The worlds of animation and entertainment lost a true giant this past week. It was announced that Akira Toriyama – the beloved creator of the Dragon Ball franchise – had sadly passed away at the age of 68 due to a blood clot in the brain. In the aftermath, various tributes have poured out across the Internet, from fans as well as fellow animators and notable stars. One of the famous faces who’s now offered up his condolences is none other than Michael B. Jordan. The A-lister paid tribute to Toriyama in an incredibly sweet way that may or may not bring a tear to your eye.
Since being in the limelight, Michael B. Jordan has never hidden the fact that he’s a massive fan of anime. And, like so many others, he grew up watching the exploits of Goku, Gohan and co. by way of Dragon Ball. So it was incredibly fitting that the star took to his Instagram story to memorialize the man who birthed the world-famous franchise. Jordan first dropped in a solemn piece of fan art created by BossLogic. It shows Goku sitting alone in a dark space surrounded by dragon balls. Take a look for yourself:
Well, that’s certainly not getting me in my feelings… OK, I’m lying, it’s definitely hitting me. Another tribute shared by the actor hits just as hard. He dropped an image with some of the series’ iconic characters and above them read the message, “thank you for everything.” Take a look:
It’s beautiful to see Michael B. Jordan honor one of the most influential storytellers of all time in such a way. Such posts serve as testaments to the incredible reach that Akira Toriyama had. I can name more than a few people in my life alone who were in front of the TV whenever DB was on. And, now, many of those same viewers are working within the industry and putting their own stamp on the medium. Jordan has certainly done that in a major way.
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The leading man actually injected some of his love for anime, specifically Dragon Ball Z into his Creed work. In the franchise’s 2019 sequel, he purposely emulated the movements of characters like Goku and Gohan while embodying Adonis. He took those sensibilities to the next level as the director of the 2023 threequel. Many of the fights in that film have a similar flow to the kind of hand-to-hand combat present in anime. Some of that could be glimpsed in the Creed III trailer. On top of all this, the star will likely further build on his love for the medium through the Creed-verse’s potential anime spinoff.
Akira Toriyama – who was honored by Cartoon Network – leaves a massive void, but his legacy is likely to endure forever. As we speak, there are still plenty of individuals continuing the incredible work he did and expanding upon it. At present, fans are currently looking forward to the release of Dragon Ball Daima, which will directly follow the DBZ timeline. The show is set to debut this fall. It’ll be bittersweet ushering in a new chapter of this sprawling series without him. Though I’m sure it’ll serve as a beautiful tribute to his legacy. In addition to all that, what gives me comfort is that Michael B. Jordan and armies of fans will surely continue to hold the artist and his work in high regard.
We here at CinemaBlend continue to extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Akira Toriyama during this difficult time.
