The Departure of the Legendary Creator Akira Toriyama has Saddened Manga Fans

The Japanese publishing company Bird Studio has announced that manga artist and character designer Akira Toriyama passed away at the age of 68. The artist, who succumbed to bleeding near the brain on March 1, 2024, gained the most recognition for his work on titles such as “Dragon Ball” and “Dr. Slump”.

The comic “Dragon Ball”, featuring the protagonist Son Goku, first debuted in the Shonen Jump weekly magazine in 1984. Dr. Slump premiered four years earlier. Subsequently, the creations inspired movies, TV series, and video games. Akira Toriyama, among other contributions, also designed characters and monsters for the game “Dragon Quest”.