Akira Toriyama’s death has had a devastating impact on the anime and manga industry. Almost every manga creator, voice actor, and production studio has voiced their love and appreciation for Toriyama. He truly inspired millions of people and his legacy will remain immortal by his works like Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball.
Toriyama’s demise was a shock as no one knew that the creator was suffering from some kind of condition or was sick. The creator never shared much about his personal life and thus, his death was not only depressing, but also a surprise to the Dragon Ball fans who were hoping to get new updates on the Dragon Ball series soon.
However, Toriyama did look concerned for his health a few months ago when it was announced that the manga creator would be receiving a lifetime achievement award. He not only mentioned how he is not confident about his health but also talked about why his health has been deteriorating in his final comments before his death.
Akira Toriyama was Announced to Have Won the Lifetime Achievement Award
On 14 December 2023, It was revealed that Toriyama had earned the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2024’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The prize was to be given to him live on stage at the Festival in March 2024. He was asked to comment on the achievement which was later shared by @SupaChronicles on X(Formerly Twitter)
Toriyama stated:
“To be honest, I have never had much interest in anime, and even when my work was made into animated format, I feel embarrassed to admit that I did not watch much of it, apologize to the staff. About 10 years ago, out of the blue, I was asked to revise the script for the Dragon Ball animated film, and I drew some simple designs for the characters and backgrounds. I thought, ‘I can leave the difficult parts for the staff’ (laughs). Thus, it is truly embarrassing that I am the recipient of the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Thank you very much.”
Akira Toriyama talked about how he did not had any interest in anime and he did not watch most of it. He also talked about how most of his work was done by the staff, therefore he is a little embarrassed to receive the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Akira Toriyama Looked Concerned For His Health
During his final comments before his death, Toriyama talked about how he would like to thank everyone who has supported him, and he that is not sure how much more he can do as he is not too confident about his health.
Toriyama stated:
“Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me so far! I am not sure how much more I can do, as I am not very confident about my health, probably due to my lifestyle when I was younger, but I will try my best to create more interesting pieces of work, so please continue to support me!”
According to the manga creator, his lifestyle when he was young was not too healthy which affected him later in life. He still mentioned that he will try his best to introduce more entertaining works in the future for the fans and therefore he requests their support.
