When it comes to the Dragon Ball anime, series creator Akira Toriyama often didn’t have strong feelings, preferring to leave the anime production up to Toei and focusing on the manga. However, there is one part of the anime that he was able to enjoy, and surprisingly, it’s the part he didn’t write.

Dragon Ball, like many series which began as long-running manga, has occasionally had to resort to anime-original content (often derisively known as “filler”) to avoid catching up to the manga’s narrative. These filler episodes could range from weird one-offs to entire story arcs with their own threats and characters. Filler might also focus on characters who aren’t directly part of the action, showing what they’re up to while the fighting is going on, as was frequently the case for Bulma. While fans are often pretty negative towards filler, it seems Akira Toriyama had a distinctly different opinion.

Toriyama Actually Enjoyed Dragon Ball Filler

The Series Creator Found Anime-Original Storylines “Nice”

In an interview for the Daizenshuu 3 book, as translated by Kanzenshuu, Toriyama was asked if he came up with much of the anime-original content in Dragon Ball. Toriyama said, “It is partly things that get ed on to Toei Animation through my editor. When other TV-original segments air, it always makes my heart pound. Sort of like, ‘Ah, this sort of thing is nice, too.’” While it’s certainly interesting to note that even some of the filler came from unused material of Toriyama's, it’s perhaps more interesting that Toriyama enjoyed the parts he had the least to do with the most.

One can imagine that, as Dragon Ball’s creator, watching the show must be a very different experience. Toriyama doesn’t just know exactly what’s going to happen, but all the things he considered doing but ultimately didn’t. Watching the anime would no doubt remind him of the process of writing that scene, and perhaps force him to reconsider if he made the right choices. On the other hand, watching “filler” episodes must have been quite freeing, as Toriyama was, for once, going into Dragon Ball blind like the rest of us. No wonder his heart was pounding!

Watching Dragon Ball filler must have been an interesting experience for Toriyama, finally putting him in the audience’s shoes and allowing him to enjoy Dragon Ball as an outsider. Seeing what he did and didn’t like about the episodes and characterization could have helped Toriyama when writing as well, and in a strange way, allowed the anime to shape the manga which spawned it. Toriyama even notes that he began to hear Masako Nozawa’s voice as Goku in his head after watching the anime.

Dragon Ball’s Filler Storylines Weren’t Always Bad

The Series’ Filler is Far Better Than Some of Its Successors

While filler in general has a reputation for being poor quality, and the Dragon Ball anime in particular is regarded as having quite a lot of filler, that doesn’t mean that all of Dragon Ball’s filler was of low quality. The truth is that the filler had a huge range in quality over the series, with some of it very bad, while other episodes are nearly as good as the canon content. When Dragon Ball Z Kai was produced, cutting out most of the filler, there were still some scenes and even whole episodes of filler which were kept, as they enhanced the story.

As far as filler arcs go, the Garlic Jr. Saga, which follows up from the movie Dead Zone, and the Otherworld Tournament Saga are widely considered to be the best. The former is quite popular for putting Gohan in the lead while Vegeta and Goku are elsewhere, while the latter gives Goku an exciting tournament with some legitimately interesting characters, like Pikkon, during a period where he is otherwise completely absent from the manga. It’s easier to believe Goku grew so much stronger in the afterlife when one can see his efforts bearing fruit in a tournament, after all.

And, of course, there are even some very good, if weird, one-off episodes. One of the most popular filler episodes of Dragon Ball is “Goku’s Ordeal,” which sees Goku and Piccolo tasked with obtaining driver’s licenses, and needless to say, hilarity ensues. “Celebrations with Majin Buu” is an episode that expands on what was only a few s in the manga, giving the heroes a great moment of joy and celebration after their hard-fought victory over Buu. An early filler episode, “Terror on Arlia,” gives a glimpse at what Vegeta and Nappa were up to under Frieza’s command, ensuring fans understood how evil they were.

Dragon Ball Filler is Great for Those Who Want More

The Filler is Hardly Necessary, But It’s Good to Have Regardless

These days, fans have the option to watch Dragon Ball Z Kai, which cuts out nearly all of the filler content and shortens the series considerably. While this is considered the superior way to enjoy Dragon Ball, that’s not to say that the original version now has no value. For those who really loved Dragon Ball Z and want more of it, these filler episodes still exist and can be just as easily streamed as Kai. There’s also something to be said of nostalgia, and how fans can find comfort in watching the original version they know from childhood.

Overall, Dragon Ball filler had a surprising success rate, especially compared to some of the series’ successors, like Naruto and Bleach. It’s no wonder that Akira Toriyama enjoyed seeing Dragon Ball’s filler, as it let him experience the series like a fan for the first time. Filler is what it is, and that’s anime-original content that might not be to every fan’s tastes. For purists, it can easily be skipped, but for those who want just a little more time with their favorite characters, filler is the perfect answer. While it may not have been what fans wanted at the time, Dragon Ball’s filler exists, and can still be appreciated for what it is to this day.