Dragon Ball characters and concepts that Akira Toriyama forgot

Important takeaways

  • Toriyama forgot some major Dragon Ball characters like Broly and Tao Pai Pai.
  • He even forgot about less prominent characters like Launch and the anthropomorphic characters.
  • Toriyama also missed details like Android 18's hair color and the Super Saiyan 2 transformation.



Akira Toriyama has filled the world Dragon Ball with so many unique and interesting characters that you can't blame a guy for forgetting some, even if that guy made the series. Yes, Toriyama himself is known for forgetting concepts, transformations, and even entire characters of his own creation.

In an interview, Toriyama attributes his forgetfulness in the matter Dragon Ball to the fact that he doesn't take notes on the series. But he intentionally avoids taking notes, reasoning that if he allows himself to forget the old, it will make it easier for new ideas to come. And there is some truth to that concept.

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Forgotten characters

Broly

Yes, Broly, the legendary Super Saiyan himself, was given almost no chance to become canon in the story for the simple reason that Toriyama forgot he even existed.


Toriyama posted a message on the official Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie website, which is now defunct, says that although he drew the design for the old Broly, he had little involvement in Dragon Ball Z movies starring him. Since he was not involved in the plot of the film, he had forgotten about Broly's existence until just before the conception of Dragon Ball Super: Broly film. He rewatched the previous Broly movies and decided to finally incorporate the legendary Super Saiyan into the movie Dragon Ball cannon. The message mentioned above was also posted by the official Toei Animation Facebook page if you want to take a look.

Launch (type)

Launch with the evil personality Dragon Ball


If you heard that Toriyama left out a peaceful dark-haired character who can transform into a violent blond berserker at the touch of a button, you'd probably assume that was referring to Broly. Surprisingly, there is another character that fits, and that is Launch from the original Dragon Ball series.

The story of Toriyama ignoring Launch is actually more complicated than just saying he forgot she existed because Toriyama actually intentionally wrote Launch's character out of the story when Dragon Ball Z started. But soon after, Toriyama forgot that he had written her off and felt compelled to come up with an excuse as to why she was gone. Therefore, Krillin mentioned that Launch had chased after Tien and was never seen again at the beginning of Z. So technically, Toriyama forgot that he hadn't forgotten about Launch.

Tao Pai Pai

Tao Pai Pai Dragon Ball (2)


Even one of the biggest and most iconic villains from the original series is not safe from Toriyama's amnesia. Tao Pai Pai, otherwise known as Mercenary Tao, is another character that Toriyama forgot about, and admitted it in an interview with One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda. Thankfully, Tao got one last hurray during the Cell Saga, where he ran into the son of his greatest enemy.

Got

Dragon Ball Z - Goten Blocking Punch

Okay, forgetting supporting characters and villains, even if they are iconic to the fans, is quite understandable. However, forgetting the main character's son is on another level. In a since-deleted Twitter post, Dragon Ball Online designer Daiki Miki recalls the story of asking Toriyama for a drawing of Goten. Unfortunately, Toriyama had apparently forgotten who Goten was and asked if he could just draw a young Goku since that was how Goten's appearance was described to him. To be fair though, there are about five other characters throughout the series who also look exactly like Goku.


Anthropomorphic characters

king furry's office

Anthropomorphic characters were almost everywhere during the original Dragon Ball series and were still around during the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, but almost all of them disappeared soon after. In another interview, Toriyama admits that it was simply because he forgot to include them. But he also suggested that their disappearance may also have been due to the change in tone Dragon Ball Zwhich goes from the playful vibes of the original series to a more serious one. So even if he hadn't forgotten about anthropomorphic characters, he might have been slowly phasing them out on purpose anyway.


Fortunately, already established anthropomorphic characters like Puar and Oolong get to stay. On some rare occasions, some characters still made appearances, such as how King Furry briefly appeared during the Cell Saga. But now then Dragon Ball Daima has established itself as a show more similar to the original series tonally, perhaps anthropomorphic characters may start to reappear.

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Forgotten details

Super Saiyan 2

Dragon Ball - Gohan Super Saiyan 2

In the interview mentioned earlier where he explains why he doesn't take notes, Toriyama also mentions that he forgot about the Super Saiyan 2 transformation. He even got confused when people started saying that Goku has a Super Saiyan 3 transformation. In his mind, Toriyama believed that the transformation where Goku's hair grows to body length and he loses his eyebrows was Super Saiyan 2, completely forgetting that Gohan had already achieved that form a whole saga ago.


Android 18's hair color

android 18 purple hair

This one isn't as brutal but still makes for a fun story. While doing Battle of Gods movie, Toriyama dyed Android 18's hair purple instead of yellow. However, his co-workers noticed the mistake and it was quickly corrected. It would have been nice to see everyone's favorite android get a new look, even if just for a little while.

The Pilaf Robot

Emperor Pilaf

In the same interview with Oda, where he admitted to forgetting who Mercenary Tao was, Toriyama also reveals that he does not remember the mechs Pilaf, Shu, and Mai piloted in Dragon Ball. This one is somewhat understandable though, as the Pilaf Machines were one of the earliest villains in the series, debuting in the anime in 1986.


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Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball

Release date
February 26, 1986

Studio
Toei animation

Creator
Akira Toriyama

MyAnimeList Score
7.97

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