Image: Bandai Namco Entertainment
The renowned creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, Akira Toriyama, has passed away at the age of 68.
Akira Toriyama, the creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, has passed away at the age of 68. The shocking news was relayed on Dragon Ball’s official social media channels, confirming that the renowned manga creator had died on March 1, 2024 due to acute subdural hematoma. The announcement shared that a funeral has already taken place with his family and a few relatives, and asked that fans refrain from contacting family members at this time.
Toriyama still had several Dragon Ball-related works set for release in the near future, according to the announcement, but the legacy he has left behind remains untouchable in the world of manga, anime and video games.
Akira Toriyama passes away at age 68
A message shared by Dragon Ball’s Twitter/X social media account confirmed that Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1, 2024, and that a private funeral service was held with his family in attendance. While the message makes it clear that no, “flowers, condolence gifts, visiting, offerings and others,” will be accepted, it also states that future plans for a commemoration gathering will be shared when they are confirmed. As of right now, Bird Studio only seeks understanding and support.
The news of Toriyama’s passing will be tragic to many fans, as the creator still had many more projects left in the pipeline. The message states, “he would have many more things to achieve,” but he also, “left many manga titles and works of art to this world.’ Among the upcoming projects he was involved with is the upcoming Dragon Ball Daima anime, which was announced as part of a larger celebration of the franchise. The series will begin airing later this year. The Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi fighting games are also returning with a new sequel: Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero.
Aside from Toriyama’s well-known work on the Dragon Ball franchise, he also has left an impressive legacy in video games. He provided character designs for the Dragon Quest series all the way up to its latest entry and worked on character and setting designs for the legendary 1995 RPG Chrono Trigger.
