Akira Toriyama, the acclaimed manga artist behind the global phenomenon Dragon Ball and the Dr. Slump series has died at age 68. According to the official Dragon Ball website, the artist died from an acute subdural hematoma (blood clots on the brain that usually form after an accident) on March 1 and that his funeral was already held by close relatives.
“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,” a statement on the website said. We hope that the world of Akira Toriyama’s unique works will continue to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.”
Born in Nagoya, Japan, Toriyama made his first big splash in the comic book world in the 1980s with Dr. Slump, the story of a young robot girl named Arale and her scientist creator who live in the strange world of Penguin Village. The manga was a huge hit, sold over 35 million copies and was adapted into a popular TV series by Toei Animation from 1981 to 1986.
In 1983, he introduced the world to his kung fu movie-inspired Dragon Boy series, which eventually evolved into Dragon Ball in 1984 and ran in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine until 1995. The original manga mixed elements of the classical 16th-century novel Journey to the West with Hong Kong martial arts films. It follows the adventures of its protagonist Son Goko from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and searches for seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which summon a wish-granting dragon.
Toriayama’s manga was initially adapted into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which were broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1996. The studio also created 21 animated feature films and three TV specials and the anime sequel series Dragon Ball GT (1996-1997) and Dragon Ball Super (2015-2018), as well as recuts, live-action versions and numerous video-games. As a result, Dragon Ball became one of the highest-grossing anime franchises of all time and developed a huge merchandising empire as well.
In various interviews, he noted that he was inspired by Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, martial arts movies and Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians. A modest and shy artist who shied away from publicity, Toriyama said he had no idea how Dragon Ball becomes so popular around the world. He described the success of the manga as a miracle. “It helped someone like me who has twisted, difficult personalities to do a decent job and get accepted by society. He told the news agency AFP, “When I was drawing the series, all I ever wanted to achieve was to please boys in Japan.”
You can watch a 1983 interview with the manga master below:
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, BBC.com
