Akira Toriyama, the manga author and artist behind Dragon Ball, Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest, has passed away at age 68. News of Toriyama’s passing was made public through the official Dragon Ball X account this morning, revealing that the famed artist had died due to an acute subdural hematoma.
Akira Toriyama first broke into the manga industry in 1980 after creating the gag manga Dr. Slump. A few years later, he would go on to create the fantasy action manga called Dragon Ball, which followed the adventures of a young boy named Goku on a journey to discover his true heritage and protect Earth from dangerous threats. Dragon Ball would later receive its more famous sequel, Dragon Ball Z.
Toriyama’s work notably went on to inspire artists such as Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, Eiichiro Oda and Gege Akutami, the creators of Naruto, Bleach, One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen, respectively.
Bird Studio and Capsule Corporation Tokyo explain in a tweet that Toriyama passed away on 1 March, stating:
“It’s our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm. Also, he would have many more things to achieve. However, he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world. Thanks to the support of so many people round the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities over 45 years. We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique world of creation continue to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.”
Toriyama’s work extended into the gaming industry as well. He worked with companies such as Square Enix on the character designs for Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger. The upcoming game Sand Land, which is also based on Toriyama’s work, is set to release in April. The author’s last project that he was reportedly working on was Dragon Ball Daima, a new anime series that uses chibi-styled character designs for Goku and Vegeta.
Information ; Dear Friends and Partnershttps://t.co/85dXseckzJ pic.twitter.com/aHlx8CGA2M
— DRAGON BALL OFFICIAL (@DB_official_en) March 8, 2024
Fans are mourning the news this morning but also celebrating his legacy, with many (including myself) owing their introduction to anime to Toriyama and the Dragon Ball franchise.
Source: Dragon Ball X Account
