Why didn't anyone else show up at the Cell Games?

[TheGreatness25]

It's just one of those things that are convenient for story purposes. It would be too much to go through if everyone and their mother showed up.

Kind of like how Mr. Satan was thought to be the strongest in the world. Did he not go up against Namu? Did he not go up against Chapa-o? Surely he's not more powerful than they are; he certainly doesn't have their techniques. So it's a pretty convenient thing for the story at the time.

[mAcChaos]

It's Mr. Satan so even if he got beat by them he'd come up with some excuse to fool everybody why he let them win.

[Polyphase Avatron]

It's Mr. Satan so even if he got beat by them he'd come up with some excuse to fool everybody why he let them win.

Didn't some supplementary material say he was once badly injured in a fight with Tao Pai Pai?

[ChaosLordBrandon]

It's just one of those things that are convenient for story purposes. It would be too much to go through if everyone and their mother showed up.

Kind of like how Mr. Satan was thought to be the strongest in the world. Did he not go up against Namu? Did he not go up against Chapa-o? Surely he's not more powerful than they are; he certainly doesn't have their techniques. So it's a pretty convenient thing for the story at the time.

And if they did show up it would not change anything about the event.

All they would have done was filled up back space.

And they would have ruined Satan was the ultimate hero thing which becomes a major plot point in the story moving forward.

[Nejishiki]

Didn't some supplementary material say he was once badly injured in a fight with Tao Pai Pai?

It was an interview Ooishi had with Toriyama in the Saikyo Jump magazine.

How did Mr. Satan train to become stronger? Did he have someone like a martial-arts master…?
When Mr. Satan was young, he attended a fighting dojo called “Satan Castle”. Through a combination of considerable power and good luck (his rival fighting opponent would get food poisoning, for instance), he quickly became world champion and was called “Mr. Satan” after the name of his dojo. One day, at a bar in South City (where they were on tour), Satan and his martial-arts master made the mistake of making fun of Tao Pai-pai’s hairstyle. His master was killed, and Satan was heavily injured. From then on, Mr. Satan solemnly swore never to fight anyone whose true identity he didn’t know, or anyone who seemed crazy strong.

[Friezacooler]

Didn't some supplementary material say he was once badly injured in a fight with Tao Pai Pai?

It was an interview Ooishi had with Toriyama in the Saikyo Jump magazine.

How did Mr. Satan train to become stronger? Did he have someone like a martial-arts master…?
When Mr. Satan was young, he attended a fighting dojo called “Satan Castle”. Through a combination of considerable power and good luck (his rival fighting opponent would get food poisoning, for instance), he quickly became world champion and was called “Mr. Satan” after the name of his dojo. One day, at a bar in South City (where they were on tour), Satan and his martial-arts master made the mistake of making fun of Tao Pai-pai’s hairstyle. His master was killed, and Satan was heavily injured. From then on, Mr. Satan solemnly swore never to fight anyone whose true identity he didn’t know, or anyone who seemed crazy strong.

Last sentence, makes me think that Mr Satan felt the spark to fight again, when he faced cell. So Tao pai pai > Cell, logic. Still more believable then super power scaling.

[Draconic]

Panput was pretty much a beta version of Mr Satan, being the champion of a lot of fighting circuits, adored by people and managed to sneak into the Tournament pretty easy. I think we could give Satan some credit here. Yeah, Tao and such could probably kick his ass easily, but I can see him taking on the likes of Man-Wolf or Panput. However, why would Tao or Android 8, or those top tier early DB fighters attempt to take a shot at Cell? The fact that they are more powerful than the averege joe would make them realise they would be in way over their heads. The regular fighters could probably underestimate Cell, but I don't see any of the actual strong humans not getting that the guy is way above them. Especially after the Piccolo Daimao fiasco, where most of them were killed easily exactly by a crazy green monster-alien thing that announced his superiority on TV.

[TheGreatness25]

How did Mr. Satan train to become stronger? Did he have someone like a martial-arts master…?
When Mr. Satan was young, he attended a fighting dojo called “Satan Castle”. Through a combination of considerable power and good luck (his rival fighting opponent would get food poisoning, for instance), he quickly became world champion and was called “Mr. Satan” after the name of his dojo. One day, at a bar in South City (where they were on tour), Satan and his martial-arts master made the mistake of making fun of Tao Pai-pai’s hairstyle. His master was killed, and Satan was heavily injured. From then on, Mr. Satan solemnly swore never to fight anyone whose true identity he didn’t know, or anyone who seemed crazy strong.

Last sentence, makes me think that Mr Satan felt the spark to fight again, when he faced cell. So Tao pai pai > Cell, logic. Still more believable then super power scaling.

Does Akira Toriyama just think this crap up on the spot when he's asked a question? "Toriyama-sensei, how did Chaozu came to look the way he does?" "Well I'm glad you asked. He's 301 years old and when he was a boy, he fell in love with a mermaid. The mermaid told him that to win her love he had to travel to the largest sea in the world. Chaozu searched for the sea, walking for years as the sun dried out his skin. Meanwhile, because of the mermaid's magical powers, he stayed the size that he was. The sun also dried out his head, saving one last hair. Chaozu finally found the sea, but stumbled and fell, smashing his cheeks on some rocks, causing the red color. But Chaozu never saw the mermaid again." "Oh my goodness! So that's how it came to be!?" "I don't fucking know."

[Friezacooler]

How did Mr. Satan train to become stronger? Did he have someone like a martial-arts master…?
When Mr. Satan was young, he attended a fighting dojo called “Satan Castle”. Through a combination of considerable power and good luck (his rival fighting opponent would get food poisoning, for instance), he quickly became world champion and was called “Mr. Satan” after the name of his dojo. One day, at a bar in South City (where they were on tour), Satan and his martial-arts master made the mistake of making fun of Tao Pai-pai’s hairstyle. His master was killed, and Satan was heavily injured. From then on, Mr. Satan solemnly swore never to fight anyone whose true identity he didn’t know, or anyone who seemed crazy strong.

Last sentence, makes me think that Mr Satan felt the spark to fight again, when he faced cell. So Tao pai pai > Cell, logic. Still more believable then super power scaling.

Does Akira Toriyama just think this crap up on the spot when he's asked a question? "Toriyama-sensei, how did Chaozu came to look the way he does?" "Well I'm glad you asked. He's 301 years old and when he was a boy, he fell in love with a mermaid. The mermaid told him that to win her love he had to travel to the largest sea in the world. Chaozu searched for the sea, walking for years as the sun dried out his skin. Meanwhile, because of the mermaid's magical powers, he stayed the size that he was. The sun also dried out his head, saving one last hair. Chaozu finally found the sea, but stumbled and fell, smashing his cheeks on some rocks, causing the red color. But Chaozu never saw the mermaid again." "Oh my goodness! So that's how it came to be!?" "I don't fucking know."

lol What did i just read, that some pure gold trolling XD.

[TheGreatness25]

lol What did i just read, that some pure gold trolling XD.

I just feel like Toriyama always gives this strange explanation for stuff when asked questions. Mr. Satan at a bar getting into a fight with Tao Pai Pai, etc. Where'd all of this come from? Put it in the story. I feel like he just rattles it off the top of his head and all the fans are sitting around nodding. Like Mr. Satan's first name being Mark. That never actually happens in the story. Why not throw it into the story?

[omaro34]

lol What did i just read, that some pure gold trolling XD.

I just feel like Toriyama always gives this strange explanation for stuff when asked questions. Mr. Satan at a bar getting into a fight with Tao Pai Pai, etc. Where'd all of this come from? Put it in the story. I feel like he just rattles it off the top of his head and all the fans are sitting around nodding. Like Mr. Satan's first name being Mark. That never actually happens in the story. Why not throw it into the story?

Mr. Satan getting into a bar fight with Tao Pai Pai definitely sounds like something Toriyama would make up on the spot. Tao Pai Pai should beat Satan with relative ease, especially if he uses the Do Don Ray.

[Nejishiki]

I just feel like Toriyama always gives this strange explanation for stuff when asked questions. Mr. Satan at a bar getting into a fight with Tao Pai Pai, etc. Where'd all of this come from? Put it in the story. I feel like he just rattles it off the top of his head and all the fans are sitting around nodding. Like Mr. Satan's first name being Mark. That never actually happens in the story. Why not throw it into the story?

This answer might interest you.

I hear that the detail about “there not being that many types of Saiyan faces”, which was the reason for Bardock looking exactly like Goku, was something the anime staff got directly from you.
Toriyama:
Yeah, I probably said that, too. (laughs) I have a whole lot of unwritten rules like that inside my head. It would get too exposition-heavy, so most of it I left out of the comic, but I did have those concepts, so things didn’t break down too often. I was writing the story by the seat of my pants, though. For example, in Vegeta’s case, I had already determined in my head that “he’s probably like this”. Although I didn’t leave any notes.

I interpret that he thought certain details weren't necessary to write in. You'll notice Toriyama rarely uses flashbacks in his work. If I'm making a guess, he probably had that side-story thought up after Cell smacked Mr. Satan away. He opted to keep the story going rather than explore Mr. Satan further. If I'm making another guess, I know he watched the anime sometimes. Maybe he saw the return of Tao Pai Pai in filler and had a "stroke of inspiration". We'll never know the specifics, but it does make sense that he left elements undisclosed from lack of interest.

[Berserker1921]

It would have been awesome if the kaioshins or the galactic patrol came down there? That would have been amazing. But honestly all the real secondary fighters who could sense ki realized that cell was way too much for them. They hoped that Goku and the crew could handle it. And they did. Satan was just stupid and trying to get even more famous.

[apex_pretador]

So I was watching the new DBZA episode and this occurred to me. Cell announced the time and location to the entire world, so wouldn't you have expected more people to show up, even just out of curiosity?

If only the Z-senshi had shown up I could buy that everyone else was too scared, but Mr. Satan (and in the anime, his students too) got in the ring and thought they had a chance, so you would figure a bunch of other amateur fighters might have done the same. Maybe even some familiar faces from the Budokais in part 1? But it was just the Z-senshi, Mr. Satan, and the reporters.

Mr satan always shows up.

Why didn't anyone else strong show up?

1. They weren't strong enough and stupid enough. They saw cell destroying army with his hands and destroying a city. No one could match this level of power.

2. The only one who arguably could, was cyborg tao pai pai but he never fights, never. He just assasinates when given money. Also, it is doubtful even he can match this kind of power.

[DanielSSJ]

I think anyone with any reasonable level of skill (Crane Hermit, Taopaipai, King Chappa, etc.) would've known that they wouldn't stand a chance against Cell. Mr. Satan only challenged Cell because he convinced himself that Cell's feats of power were due to pyrotechnics and the like.

[DanielSSJ]

It would have been awesome if the kaioshins or the galactic patrol came down there? That would have been amazing. But honestly all the real secondary fighters who could sense ki realized that cell was way too much for them. They hoped that Goku and the crew could handle it. And they did. Satan was just stupid and trying to get even more famous.

It would've been interesting, but Kaioshin has the whole universe to keep track of, not just earth, and they're not really supposed to do much interfering anyways. The Galactic Patrol would probably take one look at Cell and decide he's way too strong for them.

[Ozotto]

If I was watching TV and I saw this crew of fighting MVP's roll up, I wouldn't bother to show up either.
I'd be like ... damn... I seen those dudes at tournaments, they're stronger then me for sure. If they can't do it, I certainly couldn't.



Imagine some monster (Cell) shows up, you have no idea what it is, Alien, Monster, Demon... We wouldn't know.
But we do know it's killed off masses, I wouldn't be going to play with it anytime soon, especially when the army couldn't kill him.

You got the world's 3 strongest humans.
You have a Super Saiyan elite prince.
A Time Traveling half alien.
You have a child prodigy with extreme latent powers.
You have the man the legend, Goku.
You have a super namek green alien, that fused with the God/ Guardian of Earth.
And to top it all off Earth's most scientifically advanced piece of machinery that was worked on by the greatest minds on Earth, Gero and Breif's family.
Oh and that current world champion Mr. Satan.

I wouldn't show up.

[rereboy]

Fighters like Nam and Tao can almost surely feel Ki and they surely felt how strong Cell was. Mr. Satan just happens to be a total newbie regarding Ki and the Champion. That's why he shows up and others don't.

[Marco Polo]

If I was watching TV and I saw this crew of fighting MVP's roll up, I wouldn't bother to show up either.
I'd be like ... damn... I seen those dudes at tournaments, they're stronger then me for sure. If they can't do it, I certainly couldn't.



Imagine some monster (Cell) shows up, you have no idea what it is, Alien, Monster, Demon... We wouldn't know.
But we do know it's killed off masses, I wouldn't be going to play with it anytime soon, especially when the army couldn't kill him.

You got the world's 3 strongest humans.
You have a Super Saiyan elite prince.
A Time Traveling half alien.
You have a child prodigy with extreme latent powers.
You have the man the legend, Goku.
You have a super namek green alien, that fused with the God/ Guardian of Earth.
And to top it all off Earth's most scientifically advanced piece of machinery that was worked on by the greatest minds on Earth, Gero and Breif's family.
Oh and that current world champion Mr. Satan.

I wouldn't show up.

If you were inside the series as part of the Earthling population, you would have none of that knowledge. You wouldn't know what a Saiyan even is, you wouldn't who about Gero, you wouldn't know about that child's latent powers.

[Ozotto]

If you were inside the series as part of the Earthling population, you would have none of that knowledge. You wouldn't know what a Saiyan even is, you wouldn't who about Gero, you wouldn't know about that child's latent powers.

You can't tell me what I would and wouldn't hypothetically know.
Maybe i'd have psychic powers, or married to baba you dunno fam.