Akira Toriyama Has Died At 68

In news that has rocked all sectors of the entertainment world across continents, It has been confirmed that Akira Toriyama has died from acute subdural hematoma. The official Dragon Ball company issued this statement:

Though Toriyama is commonly and rightfully associated with Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, his legacy both in and out of the anime and manga industry is undeniable. His work helped to spread the international popularity of manga and anime and the ubiquity of both across all continents owes a lot to Toriyama. The state of anime and manga today simply would not be where it is today without his many contributions that span across multiple decades.

However, Toriyama's credits also extend beyond manga and anime as he was a constant collaborator on multiple video game projects. The clearest example involves his character design work on the Dragon Quest franchise which continues to be one of the best selling JRPGs series in Japan and internationally as well as the character designs in Chrono Trigger. His other game credits include Tobal No. 1, Tobal 2, and Blue Dragon.

One of Toriyama's consistent game collaborators was Yuji Horii and he issued a heart-broken statement on Twitter which Gematsu translated as follows:

Toriyama was one of those guys I was sure I'd be on my goddamn deathbed and he would still look the same and be complaining about how he trapped himself into another difficult project to work on.

An astonishing loss. An icon and a titan in the anime and gaming spaces. Processing this and his legacy is going to take a long time. He wasn't super young but he wasn't very old either, and this seems like it was a sudden loss, so I feel a lot of empathy for his family and loved ones. After Muriyama's death a month ago this has been a terrible start to the year for the game creators of many of our youths, and both men were on the young side. Bad times.

A true legend who will not be forgotten. He is one of the reasons Anime and Video Games became such a huge and popular thing worldwide. I grew up watching Dragon Ball Z, like many teens did during the 90s and was hooked to Anime since. Thank you, Toriyama for everything, especially your part in making Chrono Trigger.

Found this 20-year-old notebook today.