"Dragon Ball" creator Akira Toriyama has died

In a statement, Bird Studio announced that Akira Toriyama died of a brain haemorrhage on 1 March. His studio writes among other things:

Toriyama was active as a mangaka for over 45 years. Among his works, "Dragon Ball" stands out. However, he became known in Japan as early as 1980 with "Dr Slump". He was also responsible for the character design of the "Dragon Quest" video games. "Sand Land", another game whose character design is based on the artist's pen, will be released on 24 April.

The mangaka is responsible for the popularity of the medium in the western world. The art form has conquered the world over the past 40 years with "Dragon Ball", which first appeared in Shonen Jump in 1984. In the film, the hero Son-Goku sets off with his friends in search of the eponymous Dragon Balls. Once all seven balls have been collected, the dragon Shenlong appears and grants a wish. Son-Goku ages during the series. At the beginning he is still a child and later has some himself. He has to save the world again and again. "Dragon Ball" is a classic shonen fighting manga. This is a genre that is primarily aimed at young males. The manga is one of the most successful Japanese media franchises of all time. It has sold over 260 million copies and has spawned several anime series, video games and a (miserable) Hollywood film.

In addition to various fans on social media, well-known mangakas are also bidding farewell to Toriyama. "One Piece" creator Eiichiro Oda, for example, writes that Toriyama has left us too soon and leaves a huge gap:

"Naruto" creator Masashi Kishimoto also mourns:

Akira Toriyama was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1955. He was already drawing as a child. Instead of attending university, he worked in an advertising agency after finishing school. There he designed posters. He took part in his first manga competition at the age of 23. His first work was "Wonder Island", which was published in Weekly Shonen Jump. The success was small. His breakthrough came with "Dr Slump". However, he was never able to build on the great success of his follow-up work "Dragon Ball". He has been working on the title again since 2015. He has now passed away at the age of 68.