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Akira Toriyama, the famed creator of the beloved manga/anime Dragon Ball, passed away at the age of 68 years old earlier in March.
Tributes to the late artist have poured in from all corners of the globe. There was even a massive gathering of thousands of fans in Buenos Aires, Argentina to celebrate Toriyama’s life.
However, one of the most touching tributes, especially for 90’s kids, came from Toonami, the famed late-night programming block on Cartoon Network that helped popularize anime in the United States.
Over the weekend, Toonami paid tribute to Toriyama via its long-running robot host T.O.M. (Toonami Operations Module), who credited Dragon Ball Z with putting the program “on the map” back in the late 90s.
“Man, losing one of the greatest manga creators of all time really sucks,” T.O.M. begins.
“But Akira Toriyama’s monumental influence on the medium will live on forever,” adds T.O.M’s sidekick.
“Back in ’98, Dragon Ball Z put Toonami on the map. And the Dragon Ball franchise has been our rock ever since. So, tonight, with heavy hearts, we’re paying tribute to Toriyama-son with the first eight episodes of DBZ Kai from 2 to 6 a.m.”
The franchise first began in 1984 with the release of the original manga Dragon Ball, which was featured in Weekly Shōnen Jump.
From 1986 to 1996, Toriyama’s manga was split and adapted into two different anime series: Dragon Ball, which ran from 1986 to 1989, and Dragon Ball Z, which aired from 1989 to 1996. Those series were then followed by Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball Super, and the current series, Super Dragon Ball Heroes.
As mentioned in Toonami’s tribute, Dragon Ball Z was a particular hit in the United States, where it helped to popularize the medium of anime. In 2003, for example, “Dragonball” was the third-most search term of the year.