Does Akira Toriyama's forgetfulness bother anyone but me?

[FindKenshi]

It... bugs me. Every time I read a tidbit about the creator of the series not knowing who Tao Paipai was, or what color #18's hair was... or, Kami forbid, not knowing what SSj2/3 are... a little part of my soul shrivels up and dies. How could he forget about this stuff, he wrote it! I mean, come find me in 20 years and ask me minor little details about Dragonball's story, and I'd still probably be able to tell you. Maybe I'm just too uptight, but it almost hurts my feelings that he could forget some of that stuff. It's like that moment when the little kid finds out his greatest hero is actually some jerk or whatever, and is shattered from it. Only in this case the hero isn't a jerk, he just doesn't care that much.

Part of me secretly hopes that he really remembers every little detail, and just pretends to forget things to get fanboys off his back. I wonder if he gets tons of fanmail from geeks like me asking him if Super Buu/Gohan is stronger than Kid Buu/Goku and the like, or what year Battle of Gods takes place in.

[Insertclevername]

Not really, I find it funny actually.

[Gaffer Tape]

We're obsessive fans. He's not. Maybe it's true with Toriyama more so than certain other creators, but you'll find that most obsessive fans know more about what they obsess over than their creators.

But in Toriyama's case specifically, it's important to remember that he didn't have some amazingly planned out story. He made it up as he went along, to the point that he would say things like the outcomes of things surprised even him. When you're making things up almost randomly, it's harder to remember them. And I think the most important perspective to remember is that this really hasn't been a part of his everyday life for going on 20 years now! If you don't use it, you lose it. That is, if you aren't regularly thinking about or experiencing something (like posting on a message board every day), you're going to forget the finer details. And, honestly, most creators are their own biggest critics and don't like to sit around re-reading their own work.

So, no, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I only get slightly worried if and when Toriyama decides to pick up the pen and start weaving more into the story. At that point, I'd be concerned over whether or not he actually knows what he's doing. Then again, I haven't seen Battle of the Gods...

EDIT: Ooh, groovy. Post 3,333!

[penguintruth]

The man made a manga decades ago for money.

[B]

I don't remember anything I did between '84 and '95.

[kei17]

I think it's his little interest in his own creations what made Dragon Ball very fun. The DB characters would have been far less appealing if he had been emotionally involved with them.

[DBZ Mick]

Not really, the way he wrote/drew it over all those years seemed to be incredibly demanding. Maybe he's just naturally forgetful or something.

I wonder if he gets tons of fanmail from geeks like me asking him if Super Buu/Gohan is stronger than Kid Buu/Goku and the like, or what year Battle of Gods takes place in.

God, if I got these, I would forget too, no offence.

[Makaioshin]

I think it kinda cool that he can just come up with a character like Tao Pai Pai but not remember him as anything special(or at all). As a fan it is fun to know all these trivial things but I don't expect him to know or care about these things. He can still create entertaining scenarios and colorful designs.

[NeoKING]

I'm actually baffled when I read the manga or watch the series and realize that Toriyama actually wrote these solid characters with their solid dialogs and designs, and doesn't remember much of anything. Once in senior year English class, we had to write essays and after grading them the teacher would read aloud the first few sentences of the good, well-written essays. Upon hearing their first few sentences, most people in class claimed "I don't even know if I wrote that," or "Wow, I hope that's not mine," maybe just to seem cool or seem nonchalant; but the teacher was actually very disappointed that they didn't put in enough effort into their work to even recall doing it and found it very sad. That's exactly how I feel about it.

[Black_Liger]

I do find it funny, but It's because Toriyama stopped being my favorite Mangaka. xD

[Ringworm128]

He probably only thinks of DB when he's reminded of it. Anyone who doesn't involve themselves deeply into something constantly will forget more then a few details.

[bleed0range]

I realize now that Toriyama is basically Goku. Carefree and kind of absent-minded. If you think about it like that, it all makes sense.

[Chuquita]

I realize now that Toriyama is basically Goku. Carefree and kind of absent-minded. If you think about it like that, it all makes sense.

Now I'm picturing Goku drawing manga, going to submit it, and then having his editor Torishima Piccolo reject it. XD

[Marco Polo]

I think it's his little interest in his own creations what made Dragon Ball very fun. The DB characters would have been far less appealing if he had been emotionally involved with them.

Is it appealing that he forgot SSJ2?

[kei17]

I think it's his little interest in his own creations what made Dragon Ball very fun. The DB characters would have been far less appealing if he had been emotionally involved with them.

Is it appealing that he forgot SSJ2?

I mean, he could treat characters as he likes because he's not emotionally attached to them. Some mangaka occasionally seem reluctant to treat their favorite characters badly, which reflects negatively on their storytelling.

As I said before, I think that true geniuses are those who excrete their ideas and creations literally like shit, then flush and never care about them.

[Ringworm128]

I don't think you need to not care one bit about your creations to be able to treat them badly. I myself am planning out a story and I'm planning to put the main characters through hell. And I think DB's greatness actually came from his editors, if Toriyama was free to do what he wants the story probably wouldn't be as great.

[El Diabeetus]

I don't think you need to not care one bit about your creations to be able to treat them badly. I myself am planning out a story and I'm planning to put the main characters through hell. And I think DB's greatness actually came from his editors, if Toriyama was free to do what he wants the story probably wouldn't be as great.

This. I would've hated to have the whole Android Arc have Dr. Gero and #19 as the villains, I'm glad Toriyama was denied that idea. At this point I just find Toriyama forgetting things funny, even did a parody of that fact.

[Black_Liger]

I don't think you need to not care one bit about your creations to be able to treat them badly. I myself am planning out a story and I'm planning to put the main characters through hell. And I think DB's greatness actually came from his editors, if Toriyama was free to do what he wants the story probably wouldn't be as great.

Yeah, I think One can torture his characters even while loving them xD However one should not be like Kishimoto Killing of the entire main cast

[Michsi]

I think Gaffer Tape had the right answer. Fans often tend to be more passionate about the author's work than the author himself. I remember how George R R Martin was amused by how some fans pointed out that in a very minor scene of the HBO series, the horse was brown instead of black as described in the book.

I do wish, however, that he planned the story a little better though. His seat-of-pants writting style might have added some charm to the story, don't think extra planning would have done any harm to it

[hleV]

I think AT's forgetfulness restricts him from coming up with a story consistent with his own DB manga *cough* JSAT & BOG *cough*. I genuinely dislike that.