Dragon Ball: Whis Actor Pays Tribute to Akira Toriyama
The voice of Beerus' handler has paid tribute to the life and legacy of Dragon Ball's creator.
Akira Toriyama's influence on both the worlds of anime and pop culture cannot be matched, as anime fans have celebrated the life of the Dragon Ball creator once his passing was announced. While countless artists have shared their thoughts on Toriyama, including the creators of One Piece, Naruto, Spy x Family, and many more, voice actors who brought the Z-Fighters to life have been doing the same. In a new social media post, the voice responsible for Dragon Ball Super's Whis has shared their thoughts on the legendary mangaka.
Besides creating the story of Goku in Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super, Akira Toriyama also created the world of Sand Land. While not as popular as the Z-Fighters, the story of Beelzebub has seen a major resurgence thanks to the recent film, upcoming anime series, and role-playing video game arriving this year. Anime wasn't the only medium that Toriyama touched, as he was instrumental in creating both Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger. Later this year, one of Toriyama's last works, Dragon Ball Daima, will hit the small screen and will take the opportunity to transform Goku and his fellow combatants into children.
Dragon Ball: Masakazu Morita Speaks on Toriyama's Passing
While Masakazu Morita states that he will continue to honor Toriyama by playing Whis, the voice actor has some other big roles that anime fans will recognize. Morita voices Bleach's Ichigo Kurosaki, One Piece's Marco, and Pegasus Seiya from Knights of The Zodiac. Here's the message that Morita shared with fans, "I am overcome with sadness at hearing of Toriyama-sensei's passing. I'll never forgot my joy in reading his works for the first time as a kid, or my joy in getting this role as an adult. I'll continue to perform it with care. Rest in peace."
鳥山明先生の訃報に触れ、哀しみにたえません。
— 森田成一 (@edokko_dey) March 8, 2024
少年の日、先生の作品を初めて読んだ時の興奮。
大人になり、お役を頂戴した時の興奮。
この大きな二つの興奮を忘れずに、これからも大切に演じて参ります。
謹んでご冥福をお祈り致します。合掌
ウイス役・森田成一
In his final interview, Toriyama discussed the creation of Dragon Ball Daima and his involvement in the original anime series, "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."
How are you honoring the life of Akira Toriyama? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Akira Toriyama's legacy.