Akira Toriyama, creator of ‘Dragon Ball,’ dies at 68

《龙珠》作者鸟山明逝世，享年68岁

His popular manga inspired numerous television, film and video game adaptations, reaching fans far beyond Japan’s borders.

他的漫画广受欢迎，是无数电视、电影和电子游戏改编的灵感来源，其粉丝遍布日本国内外。

Akira Toriyama, one of Japan’s leading comics authors, whose manga and anime franchise “Dragon Ball” achieved worldwide success with its mix of comedic characters and rousing martial arts battles, died on March 1. He was 68. ***

鸟山明是日本著名的漫画家之一，他的漫画和动漫系列《龙珠》凭借其充满喜剧元素的角色和精彩的武术对战获得了世界性的成功。鸟山明于3月1日逝世，享年68岁。

His death was confirmed on Friday in a statement by his manga and design production company, Bird Studio, and Capsule Corporation Tokyo.

他的漫画和设计制作公司鸟山明工作室（Bird Studio）和东京胶囊公司（Capsule Corporation Tokyo）于周五发表声明，确认了他的死讯。

The statement said the cause was acute subdural hematoma, a condition in which blood collects between the skull and brain. It did not say where Mr. Toriyama died.

声明称，死因是急性硬膜下血肿，这是一种血液聚集在头骨和大脑之间的病症。但是声明并未说明鸟山明先生的死亡地点。

Mr. Toriyama’s body of work, which also includes “Dr. Slump” and “Sand Land,” is recognizable far beyond Japan’s borders, having influenced generations of manga artists and cartoonists.

鸟山明先生的作品包括《阿拉蕾》和《沙之国》，其知名度享誉全球，影响了一代又一代的漫画家。

The studio said he had several projects in the works at his death.

工作室称，他去世时还有几个项目正在进行中。

His best-known work, “Dragon Ball,” follows a young boy named Son Goku who embarks on a journey to collect the seven magical orbs that summon a wish-granting dragon. ***

他最著名的作品《龙珠》讲述了一个名叫孙悟空的小男孩收集七颗魔法球的旅程，集齐这七颗魔法球可以召唤出许愿神龙。

Since its creation in the 1980s, it has spanned 42 volumes, sold millions of copies worldwide and become one of the most famous manga, inspiring television, film and video game adaptations.

自20世80年代创作以来，《龙珠》已经发行了42卷，全球销量达到了数百万册，成为最著名的漫画之一，并推动了电视、电影和电子游戏的改编。

Throughout his career, Mr. Toriyama said in a 2013 interview with the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, he did not care if his work did anything besides entertaining its readers.

鸟山明先生在2013年接受日本《朝日新闻》采访时说，在他的整个职业生涯中，除了娱乐读者之外，他并不关心自己的作品是否能起其他作用。

He was, he suggested, unlike “other manga artists concerned about conveying didactic messages.”

他认为，自己与“其他注重传达说教内容的漫画家”不同。（译者注：didactic messages 是指那些包含教育或道德训诫的信息。在这里指一些漫画家的作品倾向于描绘深度的社会或道德主题。）

“The role of my manga,” he said, “is to be a work of entertainment through and through.”

他说：“我的漫画的作用，就是彻头彻尾地作为一种娱乐的作品。”

Akira Toriyama was born on April 5, 1955, in Kiyosu, Japan, according to local news media.

据当地新闻媒体报道，鸟山明1955年4月5日出生于日本清洲。

He studied design at a technology and engineering high school in Aichi Prefecture.

他曾在爱知县的一所技术和工程高中学习设计。

After graduating, he worked as a designer for an advertising company in Nagoya.

毕业后，他在名古屋一家广告公司担任设计师。

He left his job after a few years and started drawing manga at 23.

他在工作了几年后离职，23岁时开始画漫画。

His first manga, an action and adventure comic called “Wonder Island,” was published in 1978.

他的第一部漫画作品是动作冒险漫画《奇妙岛》，于1978年出版。

He gained popularity with the serialization of “Dr. Slump” from 1980 to 1984, a science-fiction manga about an android girl known for her childlike personality and superhuman strength.

他因1980年至1984年连载的科幻漫画《阿拉蕾》而走红，该漫画讲述了一个以其孩童般的个性和超人的力量而闻名的机器人女孩的故事。

It was adapted for television as an anime series.

该漫画被改编成电视动画系列播出。

Mr. Toriyama’s absurd concepts and sense of caricature “sparked a real joyful hysteria” in Japan, Matthieu Pinon and Laurent Lefebvre wrote in “A History of Modern Manga” (2023).

马修·皮农（Matthieu Pinon）和洛朗·勒费弗（Laurent Lefebvre）在《现代漫画史》（2023年）一书中写道，鸟山明先生的荒诞概念和讽刺感在日本“引发了一场真正的欢乐狂潮”。（译者注：在艺术和文学中，caricature 通常指的是对人物特征、行为或事件进行夸张甚至歪曲的描绘，以达到讽刺或者嘲笑的效果。）

In 1982, Mr. Toriyama married a former manga artist who published under the pen name Nachi Mikami, Mainichi Shimbun reported.

据《每日新闻》报道称，1982年，鸟山明先生与一位以三上奈智（Nachi Mikami）为笔名发表作品的前漫画家结婚。

Complete information on survivors was not immediately available, but local news media reports say he is survived by his wife and children.

关于他的亲属的完整信息并未立即公开，但据当地新闻媒体报道，他的妻子和孩子都还健在。

When “Dragon Ball” was first published in 1984, it was an immediate hit, becoming one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

《龙珠》于1984年首次出版后，立即成为了热门作品，并且成为有史以来最畅销的漫画系列之一。

It sold more than 260 million copies worldwide, according to Toei Animation, the studio that produced the anime adaptation.

据制作这部动漫改编作品的东映动画公司称，《龙珠》的全球销量超过2.6亿册。

“Dragon Ball” was serialized in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump until 1995.

《龙珠》在日本杂志《周刊少年 Jump》上连载至1995年。

In the year after the series ended, the magazine lost about one million of its six million readers, according to “A History of Modern Manga.”

据《现代漫画史》记载，在该系列结束后的一年里，该杂志600万读者中大约流失了100万。

The story lived on through anime like “Dragon Ball Z” and through video games.

然而，《龙珠》的故事通过《龙珠 Z》等动画片和视频游戏得以延续。

Mr. Toriyama also designed the characters for the Dragon Quest video game series.

鸟山明先生还为《勇者斗恶龙》系列电子游戏设计了角色。

A prolific manga artist, Mr. Toriyama did not necessarily have an appetite for the genre as a reader.

鸟山明先生是一位多产的漫画家，但作为读者，他并不一定喜欢这种类型的漫画。

“I have always had a hard time reading manga, including my own work,” he said in a 2018 interview with Kiyosu City Public Library.

他在2018年接受清洲市公共图书馆采访时说：“我一直觉得阅读漫画是件困难的事，包括我自己的作品。”

He led a private life and gave few interviews.

他比较重视自己的私人生活，很少接受采访。

In a 2013 interview with the Japanese singer and actress Shoko Nakagawa, he said that he did not even share all his work with his family.

2013年，在接受日本歌手、演员中川翔子（Shoko Nakagawa）的采访时，他说自己甚至没有与家人分享过自己的所有作品。

“To tell you the truth, no one in my family has ever seen ‘Dragon Ball,’” he said, laughing.

他笑着说：“实话告诉你吧，我家里没有人看过《龙珠》。”

“I am also a hikikomori,” he added, using the Japanese word for a recluse.

他补充说：“我也是个宅男”，他用了日语中对隐居者的称呼（hikikomori）。（译者注：hikikomori 是日语中的一个词，直接翻译过来就是“闭门者”。它通常用来形容那些选择避开社会、在家中度过大部分时间、很少与外界交流的人。这个词最初是在1990年代末期的日本出现的，用来描述一种特定的社会现象，即有一部分青少年或成年人，他们不去上学、不工作，几乎所有时间都在家里度过，极少与外界接触。）

But his stories continued to reach fans around the world years after their creation.

但是，他的故事在创作多年后，仍然受到世界各地粉丝的追捧。

After “Dragon Ball,” Mr. Toriyama wrote single-volume manga, including “Cowa!,” “Kajika” and “Jaco the Galactic Patrolman.”

在《龙珠》之后，鸟山明先生创作了单行本漫画，包括《怪兽棒球队》、《卡吉卡》和《银河巡警杰科》。（译者注：Single-volume manga 是指只有一卷的漫画书。在日本，许多漫画开始时会作为连载在各种杂志上发布，如《周刊少年 Jump》等。如果这些连载的章节受到欢迎，它们通常会被收集起来并以图书形式出版，即“单行本”。）

“Sand Land,” published in 2000, was made into a movie in 2023.

2000年出版的《沙之国》于2023年被翻拍成电影。

Its anime version is scheduled to be released in the spring on Disney+, along with a video game.

其动画版本计划于春季在 Disney+ 上映，同时还将推出一款电子游戏。