Sadly, the game, anime, and manga worlds were in mourning a few days ago after the news of Akira Toriyama passing away was confirmed. The creator of Dragon Ball, one of the most popular manga and anime ever made, officially passed away on March 1 at only 68 years of age.
This inspired fans all over the world to pay tribute to the legacy of content that this creator left behind. But recent interviews revealed that he was not an active gamer, and he didn’t play or even watch much of Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball fans can confirm some things about Akira Toriyama that were pretty obvious
It is publicly known that Akira Toriyama has not been so involved in the Dragon Ball development of the manga and anime for a long time now. In the last few years, he has only had a role as a consultant on the creation of manga and anime. He didn’t even watch the result; he was enjoying his retirement. He was just involved with some specific projects that he was more passionate about. This also happened with games of Dragon Ball in general; he was not so active with these projects.
Toriyama received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival in 2024. He made a recorded acceptance speech to preserve his health. In this speech, he clarifies his latest involvement with Dragon Ball and says he has not even seen the anime anymore.
Akira Toriyama's Final Comments from Dec 2023!
— SUPER クロニクルス (@SupaChronicles) March 11, 2024
Akira Toriyama was announced to have won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2024 on December 14, 2023.
He was supposed to receive the award on stage during the Festival from March 8-11, 2024.
However,… pic.twitter.com/mHbkI8GXAv
But he was very involved and passionate about Dragon Ball DAIMA, the new series that will premiere this year with a new, never-before-seen story. In previous interviews, he always said that he hadn’t played any of the Dragon Ball games since Famcom.
Akira Toriyama was focused on maintaining a relaxing life to preserve his health
This mangaka was one of the heaviest influences regarding anime across the world; he inspired manga like Naruto, One Piece, and many more. Thanks to Dragon Ball, anime in general became really popular in the western hemisphere. The anime is grateful for how Toriyama changed things forever, but as many creators, they are not so eager to test or see all about their creations.
Fans of Dragon Ball are waiting for the spiritual successor of Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero will have more than 160 playable characters.
The game is aiming to have destructible scenarios and clothes. It will also have a complete story mode. There is no information about how the game will be released; Bandai Namco is aiming for 2024 or 2025.
What are your thoughts about Akira Toriyama’s way of managing his creation?
