Mangaka Akira Toriyama, creator of the world-famous Dragon Ball and Dr Slump series, died at the age of 68 from a subdural hematoma, his publishing house and studio announced on Friday March 8. “We are sincerely saddened to inform you that manga creator Akira Toriyama died on March 1 from an acute subdural hematoma. He was 68 years old,” Bird Studio, an entity founded by the mangaka, said in a statement published on X. “At Shueisha and within the editorial department, we are deeply saddened by the sudden news of his death,” can we read in a press release from the publisher. “We would like to pay tribute to his great achievements, express our gratitude and offer him our sincere condolences.”
Born in Nagoya (central Japan) in 1955, Akira Toriyama was best known for the manga Dragon Ball, created in 1984 and loosely inspired by a 16th century Chinese novel, recounting the life and adventures of the martial arts prodigy Son Goku since his childhood. The manga has sold at least 260 million copies worldwide according to the specialist site Mangazenkan, and has spawned numerous adaptations for television, cinema or video games, and has seen numerous sequels such as Dragon Ball Z or most recently Dragon Ball Super.
Eiichiro Oda, creator of the manga One Piece, regretted in a press release the “too early” death of Akira Toriyama, which leaves “a great void”. “To think that I will never see him again… I am overcome with sadness,” added Eiichiro Oda.