In the early days of Dragon Ball, there were still many animal beings coexisting with humans. However, over time, they appeared less and less frequently. There is an official and an unofficial reason for their disappearance.
Which animal beings are meant? In Dragon Ball, there are not only humans but also humanoid animal beings living on Earth. According to Daizenshuu issues 4 and 7, about 17% of the Earth’s population is said to be animal beings. With Oolong and Pool, there were already two animal beings at the beginning of Dragon Ball that played an important role.
In addition, there were other humanoid animal beings:
- Master Roshi is a cat who lives at the top of the Kame House. He helped Son-Goku with magical beans and a short training.
- Colonel Yellow is a tiger and part of the Red Ribbon Army.
- Even the supreme ruler of Earth is an animal person. The King of Earth is a dog who is one of the few Earth inhabitants who knows that Son-Goku is the true hero of Earth and not Mr. Satan.
However, in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, fewer and fewer new animal beings have appeared. The official reason for this can be found in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. However, Akira Toriyama also has a reason that no longer surprises us.
The Z in Dragon Ball Z has a very specific meaning:
Animal beings in Dragon Ball went out of style
What is the official reason why they are appearing less and less? In a side mission with Oolong, we find out that animal people are created through a drug called Animorphalin. With this drug, humans transform into animal beings. However, they pay the price of being unable to transform back.
However, the drug became increasingly unpopular over time. According to Bulma, the drug was trendy when she was just 10 years old. Nowadays, there are hardly any humans who still take the drug, which is why fewer and fewer animal people exist. Oolong and Pool are excluded from this, as they have been animals since their birth.
However, the video game is not part of the official anime or manga. Therefore, there could be another reason why animal people are increasingly rare. Akira Toriyama, the manga artist of Dragon Ball, provided the real reason in an interview.
What is the unofficial reason? In the 43rd issue of Shonen Jump magazine, an interview with Toriyama was published (via Kazenshuu). The interviewer asked whether animal beings became less frequent because the story became more serious. In Dragon Ball Z, Son-Goku faces increasingly stronger threats and transitions from boyhood to manhood.
However, Toriyama reveals that there was a completely different reason: he simply forgot to include them. It is not uncommon for Toriyama to forget things. For example, he also forgot to bring Launch back into the story. Therefore, he wrote a separate ending for her.
Even Yajirobi, who was the strongest human in Dragon Ball at the time, was simply forgotten. In Dragon Ball Super, he had a brief appearance that showed him in Master Roshi’s tower. But both seem to have fallen victim to Toriyama’s memory.
Toriyama’s memory seems to have also transferred to Son-Goku. He couldn’t even remember the name of his granddaughter: Dragon Ball Super reveals what a bad grandpa Son-Goku is – He doesn’t even remember Pan’s name.
