Akira Toriyama, the legendary manga-ka behind Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, and Sand Land, has died aged 68.
The announcement of Toriyama’s death came via the official Dragon Ball social media accounts. According to the announcement, Toriyama died on March 1 following an acute subdural hematoma.
“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.”
Toriyama burst onto the manga scene in 1980 with the wildly popular Dr. Slump, a comedic series that followed the adventures of a robotic girl named Arale Norimaki and her creator, a pervy professor named Senbei Norimaki.
However, it was 1984’s Dragon Ball that would propel Toriyama to legendary status. His life’s work, the Dragon Ball series has taken on many forms, occasionally without his input. After putting Dragon Ball Z aside in 1995, he would work on numerous one-shot projects, including Sand Land. This title is currently being adapted into a video game scheduled for release in April. He would return to Dragon Ball in 2012, starting with the film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. He had been involved in the production of new Dragon Ball media ever since.
During the 90s, Toriyama’s art became a regular feature in Japanese RPG video games. He was famously the character designer for both the Dragon Quest series and Square Enix’s Chrono Trigger. He also worked on Tobal No. 1 and Tobal 2 for the PlayStation.
It is hard to encapsulate the magnitude of a career like Toriyama’s. He is a household name in his home country of Japan. His work is beloved worldwide and has brought joy to millions for forty years. He was certainly too young to leave this world so soon.
Vale Akira Toryiama, a titan.
Image: Akira Toriyama, Shonen Jump, Kotaku Australia
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