Japanese manga creator Akira Toriyama, who brought the world the iconic Dragon Ball franchise, has passed away at the age of 68 due to acute subdural hemotoma on March 1. His family and Bird Studio, which he founded, have held a funeral service strictly for his family and very few relatives, with no acceptance of flowers or condolences gifts, visitors, or interviews with his relatives. The studio requests the privacy of Toriyama’s family.
The innovative creator had many works in the middle of creation when he passed, according to Bird Studio. Born in 1955, the Japanese manga artist and character designer first gained attention with the publication of his singular Wonder Island entry in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1978. He then achieved mainstream success in 1980 with the publication of Dr. Slump manga. The work ran from 1980 until 1984 when he debuted his most popular work to date and one of the most important and influential anime and manga works in history, Dragon Ball. The creator also served as a character designer for games, including Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, Blue Dragon, and Jump Force.
In 2000, he debuted another manga, Sand Land, which was adapted into an anime film in 2023 and recently continued as an anime series with an entirely original story written by Toriyama. The Sand Land anime series is set for release later this month. Key figures in the animation industry have paid tribute to the legendary creator following his passing, including One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda and Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, who have praised Toriyama’s impact on the industry, calling him a “savior and a god of manga.
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