Just weeks after the death of creator Akira Toriyama, construction is about to begin in Saudi Arabia on the world's first theme park featuring the "Dragon Ball" comics, movies and games. Qiddiya Investment Company and Toei Animation announced on Friday that the theme park will center on Sun Wukong, a teenager with supernatural martial arts powers who embarks on an adventure to collect Dragon Balls to summon a dragon to grant wishes. The theme park is located in Qiddiya, an entertainment and tourism project near the Saudi capital Riyadh.
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Akira Toriyama, who is world-famous for the "Dragon Ball" comic series, passed away on March 1 this year at the age of 68. The news of his death deeply saddened fans around the world.
According to data from MangaProductions, a Saudi Arabian animation production and distribution company, the number of animation fans in Saudi Arabia has reached 13 million, and the number of animation fans in the entire Arab world is as high as 85 million. The popularity of comics and animation works in the region continues to rise.
This grandly planned "Dragon Ball" theme park will cover an area of more than 500,000 square meters and be divided into seven areas, each paying tribute to classic scenes in the original work, such as Turtle Sennin Island, Capsule Company and Beerus Planet. It is worth mentioning that the construction scale of Riyadh’s Qiddiya project is more than twice that of Disney World in Florida, the United States.
According to a statement released by Toei Animation, the theme park will contain more than 30 rides, including 5 brand-new rides created with cutting-edge technology. In addition, the project also encompasses Dragon Ball-themed hotel and dining facilities.
"Dragon Ball" first appeared as a comic strip in 1984 and has now developed into one of the best-selling comic series in the world. This series of works successfully promoted the popularity of comics as a medium around the world, and its derivative animation works still maintain strong popularity in Western countries.
Saudi Arabia has been pouring billions of dollars into development projects that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees as key to helping the country reduce its dependence on oil.
The kingdom aims to receive 150 million tourists annually by 2030, and the crown prince has positioned video games and entertainment as a pillar of the kingdom's future development.
Japan-based Toei Animation and MBS-owned MiSK Foundation have partnered to produce anime films. The country's sovereign wealth fund is now Nintendo's largest outside shareholder.