The creator of the famous cartoon show Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama suffered an acute subdural haematoma, a kind of bleeding near the brain, his study said on Friday.

Dragon Ball is extremely popular worldwide, and the comic series has also produced cartoon versions and movies.

Fans have been paying tribute to Toriyama for the creation of characters that have become part of their childhood.

The Dragan Ball comic series debuted in 1984. He follows a guy named Son Goku in his quest to collect dragon magic balls to protect the Earth against alien humanoids called Saiyans.

Toriyama had unfinished jobs at the time of his death.

He died on March 1st, and only his family and very few friends attended his funeral, according to a statement from Dragan Ball's website.

He would have much to achieve. However, he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world”, his studio said.

“We hope that the unique world of the creation of Akira Toriyama will continue to be loved by all for a long time”, he added.

Born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1955, Toriyama entered the comic book world in the early 1980 ' s with Dr. Slump, who tells the story of a little Aral robot girl and her scientist maker.

But Dragon Ball was his most famous work. For many fans, Son Gock's journey from a child who digs out his martial arts training to a high-flying hero who can hunt electric bolts from his hands reflects their fight against self-defence as they grew up in adulthood.

Dragon Ball inspired fan fiction writers and other players that style their hair like sharp, pointy hair of the characters.

The cartoon version has been duplicated in many languages, and Dragon Ball's action figures are a major element in toys stores from Japan to China and Southeast Asia.

In a 2013 interview with a Japanese newspaper Asahi, Toriyama said that “had no idea” how Dragon Ball became so popular worldwide.

He described the series as a miracle, “given how he helped someone like me who has distorted and difficult personalities to do a decent job and accept from society”.

When I was drawing the series, all I wanted to do was please the boys in Japan”, he said, according to the AFP news agency.