Japan : Death of Akira Toriyama, Creator of the Famous Manga “Dragon Ball Z”
Akira Toriyama, the creator of the famous Japanese manga Dragon Ball, has passed away at the age of 68 from a rare condition.
Akira Toriyama died on March 1st due to an acute subdural hematoma. The news was confirmed by Bird Studio, the manga company founded by Toriyama in 1983. “It is with deep regret that he had several works still in progress with much enthusiasm”, the studio wrote in a statement.
“He has left many manga titles and artworks to this world. Thanks to the support of so many people around the world, he was able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years”, the same source added.
Toriyama created Dragon Ball in 1984, a property that brought him international recognition and made him one of the best-selling manga authors in Japan.
Based on an earlier work titled Dragon Boy, Dragon Ball was serialized in 519 chapters in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995 and spawned a successful franchise including an English-language comic series and five separate television adaptations, spin-offs, over 20 different films, and a vast range of video games.
