ComicsSand LandTributes from Naruto and One Piece creators fly in as Dragon Ball icon Akira Toriyama passes awayWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
ComicsSand LandTributes from Naruto and One Piece creators fly in as Dragon Ball icon Akira Toriyama passes awayWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Shueisha)
Born in Nagoya, Japan in 1955, Toriyama was a keen artist from a young age, citing both One Hundred and One Dalmatians and Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy as early inspirations.
His first professional job was designing posters for an advertising agency. Following his resignation from that role a few years later, he submitted a parody of Star Wars to Shueisha’s famous Weekly Shōnen Jump title. Editor Kazuhiko Torishima liked the work, though its parodic nature made it ineligible for publication. Still, he encouraged Toriyama to continue drawing, and in 1978 his first professional work, Wonder Island, was published.
(Image credit: Toei Animation)
Published between 1980 and 1984 in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Dr. Slump is about the adventures of a strong-but-naive robot named Arale Norimaki, and her inventor, Senbei Norimaki. It proved popular with readers and was quickly adapted into an anime series, which ran for 243 episodes, plus several specials and films. Toriyama’s star was now very much on the rise.
(Image credit: Toei Animation)
The series was an instant hit, at its height helping to propel Weekly Shōnen Jump to more than 6 million sales per week. To date, more than 260 million collected editions of Dragon Ball have been sold worldwide and it remains one of the best-selling manga series of all time.
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(Image credit: Square Enix)
Away from Dragon Ball, Toriyama was hired as a character designer for the 1986 RPGDragon Quest, which quickly became its own popular franchise, and which Toriyama would continued to work on over the years, alongside a handful of other video game projects, such asChrono Trigger.
He also designed the characters and co-wrote (with Toyoo Ashida) the screenplay for animated film Kosuke & Rikimaru: The Dragon of Konpei Island, designed an electric car for CQ Motors, and continued to work on numerous manga, including 2000’s Sand Land - recently transformed into a hit anime,with a video game on the way- and Cross Epoch, a collaboration with One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda.
(Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Toriyama’s passing has been met with sadness from fans and creators around the world. In a statement, Eiichiro Oda wrote, “[Toriyama] was one of the founders of an era where both adults and children could read and enjoy manga, from a time when reading manga was considered not good for education. He let us dream of the extent of things manga can achieve and showed [creators] that we can even expand our field to the world.”
Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, said, “I grew up with your manga, which became a part of my life. On bad days, the weekly Dragon Ball [series] would help me forget [my troubles]. As a country boy with not much else, it saved me.”
For more anime, check out our guide to all of thenew animecoming out and our ranking of thebest anime.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
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1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
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Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”