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The world of anime and manga hasn’t recovered yet from the devastating loss of Akira Toriyama. With decades spanning his career, Toriyama’s impact on the Japanese entertainment industry cannot be understated. Beloved titles likeDragon Ball,Dragon Ball Z,Dragon Ball Super, andSand Landare etched into the hearts of fans worldwide.
From Toriyama’s last ever live interview, fans got to experience an emotional and reflective conversation that revealed some of his deepest inner thoughts and feelings. In his final words, he revealed a shocking, yet heartfelt confession that will surely leave fans tearful, while at the same time scratching their head.
Toriyama Never had Much Interest in Anime!
Back on June 14, 2025,Akira Toriyamawas selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2024. He received it on stage during the festival, which ran from March 8-11, 2024. The official translation of his final words, while receiving the award, left us with a very intriguing perspective on his initial creative journey.
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From anX post of that official translation, we get to know that Toriyama confessed that he has never been very interested in anime whatsoever. In an ironic twist, although his work was being adapted into lots of animated formats, he confessed to not watching much of it. This must come as a shock to fans, given how massivelyDragon Ballcontributed to the popularity of manga in general.
To be honest, I have never had much interest in anime, and even when my work was made into animated format, I feel embarrassed to admit that I did not watch much of it, apologies to the staff.
The audience found Toriyama apologizing to the staff involved in the adaptation of his work, and he found it really embarrassing to get any award for such little effort that he put in. Quite ironically, this might be one of the most extreme coincidences that we got to hear his core feelings regarding this matter, right before his unexpected passing away.
Toriyama Claims That He Doesn’t Deserve an Award!
During the 2023 Tokyo Anime Awards Festival, Toriyama confessed that there was this one time when he was asked to revise the script of aDragon Ballanimated film and that he only made some simple designs for the characters and backgrounds. He jokingly admitted that he let the experts on staff take care of the more complicated tasks.
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That’s why, Toriyama claimed that he felt quite unqualified to receive such an important award. Despite his tremendous contribution to anime and manga, Toriyama’s claim shows humility in him. His readiness to touch upon others’ efforts while lessening the importance of his own role brings out a noble characteristic in him.
Thus, it is truly embarrassing that I am the recipient of the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Thank you very much.
Despite such humble sentiments, true fans still recognize his great influence on the whole anime and manga world. He poured all his dedication and tireless efforts into takingDragon Ballto unprecedented heights and ensured to be settled in the hearts of fans forevermore. Toriyama’s legacy will certainly remain an inspiration for the future generations of mangakas.
TheDragon Ballseries is available to watch onCrunchyroll.
Diganta Mondal
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :742
Diganta Mondal is an avid Content Writer at Fandomwire, specializing in anime and pop culture-related stuff. With over 600 published articles, he boasts his knowledge on this beloved media and strives to connect with fellow anime enthusiasts all across the globe.Despite having a non-journalism educational background, his love for shows like Vinland Saga, Violet Evergarden, and other Naoki Urasawa works constantly inspires him to share informative news, theories, and recommendations on almost all anime genres, aiming to create a shared platform for nerdy discussions.
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