Akira Toriyama

Okay, let me just say it: Akira Toriyama basically shaped what "fun" looked like for an entire planet of kids, and most of them never even knew his name. Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, every Dragon Quest slime, the casts of Chrono Trigger and Blue Dragon — that clean, round, instantly-readable line is somehow everywhere in my childhood. What kills me is the guy who pulled this off cheerfully described himself as a homebody who builds Gunpla and plays with model cars. No grand artistic mission, "having no theme is the theme," and yet he reached the other side of the world. That blend of total mastery and zero pretension is the dream. Losing him in 2024 hit harder than I expected. Genuinely, thank you, Toriyama-sensei.

Akira Toriyama (April 5, 1955 – March 1, 2024) was a Japanese manga artist and character designer born in Kiyosu, Aichi, Japan. He debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1978 and rose to global fame with Dr. Slump (1980) and Dragon Ball (1984), the latter selling over 260 million copies worldwide as of 2024. He also served as character and monster designer for the Dragon Quest series and as character designer for Chrono Trigger, leaving a lasting mark on both manga and video game culture.

Name (English)

Akira Toriyama

Name (Japanese)

鳥山明

Reading

とりやまあきら

Born

April 5, 1955 – March 1, 2024

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aries / Goat

Origin

Kiyosu, Aichi, Japan

Blood type

A

Height

Private

Agency

(deceased) Bird Studio

Agency history

Design company in Nagoya (after high school graduation – c. 1977)

Active years

1978–2024

Occupation

Manga Artist / Character Designer

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Aichi Prefectural Okoshi Technical High School, Design Department (now Aichi Prefectural Ichinomiya Okoshi Technical High School)

University

Did not attend university

Debut

1978, debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump with the one-shot Wonder Island

Awards & achievements

• 1981 27th Shogakukan Manga Award, Boys & Girls Category (Dr. Slump)
• 2000 4th Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival, Digital Art Interactive Division Grand Prize (Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past)
• 2006 Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Arts 100 Selection, Manga Division 3rd Place (Dragon Ball)
• 2013 Angoulême International Comics Festival 40th Anniversary Special Award
• 2019 Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier), France
• 2024 Tokyo Anime Award 2024, Distinguished Service Category

Timeline

1. 1978Debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump with the one-shot Wonder Island
2. 1980Dr. Slump began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump; adapted into anime the following year
3. 1982Founded Bird Studio; married manga artist Nachi Mikami
4. 1984Dragon Ball began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump
5. 1986Served as character and monster designer for Dragon Quest (Famicom)
6. 1995Served as character designer for Chrono Trigger (Super Famicom)
7. 1995Dragon Ball serialization ended in Weekly Shonen Jump
8. 2013Received the Angoulême International Comics Festival 40th Anniversary Special Award
9. 2019Awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) by France
10. 2024Died on March 1 from acute subdural hematoma at age 68

Spouse

Nachi Mikami (shojo manga artist; married 1982)

Children

3 (one son, two daughters; publicly acknowledged)

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Hobbies

• Model car collecting
• Plastic model assembly (Gunpla and others)
• Driving

Specialties

• Character design
• Mechanical design

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%B3%A5%E5%B1%B1%E6%98%8E

Tags

• Manga Artist
• From Aichi
• Dragon Ball
• Dr. Slump
• Dragon Quest
• Bird Studio
• Character Design
• Weekly Shonen Jump

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.