It's Really True: Dragon Ball Z Was Meant to End Way Before Majin Buu Came Around
One of the biggest debates people have had about Dragon Ball Zhas always been when it was supposed to end. While the Majin Buu saga was the final arc, the thematic story beats of the Namek and Android sagas have made people feel that one of those arcs was the true finale before Akira Toriyama was pressured into extending the series, as is often the case with popular manga.
For decades, the idea that Dragon Ball was meant to end anywhere other than when it did seemed to be nothing but a theory, but as it turns out, there was plenty of truth to it. Akira Toriyama’s old editors were all recently featured on a podcast hosted by Toriyama’s first editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, and in a surprise twist, Dragon Ball’s past editors revealed the truth about when Dragon Ball was really supposed to end. It was a surprising reveal to get after so many years, and if anything, it makes Dragon Ball Z’s ending all the more special.
Dragon Ball’s Creator Was Pushed To Keep The Story Going After The Android Saga
Dragon Ball Really Was Supposed To End With Gohan Saving The World
The latest episode of Yubo & Mashirito’s KosoKoso Broadcasting Station, a podcast hosted by Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and Akira Toriyama’s first editor Kazuhiko Torishima, featured an interview with Yu Kondo and Fuyuto Takeda, Toriyama’s editors from the Namek saga until the end of the series. Naturally, they spoke about their history working with Toriyama, and when discussing the Android saga, it was revealed that Akira Toriyama wanted to end Dragon Ball with the Android saga, but was pressured to continue the story for a while longer.
Dragon Ball ending with the Android saga was always a popular theory, of course. Between elements like the story bringing back some of Goku’s oldest villains in the Red Ribbon Army, Goku dying, and Gohan finally unlocking his full potential, there was always an air of finality to the Android saga, something made especially apparent by how largely inconclusive the Majin Buu saga came off as. The idea that Dragon Ball was supposed to end with the Android Saga isn’t surprising when looking at how it was structured, and it’s great to finally have confirmation of such.
The Truth Of Dragon Ball’s Ending Makes The Majin Buu Saga Even Better
Why The Majin Buu Saga Deserves More Respect
Another big takeaway from the interview, of course, is what it says about the Majin Buu saga. Akira Toriyama was reportedly tired of writing serious stories with serious villains, so the Majin Buu saga went for a lighter tone and an increase in gags so Toriyama could enjoy himself more. Even Fuyuto Takeda, Toriyama’s editor through the Majin Buu saga, was confused by just how goofy the story got, but at the end of the day, the Majin Buu saga being as goofy and lighthearted as it was allowed Akira Toriyama to regain his love for writing Dragon Ball.
As divisive as the Majin Buu saga is for its lighter and wackier tone, that was the only way Akira Toriyama could keep writing Dragon Ball after years of creative burnout, so the knowledge that the Majin Buu saga had to be the way it was for Akira Toriyama to keep having fun with Dragon Ball makes it far more respectable in hindsight, as does that tone persisting in Dragon Ball Daima. Overall, the recent interview with Toriyama’s editors just adds more to Akira Toriyama and Dragon Ball Z’s legacy, and it likely won’t be the last to do so.
Source: @KosoKoso_hoso on X.
Dragon Ball Z
- Release Date
- 1989 - 1996
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Daisuke Nishio, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Osamu Kasai
- Writers
- Akira Toriyama, Neil Bligh, Hiroshi Toda, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Aya Matsui, Keiji Terui, Reiko Yoshida, Toshiki Inoue
- Franchise(s)
- Dragon Ball
Cast
Masako NozawaSon Goku / Son Gohan / Son Goten (voice)- Ryo HorikawaVegeta (voice)
- Creator(s)
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Number of Episodes
- 291
- Seasons
- 9
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Akira Toriyama
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
- Based On
- Manga
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.19
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