Best Of 2024: Akira Toriyama, The Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest, And Chrono Trigger Artist That Inspired The World

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Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy!

It's impossible to overstate the impact of Akira Toriyama, the legendary manga artist and character designer who has been working in the manga industry since 1978. His death at 68 years old has thousands around the world mourning his loss.

Toriyama was, to me, comfort on sick days or after school. I'd watch episodes of Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z on Toonami. His art in the manga and on the show captured a sort of electric energy that felt entirely unique to him; big hair, sharp lines, expressive eyes, and bold colours — sometimes blended softly, other times (particularly in his later work) big blocks of green, gold, and orange.