The official Dragon Ball website has announced that its creator, Japanese manga artist and character designer, Akira Toriyama, has passed away due to acute subdural hematoma at age 68 on March 1, 2024. The announcement of his death has since been posted to all official social media channels.
His legacy includes his most notable franchise Dragon Ball, that spawned hundreds of manga, anime, films, video games, merchandise, card games, and more. With his unique, instantly recognizable artwork, his other works that should also be familiar to millions of fans, such as:
- Dr. Slump
- Dragon Quest
- Chrono Trigger
- Blue Dragon
- Sand Land
In 2024, the television series Dragon Ball Daima and the relaunch of Sand Land were announced.
This news should come as a shock to fans of his art and stories, who would have had a huge influence in our lives. Since I was a child over 30 years ago, the Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump manga series has also been a huge part of my life and the books were read over and over until they were tattered. This followed on to playing the RPGs Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger, and even now a fan of the collectable Dragon Ball Super Card Game.
