Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, has died

The world of anime and manga mourns one of its greatest losses. The Japanese Akira Toriyamacreator of the universe dragon ball, who died at the age of 68. The sad news was announced in the last few hours by his publisher and his production company, despite his death occurring a week ago.

“We are deeply saddened to report that manga creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1 due to a acute subdural hematoma (accumulation of blood between the skull and the surface of the brain),” posted the official Dragon Ball account on X (formerly Twitter).

The statement, attributed to Toriyama’s Bird Studio production company, explains that the designer died while still alive “several jobs in the middle of the process of creation with great enthusiasm”.

“However, he left many manga titles and works of art in this world (…) We hope that the unique world created by Akira Toriyama will continue to be loved by everyone for a long time,” he added.

The study underlines this the creator’s funeral has already taken place in the presence of his family and a very few close friends and asked his followers not to send flowers or gifts of condolence.

“Dragon Ball” is one of the most successful and influential manga comics of all time. According to the specialized site Mangazenkan, it has sold at least 260 million copies All over the world.

The story, loosely based on a 16th-century Chinese novel, began publication in 1984 and has since been expanded to numerous anime series, films and video games.

Its initial protagonist is Son Gokua martial arts warrior who travels the world in search of the seven Dragon Balls which, when collected, summon a dragon with the power to grant wishes.

With allies like Krillin, Vegeta, Piccolo, Ten Shin Han or his son Gohan, they will fight against monsters like Frieza or Cell who threaten the future of the Earth.

Born in 1955 in Nagoya, central Japan, Toriyama is also the author of the comic “Doctor Slump”, also converted into a television series.

His publisher Shueisha said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened by the sudden news of his death.”

Eiichiro Oda, creator of another major Japanese manga franchise like “One Piece,” said in a statement that Toriyama died “too soon” and left “too high a standard.” “To think that I will never see him again (…) I am overwhelmed with sadness,” Oda said.