I have just recently discovered upon waking up this morning that the world lost one of the most beloved and influential Manga-ka's who inspired many more artists, music composers and story writers the world over.

Akira Toriyama has passed away March 1st at 68 years of age from a brain condition he had. As we all know Toriyama was creator of the much reknowned Dragon Ball and DragonBall Z manga but was also know for his work with Enix on the hugely popular RPG in Japan and America Dragon Quest which started out as Dragon Warrior on Nintendo Entertainment System. He would also go on to create the world and characters for the now classic RPG Chrono Trigger which many fans had hoped a sequel or remake would one day be made. Toriyama also worked alongside square on their first fighting game Tobal #1 for original Playstation and Bird Studio had begun work on a series called SandLand that was to air on Disney+ sometime this year or the next. Toriyama was also a huge influence on the creators of One Piece Ichiro Oda and Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto.

I spent my early 1990s learning about DragonBall Z and DragonBall from a Japanese friend named Tomo Kotani whose family ran the local chinese restaurant. I was introduced to Shonen Jump comics LONG before they ended up on american shores and got to flip through the artwork being I didn't know how to read japanese at all. Tomo and I used to sit and watch VHS recordings his father took while taking trips to Japan to visit family and friends and would ALWAYS record DragonBall Z and would bring home games for the Super Famicom. When my friend Tomo got bored with the games he simply gave them to me as a show of friendship. you are not allowed to say no to a gift from a family friend in Japan it is dishonorable.

Thanks to Tomo and his family I grew to know Goku and the Super Saiyajin *they pronounce the name differently in japan apparently and it was how I was taught until they shorten the word for english speakers to Saiyan. I played all the games up till Super Battle 22 which surprisingly got a release in America and Canada some years later but I was already playing it on my modded PS1 thanks to a module I fit on the back of my PS1 to play burnt and foreign games from other countries.

DragonBall inspired me to want to be an animator and I had hoped to one day meet Toriyama-san at some point in my career...but life had other plans for me and I never met him and ended being a music composer putting the down the pencil back in 2016. I am thankful though for the years of memories as a young boy and my teen years watching his creations and being able to experience his knack for storytelling and the ability to create worlds.

I will miss him as well anyone who loved his works.

I am planning to do a commemorative track of music in his honor. I don't know how long it will take cause this is going to be a work of respect honor and above all I am not going to rush something I am so passionate about.

That is all A moment of silence and put your pencils, pens, tablets, cellphones, game controllers, manga, tv remotes, turn off your music, take your headphones off and just give 2 minutes of silence in honor of the one of the GREATEST Manga creators since Osamu Tezuka.

Rest Well Toriyama-San We Will Miss You.

R.I.P.