His manga series “Dragon Ball” thrilled fans worldwide – now the Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama has died.
Mourning for Akira Toriyama: The well-known Japanese manga artist has died at the age of 68. The “Bird Studio” founded by Toriyama announced on the short message service X that the artist had died on March 1st as a result of a blood clot in the brain.
In the mid-1980s, Toriyama launched his mega-success, the manga and anime series “Dragon Ball.” In it, a young warrior with unusual powers searches for the seven magical Dragon Balls, experiences many adventures and makes friends. “Dragon Ball” became one of the best-selling manga series worldwide and provided the basis for three anime series and several films. The latest film is scheduled to be released this fall.
A total of 42 volumes of the successful series were published.
Amazed by the success of “Dragon Ball”
Toriyama was born in Nagoya in 1955 and celebrated his first success in Japan in 1978 with the manga “Dr. Slump” about a robot girl. When it was published in November 1984, “Dragon Ball 1” was one of the first manga to be faithfully published in the Japanese reading order, i.e. from back to front. A total of 42 volumes of the manga series were created.
Toriyama himself had expressed surprise at the great response to his multi-part series in the past. He said in an interview with the Japanese newspaper “Asahi” that he had “no idea” how “Dragon Ball” became such a big, worldwide hit.
“He still had many things to achieve”
Fans from all over the world reacted online with shock and sadness to Toriyama’s sudden death at the age of just 68. Many thanked him for the fact that his comics had accompanied them through their youth and for his special characters.
His studio’s statement on the official “Dragon Ball” profile states that several of Toriyama’s works were “in the middle of being created.” “He still had many things to achieve. But he left this world many manga titles and works of art,” it continued. “We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique world of creation will be loved by everyone for a long time to come.”
Kathrin Erdmann, ARD Tokio, tagesschau, March 8, 2024 10:14 a.m
With information from Kathrin Erdmann, ARD Studio Tokyo