There’s some incredibly sad news coming out of Japan today, with the official Dragon Ball social media account revealing the legendary manga creator and character artist Akira Toriyama passed away at the age of 68 on 1st March 2024 from acute subdural hematoma.
Toriyama was an icon of the manga and anime industry. He was best known as the creator of the Dragon Ball series after finding success with Dr. Slump. He also had an absolutely huge impact on the video game industry – crafting the famous characters in Square Enix’s Dragon Quest series and other games like Chrono Trigger and Blue Dragon.
According to the official update, Toriyama still had several works he was in the middle of creating. This included the upcoming anime Dragon Ball Daima. A video game adaptation of the manga Sand Land is also out next month.
A funeral service has already been held with his family and relatives, and plans for a commemorative gathering are still being considered. Here’s the full statement shared by the official Dragon Ball account:
Dear Friends and Partners, we are deeply saddened to inform you that manga creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1st due to acute subdural hematoma. He was in age of 68.
It’s our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm. Also, he would have many more things to achieve.
However, he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world. Thanks to the support of so many people around the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years. We hope that Akria Toriyama’s unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.
We inform you this sad news, with gratefulness for your kindness during his lifetime.
Funeral service was held with his family and very few relatives. Following his wishes for transquility, we respectfully inform you that we would not accept flowers, condolences gifts, visiting, offerings and others. Also, we ask you to refrain from conducting interviews with his family.
Future plan for commemorate gathering is not decided, we will let you know when it’s confirmed. We deeply thank you for your understanding and support as always.
March 8th, 2024
Bird Studio, Capsule Corporation Tokyo
On behalf of the entire team and community here at Nintendo Life, our thoughts go out to Toriyama’s family and friends during this difficult time.
