Sabishiku Narimasu
Akira Toriyama
The Mangaka that touched the world
Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1st because of an “acute subdural haematoma” (Medical term for “a blood clot on the brain”) which was a statement posted to the official Dragon Ball account on X, formerly Twitter. Bird Studio also said in a statement that “It’s our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation. He would have many more things to achieve. However, he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world.”
We look at how this beloved mangaka touched and changed the world. Let’s celebrate his legacy.
The Legacy of Akira Toriyama
Remembering Toriyama
According to Eiichiro Oda, creator of the very popular One Piece manga franchise, Toriyama’s death was “too soon” and left “too big shoes to fill”. He added sadly “The sadness overwhelms me when I realize I’ll never meet you again. From my childhood, I’ve admired you. I remember the day I was first called by name, on the way home after the day you used the word “friends” for us…”
Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, also shared a tribute on X/Twitter. “I am still in overwhelming disbelief at the news of Toriyama’s sudden death,” he said. He added: “In the 37 years since he began work on Dragon Quest, Toriyama has designed characters, monsters, and created countless more charming characters. The history of Dragon Quest goes hand in hand with Toriyama’s character designs.” Japan’s ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki published a tribute on X/Twitter as well. “I join millions of Dragon Ball lovers in weeping over the sudden passing away of Mr Akira Toriyama… Dragon Ball will continue to inspire countless fans in India and across the world.”
The Power of Goku
How Goku changed a world
The work Toriyama was best know for was his manga Dragon Ball, first published in 1984, which ran for years in Weekly Shonen Jump. The manga series was an immediate success. Dragon Ball is the story of Goku or Son Goku, an alien boy that teams up with the brilliant blue-haired teen girl Bulma to search for the seven legendary dragon balls, mystical artefacts that when all collected gives one the power to summon a mighty dragon named Shenron who will grant the summoner one wish.
Dragon Ball was filled with martial arts mixed with science-fiction and fantasy. One moment you had a car or house that magically appeared like a pokemon from a pokeball, next there was a green serpentine dragon who granted wishes or a martial arts tournament. It ever disappoints. Goku grew up and we saw in Dragon Ball Z an older Goku protecting the earth from a relentless array of villains while also struggling with fatherhood and his lost heritage.
Dragonball and Dragon Ball Z slipped into Western entertainment culture and became referenced in a lot of shows like “The Fairly OddParents,” “Teen Titans GO!,” “Codename: Kids Next Door,” “The Owl House,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “Robot Chicken.” Even characters in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” talked about it. Dragon Ball Z even were referenced in the songs of Childish Gambino, Frank Ocean and Soulja Boy and we all know that Goku inspired many other manga artists like Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), Hiro Mashima (Fairy Tail), Tite Kubo (Bleach).
The magic of Toriyama’s Goku is powerful. You can see it at cosplay events and parties where there is always a Goku. At wallpaper sites if you type in Goku there is always a sea of Goku pics to choose from and wait until you go and look for AMVs, there are millions of them dedicated to Dragon Ball and Goku. Goku is timeless and unbeatable. He is Akira Toriyama’s greatest creation. Goku will be a hero to look up to for generations. A powerful legacy Toriyama left for the world. Toriyama is the true hero. He will never be forgotten, he lives on in Goku and countless works of art by countless artists he inspired.
We leave you with heartfelt dedications members of our Whatsapp group posted the week we all heard of Akira Toriyama passed away,
“That’s basically the first anime i ever watched, it defined so much for so many, was amazing to grow up in a world with DBZ, i made friends i never would have because of a mutual love of it, its awesome the impact that a show can have hey.” – Ciski
“I remember back in my school days we’d be playing outside but at 4:25 everyone goes to their own homes to watch DBZ and then come back out at 5 to talk about it again🤣
We literally dropped everything for that half an hour so we could all go watch Goku power up for a week…” – Neo Mokoto
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