DISAPPEARANCE
Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama, father of “Dragon Ball,” has died
Mangaka Akira Toriyama, creator of the world-famous series
Dragon Ball
and
Dr Slump
, died at the age of 68 from a subdural hematoma, his publishing house and studio announced on Friday March 8.
Photo of Akira Toriyama taken in May 1982. The creator of “Dragon Ball” and “Dr Slump” died at the age of 68 © STR / JIJI Press / AFP
By: RFI with AFP
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“
We are sincerely saddened to inform you that manga creator Akira Toriyama died on March 1 from an acute subdural hematoma.
He was 68
years old,” declared Bird Studio, an entity founded by the mangaka, in a press release published on X (formerly Twitter).
“
We at Shueisha and the editorial department are deeply saddened by the sudden news of his passing
,” read a statement from the publisher.
“
We would like to pay tribute to his great achievements, express our gratitude and offer him our sincere condolences.
»
260 million copies sold
Born in Nagoya (central Japan) in 1955, Akira Toriyama was best known for the manga
Dragon Ball
, created in 1984 and loosely inspired by a 16th century Chinese novel, recounting the life and adventures of the martial arts prodigy Son Goku since his childhood.
The manga has sold at least 260 million copies worldwide according to the specialist site Mangazenkan, and has spawned numerous adaptations for television, cinema or video games, and has seen numerous sequels such as
Dragon Ball Z
or most recently
Dragon Ball Super
.
Eiichiro Oda, creator of the One Piece
manga
, regretted in a press release the “
too early
” death of Akira Toriyama, which leaves “
a great void
”.
“
To think that I will never see him again... I am overwhelmed with sadness
,” he added.
Dear #AkiraToriyama
I remember when I was 7 or 8 years old, My older brother woke up me in the middle of the night to show me this new show he watches, It was about a guy name Goku and friends fighting the evils of the universe on this channel called “Toonami” pic.twitter.com/QJpVUjNaN2
— Sage Elias🃏🏴☠️🍔 (@Sageway03) March 8, 2024
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