It was announced over the weekend, that manga icon Akira Toriyama passed away recently on March 1st. Fans of his work (myself included) mourn the loss of one of the most iconic manga/anime artists of the past 40 years. His style is so distinctive that I think only Studio Ghibli can rival it in terms of being as easily identifiable.

I first encountered his work upon seeing Dragon Ball Z figurines featured for sale in the back of the videogame magazines I used to buy as a kid. But it wasn’t until 1995 that I picked up the game Chrono Trigger at my local Blockbuster Video that I gained an appreciation for his work.

I would come across his work in subsequent years, especially during the late 90’s/early 2000’s when Dragon Ball Z was all the rage. I would even improve my drawing skills practicing on my favorite Dragon Ball Z characters. I can’t tell you how many times I drew Goku in high school. Fast forward all the way to 2020 and I would once again be charmed by Toriyama’s work, this time in the videogame Dragon Quest XI. A game full of so much charm and character, it’s become one of my favorite games of all time. I even went down a rabbit hole learning about the history of Dragon Quest, a series I knew about as a kid, but never got into. Dragon Quest XI got me started down the path and I’ve found nirvana.

This game hits me right in the feels every time I play it. It’s my happy place.

It was nice to discover how Toriyama was recruited to work on Dragon Quest alongside creator Yuji Horii and composer Koichi Sugiyama. They would go on to create one of the most iconic(there’s that word again) game franchises in history, collaborating on each subsequent release in the years to come. So from Dragon Ball to Dragon Quest Toriyama had already created or worked on two historical franchises. He would go on to continue to cement his legacy working on videogames, manga, and various short stories. Tragically composer Sugiyama would pass away in 2021 and now with Toriyama’s recent passing, only Yuji Horii remains from the original Dragon Quest trio. He’s currently working on Dragon Quest XII which will probably be the final project Toriyama’s work is featured in. It breaks my heart just to type that.

An absolute legend of a character. I always hated how Toriyama treated him, but glad he made him so dang cool.

As a fan, I think my personal favorite character design (and character) is Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z and a close second would be Veronica from Dragon Quest XI. She’s a major inspiration for the fantasy novel I’m working on.

It’s sad to write about the death of your heroes. Fixtures of your childhood that we wish could always be around. The youth of tomorrow may never understand the impact of people who came well before their time, but if you were someone into manga, anime, or Japanese videogames, undoubtedly you knew and respected the work of Akira Toriyama. Thank you for all the wonderful memories, amazing characters, captivating stories, and fresh ideas. May you continue to create and inspire from the heavens.

Rest in peace.