Legendary Manga Artist Akira Toriyama, Creator of Dragon Ball Z, Passes Away at 68

The official Dragon Ball website revealed today the death of famed manga writer Akira Toriyama, who was known around the world for creating classics such as Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, and others. He was 68 years old.

According to a statement from Toriyama’s Bird Studio, the manga creator died on March 1st of acute subdural hematoma. A private funeral was held for his immediate relatives, and a memorial gathering for admirers has yet to be confirmed.

Akira Toriyama was born on April 5, 1955, in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture. He was inspired by Disney’s and Osamu Tezuka’s works from a young age, with Tezuka’s Astro Boy series sparking his interest in comics. Toriyama became a designer in a local advertising agency after graduating from Aichi Prefectural High School’s creative design program.

Toriyama resigned from his design job at the age of 23 because he needed money to submit his first manga to a rookie prize in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. Unable to make the deadline, he instead entered his debut work, Awawa World, for Weekly Shonen Jump’s monthly Young Jump Award, which he lost.

This setback inspired him to create his next work and be discovered by Kazuhiko Torishima, who became Toriyama’s long-term editor on his future works, including Dr. Slump from 1980 to 1984 and the beginning of Dragon Ball until Torishima was promoted to editor-in-chief of V Jump and then Weekly Shonen Jump.

Toriyama went on to publish Dragon Ball in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 and 1995, as well as the one-shot Sand Land in 2000. Toriyama has produced character design and graphics for other well-known series like as Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, Blue Dragon, and others, leaving his stamp on both comics and video games.

Following the announcement, Shonen Jump’s website featured statements from industry authors like Eiichiro Oda of One Piece, Yuji Hori of Dragon Quest, Masakazu Katsura of Video Girl Ai, and Masashi Kishimoto of Naruto.

“It cannot be understated the impact Toriyama’s worlds had on generations of people around the globe. For many, Dragon Ball was their first entry into anime and manga, helping shape not only fandoms that have continued into adulthood but also friendships that have lasted decades. Generations of people collected, cherished, and bonded over stories created by Toriyama.”

Toriyama’s creations will continue to inspire future generations. His legacy, which includes the “Dragon Ball Children” series, which is now serialized in Japan and around the world, lives on. 

Akira Toriyama, rest in peace. Thank you for inviting us into your fascinating realms.