Akira Toriyama, an illustrator, author of the famous Dragon Ball manga and designer of games such as Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger, has died at the age of 68. The news was reported by Bird Studio and Capsule Corporation Tokyo, UNN writes with reference to Gizmodo.
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The manga creator's fame peaked in 1985 when Dragon Ball was released. In Japan alone, 160 million copies of the manga were sold. More than 260 million copies were sold worldwide. The franchise has been the subject of numerous anime films, as well as video games, action figures, and other souvenirs.
The news of Akira Toriyama's death was confirmed by the official Dragon Ball website in a letter addressed to creators and fans around the world. Toriyama died a week ago, on March 1, 2024, from an acute subdural hematoma.
Thanks to the support of many people around the world, Akira Toriyama has been able to continue his creative work for over 45 years. We hope that the unique world of his work will be a favorite for everyone for a long time to come
Toriyama began writing and illustrating manga in the late 1970s, catching the attention of the editors of the weekly Shonen Jump, which published his debut work, Wonder Island, in 1978. Over the next few years, he created a number of series for the magazine, including his first breakout hit, Dr. Spud, which made him a household name in the manga community.
In 1984, the original Dragon Ball manga was serialized. The series, which follows the adventures of a young monkey-tailed martial artist named Goku, who faced the threat of the Red Ribbon Army and traveled the world in search of the mysterious Dragon Balls, became an immediate hit and remains one of the most popular and successful manga.
Throughout Dragon Ball's rise to popularity, Toriyama continued to create new series and stories - and of course helped create character concepts and designs for some of the most beloved video games of all time, such as Dragon Quest and the legendary JRPG Chrono Trigger.
Toriyama kept returning to Dragon Ball, both on screen and in the comics. Until his death, Toriyama was working on new stories: the anime adaptation of his 2000 manga Sand Land will be released on Disney+ this month, and Dragon Ball Daima, a brand new chapter in the series that will take Goku back to his youthful days, is currently in development and is due out later this year.
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