[Obituary] Manga artist Akira Toriyama dies of acute subdural hematoma, creator of the global hit “Dragon Ball”



Akira Toriyama, a manga artist and illustrator known for his work on manga such as the worldwide hits ``Dragon Ball,'' ``Dr. Slump,'' and ``SAND LAND,'' as well as character designs for the game ``Dragon Quest'' series, has been diagnosed with acute subdural hematoma. It was announced that he had passed away. He was 68 years old.



Obituary｜Shueisha “Weekly Shonen Jump” official website
target='_blank'>https://www.shonenjump.com/j/2024/03/08/240308_oshirase.html

Manga artist Akira Toriyama dies at age 68, popular for works such as ``DRAGON BALL'' and ``Dr. Slump'' | NHK | Obituary
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20240308/k10014383361000.html

Toriyama was born in 1955 in Aichi Prefecture.

I have loved drawing since I was a child, and entered the design department in high school. After retiring from the design company he worked for after a few years, he applied for the Newcomer Award at Weekly Shonen Jump, which caught the attention of editor Kazuhiko Torishima, and he made his debut in 1978 with the one-shot ``Wonder Island.''

'Dr. Slump', which began serialization in 1980, was made into an anime in 1981 as 'Dr. Slump Arale-chan' and became a huge hit.

Amazon.co.jp: Dr. Slump 1 (Jump Comics): Akira Toriyama: Books



After ``Dr. Slump'' finished serialization in August 1984, ``Dragon Ball'' began serialization in November. Although things didn't go well from the beginning, the series changed its direction from a Journey to the West-like adventure to an action-oriented one centered around Tenka'ichi Budokai, and it gained popularity, becoming a long-running series that continued until 1995.

Amazon.co.jp: DRAGON BALL 1 (Jump Comics): Akira Toriyama: Books



The anime “Dragon Ball” started in 1986. From 1989, the title was changed to 'Dragon Ball Z' and the entire story up to the end was made into a film. The original story 'Dragon Ball GT' was broadcast from 1996 to 1997.

There are also many short works, including ``SAND LAND'', which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2000 and was made into an animated film in 2023.

[Original work: Akira Toriyama] 90 seconds preview of the movie 'SAND LAND' - YouTube


In addition, the anime series “SAND LAND: THE SERIES” is scheduled to be distributed from spring 2024.

“SAND LAND: THE SERIES” official website
https://sandland.jp/theseries/

Outside of manga, he is widely known for his character and monster designs for the Dragon Quest game series. In response to the news of Toriyama's death, Yuji Horii, the creator of the series, said, ``The history of Dragon Quest has been with Toriyama-san's character designs.''



In particular, the design of the 'slime' in 'Dragon Quest' is adorable even though it simply has eyes and a mouth, and Mr. Toriyama's contribution to the slime being treated as a mascot character is immense. I don't know.

Amazon.co.jp: SQUARE ENIX Dragon Quest Metallic Monsters Gallery Slime: Home & Kitchen



Related Posts:

in Note,   Manga, Posted by logc_nt