The creator of Dragon Ball “Akira

Toriyama” dies at 68.

Renowned Japanese manga artist and anime creator, Akira Toriyama,
passed away at the age of 68 on 1st March due to complications from
an acute subdural haematoma, commonly known as hemorrhage.
Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, and Masashi Kishimoto, the
creator of Naruto, expressed their grief and paid tribute to Toriyama,
whom they considered their source of inspiration. Bird Studio, the
manga company founded by Toriyama in 1983, confirmed the sad
news. In their statement, they lamented that Toriyama had several
ongoing projects that he was deeply passionate about. They
highlighted Toriyama's unique creative universe and the multitude of
manga titles and artworks he had contributed to the world over his
prolific 45-year career. The studio expressed gratitude for the
unwavering support Toriyama received from fans worldwide, which
enabled him to pursue his creative endeavours until his passing.
Creators of Naruto and One Piece react
Creators of One Piece and Naruto, Eiichiro Oda and Masashi
Kishimoto, released poignant remarks lamenting the passing of Akira
Toriyama.

The creator of One Piece, Oda, acknowledged Toriyama's

revolutionary impact on the manga industry. Creator of One Piece
Eiichiro Oda remarked, "Toriyama proved to a disbelieving audience
that "manga can be amusing for both children and adults." "He
demonstrated that manga could be read worldwide."

From elementary school through college, Masashi Kishimoto, the

creator of Naruto, claimed to have read Toriyama's stories every week
and was motivated to become a manga artist by the characters. "Your
comic inspired me to create my own! I desired to resemble you!" he
exclaimed.
Who was Akira Toriyama, the creator
of Dragon Ball Z?
1955 saw the birth of Toriyama in Nagoya, Japan. Having always
drawn, he chose not to pursue higher education and, upon graduating
from high school, started working as a poster designer for an
advertising agency.

Wonder Island, Toriyama's first published work, appeared in that

Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in 1978. Readers did not enjoy
Wonder Island or its follow-up, Wonder Island 2, which made
references to popular culture of the day, such as the science fiction
series Ultraman and the movie Dirty Harry.

He persisted in drawing despite this setback, and in 1980 he created a

breakthrough hit with Dr Slump, a comedy about a mechanical girl
and her struggles interacting with the outside world.

It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump until 1984, and it ultimately

won him a Shogakukan manga award, one of Japan's highest manga
honors.
He wed fellow manga artist Yoshimi Katō in 1982, and the two of
them would go on to have two kids. He largely kept his personal life
private and frequently represented himself using a robotic avatar
known as Robotoriyama.
Dragon Ball is created by
Robotoriyama.
Akira Toriyama became one of Japan's best-selling manga authors
and gained international acclaim when he created Dragon Ball in
1984.

Drawing inspiration from an earlier work named Dragon Boy, Dragon

Ball was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump for 519 chapters between
1984 and 1995. This led to the creation of a successful franchise that
included an English-language comic book series, five different
television adaptations (of which Dragon Ball Z is the most well-
known to western audiences), spin-offs, more than 20 different films,
and an extensive selection of video games.

The series, which was a kung fu adaptation of the shōnen (young

adult) manga genre, took inspiration from Japanese folklore and
action movies from China and Hong Kong. It presented spectators to
Son Goku, a teenage martial arts apprentice on the hunt for seven
magical spheres that will call forth a mysterious dragon, together with
his motley crew of friends and foes. Son Goku became an instant hit
with viewers.

After a brief hiatus, Akira Toriyama rejoined the Dragon Ball

franchise to work on a number of film adaptations, such as Dragon
Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and Dragon Ball
Super: Super Hero, which will be released in 2022.
The Success of "Dragon Ball" Aided
"Twisted, Difficult" Author Akira
Toriyama
Akira Toriyama, 68, passed away in Japan at the age of 68. Despite
the explosion of his creativity and renown, he avoided the spotlight
and devoted himself to his drawings.

Tokyo: Before "Dr. Slump" made Akira Toriyama a household name

among comic book readers in the early 1980s, the Japanese success
story and worldwide phenomenon "Dragon Ball" cemented his manga
immortality.
However, Toriyama, who passed away in Japan at the age of 68,
avoided the spotlight and opted to concentrate on sketching even as
his creativity and notoriety skyrocketed after it captured the hearts of
children everywhere.

In a rare interview from 2013, Toriyama stated, "'Dragon Ball' is like

a miracle, given how it helped someone like me who has a twisted,
difficult personality do a decent job and get accepted by society."

"I don't like socialising, so much so that I have more animals than
friends," he stated.

Animage Plus, a division of the anime magazine Animage, claims that

Toriyama, who was born in the prefecture of Aichi in 1955, attended
an industrial high school to study design.

He enjoyed manga in school, but he didn't start making comics

professionally until he was in his 20s, after spending three years
working at a Nagoya advertising agency.
After making his film debut in 1978 with "Wonder Island," Toriyama
went on to create the hilarious "Dr. Slump," which told the story of
Arale Norimaki, a little girl wearing glasses who is actually a robot
with superpowers. The show was popularized.

This offered Toriyama the courage to create "Dragon Ball," which

was supposedly influenced by Jackie Chan, a kung-fu expert, and the
16th-century Chinese novel "Journey to the West."

Published in 1984, the story followed the travels of a child with a

monkey tail named Son Goku across several imaginary realms in the
magazine Shonen Jump, which was a favorite among Japanese boys.

In pursuit of the seven mysterious dragon balls, the spiky-haired hero,

schooled by the turtle-sage, faces terrifying and alien foes across more
than five hundred chapters.

From 1989 until 1996, "Dragon Ball Z" redefined the genre with its
fierce battles, impressive power demonstrations, and the introduction
of the "Saiyan" race of extraterrestrial warriors.

Worldwide translations of "Dragon Ball" gave rise to innumerable

anime cartoons, movies, video games, trading cards, and collectible
figures, making it a huge financial success.

In a 2013 interview with Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper,

Toriyama summarized the key to his prolific production in one
discipline: meeting deadlines.

"This is because I had previously worked as a designer in a small

advertising agency and had seen and experienced first-hand how
much trouble people can get into if deadlines are missed, even
slightly," he explained.
However, he acknowledged that it was challenging: "I have to draw a
lot of the same things for Manga. As I get bored easily, this was
enjoyable but difficult for the most part. I frequently wanted it would
end sooner.

"I just hope that readers will have a fun time reading my works," he
stated.

Toriyama claimed that he was unprepared for the extent of his

accomplishment.

"When I was drawing the series, all I ever wanted to achieve was to
please boys in Japan."