Akira Toriyama

The manga artist who created Dragon Ball.

Akira Toriyama was the Japanese manga artist who wrote and drew Dragon Ball from 1984 to 1995. Born in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, he first became famous with Dr. Slump, which won the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award and sold over 35 million copies in Japan. Dragon Ball went on to sell 260 million copies worldwide, and its anime is credited with boosting anime's popularity abroad.

Quick Facts

Born

5 April 1955

Birthplace

Kiyosu, Aichi, Japan

Died

1 March 2024

Place of death

Japan

Occupation

Manga artist
character designer
model designer

Years active

1978–2024

Notable works

Dragon Ball
Dr. Slump
Chrono Trigger (character designer)
Dragon Quest (character designer)

Spouse

Yoshimi Katō (1982)

Beyond manga

He designed characters for video games including the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger and Blue Dragon.

Later Dragon Ball

He kept shaping the franchise for decades, writing the plot of Dragon Ball Super for Toyotarou to draw and conceiving the story of Dragon Ball Daima, the last series made from his ideas.

Honours and death

France made him a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2019. He died of an acute subdural hematoma on March 1, 2024, aged 68, and was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame that October.