Akira Toriyama, the famed mangaka and creator of “Dragon Ball“, passed away at 68, as informed in a recent announcement on the official Dragon Ball website. This announcement came as a shock to the entire anime and manga community throughout the world.
Akira Toriyama died on March 1, 2024, due to a subdural hematoma, caused by a head trauma, but the official news was not made public until this morning as requested by his family and friends to maintain privacy. In honor of Toriyama, several mangakas have written heartfelt tributes and shared stories of their experiences with him. Toriyama is one of those legends who inspired many of today’s popular mangas and animes.
Akira Toriyama’s Demise Has Left His Fellow Mangakas Heartbroken, One Piece, Naruto Authors Penned Down Heartfelt Tributes, Fans Share Their Thoughts
Dragon Ball, for which Akira Toriyama is mostly known, was not his first created manga. Before changing the history of the manga and anime community, he gained mainstream fame by designing characters for video games like The Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon, and creating his first-ever popular manga, “Dr. Slump.”
Fans are overwhelmed with emotions following the unfortunate news concerning their favorite author. They addressed how this remarkable man has touched so many lives and how it is only because of him that we have access to such an expansive collection of mangas at present. As Akira Toriyama has shown, manga can be appealing to both adults and children.
Information ; Dear Friends and Partnershttps://t.co/85dXseckzJ pic.twitter.com/aHlx8CGA2M
— DRAGON BALL OFFICIAL (@DB_official_en) March 8, 2024
Masashi Kishimoto On Akira Toriyama
Many of the well-known mangas that we are familiar with today owe their humble beginnings to Akira Toriyama. This takes us to Masashi Kishimoto, who described his experiences with Toriyama and how he played a role model to launch his career as a mangaka.
Masashi Kishimoto frequently spoke about how he grew up with “Dr. Slump” and how, as a university student, the final chapter of the “Dragon Ball” series motivated him to create the now-famous popular manga series, “Naruto.”
I apologize for the inconvenience, but I would like to express my gratitude to the teacher.
For me, he was the god of salvation and the god of manga.Masashi Kishimoto on Akira Toriyama
Eiichiro Oda On Akira Toriyama
Another famed mangaka, Eiichiro Oda, creator of “One Piece” shared his part of good experiences with Akira Toriyama. Fans of One Piece know how Eiichiro Oda took huge inspiration from Dragon Ball, which not only influenced the art style but also, the relationship dynamics between some of the characters, and even a few of the arcs like Little Garden, Skypiea, and Dressrosa.
Eiichiro Oda penned down his gratitude for the late author who was a great teacher to him, guided him to the world of manga, and made him dream that he could be a part of that world too. Oda revealed that mangakas of his age are quite lucky to have shared the same space with him and Akira Toriyama was indeed a man who was quite easy-going.
I would like to express my respect and gratitude to the world of creativity left behind by Professor Toriyama , and pray for his repose in peace. I hope that heaven will be a pleasant world just as you envisioned it.
Eiichiro Oda
Final Thoughts
Akira Toriyama, the Godfather of the manga and anime community, has paved the path for several mangakas, making this industry one of the most demanding. His Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump series have millions of fans worldwide, and most of us grew up watching anime TV series or reading manga, which made our childhood quite colorful.
He may have left us too soon, but his works will continue to influence our lives in many ways. His last work, which includes an animation project for Disney Plus called Sand Land and Dragon Ball Daima, is scheduled to be released this year. We look forward to seeing his masterpieces again.
Source: Shonen Jump
