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    “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama dies at 68

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments866 Views
    Akira Toriyama is pictured in 1982. Toriyama, the creator of one of Japan's best-selling “Dragon Ball” and other popular anime who influenced Japanese comics, has died, his studio said Friday, March 8, 2024. He was 68. (Kyodo News via AP)

    By Mari Yamaguchi

    TOKYO (AP) --

    Akira Toriyama, the creator of the best-selling "Dragon Ball" and other popular anime who influenced Japanese comics, has died, his studio said Friday. He was 68.

    Toriyama's "Dragon Ball" manga series, which started in 1984, has sold millions of copies globally and was adapted into hugely popular animated TV shows, video games and films.

    Toriyama died March 1 of a blood clot in his brain, Bird Studio said in a statement.

    "He was working enthusiastically on many projects, and there was still much he was looking forward to accomplishing," the studio wrote.

    A new TV adaptation of Toriyama's "Sand Land," a desert adventure story released in 2000 and later adapted into a 2023 anime movie, is due to be released on Disney+ in the spring.

    Messages of condolences and grief from fellow creators and fans filled social media.

    Eiichiro Oda, creator of the blockbuster manga "One Piece," said Toriyama's presence was like a "big tree" to younger artists.

    "He showed us all these things manga can do, a dream of going to another world," Oda said in a statement. His death leaves "a hole too big to fill," Oda added.

    Bird Studio thanked fans for more than 40 years of support. "We hope that Akira Toriyama's unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come."

    Born in Aichi prefecture in central Japan in 1955, Toriyama made his manga debut in 1978 with the adventure comic "Wonder Island," published in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. His Dr. Slump series, which started in 1980, was his first major hit.

    It made him a celebrity, but Toriyama avoided the spotlight. In 1982, he told Japanese public broadcast NHK: "I just want to keep writing manga."

    Dragon Ball, the story of a boy named Son Goku and his quest for seven magical balls that can make wishes come true, has sold 260 million copies altogether, according to the studio.

    Toriyama also designed characters for the video game series Dragon Quest. He received awards in the manga industry and beyond, including France's Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.

    Tags:Akira ToriyamaBird StudioDragon Ball



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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