For those of you tapped into the anime and manga sphere you'll know that about a month ago on March 1st, prolific manga artist and all around creator Akira Toriyama died.

Personally, I wasn't ever into Dragon Ball or Z the way others had been. I didn't really discover it fully until I was in High School and even then it was through a friend pretty much insisting all the time that Goku could beat anybody. I didn't really ever mesh with Dragon Ball the way I had for other series. Multitude of issues and problems across multiple entries and just the ever persistent refusal to just end. But through all that, I never hated Dragon Ball. I always knew and respected that it was iconic. Irrevocably it changed the face of shonen, changed the face of manga. Whether with iconic characters like Goku, iconic villains like Frieza, the legendary Super Saiyan transformation or the culmination of a young boy's arc as Gohan faced down Cell, I could see how Dragon Ball inspired others and over time some of it began to inspire me. Heck, most of the manga I enjoy today wouldn't even exist had it not been for this legendary series. I also had Dragon Ball Abridged which did quite a lot to endear many parts of the series to me. And that's just Dragon Ball!

Akira Toriyama's reach was vast. From working in games like Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger and Sandworld, to other influential manga like Dr Slump, Nekomajin and Jaco the Patrolman, man was always creating, always drawing, always going "further beyond". And if for nothing else that should be commended, respected.

The world has lost one of its greats, someone whose effect on the landscape of media will be felt for generations and generations. Whether or not I liked Dragon Ball, I respected it and the man who made it and so here I am to pay that respect forward, to pick up the torch he laid down for the rest of us creators.

Rest in peace Toriyama-senpai.
ありがとう ございます
ご冥福をお祈りします
April 5th, 1955 - March 1st, 2024

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