People taking photos in front of the Tribute to Akira Toriyama (April 5, 1955 - March 1, 2024), a mural created by the art collective 'Cans In The City'. The mural, 110 meters long and six meters high, is one of the largest in Peru, and a tribute to Toriyama, the late artist who created the Dragon Ball franchise. Photo: Getty Images

Japanese comics were forever altered by Akira Toriyama and his creation Dragon Ball. The 1984 anime classic of a boy named Son Goku and his quest for seven magical balls that can make wishes come true, spawned several spin-offs and sold 260 million copies worldwide. Born in 1955, Toriyama made his manga debut in 1978 with the adventure comic Wonder Island. The Dr Slump series, which started in 1980, was his first major hit paving the way for Dragon Ball. A new TV adaptation of Toriyama’s 2000 Sand Land story is due to be released soon. Toriyama, who also designed characters for the video game series Dragon Quest, died on March 1 aged 68. — Agencies