On this special episode of The One Piece Podcast, we celebrate the life and legacy of the author, artist, character designer and mangaka Akira Toriyama. We speak about his immense legacy — from the one-shots featured in Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater, to Dr. Slump, to Dragon Ball, to Dragon Quest to Sandland and beyond. We discuss his relationship to each of our lives, his relationship with Eiichiro Oda, and the legacy he leaves behind.

0:00:00 Akira Toriyama

1:16:08 Voice Messages & Outro

We want to extend our deepest condolences to Toriyama-sensei’s family and friends. May he rest in peace.

It’s just too soon. The hole that he’s left is just too big.A wave of sadness washes over me at the thought that I’ll never see him again. I idolized him from childhood, and I still remember the day he first called me by my name. I fondly recall positively jumping for joy with Kishimoto-san on the way home the day he first used the word “friends” to describe us. I also remember the last conversation we ever had.He was one of those who was passed the baton in an era where it was thought you’d rot your brain if you read comics, and created an era where children and adults alike could enjoy reading them. So, this is what you can do with comics. So you can get into that world. That’s the dream he gave us. It was like watching a hero bravely charging ahead.I think the excitement and the emotion at the time of Dragon Ball‘s original serialization must have really taken root in not just cartoonists, but also creators active in all sorts of industries, when they were young boys. His presence was like a great, sheltering tree.For the cartoonists of our generation, who got to stand on the same stage, the closer we got to the Toriyama oeuvre, the more we became aware of just how large that presence was. To a frightening degree. But even so, it was simply a pleasure to get to meet the carefree man himself. After all, our love for Toriyama-sensei is in our very blood.With respect and gratitude for the world filled with creativity that Toriyama-sensei left us, I express my sincere condolences. Rest in peace.May Heaven be the kind of joyful world you envisioned, Sensei.Eiichiro Oda

Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi

Source: https://www.kanzenshuu.com/2024/03/08/akira-toriyama-passes-away/

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