Why did Toriyama bother writing Dragon Ball Z?

[thatdbzguy]

What I mean is, why didn't he just end the series after the 23rd tenkaichi? That would have been a nice end to the series, and Toriyama would have been able to quit making himself miserable by constantly having to write the series.

Not only that, but I think that Dragon Ball would be respected much more if it had ended there. Toriyama's writing went way downhill with Z, and things like the Cell saga ended up being complete embarrassments. Nowadays, the series is constantly made fun of and ripped apart, even by the fans, thanks to Z screwing up so many things.

If Toriyama didn't like writing for the series so much, why did he keep writing all the way into the Z portion of the story?

[jjgp1112]

Where is this fantasy land where the majority of Dragon Ball fans constantly rip on the Z portion of the story? Is it the vague assembly of elitists you keep deferring to for your arguments?

And your argument especially falls flat and doesn't ring true when you consider how popular Dragon Ball Z is.

[VegettoEX]

We have an entire section of the website filled with research and citations for you to read up on.

[FortuneSSJ]

Dragon Ball worldwide phenomenon was mostly thanks to the Z part.
The series ended where it should be. And even so, GT was the one that gave it the best ending.

[kei17]

What I mean is, why didn't he just end the series after the 23rd tenkaichi?

Because there was NO fucking commercial reason to end it.

Dragon Ball's popularity was getting higher and higher at the point that he couldn't even decide to end it himself because that would affect the performances of Shueisha, Toei, and multiple sponsors of the anime series. Shonen manga series are produced purely for commercial purposes. Don't expect any artistic reasons behind them.

Also, it's worth noting that there is no division of the original Japanese manga into two series. Dragon Ball Z does not exist in it.

[sintzu]

I think that Dragon Ball would be respected much more if it had ended there.

The Z part of the story is the reason the series is as big as it is right now and if it weren't for that it would have ended up like any other series.

Dragon Ball's popularity was getting higher and higher at the point that he couldn't even decide to end it himself because that would affect the performances of Shueisha, Toei, and multiple sponsors of the anime series.

I read that Shueisha had trouble keeping up sales after it ended is that true ?

[kei17]

Dragon Ball's popularity was getting higher and higher at the point that he couldn't even decide to end it himself because that would affect the performances of Shueisha, Toei, and multiple sponsors of the anime series.

I read that Shueisha had trouble keeping up sales after it ended is that true ?

Yes, that's true. The sales figures of Weekly Shonen Jump drastically decreased immediatelly after Dragon Ball had ended.

[Luso Saiyan]

Also, it's worth noting that there is no division of the original Japanese manga into two series. Dragon Ball Z does not exist in it.

What I came here to say. For Toriyama, it's all Dragon Ball.

What I mean is, why didn't he just end the series after the 23rd tenkaichi? That would have been a nice end to the series,

Fortunately he didn't share your opinion.

[UltimateHammerBro]

Oh wow, I swear I read the title and guessed it was you without bothering to look at your username.
DBZ being bad, Toriyama making mistakes, the Cell saga sucking... it's what makes you be you. Don't forget the arguments you offer as the absolute truth, such as "Nowadays, the series is constantly made fun of and ripped apart, even by the fans, thanks to Z screwing up so many things", "things like the Cell saga ended up being complete embarrassments" and the like.

I do admit that it's fun reading your posts: it feels like someone is slowly becoming (if they haven't already) a DBZ hater, and us such they're going through the torture of writing in a forum full of DBZ fans. Just sayin'.

[B]

He lost multiple bets with his editor. Dr. Slump exists because Toriyama was forced to draw a female lead after all his male-lead attempts failed, and the only way to stop writing Dr. Slump after it got popular was to create a new series. Torishima knows how to keep the money rolling in.

Obviously no one can be sure of anything, but I wonder if the series would have been the anchor it is without its longevity. This is completely ignoring the fact the vast majority of the planet prefers the Freeza and Cell arcs to the rest of the series.

[Valerius Dover]

Dragon Ball's popularity was getting higher and higher at the point that he couldn't even decide to end it himself because that would affect the performances of Shueisha, Toei, and multiple sponsors of the anime series.

I read that Shueisha had trouble keeping up sales after it ended is that true ?

Yes, that's true. The sales figures of Weekly Shonen Jump drastically decreased immediatelly after Dragon Ball had ended.

I think I see One Piece in the later 90s sort of picking things up and on track, but it seems that Shonen Jump never really reached the same popularity as the early 90s in particular. I do agree that pre-Raditz portion is considerably overlooked, but I definitely can't agree with the latter portion being bad. Maybe the Cell arc could've been handled a little better, but other than that, I think Z is fine.

[Blade]

and Toriyama would have been able to quit making himself miserable by constantly having to write the series.

Miserable though he was during the serialisation, it's blatantly clear that, like the majority of people who work for a living, he adjudged the financial reward to outweigh whatever burden the work was to him. I don't really think there's anything else to say about this. He continued the Manga at that point because he felt, for whatever reasons, that he was willing to keep going at that time.

C'est tout. That's it. Fin.

I think I see One Piece in the later 90s sort of picking things up and on track, but it seems that Shonen Jump never really reached the same popularity as the early 90s in particular. I do agree that pre-Raditz portion is considerably overlooked, but I definitely can't agree with the latter portion being bad. Maybe the Cell arc could've been handled a little better, but other than that, I think Z is fine.

It's worth keeping in mind that One Piece didn't really hit it's current stratospheric heights of popularity untill the late 2000's. Don't get me wrong, it was big back then, but it wasn't on the same level as Dragonball.

[VegettoEX]

Oh wow, I swear I read the title and guessed it was you without bothering to look at your username.

If you have something to say about the content of a thread, keep your contributions to the content of the thread, rather than personally attacking someone.

[PhoenixEX]

Should have had a flame shield ready TC...
Anyways, I personally enjoyed Z a lot more than DB as I'm sure a lot of others did as well as the ratings show. Ending it at the 23rd BT would have been a bad idea.
Also, I don't think that Toriyama was miserable writing Z...maybe at around the Buu arc he got tired but seeing as how he's creating new works now, I feel like he's back in the game and enjoying what he's currently working on.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Nowadays, the series is constantly made fun of and ripped apart, even by the fans, thanks to Z screwing up so many things.

Really? I don't see Z getting "ripped" apart or ridiculed anywhere, I would love you to show some examples of what you claim.

[Hellspawn28]

Dragon Ball is one of the most popular manga in the 80's up to the mid 90's. As long he keeps on making money of it at the time, he would kept it going. I guess that's why Naruto and Bleach been going on for so long. With One Piece, Oda admits that he loves writing and drawing the series.

[sintzu]

If he didn't write the Z part of the story we probably wouldn't have the great series that we have today like one piece

[Freeza Soldier #156]

If you want to be specific, he didn't bother writing Dragon Ball Z, he decided to continue Dragon Ball and that was just the direction he decided to take the series. If he hadn't then most of us probably wouldn't be here because the show wouldn't be the global powerhouse that it is.

Oh and I forgot to mention that you still think you speak for the rest of the world. Who are these people "ripping" the series apart? In all the years of liking the series (far over a decade) I've only met a couple who truly "ripped" into the series and all of the complaints were about pacing of the anime, which you can't really blame Akira Toriyama for. I also don't know where you are getting that the Cell arc is embarrassing (unless that is just your opinion) because I know plenty of people who cite the Cell arc as their favorite part of the series.

[thatdbzguy]

Nowadays, the series is constantly made fun of and ripped apart, even by the fans, thanks to Z screwing up so many things.

Really? I don't see Z getting "ripped" apart or ridiculed anywhere, I would love you to show some examples of what you claim.

You can't honestly tell me that you never once see any sort of criticism towards DBZ in all of the websites you've browsed.

[TheGmGoken]

Nowadays, the series is constantly made fun of and ripped apart, even by the fans, thanks to Z screwing up so many things.

Really? I don't see Z getting "ripped" apart or ridiculed anywhere, I would love you to show some examples of what you claim.

You can't honestly tell me that you never once see any sort of criticism towards DBZ in all of the websites you've browsed.

You seem criticism for anything on the internet. Look at me. I fucking hate Attack On Titan and One Piece. Both are huge and very popular. What's the issue with Dbz getting criticism
? It happens for everything. I've honestly haven't seen Dbz hate besides from you in about 2 years maybe 1 and 1/2 years.