Big Sean is giving Akira Toriyama his flowers.
The Detroit 2 rapper took to Instagram over the weekend to share his praises for the Dragon Ball creator, who recently passed away at the age of 68.
“Akira Toriyama will live forever,” Sean wrote. “The vision, inspiration, the excitement I had as a kid and love for these characters never went away. I'm not sure how a man from Kiyosu (Japan) could create a world that relates to so many Black kids while changing the Anime world and more, but it did. Thank you.”
Toriyama died in early March from an acute subdural hematoma—a blood clot in his brain. In addition to creating Dragon Ball, he was behind Dr. Slump, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. He also served as a character designer on the iconic video game series Dragon Quest.
“It’s our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm,” a statement from Toriyama’s studio Bird Studio said. “Also, he would have many more things to achieve. However, he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world. Thanks to the support of so many people around the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years. We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.”
Denzel Curry showed his love for Toriyama a few days after his death. “Akira Toriyama’s work has inspired me to be the best artist I can be,” Curry wrote on X. “Growing up in Carol City with a house full of brothers, his work was always something me and my siblings bonded over.”
