Akira Toriyama's Final Comments from Dec 2023! Akira Toriyama was announced to have won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2024 on December 14, 2023. He was supposed to receive the award on stage during the Festival from March 8-11, 2024. However, we do have his comments on winning the award revealed in the pamphlet of the award show. Following is the translation: "To be honest, I have never had much interest in anime, and even when my work was made into animated format, I feel embarrassed to admit that I did not watch much of it, apologies to the staff. About 10 years ago, out of the blue, I was asked to revise the script for the Dragon Ball animated film, and I drew some simple designs for the characters and backgrounds. I thought, 'I can leave the difficult parts for the staff' (laughs). Thus, it is truly embarrassing that I am the recipient of the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. Thank you very much. One of my most unforgettable memories in animation works is when I met the late animator, Toyo Ashida for an anime project called 'Kosuke-sama Rikimaru-sama,' which was produced for the Shonen Jump Original. This project did not have a manga, so a meeting was held. He was an amiable person and we quickly bonded, and every time I saw his drawing style, I was moved by his careful and swift touch. I thought, 'Alright, I guess this kind of touch I need to speed up the drawing process and make Dragon Ball look much smoother.' The drawing time was reduced to about two-thirds of what it used to be. We influenced each other in many ways, and I think it was a truly fulfilling time. I pray for the repose of Ashida-san's soul. Dragon Ball DAIMA, which will be rolled out in 2024, was originally planned to be an original anime series without me, but as I gave advice here and there, I ended up getting deeply involved with the project without realizing it. I was not only involved in the overall storyline, but also in the worldview, character design, mechas, and other aspects. I hope you will enjoy watching the series, which I believe is not only intense and action-packed, but also full of plenty of substance. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me so far! I am not sure how much more I can do, as I am not very confident about my health, probably due to my lifestyle when I was younger, but I will try my best to create more interesting pieces of work, so please continue to support me!" #DragonBallDaima