ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Pays Tribute to Dragon Ball's Akira Toriyama
America's top sports network has honored the life of Akira Toriyama in a hilarious new segment from Stephen A. Smith.
Akira Toriyama's passing has sent shockwaves not just in the anime world, but the world at large. Not only have anime fans and created shared their favorite memories from the Dragon Ball series and shock at the passing the legendary mangaka, world leaders and countries have released official statements. In a new segment, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith took the opportunity to honor Toriyama and even share his thoughts on who would win in a fight featuring Son Goku and Vegeta.
While Stephen A. Smith might not be a Dragon Ball super fan, as viewers can see in his mispronunciation of "Vegeta", he still takes the time to debate who is the strongest Saiyan in the shonen universe. In the manga, Goku and Vegeta have achieved transformations that have yet to make their way to the anime adaptation proper. During the Granolah The Survivor Arc, Vegeta was able to discover his own version of Ultra Instinct dubbed "Ultra Ego". While the form wasn't enough to take down the intergalactic bounty hunter, it's put the Saiyan Prince on even footing with Goku.
An ESPN Tribute to Akira Toriyama
Stephen A. Smith took the opportunity to share the new segment on his Official Social Media Account, sharing his respect for Akira Toriyama. While he might not be familiar with the Dragon Ball franchise, we're sure anime fans appreciate the television personality taking the opportunity to honor the manga artist.
RIP Akira Toriyama https://t.co/Q10g2C9joj pic.twitter.com/5AqSWj5kiq
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 8, 2024
The official statement that was released from the Dragon Ball website announcing Akira Toriyama's passing read as such, "We are deeply saddened to inform you that manga creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1st due to acute subdural hematoma. He was in age of 68. It's our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm. Also, he would have many more things to achieve. However, he had left many manga titles and works of art to this world. Thanks to the support of so many people around the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years. We hope that Akira Toriyama's unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come."
What has been your favorite tribute to Akira Toriyama so far? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things anime, comics, and honor the man, the myth, the legend.