anime

Takashi Shimada (Kinnikuman manga)

(Source: Twitter)

I heard of Akira Toriyama-san‘s passing during the day. He was five years older, but Yudetamago was a year his senior job-wise. We were gag mangaka and when I first saw Dr. Slump, I found myself threatened by someone fearsome enough to pull off such polished gags with an American comic art style. It got an anime during its first year in serialization and sparked some jealously in me, like, “Argh, damn him.” We really had a tense, sour relationship. Kinnikuman got an anime adaptation during its fourth year in serialization and I started viewing him more and more like my rival and stopped talking to him. But in the early days, we were friendly and would play games and exchange shikishi boards with each other at mangaka dinner parties. But Toriyama-san, 68 is too young. It’s so sad… My deepest condolences.

Damn I never even knew this.