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Famed Legendary Manga Artist, Creator, & Video Game Character Designer Akira Toriyama Has Passed Away At The Age Of 68

March 8th, 2024 - 12:21 PM

Famed Legendary Manga Artist, Creator, & Video Game Character Designer Akira Toriyama Has Passed Away At The Age Of 68

Today, in a joint statement from Bird Studio and Capsule Corporation Tokyo, they have announced that legendary and influential Manga creator and artist Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, has passed away at the age of 68. According to the statement, Toriyama passed away at the beginning of the month on March 1 due to acute subdural hematoma.

The full statement from Bird Studio and Capsule Corporation Tokyo reads:

” Dear Friends and Partners,

We are deeply saddened to inform you that Manga creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1st due to acute subdural hematoma. He was in age 68.

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,

However, 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.

We inform you this sad news, with gratefulness for your kindness during his lifetime.

Funeral service was held with his family and very few relatives. Following his wishes for tranquility, we respectfully inform you that we would not accept flowers, condolences gifts, visiting, offerings and others. Also, we ask you to refrain from conducting interviews with his family.

Future plan for commemorate gatherings is not decided, we will let you know when it’s confirmed. We deeply thank you for your understanding and support as always.”

Millions of fans around the world have gone to social media to show their love and respect for Toriyama, his work, and how it influenced them in their life. The country of China even released a statement honoring Toriyama and his impact.

“We express our deep condolences for the passing of Mr. Akira Toriyama and express our sincere condolences to his family,” Mao Ning, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative said. “Mr. Toriyama is a famous cartoonist. His works are also very popular in China. We noticed that many Chinese netizens also expressed condolences for his death. We hope and believe that more knowledgeable people in Japan will actively participate in Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges.”

Japan also released a statement regarding Toriyama’s passing. The country’s top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi paid tribute, telling reporters that Toriyama had played an “extremely important role in demonstrating Japan’s soft power. Mr. Toriyama’s work has led to the widespread recognition of Japan’s content around the world.”

Toriyama made his name in the manga industry way back in the day after entering a amateur manga creator contest in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine. After that, he made a name for himself with the seralization of Dr. Slump in 1980. Then, in 1984 he changed things forever with the publication of the seminal fantasy action comedy shonen battle series Dragon Ball, which eventually spawned Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super series. The influence of Dragon Ball inspired other immensely popular Manga series such as One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, and more.

Toriyama’s legend didn’t just stop with manga, he also played a very influential role in gaming history as a character artist for popular, influential gaming franchises such as Dragon Quest – one of the very first console RPGs in Japan, and Chrono Trigger, widely considered as one of the best games of all time.

Upcoming games based on Toriyama’s works include Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero and Sand Land. Toriyama was also working on the upcoming Dragon Ball Daima, a new spin-off series of Dragon Ball Z. Daima is set to release later this Fall.

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