Indian Dragon Ball Fans, Voice Actors Pay Heartfelt Tribute to Akira Toriyama on His Birthday
Today, April 5, is the birthday of the legendary manga artist and character designer, Akira Toriyama. Renowned for his iconic creations like Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, as well as his contributions to video games such as Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger, Toriyama’s influence transcended borders, impacting fans worldwide. His passing on March 1, at the age of 68, left a huge void in the hearts of fans and the entertainment industry alike, which saw widespread mourning for his irreplaceable legacy, even from governments.
In India, Dragon Ball has left its own mark, shaping the childhoods of an entire generation and introducing them to the vast universe of Toriyama’s creations. Thus, Toriyama’s passing was felt deeply within the Indian fan community as well.
On his birthday, a few fans, content creators, and voice actors united to offer a heartfelt message to Akira Toriyama, thanking him for his lasting legacy and the influence he has had on their lives.
“Thank you Akira-sensei,” said Rajesh Kava, the Hindi voice actor behind Broly and Beerus. “For making us feel emotions through Dragon Ball.”
“Thank you sensei for giving us a saga of courage, friendship, and an endless adventure,” acknowledged prominent Hindi voice actor Sanket Mhatre, known for voicing Ben Tennyson from Ben 10 and Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto in Hindi. “You have inspired an entire generation to believe in the power of their dreams.”
You can watch the entire video below, which contains messages of gratitude from various content creators who have been impacted by Toriyama’s works:
Indian Dragon Ball fans also notably set an unofficial world record for the biggest Kamehameha, with over 1,800 fans at CosCon 2023 in Nagpur, which you can watch below:
<br />
Got any news tips, or want to discuss a possible story? Email us at ign_india@ign.com
Rayan Sayyed is a staff writer for IGN India with a primary focus on Asian entertainment spanning from anime, manga, games to films and dramas from the East. You can reach out to him at rayan_sayyed@ign.com, or find him on Twitter @rayanaver and Instagram @rayansayyed.
