Legendary manga artist Akira Toriyama died on March 1st, 2024 as the result of a acute subdural hematoma according to a letter posted on the official Japanese Twitter/X account for Dragon Ball. Toriyama was 68 years old.
An translated copy of the letter was shared on the English Dragon Ball Twitter/X account.
A funeral was already held with immediate family members, whom have asked for privacy at this difficult time. Bird Studio, Toriyama’s production company, will announce a special event in his memory at a future date.
The news was also picked up by national broadcaster NHK, sharing comments from the Weekly Shonen Jump editors with whom he closed worked. Many of Toriyama’s stories were serialized in the weekly manga magazine, the first of which, Wonder Island, appeared in 1978.
Toriyama was renowned worldwide for his series Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, and Sand Land as well his work in creating characters for video game franchises Blue Dragon, Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest. His illustrations and stories have inspired many modern manga artists, many drawing upon his styles and themes. Toriyama often reached out to fellow artists, encouraging them to persevere and even collaborating with them in one-shots.
Among his most memorable work is that of Dragon Ball, a re-telling of popular Chinese story Journey to the West. It was this journey of Son Goku where people of all ages found comfort in artwork and characters he crafted. First published in 1984, the series spun off into Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super.
An outpouring of condolences and well wishes from friends, co-workers and fans filled social media Thursday evening.
Letters written by Yuji Horii, Masakazu Katsura, Masashi Kishimoto, and Eiichiro Oda remembering Toriyama were posted to the Shonen Jump website.
Toriyama was most recently involved in the character designs and story for Dragon Ball DAIMA which is scheduled to release later this year as part of the series’ 40th anniversary.
Thank you, Akira Toriyama. Rest in peace.
© Bird Studio/Shueisha, Toei Animation
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