Malaysian Artist Paid Tribute to the Late Akira Toriyama with Giant Dragon Ball Mural in Perak, Malaysia 

A Malaysian artist paid tribute to the late Akira Toriyama, creator of the famous Dragon Ball series, with a 15m tall mural in Kampar, Perak, Malaysia.

As reported by The Star newspaper, Malaysian artist Kum Peng Han has painted a large mural at Jalan Pejabat Pos in Kampar, featuring characters from the Dragon Ball series along with a portrait of Toriyama.

Toriyama was a highly influential manga author who was behind some of the most popular works of fiction, including the Dragon Ball series, SAND LAND, Dr. Slump, and more.

He passed away earlier this year due to an acute subdural hematoma, a deadly condition where blood collects between the surface of the brain and the skull.

“I have always loved Dragon Ball since I was a child,” Kum said during the launch of the mural by Kampar MP Chong Zhemin yesterday. “The main characters in the series have always inspired me to become better and stronger.”

Kum also added that he had help from several Universiti Teknologi Mara students to finish the mural within 2 weeks, and noted that “The mural is an original design” by him.

The mural even has an augmented reality feature where scanning a QR code next to the artwork will allow users to see a younger version of the character Goku riding his “Flying Nimbus” cloud.

“I am quite familiar with the town and wanted to give back to the community,” added Kum. “After finding a suitable location, I approached Chong and proposed to do the mural.”

MP Chong also added he hopes the mural would become an attraction in Kampar, saying “It has gotten quite a lot of attention after I posted a picture of it on Facebook on Sunday. I hope to see more murals here in the future.”

Furthermore, Kampar district council president Ahmad Suqairy Alias also left his remark, saying that the mural would complement the murals at Ilham Seni@Kampar, just some 169m away.

“It is also launched just in time for this year’s Visit Perak Year campaign, which can help to promote Kampar to tourists”

While the mural was created to commemorate an influential creative individual who had impacted the lives of many, it was not without questions with netizens voicing concerns regarding possible copyright infringement.

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