Dragon Ball: Akira Toriyama’s Final Interview Has Been Released

This month marks one of mourning for the anime fandom. Days ago, the world learned about the tragic passing of Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball. The sudden loss sent fans reeling as millions have shared tributes to the late artist. Now, all eyes are on Japan as Toriyama’s final interview has surfaced, and it is nothing short of emotional.

The interview comes courtesy of the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2024. The event announced its latest Lifetime Achievement Award would be given to Toriyama back in December 2023. This past weekend, Toriyama was meant to accept the award in person. In honor of his death, the award body posted an interview it did with Toriyama ahead of the event, and this final interview shows how devoted Toriyama was to all things anime in his last years.

You can read Toriyama’s full interview below courtesy of translators such as SupaChronicles below:

“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!”

What do you think about this final message from Toriyama? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!