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Akira Toriyama, creator of "Dragon Ball", has died aged 68

The mangaka, whose series are known the world over, died of a subdural haematoma

Son Goku fans are in mourning. The mangaka Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball and Dr SlumpThe world-famous series of the same name, died at the age of 68 from a subdural haematoma, his publisher and studio announced on Friday.

"At Shueisha and within the editorial department, we are deeply saddened by the sudden news of his death," reads a statement from the publisher.

Dragon Ball "is like a miracle

Born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1955, Akira Toriyama was best known for his manga Dragon Ballcreated in 1984, recounting the life and adventures of martial arts prodigy Son Goku from his childhood onwards. It was loosely based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Peregrination to the West. The manga has sold at least 260 million copies worldwide, according to the specialist website Mangazenkan. It has spawned numerous adaptations for television, film and video games, as well as sequels such as Dragon Ball Z or more recently Dragon Ball Super.

"For me, Dragon Ball is like a miracle", said its creator in an interview with the daily newspaper Asahi in 2013. "It has helped someone like me, who has a twisted and difficult personality, to do a decent job and be accepted by society". In the interview, however, he said that he had "no idea" why the series was such a global success. "When I drew the series, all I wanted was to please the boys in Japan".

Akira Toriyama was also the author of many other manga series, including Dr Slumppublished between 1980 and 1984 in the weekly magazine Shonen Jumpabout a little android girl with formidable strength created by a scientist. He had also created characters for several video games, including the series Dragon Quest or the 1990s role-playing game Chrono Trigger.

Eiichiro Oda's tribute

In 2013, the mangaka was awarded the Special Prize at the 40th Angoulême International Comics Festival for his body of work. Eiichiro Oda, creator of the manga One PieceIn a statement, Akira Toriyama expressed his regret at his "too early" death, which leaves "a great void". "To think that I'll never see him again... I'm overwhelmed with sadness", he added.

Text by 20 Minutes with AFP

Tokyo Olympics: surprise winner of the 100 metres, Jacobs thinks he "needs four or five years to achieve".

A new European record holder in the 100 metres, Italian sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs did not expect to win the final of the showpiece event at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I really didn't know anything about him". Silver medallist in the 100m, Fred Kerley himself admits that Lamont Marcell Jaccobs' triumph in the world's most prestigious event came as a huge surprise. The first time I ran at the same time as him was at the Monaco meeting in July," said the American after the race. He did a fantastic job. I ran really well and I got a medal, so I can't complain. It was a great race and I set a personal best. I'm blessed to be here, at the peak of my career.

If there's one runner who can say as much, it's his Italian counterpart. In the 100m final, Lamont Marcell Jacobs beat the continental record, which he had already lowered in the semi-final, with a time of 9′80. Speaking in the mixed zone, the Italian runner made no secret of his delight and his own surprise at his resounding performance.

Were you expecting this title?

LAMONT MARCELL JACOBS No, no, my only dream when I arrived here was to reach the final. It's incredible, I don't have the words to describe this moment. I think I'll need four or five years to realise, to understand what's happened, it's incredible. I've worked really hard to get here in the best possible shape.

Italy has won two titles, including the height title. What does this represent?

It's incredible. Last night we were playing PlayStation in my room with Gianmarco (Tamberi) and we were thinking: "Imagine if we won? Nooo... It's impossible, don't think about it". But tonight I saw him win 5 minutes before me and I said to myself: "I'll do it". He's a really good guy, incredible, I love him. He's been through some bad times and now we're both Olympic champions.

You had never gone under 10 seconds this year, what did you change?

I've built up a very good team around me and I've worked hard on my mental state. Because before, when the important moments came, my legs weren't good. Now my legs respond well at the right moment. I'd like to thank my team. In training we changed the start, but above all we worked mentally. With a good diet, physiotherapy...

Text by Le Parisien with AFP

Tokyo 2021 Olympics: A woman tries to extinguish the Olympic flame with a water pistol

Opposed to the Olympic Games being held during the Covid epidemic, the 50-year-old was arrested.

OLYMPIC GAMES - The gesture is more symbolic than dangerous, but it is causing quite a stir in Japan. On Sunday 4 July, as the Olympic flame passed through the prefecture of Ibaraki, in the centre of the island of Honshū, a woman tried to extinguish it with a water pistol, as shown in our video at the top of the article.

She immediately justified this move by saying that she was opposed to the holding of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (postponed by one year, from 23 July to 7 August), while Japan is one of the richest countries lagging furthest behind when it comes to vaccination against covid-19.

Kayoko Takahashi, 53, an unemployed woman, was stopped after her gesture when she shouted: "I'm against the Olympic Games. Stop the Olympics". As the daily newspaper of record points out Asahi ShinbunThe authorities fear that the 50-year-old may have thrown a liquid other than water in the direction of the flame.

Like her, many Japanese people deplore the fact that the event is being held against the backdrop of a health crisis that is far from under control. At present, while part of Japan is living under extremely strict health restrictions, particularly Tokyo, which is in a virtual state of emergency, the contagiousness of the Delta variant and the resurgence in the number of cases are indeed worrying the population.

The Olympic Torch Relay in the streets of Tokyo, for example, will have to take place partly behind closed doors and has even been banned elsewhere in the country, but the sporting events should go ahead as normal, although the question of the public has not yet been settled. Although a maximum capacity of 10,000 people at each Olympic venue (within the limit of 50% of the venue's maximum capacity) has been decreed for the time being, the health situation could lead to this being revised downwards, or even to the Games being held without an audience.

Although Japan has been relatively spared by covid-19, with fewer than 15,000 deaths officially recorded since the beginning of 2020, its medical system has been severely tested. Above all, the vaccination campaign is taking a long time to get under way, with doses arriving in dribs and drabs, and only 10% of the population has already been fully vaccinated.

On Sunday, the Olympic torch relay in Ibaraki prefecture got off to a good start when it was led by Zico, a former Brazilian football star who became an icon in Japan by finishing his career there before coaching some of the biggest clubs and the national team.

The Pokémon card market has gone mad

Sales are rocketing, prices are soaring and appraisal firms are no longer able to keep up

If you've got some old Pokémon cards in a drawer, you might want to take a look. Probably the result of a global lockdown that has forced millions of adults to kill time and try to earn a bit of money any way they can, 2020 is already a vintage year for the world's most lucrative licence, which celebrates its quarter-century this year.

Inspired by star YouTubers like American Logan Paul, everyone is selling their old cards in the hope of hitting the jackpot.

Between 2019 and 2020, according to Les Echos in February, the volume of Pokémon cards traded on eBay increased by 574%. And contrary to what capitalism teaches us about the relationship between supply and demand, this increase in volume has gone hand in hand with a stratospheric rise in prices.

In January, a lot of 103 cards dating from 1999 was valued at 750,000 dollars; the following month, a Firecracker went for 418,000 euros on eBay. A final folly? At the moment, eBay is offering an assortment of first edition cards for the modest sum of... 6 million dollars (4.98 million euros).

The craze surrounding the Pokémon cards market, the umpteenth collectibles market to be contaminated by the bitcoinisation of the world, is not entirely new.

But how do you assess their value? For sellers, there are two solutions: they can rely on the "argus" of cards on eBay and assess the value of each card using its serial number and the index of the PWCC auction house, which acts as a reference, or they can have their card assessed by a rating agency.

These companies provide a 'grading' of each card, from 1 to 10, according to a series of precise aesthetic criteria, which accurately assesses its state of wear and authenticates it.

Centring, colours, condition of corners, scratches, stains... the specifications are meticulous. A 1 card is "very poor while a 10+ card is "Collector" - the Grail of the collector. The same card, whether graded 1 or 10, can have its value multiplied by 10.

Tsunami of Pikachus

In the United States, grading is managed by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) and Beckett Grading Services (BGS).

In France, Professional Cards Authenticator (PCA) has been doing this since 2016. Two years later, these certified cards were sold for the first time at Drouot. But demand for gradation is growing so fast that even the American behemoths can no longer keep up, Vice reported on 30 April.

Despite a great deal of overtime, the recruitment of dozens of employees and even investment in artificial intelligence solutions for the automatic appraisal of low-value cards, waiting times are getting inexorably longer: it now takes several months, and sometimes almost a year, to have the rarest cards appraised.

The monstrous profits of these companies aren't enough: they simply can't keep up with demand. And without these essential cogs in the wheel, the whole Pokémon card economy is on the rocks.

The sellers, reduced to sending their cards by post with no idea of when they'll get them back, become impatient, annoyed and demand accountability. Twenty-five years on, everyone wants to catch Pokémon - but children have grown up, and so have their priorities.

Korii

Thibault Prévost

Japan: tsunami-proof walls have become taller and longer since 2011

Since the terrible tsunami in 2011 that led to the Fukushima disaster, Japan has stepped up the construction and reconstruction of protective structures on the worst-affected parts of its coastline. With the help of a huge budget, the country wants to protect itself more effectively against future devastating tsunamis.

The inhabitants thought they were safe

On 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean around 300 km north-east of Tokyo. Less than an hour later, a tsunami hit the coastline with a wave estimated to be thirty metres high in places. The water also penetrated up to ten kilometres inland, causing the death of several people. the disappearance of at least 18,500 people. This terrible tsunami caused the second biggest nuclear accident in history, after Chernobyl in 1986.

While the main concern at the moment seems to be the future of the contaminated water from Fukushima, another is just as important: protecting against future tsunamis devastating. On 5 March 2021, AFP reported on the situation ten years after the disaster. The publication cites the example of the small town of Taro in the prefecture of Iwate (north-east of the country). Before the terrible tsunami, the inhabitants thought they were safe. For local tourist guide Kumido Motoda, it was even the safest place in the world. the perfect city for disaster protection natural.

It has to be said that since the end of the 19th century, this locality has been hit several times by major tsunamis. So, as early as 1934, the local authority built 10 m high concrete ramparts over a distance of 2.4 km along the coast. The authorities have also installed 44 evacuation routes with solar-powered lighting. The aim? To enable residents to get to safety. in just ten minutes. Unfortunately, the 2011 tsunami generated waves 16 m high. As a result, the waters destroyed the ramparts and swept away houses and vehicles. The human toll from the disaster in Taro is 140 dead and 41 missing.

Better protection for the future

Since then, the Japanese government has invested the equivalent of ten billion euros in building (and rebuilding) ramparts in coastal regions. Coming soon, 430 km of continuous dykes should be completed in the three departments most affected in 2011, namely Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi. At Taro, the walls are now around 15 m high and once again cover more than 2 km of coastline.

Although the view of the sea is less obvious today, the experts justified the construction of the dykes. They cited dual protection The aim is to repel the force of the waves, while reducing damage and giving residents more time to take shelter. In addition, the new dykes have wider bases and their interiors have been reinforced. In addition, warning systems have been improved and evacuation routes optimised.

Text by by sciencepost.fr Yohan Demeure