Dragon Ball's Buu Saga can occasionally be controversial among fans, with some saying that the series went downhill during this arc. Toriyama's successor and artist of Dragon Ball Super, Toyotaro, has a very different perspective on the Buu Saga, however.

The Buu Saga is the final major story arc in the original Dragon Ball Z and its corresponding manga. It's quite long, and as a result, some fans will complain that it's repetitive and less interesting than the arcs that came before it. It's certainly true that Buu is a very different type of villain than either Cell or Frieza, the villains of the other two major sagas of Z. Buu can also be a bit silly at times, with his gimmick of turning people into candy, as well as some of the techniques used against him, like Gotenks and his ghosts. Still, despite these criticisms, the Buu Saga has been very important to what comes after--particularly Dragon Ball Super.

Toyotaro Defends the Buu Saga as Creative Freedom for Toriyama

Toyotaro Explains Why He Considers the Buu Saga So Important

Majin Buu in a flashback

In an interview on the official Dragon Ball website, Toyotaro gave his opinion on the Buu Saga, and why it stands out as one of his favorites. "The richness of the characters and their development in the Majin Buu saga are amazing. It seems the arc began after it was decided [the saga] would be the last, so I think Toriyama did whatever he wanted to do freely. I like the Majin Buu saga the most in of design." For Toyotaro, the Buu Saga represents Toriyama at his truest to himself, weird jokes and all. In other words, the Buu Saga is Dragon Ball at its most pure.

Interestingly, Toyotaro also added, "I'm doing my best to understand the arc's connection [with Dragon Ball Super] so that I don't feel uncomfortable." While it makes sense from a practical perspective, as the Buu Saga leads more or less directly into Super, that's not quite what Toyotaro is talking about here. Rather, it seems Toyotaro is modeling the writing and art of Dragon Ball Super after how Toriyama did the Buu Saga, trying to emulate the character development and design decisions that were made in that period.

The Buu Saga Was the Model on Which Super is Based

Dragon Ball Super Takes After Z's Final Arc

Kid Buu in a fight, preparing a ki blast to attack his opponent.

Trying to keep Super as close in feeling to the Buu Saga as possible is certainly a great way to ensure that it still feels like Dragon Ball, even as the situation and characters continue to evolve. Super has exercised its creative freedom with major arcs like the Tournament of Power, perhaps the highest-stakes martial arts tournament in any anime ever, or the Goku Black arc, with its creative application of time travel. It's interesting to learn that Toyotaro sees the Buu Saga as so very important, and it does explain a few things about how Dragon Ball Super tends to operate.