RIP Joe Lieberman

I read about the former Connecticut U.S. Senator’s death in the Retro Swap gaming newsletter, given his role in creating the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). I didn’t agree with him on everything, though given things like what occurred in the 2006 midterm elections, I find his experience then relatable today, even more so in recent times. It seems that every American politician has “controversies,” “scandals,” or “skeletons in their closet” (but 99.99% of the time, such charges are from their political enemies within the government and media), and while I know he had his, I’m no different, and in most respects, he has a place in my heart. In pace requiescat.

RIP Akira Toriyama

He was 68.

He created the Dragon Ball animanga series and was the character and monster designer of the Dragon Quest franchise and Chrono Trigger, among others. This leaves only Yuji Horii, the scenario writer of DQ (composer Koichi Sugiyama died back in 2021), and it seems the twelfth promised mainline entry (The Flames of Fate) is now far greater vaporware than it was before, and since Toriyama to me is somewhat irreplaceable (and Sugiyama too to an extent), I doubt it will become a Franchise Zombie like other game franchises have become (i.e. Final Fantasy). Rest in peace, Toriyama-san.