In January 2024, celebrated manga artist Akira Toriyama chose to create a brand-new logo for Kiyosu City in Japan's Aichi Prefecture. Now Kiyosu's leaders are honoring the late creator by using his logo to represent the region for its upcoming 20th anniversary celebration, which will be held in 2025.
Toriyama was originally approached to create Kiyosu's logo because of his personal ties to the area. As detailed on Kiyosu City's official website, Kiyosu City mayor Sumio Nagata presented Toriyama's completed design during a recent press conference regarding the city's future plans. As shown below, Toriyama's logo features a cute samurai character, likely inspired by the region's principal attraction, Kiyosu Castle. Created during Japan's Warring States Era, this structure is an ancient stronghold that is believed to have been used by the famous feudal lord Oda Nobunaga.
Akira Toriyama's Oda Nobunaga-Like Samurai Character Will Be a Legacy for His Home City
News of Akira Toriyama's death sent ripples of grief echoing across the artist's home nation, including Kiyosu. Shortly after his death, Nagata posted a farewell message on his city's behalf on Kiyosu's official X page. "We would like to express our deepest condolences upon hearing of the passing of Toriyama-sensei," Nagata wrote. "We would like to express our deepest respect for the professor's achievements and pray for the repose of his soul." Thankfully, Toriyama will continue to live on through his work, his Nobunaga-esque mascot acting as a personal ambassador for the city he loved. As detailed in a statement on Kiyosu's website, Kiyosu's 20th anniversary project will "look back on the achievements of those involved in town development in the past, foster a sense of unity among citizens...and form the foundation for Kiyosu City to make further progress in the future."
The Original Dragon Ball Is One of the Top-Selling Manga of All Time
Akira Toriyama is best known as the creator of the hit shonen franchise Dragon Ball, which began in November 1984 and has since touched the lives of millions of readers across the globe. The original Dragon Ball series is currently the fourth highest-selling manga title of all time, with over 260 million copies in circulation worldwide. Toriyama's bibliography also includes popular works like Dr. Slump, Sand Land, Go! Go! Ackman and many others. Prior to his death, he was working on both the Dragon Ball Super manga series alongside illustrator Toyotarou and on Toei Animation's upcoming anime series Dragon Ball Daima.
While Dragon Ball Super is currently on hiatus, the franchise recently confirmed that Super will eventually return to Shueisha's V-Jump magazine. On April 19, the official Dragon Ball website created a post that reads, "until the Dragon Ball Super manga returns to start its new story, Jump will feature illustrations and commentary from Toyotarou..." In no uncertain terms, this post assures fans that Super will run for at least one more arc. Additionally, Dragon Ball Daima is still slated to premiere in Fall 2024.
Dragon Ball, in addition to many of Toriyama's other works, is available in English from VIZ Media.
Sources: X (formerly Twitter), Kiyosu City official site
