Why did Toriyama never do anything with Mercenary Tao again?

[precita]

So after Tien defeats Mercenary Tao in the last tournament and knocks him out, we see the Crane Hermit pick him up and fly away. In the manga we never see them again after that. In the anime we see Mercenary Tao return in the Cell saga for a filler, and it seems like Toei was surprised Toriyama never did anything with him.

Do you find it strange that the Crane Hermit and Tao completely disappeared in the manga with no follow-up?

[Polyphase Avatron]

Didn't Toriyama once forget who he was when asked about him?

[DoomieDoomie911]

Didn't Toriyama once forget who he was when asked about him?

Are you serious? Surely not!

[Doctor.]

Didn't Toriyama once forget who he was when asked about him?

Are you serious? Surely not!

Yeah, he did.

http://www.thegrandline.com/odainterview.html

Toriyama: Taopaipai...? You're getting to some of the less important characters.

I think this interview is legitimate at least.

[Gyt Kaliba]

Fairly sure it's legit, I believe I recall VegettoEX or Herms or someone else bringing it up not that long ago actually.

So, given that...yeah, not really 'surprised' he never did anything else with Tao. It is disappointing though, especially when used right, it could have been an interesting way to make human characters "relevant" again perhaps.

[Angelus]

Heck, AT could have made Tao to be that guy that Fat Buu turned into milk to give to that blind kid. A cameo or something... that ends up with Tao dead. lol

[FoolsGil]

I don't know. But the man has a bad memory. It's a shame too, he already made Tao an Android, it would have been perfect fit for him to reappear in the Android Saga as Android 19 Would have definitely made that fight with Goku more personal, and for the viewer, knowing that it would have been someone from Goku's past that's killing him instead of a fat clown...would have been more terrifying, imho

[DoomieDoomie911]

I don't know. But the man has a bad memory. It's a shame too, he already made Tao an Android, it would have been perfect fit for him to reappear in the Android Saga as Android 19 Would have definitely made that fight with Goku more personal, and for the viewer, knowing that it would have been someone from Goku's past that's killing him instead of a fat clown...would have been more terrifying, imho

That's a fantastic idea, actually. I've never really thought of it...

[precita]

Mercenary Tao working for the Red Ribbon Army also meant he likely could have met Dr. Gero. They could have conspired together for revenge on Goku.

I said a while ago that I always wonder if Tao's cyborg parts were created by Dr. Gero.

[TheGreatness25]

I feel like asking this question is like asking why they never did anything with other characters. Why didn't Violet return? Why didn't Bora or Oopa become Z Warriors? Why didn't the story exploit any of the other Tenkaichi Budokai participants? I mean it just didn't.

[Lunatic Fringe]

I really don't see the point in having him return unless you want to go out of your way to make him stronger just so he can be a threat to Goku & pals. He wouldn't be worth that effort to me, especially since the stakes surrounding new threats, that steadily get stronger and stronger as the power scale and overall expanse of DB's universe continues to expand, sorta demands new concepts taking shape. Between intergalactic emperors, magical demons, and Gods of Destruction, where would a guy like Tao Pai Pai fit, especially when we've seen him have his comeuppance twice and any real opportunities to add to his mythos involves him getting his hands dirty with characters(Tenshinhan and Chaozu)that aren't even the focus of the series anymore?

[precita]

I feel like asking this question is like asking why they never did anything with other characters. Why didn't Violet return? Why didn't Bora or Oopa become Z Warriors? Why didn't the story exploit any of the other Tenkaichi Budokai participants? I mean it just didn't.

Because Mercenary Tao is a villain, making his return more likely than other supporting characters. He has a rivalry with Tienshinhan, while the Crane Hermit has a rivalry with Master Roshi. He's also technically the first android/artificial human of the series, something we'd see again with the Androids and Cyborg Freeza.

As said, they could have brought back Tao in the Cell arc and have him be another one of the Androids working with Dr. Gero to get revenge on Goku.

[TheZFighter]

I don't know. But the man has a bad memory. It's a shame too, he already made Tao an Android, it would have been perfect fit for him to reappear in the Android Saga as Android 19 Would have definitely made that fight with Goku more personal, and for the viewer, knowing that it would have been someone from Goku's past that's killing him instead of a fat clown...would have been more terrifying, imho

That actually is brilliant.

[Lord Beerus]

I don't know. But the man has a bad memory. It's a shame too, he already made Tao an Android, it would have been perfect fit for him to reappear in the Android Saga as Android 19 Would have definitely made that fight with Goku more personal, and for the viewer, knowing that it would have been someone from Goku's past that's killing him instead of a fat clown...would have been more terrifying, imho

Oh, man. Why didn't this happen? That would have been bloody brilliant!

[Kid Buu]

Didn't Toriyama once forget who he was when asked about him?

Are you serious? Surely not!

Yeah, he did.

http://www.thegrandline.com/odainterview.html

Toriyama: Taopaipai...? You're getting to some of the less important characters.

I think this interview is legitimate at least.

I don't see how that means he forgot Tao Pai Pai. All he is saying that he is not that important, which is true.

[TheGreatness25]

I mean would it be cool if Tao Pai Pai replaced No. 19? Sure. No. 19 was so useless, it was embarrassing. It looked like Chaozu and Yajirobe fused. But still, Tao Pai Pai himself was not exactly a super huge character. He was turned into a cyborg back in Dragon Ball and was pretty much outgrown. He would surely perish very quickly by Z, unless he got an upgrade. That would give him way too much attention. As for the Crane Hermit, he would only be relevant if Roshi was still relevant.

It almost feels like the story didn't want to focus on anyone but the most powerful characters by the time the cyborgs came around. I don't personally like that, but it is what it is.

[Polyphase Avatron]

He's also technically the first android/artificial human of the series, something we'd see again with the Androids and Cyborg Freeza.

What about Android #8?

[Kamiccolo9]

I dunno. While I guess it would be cool for Tao to have shown up again at some point, I wouldn't want him appearing alongside Gero. To be frank, Tao would overshadow him, due to his prior relationship with Goku, and this part of the arc was about establishing Gero. Including Tao would have been counterproductive to that, especially since Gero's retroactive connection to Goku was tenuous at best. 19 worked well for the part, due to not really having a personality that would overshadow the (at the time) main villain, but also successfully establishing the Androids as a threat. Including Tao would have added even more necessary exposition to an already over complicated, if not particularly complex, section of the story.

In summation, Tao's filler was great. I don't really want him being part of the main story again, though. At least not at that point, anyway.

[Araki]

I feel like asking this question is like asking why they never did anything with other characters. Why didn't Violet return? Why didn't Bora or Oopa become Z Warriors? Why didn't the story exploit any of the other Tenkaichi Budokai participants? I mean it just didn't.

Yeah. Why not Namu? Or even better, bring back RanFan as a strong fighter! Does everyone that ever appeared in the manga needed to be used again?

I think when Tao Pai Pai came back as a cyborg he was overstaying his welcome already. Ok, it wasn't bad, but he didn't really need to appear a 2nd time, let alone a 3rd or 4th. Unless it was for comedic one-offs like the anime did.

[Gyt Kaliba]

The difference between Tao (and Crane) and other characters though is that they explicitely state that they're going to come back again one day and try to get revenge. And then, as far as we can tell, they never do. The manga shows us nothing with them ever again, and the anime shows Tao with a deathly fear of Goku, despite the fact that the last time we saw him he acted nothing like that. Did something happen in-between those appearances? Who knows. It'd be nice to get something on it though.

There's also the fact that, in a way, Tao was the first true 'supervillain' that Goku came up against. Everything he fought before that was either not that far out of his strength range, or even if it was, they weren't out to kill him. He had a bit of trouble with Blue, but nothing compared to Tao who flat out beats him with ease. It's the first time that Goku gets completely shown up, and that leaves a pretty powerful impact on Tao as a character. I can see why people wouldn't mind seeing him in that light again, even if only slightly.

Maybe using Tao and Crane would make for an interesting 'Dragon Ball' movie, something in-between that era of stories and the beginning of the Saiyan material.