Toriyama Forever Brushwork.
I will forever be grateful for what Dragonball has done for me and my art career. Master Toriyama, thank you for your stories. I will see you one day on Snake Way ✨
Akira Toriyama's Final Comments from Dec 2023!
Akira Toriyama was announced to have won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2024 on December 14, 2023.
He was supposed to receive the award on stage during the Festival from March 8-11, 2024.
However, we do have his comments on winning the award revealed in the pamphlet of the award show. Following is the translation:
"To be honest, I have never had much interest in anime, and even when my work was made into animated format, I feel embarrassed to admit that I did not watch much of it, apologies to the staff.
About 10 years ago, out of the blue, I was asked to revise the script for the Dragon Ball animated film, and I drew some simple designs for the characters and backgrounds. I thought, 'I can leave the difficult parts for the staff' (laughs).
Thus, it is truly embarrassing that I am the recipient of the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. Thank you very much.
One of my most unforgettable memories in animation works is when I met the late animator, Toyo Ashida for an anime project called 'Kosuke-sama Rikimaru-sama,' which was produced for the Shonen Jump Original. This project did not have a manga, so a meeting was held. He was an amiable person and we quickly bonded, and every time I saw his drawing style, I was moved by his careful and swift touch.
I thought, 'Alright, I guess this kind of touch I need to speed up the drawing process and make Dragon Ball look much smoother.' The drawing time was reduced to about two-thirds of what it used to be. We influenced each other in many ways, and I think it was a truly fulfilling time. I pray for the repose of Ashida-san's soul.
Dragon Ball DAIMA, which will be rolled out in 2024, was originally planned to be an original anime series without me, but as I gave advice here and there, I ended up getting deeply involved with the project without realizing it. I was not only involved in the overall storyline, but also in the worldview, character design, mechas, and other aspects. I hope you will enjoy watching the series, which I believe is not only intense and action-packed, but also full of plenty of substance.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me so far! I am not sure how much more I can do, as I am not very confident about my health, probably due to my lifestyle when I was younger, but I will try my best to create more interesting pieces of work, so please continue to support me!"
#DragonBallDaima
Creator of 'BLEACH', Tite Kubo released a response on Akira Toriyama's passing:
"Personally, I don't feel any loneliness or pain. I'm not saying there aren't any at all, but there aren't as many as I thought.
It's the death of someone I've read since I was a child, someone who works in the same magazine as me, and someone I'm deeply influenced by, so it feels different than when I deal with death in general, but that's why I feel like it doesn't exist.
I've never really talked about this to anyone, but I've always believed that creating things means expanding your sensibilities and expanding your life. This is 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 work's existence that remains in my heart.
That's all. From the next post, I will continue with my usual enthusiasm."
GINTAMA Creator, Hideaki Sorachi shares a heartfelt message on the passing of Akira Toriyama.
"Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, the worlds in which I threw away my homework and devoted every spare moment before going to bed were all born from the pen of Toriyama-sensei. I was born from the eraser scraps that piled up after I admired his pen style and tried to imitate him, but I couldn't succeed at all.
Thank you, Toriyama-sensei, for teaching me so much about the world of manga.
Thanks to you, I've become a man of a different kind who makes his living from Dragon Ball, even more so than Toriyama-sensei and Toyotarou-sensei.
I don't think this gaping hole in my heart will ever heal, even if I eat some Senzu beans. Still, I will always try to carry with me the Genki-dama (the energy ball) that you have scattered all over the world and continue to follow your heroic footsteps like the Monkey King while being covered with eraser dust.
Thank you so much, Toriyama-sensei. I will always love you."