Akira Toriyama, 'Dragon Ball' Manga Creator, Dies at 68

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Shoo

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I guess we'll have to go looking for those dragon balls again.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/obituaries-people-news/akira-toriyama-dead-dragon-ball-z-1235934665/

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Toriyama’s death was confirmed by the official “Dragon Ball” website, which posted a statement honoring the creator on Thursday evening.

“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,” reads the statement from Bird Studio, which includes the disclaimer that it has been machine-translated. “He has left many manga titles and works of art to this world. Thanks to the support of so many people around the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years. We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.”

Toriyama found early success in the manga industry with the creation of the popular “Dr. Slump” series in the late ’70s, winning a Shogakukan Manga Award in 1981 and supervising two subsequent anime adaptations. However, that acclaim was nothing compared to “Dragon Ball,” a continuation of his kung fu movie-influenced “Dragon Boy” one-shot. First published as a serial in 1984, “Dragon Ball” has grown to become one of the best-selling manga series ever. It’s also credited as popularizing the medium of manga across the globe, further bolstered by its various anime adaptations’ enduring audience in Western countries.

An artist who largely worked outside the public spotlight, Toriyama’s work extended beyond “Dragon Ball” throughout his life, especially after taking a smaller creative role with the property in the ’90s. His other credits include various one-shot manga runs, as well as character designs for video game classics like “Chrono Trigger” and the “Dragon Quest” series.

Toriyama returned to “Dragon Ball” in the 2010’s, with the manga artist receiving a screenplay credit on the film “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods,” then the first “Dragon Ball” feature adaptation in nearly 20 years. He has stayed involved with the property throughout its recent run of film productions, including the most recent, 2022’s “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.”

A private funeral service has already been held for Toriyama’s family. He is survived by his wife, Yoshimi Katō, and their two children.
 
RIP Mr. Toriyama

I am still in complete shock over this news. The godfather of anime is gone. When I first read the headline, I thought it was a meme or something. I’ve been a massive Dragon Ball fan since I was 13 and have thoroughly enjoyed the Dragon Quest games, Chrono Trigger and was greatly looking forward to the Sand Land game. I’ve been a huge fan of his art style and work for the last 24 years. Another one of my childhood heroes gone.
 
Such a shame. I used to watch Dragon Ball back when I went through a brief Manga phase in the late 80's early 90's. Still have a huge soft spot for Dragon Ball though, even if I haven't watched it for a couple of decades or so.
Sad to lose such a brilliant creative.
 
In middle school, back in 1990, we got a few Japanese kids that had moved to Ohio cause of their dads' work.

One of them gave me a Dragonball Z tankobon book, and it was one of the coolest-ass things I'd ever seen.

Around the same time, I caught an episode of the Dragon Quest anime that was airing at the ungodly hour of 5:30AM or so (I never managed to catch more than two or three episodes) but I thought the main characters looked awfully similar.

In 1996, my freshman year of college, I ordered a Goku figure from the internet. My first internet toy purchase. I never thought I'd ever see them in real life. Little did I know they would eventually be available in every toy store in the world.

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(I still have it...in the box!)

Toriyama was never my favorite manga artist, but his work was definitely some of the first I was exposed to, and it opened the door to a lifelong obsession that eventually led to me living in Japan for almost twenty years.



requiescat in pace
 
Damn. I didn’t get into anime until I watched naruto but I grew up with the influence of dbz everywhere and dbz was that 90s shounen anime. Nothing will ever come close.
 
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