Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama's assistant confirms the mangaka had brain tumor

Modified Mar 13, 2024 08:08 GMT

According to the announcement by Bird Studio and Capsule Corporation Tokyo, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1, 2024, due to Acute Subdural Hematoma. However, later, the manga creator's assistant Takashi Matsuyama disclosed that Toriyama had a brain tumor.

While the manga creator did pass away on March 1, the same was only announced to the world a week later on Friday, March 8, 2024. This news was met with a lot of reaction as manga creators, voice actors, animators, celebrities, and fans globally paid homage to the late creator's works.

Dragon Ball: Toriyama's assistant confirms the manga creator had brain tumor

Akira Toriyama's second assistant Takashi Matsuyama (Image via Kanzenshuu)

On March 9, 2024, a day after the news of Akira Toriyama's death was made known worldwide, the Japanese newspaper Chunichi Shimbun interviewed the manga creator's second assistant Takashi Matsuyama.

During the interview, the former second assistant confirmed that the Dragon Ball creator had a brain tumor.

Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama (Image via IMDb)

As Takashi Matsuyama maintained a close relationship with Akira Toriyama, after he remarried in Fall 2023, he asked Toriyama to become his godfather. While the Dragon Ball creator immediately accepted, he later informed Matsuyama that he had brain tumor surgery in the New Year, i.e., 2024.

At the time, Toriyama seemingly wasn't worried about the procedure as he remained calm and kept complaining about having a hard time to quit smoking.

Goku as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

What Toriyama said, according to Matsuyama:

"Because it's not deep, it won't be that hard"

Matsuyama was certain that he would be able to visit Toriyama after his discharge from the hospital. Unfortunately, that's when the sudden news about his passing arrived as a shock.

Was Matsuyama close with Toriyama?

According to the interview, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama and Takashi Matsuyama had a close relationship. After Matsuyama was hired by Toriyama, he immediately moved into a house near where Toriyama worked.

After that, the two would go into the studio late afternoon and return home the next morning. During this, they seemingly listened to recorded radio programs while working together. In addition, they also played games together to relax from work. They had a welcoming environment to create stories full of dreams and adventures.

As for their professional relationship, Toriyama seemingly never acted as a superior, however, he was known for being non-compromising. This was evident from the times he butted heads against strict editors during the manga's serialization. Having maintained such a close relationship, Matsuyama was left saddened by Toriyama's death.