The mangaka legend Akira Toriyama passed away from an acute subdural hematoma, a little over a month from his 69th birthday. Born and raised in Kiyosu Japan, Akira developed a joy for drawing at an early age as a form of entertainment. After drawing pictures of friends in elementary school is when he noticed his drawing abilities advance above other classmates.

Against his parents’ advice to continue his education, Akira entered the corporate world after graduating from high school. Working at an advertising agency in Nagoya, a town over from where he grew up. He worked designing posters for about 3 years before getting sick of the corporate environment and quit. Although adjusting to the job hastily, he was not a morning person and preferred to dress casually.

After quitting the advertising agency at the age of 23, Akira started entering manga industry contests, meeting his future editor Kazuhiko Torishima in the process. Kazuhiko encouraged Akira to keep drawing and sending him manga. This resulted in Akira’s first published work named “Wonder Island”. A reader survey ranked Wonder Island last, and his next, “Wonder Island 2” was considered a flop.

Originally intending to quit after getting paid, the poor reviews motivated Akira to stay and continue to draw. Throughout the next year he ended up creating around 500 pages worth of manga and learning a lot in the process. The next year he published “Tomato the Cutesy Gumshoe” with limited success. After gaining confidence, he created “Dr. Slump” next, which was a huge success, making Akira Toriyama a household name. About three years after releasing Dr. Slump is when Akira released Dragon Ball, which became an international success.

Akira Toriyama is survived by his wife, son and daughter.