The original ending of ‘Dragon Ball’ angered fans and Toriyama remade it to be more emotional
The epilogue of ‘Dragon Ball Z’ was not to everyone’s liking because it felt too rushed: its creator reacted years later by expanding it.
Many years have passed since the original ending of ‘Dragon Ball,’ specifically three decades, an event that is fondly remembered today but that at the time caused great controversy among fans, something that may surprise younger fans of the adventures of Goku and company. Thus, the manga by Akira Toriyama was published between 1984 and 1995, ending with the apotheosis arc of Majin Buu and giving way to an epilogue known as ‘Peaceful World Saga,’ set ten years after the fight against Buu and introducing Uub, the reincarnation of the villain.
Akira Toriyama changed the controversial ending of ‘Dragon Ball’
In the anime, Toei decided to go its own way through ‘Dragon Ball GT,’ a totally original series and out of Toriyama’s control, as it was not based on any manga; the mangaka only designed the characters, supervising certain aspects and giving total freedom to the anime company. But the ending of the manga was what it was, something that did not please everyone, provoking angry reactions and widespread discontent.
The epilogue of ‘Dragon Ball’ consists of only two chapters, which led many fans to perceive the conclusion of the story as too hasty. So much so that for a series of 519 chapters, fans believed that only two chapters to its end was too little, more so if we take into account the introduction of a new character like Uub. “Is it already over?” or “I didn’t think it was anything special” were just a couple of reactions collected by Japanese media at the time.
“I think if this wasn’t the ending, and the series actually went on, you would never even think that this point (the ending) could have been an actual ending,” asserted another disgruntled fan. “All in all, it’s not a very good ending, but after a decade, how exactly do you go out in style?” concluded another. Toriyama was aware of this, but the mangaka just wanted to rest and dedicate himself to other projects after eleven intense years dedicated to ‘Dragon Ball.’
It wasn’t until many years later when Toriyama decided to expand the controversial ending of ‘Dragon Ball’ by adding a new chapter, which helped to better close the story so that its ending didn’t feel so abrupt. The new chapter was well received by fans—after all, it was new material from the hand of master Tori—and was part of a new version of the manga called Kazenban, released in 2004; Toriyama added three new pages at the end in which Goku bestowed Uub with the Flying Nimbus alongside a dreamlike image of Goku as a young boy, implying that Uub was destined to follow in the Saiyan’s footsteps from a young age.
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