Dragon Ball: Bleach Creator Shares Emotional Tribute to Akira Toriyama

Bleach creator Tite Kubo has shared an emotional letter with fans following the death of Akira Toriyama, the creator behind franchises such as Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump and more. It was revealed over the weekend that Toriyama unfortunately passed away at the age of 68 due to acute subdural hematoma. Toriyama is one of the most influential manga creators of all time, and thus his passing came as a major shock to fans all around the world. This also included those who knew the creator closely, such as the fellow artists from Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine over the years.  

Many creators and fellow artists have been sharing their tributes to Akira Toriyama in the time since his passing such as One Piece‘s Eiichiro Oda and Naruto‘s Masashi Kishimoto, and Bleach creator Tite Kubo has shared a new note with fans on the special Klub Outside website about Toriyama’s passing. Noting that while the creator has passed, he believes that “as long as the work exists, the author is not dead.” You can find Bleach creator Tite Kubo’s tribute to Akira Toriyama below: 

Bleach Creator Shares Tribute to Akira Toriyama

“It would be strange to write a diary without mentioning this, so I’ll just talk about something serious,” Kubo’s message began. “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.”

Kubo continued his message as such, “I’ve never really talked about this with 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.”

How are you feeling following Akira Toriyama’s passing? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on X (formerly known as Twitter)!