Akira Toriyama, one of the most influential manga authors of all time, has passed away at the age of 68. He is best known as the creator of the Japanese manga series, Dragon Ball.
According to reports, Toriyama died on Friday in his studio, due to internal bleeding near the brain. The Dragon Mall manga began as a weekly series in the Shonen Jump magazine in 1984. It was then adapted into an anime series that became a worldwide phenomenon and is often credited as one of the first series to popularize anime outside of Japan.
Dragon Ball spawned several follow-up series like Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball Super, and Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Apart from the Dragon Ball series, Toriyama has also created works like Sand Land, Dragon Quest, and Chrono Trigger. Many popular manga artists like Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), have released statements mourning his loss and have talked about how Toriyama was one of their major inspirations. In Oda's official statemet, he says, "For the manga artists of our generation who stood on the same stage, Toriyama's works became more and more important to me as I got closer to the same stage. I even felt being scary. But I am just happy to see the aloof man himself again. Because we love him on a blood level."
Kishimoto's statement reads, "Even when I had a bad experience, watching ‘Dragon Ball’ made me forget about it. It was a relief for me, a country boy who had nothing. Because ‘Dragon Ball’ couldn’t be more fun."
The Chinese and El Salvador governments have released official statements mourning the loss of Toriyama. According to reports, the manga creator was still working on several uncompleted projects before his death.