A legend is gone. Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, has died at the age of 68.
Akira Toriyama, the legend.
The announcement was made on official Dragon Ball channels last night after Akira Toriyama's death was announced just a week ago. Akira Toriyama was best known for creating the legendary Dragon Ball manga, but he also worked on the Dragon Quest license. For fans of the franchise, the Dragon Ball universe is far from ending since Dragon Ball Daima is arriving in 2024, a new animated series which follows Dragon Ball Super.
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Dear friends and partners,
We are deeply saddened to inform you that manga creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1st from an acute subdural hematoma.
We deeply regret that he still has several works being created with great enthusiasm. He still had a lot left to accomplish.
However, he left many manga and artworks to this world. Thanks to the support of many people around the world, he was able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years. We hope that Akira Toriyama's unique creative universe will continue to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.
We inform you of this sad news, thanking you for your kindness during his life.
The funeral took place in the presence of his family and a few close friends. In accordance with his wishes for tranquility, we respectfully inform you that we will not accept flowers, condolence gifts, visits, offerings and the like. We also ask that you refrain from conducting interviews with his family.
The future memorial gathering plan is not yet decided, we will inform you as soon as it is confirmed. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support.
March 8, 2024 BIRD STUDIO CAPSULE CORPORATION TOKYO
Eiichirō Oda's tribute
There are already numerous tributes to Akira Toriyama and we can particularly highlight that of Eiichirō Oda, creator of One Piece.
It's way too early. The hole he left is way too big.
I am overcome with immense sadness when I realize that we will never see each other again. I have always admired him since my childhood. I remember very clearly the first time he called me by my name. And when he called Kishimoto-san and me his “friends” that day, while we were on our way home, it brings back very good memories. I even remember the exact words we exchanged during our conversations.
He alone passed the baton between the generation where it was thought that reading manga made you stupid and the generation where manga can be appreciated by everyone, children and adults. He showed us a dream, that manga can do so many things, that it can connect you to the world. It was like watching a superhero come to life.
But his work was not limited to manga. The excitement and emotions felt through the Dragon Ball series will forever be ingrained in the youth of the creators of this industry. Its existence is like that of a big tree.
For all the manga artists of my generation, as we got closer to the same stage as him, Toriyama's work became an even greater presence that we felt deeply. It was almost scary. But we were still happy to see him in person with his carefree attitude. Our love for Toriyama-sensei runs through our veins.
With the creative world that Toriyama-sensei left behind, I pray from the bottom of my heart with respect and gratitude that he rests in peace.
May the paradise he imagined be a most joyful place for him.
The next Dragon Ball game was announced by Bandai Namco in March 2023 under the name DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO. It is scheduled for release soon on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC.