Jakarta, IO – Japanese writer Akira Toriyama, best known as the creator of Dragon Ball, has died at the age of 68. The comic artist breathed his last breath on March 1, 2024.
Akira died due to brain hemorrhage he had been suffering for several years. This news was confirmed by Akira Toriyama and Dragon Ball’s official social media.
“We are very sad to inform you that manga creator Akira Toriyama died on March 1 due to acute subdural hematoma. He was 68 years old,” read the official statement, per Detikcom, Fri (8/3).
His funeral procession would be held behind closed doors per his personal request. “Following his wishes for calm, we respectfully inform you that we will not accept flowers, condolence gifts, visits, offerings, etc.,” the statement reads. “In addition, we ask you not to conduct interviews with his family.”
Akira Toriyama was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1955. He began introducing his anime to the world in 1984. To date, Dragon Ball is still the most influential shonen manga (manga made for teenage boys) of all time.
Thanks to Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama received many awards. One of them is recognition as the best manga and the Golden Age of Jump.
Read: Celebrating International Women’s Day 2024 In Jakarta
Akira Toriyama continued working on Dragon Ball from 1984 to 1995. Over a period of 11 years, he produced 519 chapters divided into 42 volumes, where each volume had an average of 200 pages.
This figure is a major achievement because Akira managed to sell more than 35 million copies in Japan. Dragon Ball also finally achieved its best sales record with over 120 million copies sold. This has made him one of the most influential and inspiring comic artists in the world. (un)