Dragon Ball
Star manga artist Toriyama dies
The creator of “Dragon Ball” is dead. Akira Toriyama has died at the age of 68 (archive photo from 1982). photo
© Uncredited/Kyodo News/AP/dpa
The comic “Dragon Ball” is one of the most influential manga series. His creator Toriyama has now died. The German publisher mourns the loss of one of the “greatest creators in comic history”.
The Japanese comic artist and creator of the successful manga series “Dragon Ball”, Akira Toriyama, is dead. The artist died on March 1st, as announced by his studio and the manga magazine “Weekly Shonen Jump”. Toriyama died as a result of an acute subdural hematoma. This is a bleeding between the hard meninges and the brain.
Carlsen Verlag, which published Toriyama’s works in Germany, reacted with dismay. “We mourn the loss of one of the most popular and greatest creators in comic history,” said program manager Kai-Steffen Schwarz. He was one of the most popular and influential mangaka in the world.
Most successful manga series in Germany
“In Germany, the publication of his “Dragon Ball” series in 1997 triggered the manga boom that continues to this day,” said Schwarz. According to Carlsen Verlag, the series has sold over 300 million copies worldwide, over 8 million copies in German-speaking countries alone, making it still the most successful manga series in this country. In 2004, Toriyama was the first Japanese manga star guest at the Leipzig Book Fair at the invitation of Carlsen Verlag.
Toriyama, who was born in Aichi Prefecture on Japan’s largest island of Honshu, was 68 years old. Some of his works were still in the middle of the production process, Bird Studio said in a statement. “And he would have accomplished many more things.”
“Dragon Ball” is one of the best-selling manga series. It was originally published in Weekly Shonen Jump between 1984 and 1995 and achieved worldwide popularity. Among other things, it also forms the basis for three anime series.
Toriyama’s well-known manga series are also “Dr. Slump” and “Sandland”. In his work, the illustrator was inspired by action films. In his heyday, he sometimes worked 23 hours a day, he said while visiting the Leipzig Book Fair in 2004. He draws according to his mood and is actually a “very, very lazy person,” he said. He prefers to draw alone and for children.