces off Earth.
When Toriyama started “Dragon Ball” in the early 1980s, he was already well-known for his comedic manga “Dr Slump.” He said that the Chinese kung fu genre was the source of inspiration for the series.
Toriyama was a member of the design team for the massively popular “Dragon Quest” video game, as well as the popular cartoon “Dragon Ball Z” in the 1990s.
However, not every spinoff has been a hit. The live-action film “Dragonball Evolution” (2009) received negative reviews and did poorly at the box office.
The publishing company Shueisha, which serialised the “Dragon Ball” comics in “Shonen Jump” magazine, released a statement expressing its “deep sadness over the unexpected news of his passing.”
A statement from Eiichiro Oda, the writer behind Japan’s popular “One Piece” manga series, stated that Toriyama’s passing was “too soon” and that he left “too big shoes to fill”.
“To believe that I won’t see him ever again… I’m really upset, it’s overwhelming,” Oda remarked.
As stated by Toriyama in a 2013 interview with the Asahi newspaper in Japan, his comics were “dedicated to entertainment”.
“All I want is for people to enjoy themselves while reading my writing. He stated that he had “never been preoccupied with getting a message across through my manga” and that there was nothing more he wanted them to accomplish.
In the interview, Toriyama characterised himself as a “difficult” guy.
“‘Dragon Ball’ is like a miracle, given how it helped someone like me who has twisted, difficult personalities do a decent job and get accepted by society” .
Additionally, he declared that he had “no idea” why “Dragon Ball” had become such a global success.
“When I was drawing the series, all I ever wanted to achieve was to please boys in Japan,” he stated to the Asahi newspaper.
