Dragon Ball’s beloved creator, Akira Toriyama, died on March 1st, 2024, the same year as the manga’s 40th anniversary. Toriyama was one of the most renowned manga artists in history for creating one of the most influential and best-selling manga of all time. Dragon Ball revolutionized the Shonen genre, inspiring countless iconic series like Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach. The anime adaptation, which was released in 1986, became a global phenomenon. Toriyama debuted as a manga artist with Wonder Island in 1978, but his sci-fi comedy in 1980, Dr. Slump, was his first breakthrough as it became a massive hit in Japan. Four years later, Toriyama’s Dragon Ball debuted, which made him a global icon.
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Aside from manga, Toriyama played a significant role in the video game industry, designing characters for the Dragon Quest franchise, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. His death at the age of 68 was a major shock to the world, with countless manga artists and celebrities paying their respects to the author on social media. The news was officially announced on March 8th, 2024, by Shueisha. However, in a recent interview, Toriyama’s longtime editors expressed their dissatisfaction with the publisher for several reasons, chiefly their handling of his passing.
Dragon Ball’s Editors Criticized Shueisha’s Handling of Toriyama’s Passing as Setting a Bad Precedent
In the second part of the interview by @KosoKoso_hoso, a podcast channel, the first three Dragon Ball editors, Kazuhiko Torishima, Yu Kondo, and Fuyuto Takeda, talked about the anime and criticized Shueisha. The original interview is available on the official website of Radiko, a service only available in Japan. A Dragon Ball fan account on X, @Venixys, shared the insights from the interview in English. The editors, despite knowing Toriyama for years, weren’t given the news of his death nearly early enough. While Torishima heard about it only a day before the announcement, the other two only found out on March 8th.
The fan account also shared in the same thread, “Toriyama’s long-time editors expressed harsh criticism towards Shueisha, believing the communication surrounding Toriyama’s passing was too sparse and impersonal. Additionally, after the author’s death, no official memorial event was held.” When comparing Shueisha’s statement even against his other colleagues in the same obituary post on Manga Plus, the issue is increasingly clear.
The account further adds, “The decision might align with his reserved nature, but in their view, there was a lack of proper message from the JUMP editorial team, as well as a public acknowledgement of Toriyama’s enormous contribution, from Dr. Slump to Dragon Ball.”
The editors also think that a simple gesture, such as displaying an iconic image of Goku waving goodbye, would have been enough. They also worry that since Toriyama didn’t receive a meaningful tribute, the future creators will also receive the same treatment. Creating a manga is an extremely difficult job, and the editors acknowledged the hard work mangaka put into it. The work is intense and exhausting, with the artists being under constant pressure regarding deadlines while reminiscing about their days working with Toriyama.
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Toriyama’s Funeral Service Was Only Held With Family Members and Relatives
In the obituary, Shueisha honored Toriyama’s great achievements over the decades. Additionally, a note from Bird Studio Capsule Corporation stated that a funeral service was held with his family members and very few relatives. The service was held in accordance with Toriyama’s wishes. The company also informed that they wouldn’t accept flowers, condolences gifts, visiting, or offerings, while also asking the public not to conduct interviews with his family.
Additionally, they didn’t have any future plans for a commemorative gathering at the time. Bird Studio is a manga and design production studio created by Akira Toriyama in 1983. On the other hand, Capsule Corporation Tokyo was formed in 2023 by Akio Iyoku, a former editor. The company was established to manage the general production of Toriyama’s works, including Dragon Ball.
Apart from them, the obituary also consisted of messages from Dragon Quest Game Designer Yuji Horii, Zetman‘s creator Masakazu Katsura, One Piece’s creator Eiichiro Oda, and Naruto’s creator Masashi Kishimoto. While Shueisha honored Toriyama’s wishes of not holding a memorial service, the publisher didn’t do anything special to pay their tributes. It’s not only the editors who were upset with the behavior, but even fans were outraged after the interview came out. Shueisha is the leading manga publishing company, but the editors’ comments highlight that there have been issues regarding the management.
H/T: Manga Plus, @Venixys on X
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