Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama, globally famous for ‘Dragon Ball,’ dies at 68

TOKYO — Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama, famous around the world for the “Dragon Ball” series and “Dr. Slump,” among other works, died on March 1, publisher Shueisha Inc. has announced. He was 68.

Toriyama died of acute subdural hematoma. His funeral was held with his close relatives.

Toriyama was originally from Aichi Prefecture. After working at an advertising agency, he began contributing to Shueisha’s Shukan Shonen Jump weekly manga magazine in his early 20s. He debuted with “Wonder Island” in 1978, followed by the serialization of “Dr. Slump” in 1980. This comic manga depicting the outlandish daily lives of Senbei Norimaki, an inventor in Penguin Village, Arale, a humanoid robot created by Senbei, and the unique villagers was made into an animated TV series and gained popularity.

“Dragon Ball” was serialized in the same magazine between 1984 and 1995. The story of the main character, Son Goku, and his friends’ quest to find “dragon balls,” which would grant them one wish if they collected seven of them, became a huge hit. It evolved into a story about Goku training under martial arts master Kame-Sen’nin to try to conquer the Tenkaichi Budokai (the world’s largest martial arts tournament).

“Dragon Ball” was adapted into an anime and movie series, and became the driving force behind Shonen Jump’s circulation surpassing 6 million copies in the mid-1990s. It was also published in foreign countries in local languages, and its anime was broadcast in more than 80 countries, making it one of the most representative works of Japanese manga.

Other manga works by Toriyama include “Cowa!” “Sand Land” and “Jaco the Galactic Patrolman.” The artist also designed characters for the “Dragon Quest” video game series and helped it grow into a national role-playing game.

In 1981, Toriyama won publisher Shogakukan Inc.’s manga award in the boys and girls division for “Dr. Slump.” He received the French “Chevalier” decoration for arts and culture in 2019.

(Mainichi)