Akira Toriyama

Not to be confused with Akira Takayama.
This article is about the manga artist. For the ophthalmologist and photographer, see Akira Toriyama (ophthalmologist).

Akira Toriyama
鳥山明
Toriyama in 1982
Born(1955-04-05)April 5, 1955
Kiyosu, Aichi, Japan
DiedMarch 1, 2024(2024-03-01) (aged 68)
Japan
Occupations
Years active1978–2024
EmployerShueisha
Notable work
Spouse
Yoshimi Katō
​
(m. 1982)​
Children2
Awards
Signature

Akira Toriyama (Japanese: 鳥山明, Hepburn: Toriyama Akira, April 5, 1955 – March 1, 2024) was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for creating the popular manga series Dr. Slump, before going on to create Dragon Ball (his most famous work) and acting as a character designer for several popular video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. 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.

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 next series, Dragon Ball, would become one of the most popular and successful manga in the world. Having sold 260 million copies worldwide,[1][a][c] 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.

In October 2024, Toriyama was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.[7]

  1. ^ "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Global Theatrical Release Dates". Toei Animation. June 15, 2022. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Johnson, G. Allen (January 16, 2019). "'Dragon Ball Super: Broly,' 20th film of anime empire, opens in Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  3. ^ Booker, M. Keith (2014). Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. p. xxxix. ISBN 9780313397516. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  4. ^ 『ドラゴンボール超』劇場版最新作、2022年に公開決定. Toei Animation (in Japanese). May 9, 2021. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  5. ^ ドラゴンボール超Dragon スーパーヒーロー："930倍"超巨大2.4メートルの超ムビチケ好調 3日間で受注200件 想定以上の売れ行き. Mantan Web (in Japanese). March 7, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  6. ^ "Top Manga Properties in 2008 - Rankings and Circulation Data". Comipress. December 31, 2008. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  7. ^ Gustines, George Gene (October 11, 2024). "Harvey Awards Inducts 5 Comic Creators to Hall of Fame". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2024.


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