Akira Toriyama | 1955 - 2024
By Kameron B.
Japan - On Friday, March 1, 2024, a famous manga artist, Akira Toriyama sadly passed away due to Subdural hematoma, which means a blood clot in his brain. His passing means a lot to Airport students, as Japanese culture, including manga and anime, are very popular among us.
Early life
Akira was born on April 6th, 1955, in Kiyosu, Aichi, Japan. He went to Okoshi Technical High School when he was 15 years old and he did creative design. Growing up, Akira loved to draw things such as animals and vehicles that fond of. Toriyama had an interest in cars and motorcycles because of his dad. His dad used to race motorcycles and operate in an auto repair business. Akira also had an interest in animals such as birds, cats, dogs, fish, and lizards. Akira loved Hong Kong martial arts films like Bruce Lee films and Jackie Chan films. Martial arts inspired Akira to make a manga/anime that everyone would know to this day.
Dragon Ball
In 1984, Akira Toriyama illustrated and wrote the manga, Dragon Ball. There were 519 individual chapters in 42 different books. It initially had a comedy focus but later became an action-packed fighting series. The story follows the adventures of Son Goku, from childhood to adulthood, as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the Dragon Balls, seven magical orbs which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls. In 1986 it became a show and it streamed in 81 countries worldwide. Dragon Ball was supposed to end 3 times. Dragon Ball was so popular by then that Toriyama's editors forced him to continue. It was so popular that celebrities enjoyed dragon ball such as Jackie Chan, Snoop Dogg, KSI, Ronda Rousey, etc. Dragon Ball is so well known that people don't even have to watch the show or read the manga to know him. The success of Dragon Ball had a huge impact on the manga and anime industry worldwide.
The End
Akira Toriyama succeeded in making Dragon Ball as it grew from $554 to $56 million at the time of his death. Akira sadly met his demise on March 4th, 2024 from a blood clot in his brain. Akira’s Final contribution to the manga was Piccolo(Akira’s personal Favorite Character) waving goodbye. It was published after his death on March 28th, 2024. Akira noted that Toyotaro will work on Dragon Ball when he dies. So now Toyotaro is working on Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball books can be purchased at public libraries and can be ordered at media centers.