Summary
Not all of Dragon Ball's side content lacks Toriyama's influence – he's had a hand in character designs and plot points. Extras are necessary for anime, but the quantity and quality are issues that fans complain about. Toriyama has created some of Dragon Ball's best side content, like Pikkon.
Despite the phenomenal popularity of Dragon ball franchise over the past four decades, more than a few fans have had problems with the use of fillers in anime. Indeed, if there's any topic of discussion that's sure to draw a response from the Dragon Ball fanbase, it's the extras. Of course, there are countless reasons why fans don't like filler. However, one reason that seems to affect all of them is that the stories and events in the spin-off are unrelated to the vision of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. The problem with this criticism, however, is that it is not necessarily true.
Contrary to popular belief that the anime's additional content was developed without Toriyama's input or guidance – and therefore lacks the spirit and essence of classic Dragon Ball content – Dragon Ball's creator was involved in more than fans know. According to the long-standing and reputable Dragon Ball information website Kanzenshuu, while Toriyama “didn't actually write the script,” but he still contributed a significant amount to the anime and cartoon adaptationsincluding character designs, titles, plot points, titles, and even choosing which voice actor will be assigned to voice which character.
As a site dedicated to spreading the Dragon Ball gospel to the world, Kanzenshuu has obviously heard about fan complaints about anime supplements, which is why the site's staff decided to research Toriyama's involvement in the anime's production, is scattered throughout the series' many manuals.
Believe it or not, some of the bonus content that most fans complained was non-canon material was actually Toriyama's idea.
The opinion that Toriyama is not related to anime comes from the fact that anime projects often have a different creative team than the original manga. Additionally, as stated in an interview, Toriyama reinforced the belief by repeatedly stating that he was not directly involved on a day-to-day basis in the anime.
Problems with Dragon Ball Filler content
Fans complained about both quantity and quality
The filler content itself isn't bad. In fact, there is a great need for additional sources for anime that closely follow manga in terms of publishing and broadcasting schedules. In such cases, if the manga author or publisher cannot provide usable content for the adaptation in time for broadcast, the anime producer must delay the broadcast or “fill ” content shortage equals new content. Over the years, Dragon Ball has encountered many situations where it needed to use additional content for the anime.
The problem for many fans with fillers is twofold. First, there is its richness. On this issue, the Dragon Ball fan community has a legitimate point of view. Each Dragon Ball series has a fair amount of additional content. According to AnimeFillerList, videographer content accounts for 14% of the Dragon Ball series (1986-1989), 13% of the Dragon Ball Z series (1989-1996), and 11% of the Dragon Ball Super series (2015-2018). . However, just because additional content is needed, doesn't mean it should or will be bad – which brings up the next element of Dragon Ball fandom's side issue, namely its subpar quality. born from the idea that Toriyama lacked “quality control”.
Toriyama's Influence on Dragon Ball's Anime Filler
Many of the arcs and characters considered “Secondary” came from Toriyama's input
Rather than attributing the poor quality of side content to Toriyama's absence, in certain cases it was his involvement that actually led to lackluster content that fans disliked. For example, The first Dragon Ball Z supplement is titled “Gohan's Training and Goku's Snake Path Adventure”. Many Dragon Ball fans believe that this spin-off is one of the weakest in the series and that skipping it is better than watching it. The main appeal of this arc is that the stories add very little to the development of the overall plot at the time, which is teasing the appearances of Vegeta and Nappa.
According to Kazenshuu, Dragon Ball Z Anime Special Guide covers thatToriyama is quite active in this part. For example, Toriyama's idea was described as “completely” Episode #12, in which Goku falls asleep after taking an elevator along the way, then falls out of the truck and falls into Hell. Furthermore, Toriyama is described as the one who set up the basic plot for Episode #14, where Goku meets the Snake Princess, who falls in love with him and tries to make Goku love her back. In Episode #15, Toriyama is said to have come up with the idea of Piccolo's training technique of dividing his body into two parts. As fans debated, these examples diminished the sense that Gohan-Piccolo started the series. However, fans have no one to blame but Toriyama.
Dragon Ball Anime's additional content is valuable
Toriyama's involvement in various anime spin-offs is not out of the question. He's also responsible for some of Dragon Ball's best side content. For example, Toriyama created and designed the character Pikkon for the anime. Pikkon debuted in Dragon Ball Z Episode #199 as Goku's opponent in the Other World Tournament. Even though the “Another World Tournament” arc was filler, it was overall a fan favorite, with Episode #199 being especially enjoyable. Fans appreciated how it returned to Dragon Ball's roots with tournament matches against formidable opponents.
However, fans have the right to criticize Dragon Ball when it does not deliver high-quality content. However, they should remember that some ideas or developments that are often unpopular as filler do not come from the anime production team but from the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama. This shouldn't be taken as a dig at Toriyama – just an acknowledgment of the complicated realities of putting on an anime like Dragon ball to life.
Source: Kazsenshuu (1), (2), (3), AnimeFillerList