Akira Toriyama, one of Japan's greatest manga writers who made the manga and animation franchise “Dragon Ball” a global success with its comedic characters and electrifying martial arts battles, died March 1. He died at the age of 68.
His death was confirmed on Friday. name It was produced by his comics and design production company Bird Studio and Capsule Corporation Tokyo. The statement said the cause was acute subdural hematoma, a condition where blood collects between the skull and brain. It was not revealed where Mr. Toriyama died.
Mr. Toriyama’s works include “Dr. “Slump” and “Sand Land” are well-known beyond Japan’s borders, having influenced generations of cartoonists and cartoonists. The studio said he was working on several projects at the time of his death.
His best-known work, 'Dragonball', tells the story of a young boy named Son Goku who sets out on a journey to collect seven magic orbs that summon a wish-granting dragon. Since its inception in the 1980s, it has sold millions of copies worldwide over 42 volumes and has become one of the most popular comics, inspiring TV, film, and video game adaptations.
Mr. Toriyama said in a 2013 interview with the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun that he did not care what role his work served other than to entertain readers. He said he was different from “other cartoonists who are interested in conveying didactic messages.”
“The role of my comics is to be strictly entertainment pieces,” he said.
According to local media, Akira Toriyama was born in Kiyosu, Japan on April 5, 1955. He studied design at a technical engineering high school in Aichi Prefecture. After he graduated, he worked as a designer at an advertising company in Nagoya.
He quit his job a few years later and began drawing comics at the age of 23. His first comic, the action-adventure comic 'Wonder Island', was published in 1978.
'Dr. 'Slump' (1980-1984) is a science fiction comic about an android girl known for her childlike personality and superhuman strength. It was adapted into a TV animation series.
Mr. Toriyama's outrageous concepts and sense of caricature “sparked a truly joyous hysteria” in Japan, write Matthieu Pinon and Laurent Lefebvre in “A History of Modern Comics” (2023).
Mr. Toriyama married a former manga artist who published under the pen name Nachi Mikami in 1982, the Mainichi Shimbun reported. Complete information about the survivor was not immediately released, but local media reports said he was survived by his wife and children.
“Dragon Ball” was an instant hit when it was first published in 1984 and became one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It has sold more than 260 million copies worldwide, according to Toei Animation, the studio that produced the anime adaptation.
'Dragon Ball' was serialized in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump until 1995. According to 'Modern Comics History', the magazine lost about 1 million of its 6 million readers in the year after the series ended. The story has continued through animations and video games such as “Dragon Ball Z.” Mr. Toriyama also designed characters for the Dragon Quest video game series.
Mr. Toriyama, a prolific manga artist, was not necessarily interested in the manga genre as a reader. “I’ve always had trouble reading comics, including my own,” he said in a 2018 interview at the Kiyosu City Library.
He lived a private life and rarely gave interviews. In a 2013 interview with Japanese singer and actress Shoko Nakagawa, he said that he did not even share his work with his family.
“To be honest, no one in my family has ever seen ‘Dragon Ball,’” he said with a laugh. “I am also a hikikomori.” He added, using the Japanese word for hermit.
But his story continues to reach fans around the world, even years after its creation.
After 'Dragon Ball', Mr. Toriyama wrote single-volume manga such as 'Kowa!', 'Kajika', and 'Galaxy Ranger Jako'. ‘Sand Country’, released in 2000, was made into a movie in 2023. An animated version is also scheduled for release. in spring With video games on Disney+.