Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, has passed away at the age of 68

Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, has passed away at the age of 68. Photo: Cartoon Network/Courtesy

Akira Toriyama, the Japanese author who created the enormously popular and influential series Dragon Ball, passed away last week at the age of 68.

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Toriyama was the mastermind behind the fantasy franchise featuring Son Goku, a boy from outer space with superhuman strength and a monkey tail who embarks on a quest for the seven dragon balls.
The Dragon Ball universe remains one of Japan’s most successful global hits, captivating the hearts of many manga-loving teens and adults from around the world since its debut in the 1980s.

Toriyama’s death was announced on Friday by the official website of Dragon Ball in a shared statement from Bird Studio and Capsule Corporation Tokyo.

“It’s our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm,” the statement said.

“He would have many more things to achieve. However, he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world,” it added, thanking fans for their support on Toriyama’s behalf.

The artist died of acute subdural hematoma, a form of brain bleeding, the statement said.

Born on April 5, 1955, in Kiyosu City, Aichi Prefecture, Toriyama began drawing manga at the age of 23.

He made his debut as a cartoonist in 1978 by submitting a short story to the manga fans’ magazine “Weekly Shonen Jump.”

His “Dragon Ball” series went on to be featured in the same magazine in 1984 and was front and center of a creative career that spanned more than four decades.

The franchise is based on the classic Chinese novel “Journey to the West” and has since been adapted into anime and the 2009 Hollywood action movie “Dragon Ball Evolution.”

As Son Goku sets off for his quest in search of the seven dragon balls, he fights off villains along the way and protects the Earth. As he ages, the storyline shifts to his descendants and friends.

The dragon balls, when collected, can summon Shen Long, a divine dragon that can grant any wish. Son often ended up spending the wishes on his friends or restoring a heavily destructed Earth in the series centered on courage, friendship, and kinship.

Prominent Japanese author and game designer Yuji Horii, a longtime friend of Toriyama, said they worked on the popular game Dragon Quest together.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” he wrote on social media platform X.