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The legendary manga artist Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball series, died on March 1 at the age of 68. According to the statement released on the official Dragon Ball social media on March 8, the mangaka died of an acute subdural hematoma.
Born on April 5, 1955, in Nagoya, Japan, Toriyama was known for creating colorful worlds with his innovative story-building, fleshed-out characters, and mesmerizing art styles.
While Dragon Ball was his magnum opus, Akira Toriyama tasted success when his manga Dr. Slump brought him critical acclaim in 1980. The Japanese manga artist is often credited with pioneering the way for fellow mangakas.
Akira Toriyama's impressive body of work includes manga and RPG games
According to his IMDb profile, Akira Toriyama was 23 when he submitted his first manga story to a contest organized by the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. As a young boy, he often dabbled in art after being inspired by the art style of Disney's 1961 animated flick, One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
While he did not win, the competition proved to be a gateway for him into the manga world. His few published works after that didn't take off until he published Tomato the Cutesy Gumshoe in 1979, featuring his first female lead.
Bolstered by the success of his story with a female lead, Toriyama created the manga series Dr. Slump, featuring a sentient robot taking the shape of a little girl. Running from 1980 to 1984, the series was a best-selling hit, earning Toriyama the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1981.
According to IGN, Akira Toriyama decided to infuse martial arts into his next manga, leading to the creation of his seminal masterpiece, Dragon Ball. The manga series was a roaring success, considered one of the most influential works in anime and manga history and inspiring a whole generation of manga artists.
The Dragon Ball universe soon expanded, launching spin-off series and movies, including the world-famous Dragon Ball Z anime. Toriyama was still working on the series until his death, reportedly creating original character designs for Dragon Ball Daima, the latest Dragon Ball Z spin-off series.
In addition to revolutionizing the manga industry, Toriyama also played a definitive role in gaming history, developing the art for Dragon Quest, one of Japan's very first console RPGs, in 1986.
Akira Toriyama dies at the age of 68
The official Dragon Ball social media announced the news of Akira Toriyama's death, revealing that the legendary artist still had "several works" in the pipeline at the time of his death. The statement read:
"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 round the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities over 45 years. We hope that Akira Toriyama's unique world of creation continue to be loved by everyone for a long time to come." It continued.
The statement also informed that an intimate funeral had already been conducted with his family and a few relatives. Toriyama was a man who valued privacy, refusing to give interviews despite his culminating success.
He is survived by his wife, Yoshimi Kato, a retired manga artist, and their two adult children.
