Culture news “He is not dead” For the creator of Bleach, Akira Toriyama is immortal. Dragon Ball will forever be remembered
The news had the effect of a bomb in all the communities gathered around Dragon Ball, manga and japanimation. Mangaka Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1, 2024 at the age of 68. Unsurprisingly, messages have multiplied on social networks and other means of communication to pay tribute to one of the most influential Japanese authors in pop culture. For the author of Bleach, Akira Toriyama is not dead… because his work will survive him.
An extraordinary mangaka
Akira Toriyama is not an artist like any other. The sensei behind Dragon Ball, Doctor Slump, Sand Land, but also the designs for Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger left his indelible mark on Japanese comics before breaking into the West. He has undoubtedly influenced dozens if not hundreds of authors and universes. and accompanied millions of readers, players and spectators with its colorful fantasy universe available in mangas, video games, anime and films.
Tite Kubo pays tribute to Akira Toriyama
Heads of state (President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron) and the states themselves (El Salvador) expressed their condolences to the family and loved ones of Akira Toriyama. Mangakas are not left out and speak out, each in their own way and with their own sensitivity. “Bleach” creator Tite Kubo shared a note about it on the website Club Outside. He speaks about the death of a mangaka who influenced the authors of the “Big Four” including Titu Kubo himself and who will in a certain way remain alive through a timeless work… Dragon Ball.
Personally, I feel neither loneliness nor pain. I’m not saying there aren’t any at all, but there aren’t as many as I thought. It’s about the death of someone I’ve read since I was a child, who worked in the same magazine as me and who had a profound influence on me. So it’s a different feeling than I get from death in general, but that’s why I feel like it doesn’t exist.
I’ve never really talked about it with anyone, but I’ve always thought that creating things is about broadening one’s sensitivity and one’s life. Because I believe that as long as the work exists, the author is not dead. And I believe that being able to properly get used to this feeling is proof of the magnitude of the existence of the work that remains in my heart. -Tite Kubo (Bleach)
Dragon Ball on Crunchyroll
ADN struck a major blow by obtaining the broadcast rights in the territory for the first “Dragon Ball” animated series (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Kai, Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super). However, its main competitor does not intend to be left behind. The simulcast platform specializing in anime Crunchyroll confirmed at the beginning of February 2024 the arrival in March of the DB animated series mentioned above. The 153 episodes of Dragon Ball are already available in France while the rest will be put online at a date still unknown. As for Dragon Ball Daima, the future original series produced by Toei Animation, it will be broadcast from November 2024 on Crunchyroll.