A Change.org petition to celebrate International Dragon Ball Day on March 8 has outraged some fans and left a bad taste in the mouths of mainstream audiences.
The anime and manga world recently mourned the passing of iconic Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, who passed away on March 1, 2024 from an acute subdural hematoma at the age of 68 Toriyama remained dedicated to storytelling until his final days, being deeply involved in the upcoming Dragon Ball Daima anime series as well as the upcoming anime and video game adaptation of Sand Land later this year. Now, March 8 – the day Toriyama’s death was announced – has been proposed by a fan as International Dragon Ball Day. Although there was a sweet sentiment behind the gesture, the Change.org petition ultimately failed to impress many people, causing controversy for a variety of reasons.
Related
Akira Toriyama “Participates like never before” in the new Dragon Ball Daima anime
The late manga legend Akira Toriyama played a vital role in the development of Dragon Ball Daima, as assured by the executive producer of the upcoming anime.
Why Some Anime Fans Want an International Dragon Ball Day
Toriyama’s death caught the world by surprise and the world continues to show respect for the great creator, including other extremely famous creators in the industry such as Bleach’s Tite Kubo and Eiichiro Oda of One Piece. Even Justin Chatwin, who played Goku in the much-maligned live-action Dragon Ball Evolution, offered a sympathetic apology for not doing the source material justice. Toonami, the Cartoon Network anime programming block that helped popularize Dragon Ball Z to North American audiences, also aired a Dragon Ball Z Kai marathon as a tribute to Toriyama.
The number of people who were so moved and inspired by Toriyama’s work seems to be compelling evidence for why International Dragon Ball Day is a worthwhile cause. A petition to do so, started by Daniel Martinez, has garnered nearly 180,000 signatures in less than two weeks. However, a miscalculation turned this seemingly celebratory gesture into what many saw as a tone-deaf effort.
Related
Toonami pays tribute to Dragon Ball’s Akira Toriyama with a heartfelt message
Ahead of the Dragon Ball Z Kai marathon, Adult Swim’s Toonami action block delivered a special message honoring the late Akira Toriyama.
The proposed date for International Dragon Ball Day caused serious controversy
March 8, the proposed date for International Dragon Ball Day, is already International Women’s Day. Dragon Ball fans and strangers alike have spoken out about how insensitive it is for this achievement for the women’s rights movement to share their holiday with an anime and manga series, even The whole series is as good as Dragon Ball. March 8 is also considered a perfunctory day to celebrate Toriyama’s legacy since he passed away on March 1.
Furthermore, another day in the same month, March 18, has taken on special significance for Dragon Ball fans, as this day is both colloquially and officially recognized as Saiyan Day due to the numbers. Its numbers – 3 (for March), 1 and 8 — can be read as “Sa-i-ya” in Japanese. Given Toriyama’s impending passing of Saiyan Day, a safer approach might be to codify this unofficial holiday into the proper International Dragon Ball Day. As fans across the globe have been celebrating Dragon Ball on this day, some say having two Dragon Ball holidays in the same month seems counterproductive. While Toriyama’s life and legacy are certainly worth celebrating, the unfortunate date failure may have temporarily disappointed many about the proposed holiday petition.
Dragon ball
Dragon Ball tells the story of a young warrior named Son Goku, a special boy with a tail who embarks on a journey to become stronger and learn about the Dragon Balls, as all 7 Dragon Balls are gathered. in return, grant any wish of choice.
Created by Akira Toriyama
First movie Dragon Ball: Ruby Blood Curse
Latest movie Dragon Ball Super: Superhero
First TV show chapter Dragon ball
Upcoming TV show Dragon Ball DAIMA
Airing date of the first episode April 26, 1989
Cast Sean Schemmel, Laura Bailey, Brian Drummond, Christopher Sabat, Scott McNeil
Source: X (formerly Twitter), Change.org