Akira Toriyama

Biography

Akira Toriyama (1955–2024) was a Japanese manga artist from Aichi Prefecture whose work reshaped global popular culture. He created Dr. Slump (1980) before launching Dragon Ball in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1984 — a series that became one of the highest-selling manga of all time and defined the template for action shōnen storytelling for decades. Dragon Ball Z, the sequel series, introduced the concept of escalating power transformations (most famously Super Saiyan) that became the language of the entire genre. Beyond manga, Toriyama was the character and monster designer for the Dragon Quest video game series, making him one of the most influential visual artists in Japanese entertainment history. His passing in March 2024 was mourned globally by generations of fans. Dragon Ball Super represented his continued creative involvement with the franchise into his final years.