Final Fantasy XIV players are gathering in cities to pay tribute to Akira Toriyama, the beloved creator of the Dragon Ball franchise.
Akira Toriyama is best known as the creator of Dragon Ball, but to Final Fantasy fans, he is also a key figure behind some of the greatest RPGs ever made.
Not only was Toriyama the character designer on Chrono Trigger, one of the greatest games ever made, but he also designed many of the iconic monsters in the Dragon Quest series.
On March 8, 2024, it was announced that Akira Toriyama passed away at 68. Famous manga creators have paid tribute to Toriyama and his influential work, while fans have returned to Eorzea in droves to honor the man’s work in other ways.
FF14 fans are holding an in-game vigil for Toriyama
A user on the FFXIV Reddit shared an image of a vigil held for Toriyama in Ul’dah, with fans using the Wanderer’s Campfire Minion in front of them while standing in a line.
A video on the JamiBoy YouTube channel shows a tribute at ground level, showing a huge line of people paying tribute in Ul’dah, lighting a row of campfires for Toriyama.
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This isn’t the first time that Final Fantasy XIV fans have held a tribute to a famous manga author. In 2021, the streets of Ul’dah were lined with Dark Knights when news broke that Kentaro Miura, the creator of Berserk, had passed away.
While Toriyama was far more closely associated with Dragon Quest than Final Fantasy, the two series crossed over several times. This includes Final Fantasy XIV, which has featured Dragon Quest monsters and items in the past.
Toriyama’s legacy in the world of manga and video games cannot be understated. Dragon Ball was massively influential in helping anime find an audience outside of Japan and inspiring many of the prominent Shonen authors of today and likely in the future.
Toriyama may be gone, but his legacy lives on, with countless Warriors of Light going home to share their grief on the streets of Eorzea.
