Dragon Quest Fans Pay Respects To Akira Toriyama With In-Game Vigil

Following the death of Akira Toriyama, fans are paying their respects to the legendary manga artist with an emotional in-game vigil. Toriyama, who was behind the creation of the franchise, as well as his work in and, for instance, passed away on March 1, at the age of 68. His death was reported a week later, on March 8.

The manga artist passed away from an acute subdural hematoma, as reported by the official account on X. Toriyama’s death impacted the anime and gaming community and a few fans set off to pay homage to him. As shown in an image posted by the user ExalinExcels on X, Server 1 of is full of players who are standing idly by in what is an in-game vigil.

The players mourn the passing of Akira Toriyama. The MMORPG players’ gathering is but a way of expressing their respect toward the artist.

Despite the beauty of the homage, the vigil’s reach is not too large. The MMORPG is not easily accessible to players in other countries outside of Japan, as it was not localized for other versions – with the exception of an older and no longer available Chinese PC port. never came to the West through official means. Nevertheless, the in-game vigil for Akira Toriyama is a great way for Japanese fans to express their feelings about the legacy left behind by the manga artist.

This is not the first time an in-game vigil of this sort has been held by players following the death of a manga artist. In the wake of the death of Kentaro Miura, the author of, Dark Knight players paid homage to the artist due to his influence over the dark fantasy genre.

Characters carrying large broadsword also became popular because of Guts, the manga’s protagonist.

Akira Toriyama leaves behind an immense legacy in manga, anime, and games. Not only is one of the largest manga and anime franchises in all history, but is a huge gaming franchise itself. is also acclaimed as one of the best RPGs to this date.

Toriyama’s work is not yet complete, however, as his manga is also being adapted into a video