What was Akira Toriyama’s favorite baseball team? When Dragonball Z creator talked about his interest in baseball

Akira Toriyama, the creator of one of the most enthralling and longest-running animes, Dragon Ball Z, passed away earlier this month. Toriyama left behind a legacy of a great mind that has been enthralling Dragon Ball fans since he first created the characters in a manga series back in 1984.

Around the world, Dragon Ball is incredibly popular, and animation and movie adaptations of the comic book series have been appreciated by a wide audience globally. Supporters have given Mr. Akira Toriyama recognition for developing characters that they identified with as part of their upbringing.

According to a statement from the Dragon Ball website, he passed away on March 1, and only his immediate family and close friends attended his funeral.

"He would have many more things to achieve. However, he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world. We hope that Akira Toriyama's unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come." - Akira Toriyama's studio

Mr. Toriyama had been asked in the past about his love for sports and what his favorite sport and team were, and Akira had an answer that would enthrall baseball fans around the world.

"I play baseball and table tennis. I watch golf," said Mr. Toriyama when asked about his favorite sport to play.

"The Chunichi Dragons, when they’re in good form," said Toriyama when asked about his favorite professional baseball team.

The main city in Japan's Chubu area, Nagoya, is home to the professional baseball franchise, the Chunichi Dragons. The ballclub is a member of Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. They have won the Japan Series twice, in 1954 and most recently in 2007, and the Central League pennant nine times in their big league existence in the NPB.

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Akira Toriyama created the most fan-favorite manga series: Dragon Ball

Akira Toriyama, who was born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1955, made his comic book debut in the early 1980s with Dr. Slump, a tale about a young robot named Arale and her scientific creator.

However, Dragon Ball was his best-known creation till date. Many fans believe that Son Goku's transformation from a young child who struggles with his martial arts training to a high-flying hero who can shoot fireballs from his hands is a reflection of their own challenges as they grew older, shunning all self-doubt on the characters created by Mr. Toriyama.

Dragon Ball action figures are a mainstay in toy stores from Japan to China in Southeast Asia to all of Europe and North America. The cartoon version has been dubbed into many different languages and is still actively broadcast globally.