Looks like he wanted to put an interesting spin on this beloved character…
Until the arrival of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the character of the “legendary saiyan” was outside the official canon of the saga and his great power had more of an anecdotal air than realistic. However, in an interview found on a promotional program for the aforementioned film and translated by Kanzenshuu official site, animation supervisor Naohiro Shintani talked about the process of redesigning such a popular character and Akira Toriyama’s requests.
“However, Broly was a different story. The only designs I received depended on him wearing his armor, giving a very different impression than the Broly of the past. Personally, I had a very strong image of Broly based on the previous movies, so i created my design for him in full power from scratch i just wanted to see him lose his shirt and go crazy at the end. Toriyama had said that he didn’t want him to be too macho.so I aimed to make it look as big as possible, but still within the bounds of not overdoing it.”
It is understandable that Toriyama wants to tone down Broly’s size and attitude now that he would be integrated into the official canon of the saga. In the older non-continuity “Dragon Ball Z” movies of the past, Broly was basically the Saiyan version of the Incredible Hulk., with green hair and all, for better or worse. While Broly would keep some of his massive size and still be bigger than most characters in “Dragon Ball Super”, there was more restraint in his character design this time around.
However, these Broly redesigns didn’t stop at the character’s superficial appearance. The character’s nature also changed, with Naohrio Shintani explaining what makes this Broly different from previous incarnations: “In the past, Broly was just a dangerous guy (laughs). But this time, there are scenes that humanize him. This Broly is different from his previous incarnationand I hope it becomes popular in its own right.”
The “too macho” rule Toriyama gave to those who redesigned Broly wasn’t just an aesthetic choice; instead, this rule should be seen as Toriyama’s understanding that characters (other than Goku) must have some kind of vulnerability in order to ground their character in humanity, in fact, these kinds of changes have been noticeable in the manga as well. of Dragon Ball Super. The preconceived notions of previous iterations of him are upended with this new, more sensitive and humanized version of the character. Broly was given a tragic origin story, making him a character with the potential to be good, and now, with his new place in the “Dragon Ball: Super” canon, the possibilities are endless.
The premiere of Dragon Ball Super: Broly was a milestone for the franchise
Despite this, the arrival of “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” was a big problem for the fandom of this action play during its initial release in 2018. Until that point, Broly, a fan-favorite character from “Dragon Ball,” existed outside of the franchise’s canon. Any movies or specials in which the character appeared did not affect the main “Dragon Ball” series. That didn’t stop him from becoming popular, and the character was given his own “Dragon Ball Z” trilogy of movies. The character’s design was part of his popularity, as the Saiyan has a larger appearance and sports green hair. His brutality, strength, and size difference compared to characters like Goku made him an entertaining fighter, albeit one that would never carry any weight in the ongoing anime.
However, when the franchise returned with a new manga and anime adaptation titled “Dragon Ball Super”, Broly’s right to a proper place in the “Dragon Ball” canon came true. The movie “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” served as a celebration of the character and a reintroduction for audiences old and new. The rebooted Broly would resemble the one from the original films, with a new design by Naohiro Shintani, an animation supervisor working on the film. But when it came to a classic character like Broly, there was one rule about the redesign that creator Akira Toriyama wanted those working on the film to follow: remove the male image from the character.