Should Toriyama have called it quits sooner? (Part 2)
by Chris Anderson

Originally Posted: 11 May 2000

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I created my last editorial for a very specific purpose: to see what people thought about the length of Dragonball and whether or not people thought the series should have stopped sooner. It was an experiment: I was simply curious to see what people thought and the responses I got were, for the most part, excellent (the one main exception being someone who told me to realize Dragonball was just a cartoon and to get a life; hey, I've been going pretty good without a life so far). I received a number of ideas that were both helpful and enjoyable to read and I'de like to first thank all those who sent me a heartfelt response. You people are the ones I wrote the article for.

Not surprisingly, many people felt that the series was right to go on and that it never lost its charm. They felt that the length profited both businessmen and fans and that the power of Dragonball never dissipitated with time. Very few thought that the series should have stopped at the Freezer saga (or the Cell saga which is another spot Toriyama was planning on stopping at). The Majin Buu ending was thought by nearly all of those who responded to be a great conclusion spot.

I wrote Part 1 to present both sides of the argument. It was specifically designed to be ambiguous and to maintain a somewhat objective view (I know I must have failed at some if not all parts). Part 2 is my opinion on the whole thing. Although I see the potential of ending the series at the Freezer saga, I must agree with the masses and say that Dragonball achieved more by continueing than ending. So, for what's worth, here are my reasons why.

As an aspiring author, I can see the definate advantages of ending with the Freezer saga. I mentioned the literary value of stopping here and I still agree with that. As Lori Cole of the Quest for Glory series said: "every [novel] no matter how much you wish it to go on and on must have an ending which ties it all together". Toriyama achieves this with the Freezer saga. The most powerful warrior has come and gone, there are no more Dragonballs, and the only surviving warrior of the Z-senshi is the one who doesn't like to fight in the first place (which contains another editorial in meaning itself). By ending here, Toriyama has brought his world and his story to a successful conclusion. It need not go on.

But here I feel is where Dragonball sets itself apart and Toriyama proves his dedication and love of the series. Obviously, the series went on for monetary reasons. You can not deny this. All of the suits involved in Dragonball wanted more money and they pressured Toriyama until he caved in. But Toriyama did not sell out. Dragonball could have very easily became a completely boring, lack luster anime, with big explosions and very little actual content (cough**GT**cough). All Toriyama had to do was give Goku a new hair-do, draw some completely whacked out monster, and have everyone just fight their brains out. But Toriyama refuses to sell out and his love and devotion shine throughout the series.

First, he doesn't just change laws of his world just to carry on the story. The Dragonballs can not bring back anyone who has died of natural causes and Toriyama does not change this. Although his excuse that Saichoru died premature because of Freezer giving him a anxiety pains may be lame, it is a legitimate excuse to continue the story and shows that Toriyama cares about what he is creating. The Dragonballs can not bring anyone back to life twice but if you use a different pair of Dragonballs...makes sense. Piccolo was shot by Freezer but notice where the blast hits...not near the heart. Legitimate excuse to keep Piccolo alive. Toriyama obviously thought about how to work around what he had written and what he gives the reader is a legitimate way for things to work.

Another instance that shows that Toriyama cares about what he is writing about is that he doesn't belittle his former villians. Each new villian is on a plane above the last one. We start with Vegita, prince of a forgotten race. When he is defeated, we move on to Freezer, whose family is the most powerful being in the galaxy. After they are defeated, the Androids and Cell, creations of science, appear and after them comes Majin Buu, a demon. We move from aliens, to artificialness, to a creature from a different dimension. Each villian is considered to be the most powerful and Toriyama doesn't just toss away what he has written by saying, "No, they were lying. This is the most powerful being." He instead ups the ante so to speak. Freezer's family are the most naturally powerful beings in the universe and are only surpassed when man creates something more powerful. And man's creations are only surpassed by something that was not created in this world, a demon. By doing this, Toriyama respects what he has written before while giving the reader increasingly stronger and stronger enemies.

I also believe that the series was right to continue because of the emotionial and personality developments that occur. At the end of the Freezer saga, Vegita's character is basically developed to the point where he is simply a proud and stubborn ruler. Gohan is a merciful and strong kid. Kurrurin is the guy who can't get a break. Bulma is independant and willful. These characters are good and developed but by continueing the series, these characters become excellent and developed. Vegita is shown to be a caring person if coupled with an innate desire to be evil. He is also shown to have a proud and almost comical friendship with Goku (I'm only here to help you so that I may kill you, Kakarotto!). Gohan is shown the necessity of fighting for good and that sometimes, you have no choice but to fight which expresses a common martial arts theme (Nothing beats a good punch when nothing else is appropiate- Maestro Urban). We also get to see Gohan grow up in a more "normal" way than his father which presents an interesting contrast between him and Goku (Gohan's schooling vs. Goku's 'home tutoring, Gohan dating vs. Goku not knowing what a girl is, etc.). Kururrin gets a wife, hair, and a kid which makes the viewer feel satisfied that the monk finally gets a break. Bulma evolves from an independant and free-spirited woman into a more subdued housewife which is exactly what she always wanted to avoid (which makes some viewers say, "Yes! That's what she get for being a bitch!" I don't completely agree with this but it has some merit). In all of these instances, the characters go far beyond where they were at the end of the Freezer saga and it gives the series more justification for moving forward.

And a final reason why I feel the series should have continued is just the wonderful characters that evolved from it. Mirai no Trunks is one of the four most popular characters ever in the series and he would have never existed if Toriyama had stopped at Freezer. Goten and Chibi Trunks bring the spirit of the original Dragonball back to Z and their interaction is the only reason I can stand to watch DBZ movie 11 (at least the first half). Joshua Cochran sent me an email and in it, he mentioned Goten and Chibi Trunks and the words "innocence lost" This sparked in me a thought that hadn't occurred to me before. Dragonball was a show seen through the eyes of a child. With Z, we saw a more adult vision with the organic theme that all things grow up and must deal with more serious matters (the passage from childhood to adulthood). With Goten and Chibi Trunks, we see the innocence of childhood again, viewed like a nostalgic reminiscence. They are perhaps the greatest thing to come out of DBZ's continuance. And let's not forget the memorable villians. The cold heartedness of 17, the deadly beauty of 18, the comically dangerous powers of Buu, and the utter awe and magnifigance of Broli; all memorable, all incredible, all after Freezer. I could list pages and pages of characters and why they are so great but the fans already know them and these are best examples. Toriyama never once created crap characters to just throw into the series; each one is special and unique in some way and shows just how much thought was put into the rest of the series.

So there you have it. Yes, I do agree with the masses and say that DBZ was right to continue. However, there is one thing that I do not agree with and that is that the Majin Buu saga is a successful conclusion to the series. One person e-mailed me and said that the open endedness was good because it allowed the audience to create, in their own minds, the latter adventures of Goku and friends. If this was the case, then GT would be loved because it is exactly that, the ultimate fan-fic. But GT is not loved (at least not by the masses) and I do not like the Majin Buu ending. It is fine as a season ending but not as a series ending. There needs to be something that wraps up everything that has happened and gives the audinence a sense of satisfaction (and introducing a new character is not the way to do it). Like a famous film maker said, "Films are never completed, they are only abandoned" and that is exactly what happened here. Toriyama abandoned his creation rather than completing it and it is for this reason that I do not feel that Dragonball is over. I feel that Dragonball is at the moment, stunted. Some day, far in the future, Toriyama is going to have to return to Dragonball if he wishes to fully close his masterpiece. It may never happen and Dragonball may remain forever uncompleted but maybe that is part of the magic of the series. Dragonball is filled with faults but its fans constantly rationalize them. Maybe it is this rationlization that proves that Dragonball is one of the greatest series of all time (if not the greatest). It is filled with so many faults and yet so many people absoluting love the series. Maybe those faults reveal to fans the true wonders of the series (the emotions and ideas inherent that are not readily visible). Maybe Dragonball needs to be a series of faults with one final fault at the end to, in a sense, wrap it all up.

In any case, I digress (I apologise for the above. The idea just came to me and I apologise for its inlegibility). My final analysis: Dragonball was right to continue but I do not feel it has ended yet. There we go, I'm done. As always, I encourage you to e-mail me with your responses.

(This editorial took far too long to write. I think I'll write on GT next and hopefully, I'll have it done sooner.)

Contact: Rogue172@excite.com