Why was Tien excluded for the majority of the Majin Buu arc?

[precita]

As we all know Tien didn't show up at the tournament like all the other main characters at the time and wasn't there to see Goku come back to Earth for 1 day. Many thought Tien would never show up at all until that once scene where he comes back with Majin Buu, and then he disappears again until the planet blows up.

I have to ask, why? What made Toriyama exclude him specifically for the majority of the arc? I mean they even still had Yamcha there show up with the others so why couldn't Tien be the same?

[fadeddreams5]

Didn't Tien specifically state at the end of the Cell saga that they probably wouldn't see him after that or something?

Why, I have no idea. I guess he just wanted to live a quiet life with Chiaotzu.

[TripleRach]

Tenshinhan was never really as sociable as Yamcha and Kuririn. You can say the same for Piccolo and Vegeta, but Piccolo is close to Gohan, and Vegeta has his family. The only person Tenshinhan seems to be close to is Chaozu, who is even less involved with the main cast. The fact that Gohan didn't know where to find him or how to contact him about the tournament is evidence of that.

But I think keeping him out of the spotlight actually did him more justice than anything. The lineup for the 25th Budoukai was so crowded that it had to expand to 16 participants to include all the relevant characters, and that's with Yamcha on the sidelines and Goten and Trunks (mostly) moved to a separate division. He would've gotten lost in the shuffle, since it wasn't going to be a classic tournament where he could exhibit his skills anyway. If he went to Babidi's spaceship, he probably would've been turned to stone with Piccolo and Kuririn. After that, the most he could've done is assist with the kids' Fusion training before Boo escaped the Room of Spirit and Time and killed everyone.

Instead, he gets to be the last card up Earth's sleeve after nearly everyone else had been killed or absorbed. It was a brief moment, but it was very useful, and probably unexpected for most people reading/watching it for the first time. (And pretty cool, if you ask me.) Toriyama isn't known for his long-term planning, but he acknowledged Tenshinhan by name at the beginning of the arc, and gave him a cameo in the middle, so he certainly hadn't forgotten about him. I would assume he had something like this in mind for Tenshinhan all along, since he already had a similar moment in the Cell arc.

[Marco Polo]

Tenshinhan never forgave Vegeta for what he and Nappa did in the Saiyan Saga.

[precita]

Well what I also mean is what is the real-life reason Toriyama chose to purposely exclude him?

[Lord Beerus]

Tien has always been very anti-social and prefers to train in solitude. Plus, he still holds a grudge against Vegeta for the shit that went down in the Saiyan arc.

[DoomieDoomie911]

Well what I also mean is what is the real-life reason Toriyama chose to purposely exclude him?

It's very possible that he just couldn't think of a role for him to play in the arc.

[FoolsGil]

Because Tenshinhan is a poor man's Super Saiyan, and Toriyama kept him in his back pocket until he needed a minor deus ex machina.

[RandomGuy96]

Well what I also mean is what is the real-life reason Toriyama chose to purposely exclude him?

Because he didn't feel like it? A better question is "what reason would he have to include Tenshinhan?".

[Gaffer Tape]

Well what I also mean is what is the real-life reason Toriyama chose to purposely exclude him?

I don't see what else you're looking for beyond what TripleRach already said. She speculated in great detail from a real-world perspective why Toriyama probably didn't use him.

[precita]

And yet Yamcha, Ox King, Oolong, Puar, Master Roshi, etc. all showed up and they did nothing of significance in the Buu arc at all. You're telling me it would have made a difference if it had two more characters, Tien and Chaotsu along with them?

[ThatGuyNamedChancey]

I personally believe it would have made a difference. Unlike Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chaotsu are dedicated fighters and most likely joined the Tournament if Toriyama had included them. Basically, it would have changed the dynamic of the gang of side-characters in this arc. You know, like the ones mentioned.

[precita]

Tien would have most likely been turned to stone just like Piccolo and Krillin had he been with them and followed them to see Dabura.

[Marco Polo]

And yet Yamcha, Ox King, Oolong, Puar, Master Roshi, etc. all showed up and they did nothing of significance in the Buu arc at all. You're telling me it would have made a difference if it had two more characters, Tenshinhan and Chaotsu along with them?

I think excluding him was a way to make him stand out. As you say, the other classic DB characters showed up but they were collectively all just background characters. Making Tenshinhan not show up and having Gohan explicitly mention it is more interesting.