To my surprise (and sadness), I just learned that manga legend Akira Toriyama passed away earlier this month.
I don't think I've ever mentioned it on this blog before, but I used to be an avid reader of the Dragon Ball manga when I was younger. Every month, I used to go down to the local bookstore, or drugstore and see if the latest volume had come in and if it had? Well, needless to say, my day was made.
I need not tell you of Dragon Ball's legacy. Its one of the most popular and influential comics to come out of Japan. What I will mention though, is its impact on the publishing of manga here in Sweden.
Sure, manga and anime had been available in one form or another. before Dragon Ball. But, it was when Carlsen Comics decided to bring the adventures of Son Goku and his friends to the Swedish public, that the floodgates truly opened. I don't think its an exaggeration to say that Dragon Ball helped make manga and anime mainstream over here, in a way that it hadn't been before.
Eventually, my interested in Dragon Ball began to fade (as a sidenote, I personally consider that Dragon Ball was at its best during its early years, when Goku was a kid/teenager and the comic was a comedic martial-arts/fantasy epic, influenced by Journey to the West), and today, there are plenty of other manga that I prefer over it. That said, I will always look back on it with fondness.
Rest in Peace, Akira Toriyama and thank you.
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