In the early days of Dragon Ball, there were still numerous animal creatures that lived with humans. But over time, they appeared less and less frequently. There is an official and an unofficial reason for their disappearance.
Which animal creatures are meant? In Dragon Ball, not only humans but also humanoid creatures live on Earth. According to Daizenshuu issues 4 and 7, around 17% of the Earth’s inhabitants are said to be creatures. At the beginning of Dragon Ball, there were two creatures that played an important role: Oolong and Pool.
There were also other humanoid creatures:
But in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, fewer and fewer new creatures have appeared. The official reason for this can be found in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. But Akira Toriyama also has a reason that no longer surprises us.
The Z in Dragon Ball Z has a very specific meaning:
Dragon Ball: What the Z in the title stands for
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Animals in Dragon Ball went out of fashion
What is the official reason why they are appearing less and less often? In a side mission with Oolong, we find out that the beastmen are created by a drug called Animorphaline. This drug turns people into beasts. However, they accept the price of not being able to transform back.
But the drug became less and less popular over time. According to Bulma, the drug was trendy when she was just 10 years old. Nowadays, there are hardly any people who take the drug, which is why there are fewer and fewer animal people. Oolong and Pool are excluded from this because they have been animals since birth.
But the video game is not part of the official anime or manga. So there could be another reason why the beastmen are seen less and less. Akira Toriyama, the mangaka of Dragon Ball, revealed the real reason in an interview.
What is the unofficial reason? An interview with Toriyama was published in the 43rd issue of Shonen Jump magazine (via Kazenshuu). The interviewer asked whether the creatures were becoming increasingly rare because the story was becoming more serious. In Dragon Ball Z, Son Goku encounters increasingly strong threats and turns from a child into a man.
But Toriyama reveals that there was a completely different reason: he simply forgot to include her. It’s not uncommon for Toriyama to forget things. For example, he also forgot to add Lunch back into the story. So he wrote her own, separate ending.
Yajirobi, the strongest person in Dragon Ball at the time, was also simply forgotten. He had a brief appearance in Dragon Ball Super, which showed him in Master Quince’s tower. But both of them probably fell victim to Toriyama’s memory.
Toriyama’s memory seems to have been transferred to Son Goku. He couldn’t even remember his granddaughter’s name: Dragon Ball Super reveals what a bad grandpa Son Goku is – He doesn’t even remember Pan’s name