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Dragon Ball Honors Akira Toriyama with Touching Tribute Anime; Watch
Despite it being months since Akira Toriyama's passing, the touching tributes and emotional farewells continue to pour in, with the latest being an anime short from New Challenger Productions.
Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of death.
Akira Toriyama, a renowned manga artist and character designer, passed away earlier this year. Known for creating Dragon Ball, his impact on the anime genre has been felt by many. Since his passing, many in the industry have expressed heartfelt goodbyes and emotional tributes, expressing their inspiration and influence.
The latest, posted by YouTube anime artist Agent Mystery Meat, comes from New Challenger Productions (formerly Studio Stray Dog). The tribute, titled AKIRA NO.1: A Farewell to the God Father of Manga, is a heartwarming anime short that serves as an emotional tribute to Akira Toriyama.
Dragon Ball honors Akira Toriyama in a special tribute anime
Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, passed away at the age of 68. Despite his passing, his legacy lives on through numerous tributes. New Challenger Productions has released an anime short, AKIRA NO.1: A Farewell to the God Father of Manga, which pays tribute to Toriyama. The short features Goku sparring with Toriyama, showcasing his respect for him. Goku, the world's greatest hero, may not be the same without Toriyama, and the short serves as a poignant tribute to the artist.
Created by New Challenger Productions, this short sums up how Dragon Ball fans have felt in the wake of Toriyama's death. The team posted a special message alongside its memorial, and you can read the letter below:
"As a child, Dragon Ball Z was all I had. I have many things I'd like to say about him, things that aren't in this speech, delivered by the amazing Jordan Woollen (the voice of Vegeta in LEGEND – A Dragon Ball Tale). But you know, maybe I don't need to share them. I think that art is a very honest way to deliver to you what's inside someone's soul. So please accept this small tribute as my version of a eulogy, for the late Master Akira Toriyama. Rest in peace, power, and prosperity, my friend."
Toriyama passed away on March 1, 2024, from an acute subdural hematoma. Bird Studio announced his tragic death to the public a week later, resulting in an outpouring of grief from anime industry veterans and fans alike. Everyone who has ever enjoyed anime has, at some point, likely come across something created by or inspired by Toriyama.
A brief about Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama, a renowned Japanese manga artist, was known for his one-shot manga and short pieces, including Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball. His work was often collected in his three-volume anthology series, Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater. He collaborated with other manga artists to produce crossover shorts. Toriyama came to be regarded as one of the most important authors in the history of manga with his works highly influential and popular, particularly Dragon Ball, which many manga artists cite as a source of inspiration.
Toriyama also designed character designs for video games like Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, Blue Dragon, and some Dragon Ball games. He also designed characters and mascots for Shueisha's manga magazines. In addition to manga, Toriyama created illustrations, album and book covers, model kits, mascots, and logos. For instance, he sketched multiple versions of the Dragon Ball Z logo, which Toei Animation refined into a definitive design.
He earned the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen/shōjo manga with Dr. Slump, and it went on to sell over 35 million copies in Japan. It was adapted into a successful anime series, with a second anime created in 1997, 13 years after the manga ended.
His series Dragon Ball, would become one of the most popular and successful manga in the world. Having sold 260 million copies worldwide. It is one of the best-selling manga series of all time and is considered a key work in increasing manga circulation to its peak in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.
Overseas, Dragon Ball's anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and are credited with boosting anime's popularity in the Western world. In 2019, Toriyama was decorated a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts.
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