Topic: Akira Toriyama (1955 - 2024)

[Shaymin]

An artist with a long history with dragons goes way too soon.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66516/akira-toriyama-1955-2024

One of Japan's most prominent artists in both the manga and gaming realms has died.

The official social media for the Dragon Ball franchise confirmed tonight that Akira Toriyama, the original artist behind the series, passed away on March 1, a little more than a month before his 69th birthday. The cause of death was an acute subdural hematoma (blood on the brain).

Toriyama gained prominence in Japan in the late 1970s with his work on the Dr. Slump manga, before creating Dragon Ball - his most famous work internationally - in 1984. In the video game realm, Toriyama was the main character designer for the Dragon Quest franchise, which dovetailed into also doing character design for the seminal 1995 RPG Chrono Trigger and later the Blue Dragon games.

[Ian Sane]

I wouldn't have thought of myself specifically as a fan but I realize that Toriyama tied into the changing tastes of my life.  When I was a teen I was into Dragon Ball Z, then as a young adult got more into the original Dragon Ball.  Dragon Quest VIII is really when RPGs clicked with me after earlier attempts to get into the genre and then that expanded into a wider interest in the Dragon Quest series as a hole.  Dragon Quest XI was my first Switch game and I put over 100 hours into it.  I have some great memories where Toriyama's art design is integral and, being visual, is the first thing I would think of when reflecting back.

I guess he's kind of like Jack Kirby, who I never really thought of myself as a fan of but then realized his work was weaved into my pop culture tastes.  I didn't really know who Kirby was until after his death so this time I'm well aware of who this person is when they pass.  So I felt a little sad when I saw the news, more so than I would typically feel for a public figure that I don't know personally.  RIP Akira Toriyama.