Dragon Ball GT Is Officially Canon, But Super Has 5 Things It Needs To Fix For The Two Series To Fit

WARNING: LIGHT SPOILERS FOR DRAGON BALL SUPER MANGA

The Dragon Ball Super series changed the franchise forever, but with GT officially considered canon, the story has certain plot developments that need to be addressed to make sense. After the DBZ anime concluded, Toei Animation and Shueisha decided to capitalize on its popularity by creating Dragon Ball GT without heavy involvement with author Akira Toriyama. But Dragon Ball Super, which took place before that sequel series, introduces many elements that currently conflict with future events in DBGT‘s timeline.

According to Shuiesha, the company that oversees and publishes the Dragon Ball franchise, Dragon Ball GT is officially part of the overarching timeline. However, this official status brings to light several inconsistencies and significant world-building elements that are absent from DBGT. These are the very elements that DBS needs to address in its final arc, a crucial phase that could reshape the franchise’s future. If DBGT is indeed canon, elements from DBS, including power-ups, character development, and divine figures, may need to be erased for the timeline to make sense.

5 Super 17 Destroys The Android’s Super Happy Ending

The Super 17 Saga Takes Place In DBGT Episodes #41 – #47

While the first few arcs of Dragon Ball Super‘s anime featured a lot of intense confrontations with characters like Goku and Vegeta, it wasn’t until Universe 7 had to prepare for the multiversal Tournament of Power that they had to recruit not only friends but former enemies to help prevent the universe from being erased. Android #17 was one of those foes who became a valuable ally during the beloved arc, but as fans of DBGT know, Android #17’s character does not get a happy ending.

”
Dragon Ball Super
brought #17 back into the story and completely redeemed his character.”

Dragon Ball GT had several arcs, but one of its shortest, the Super 17 Saga, featured the catastrophic team-up between Dr.Gero and Baby’s creator, Dr. Myuu. The two mad scientists serving in hell for their dastardly deeds combined their minds to create another Android #17 who managed to make it to Earth and combine with the original to become Super Android #17. The most powerful android kills Krillin and many others before giving Goku a lot of trouble with his body, which could absorb all energy attacks.

DBGT continued to make Android #17 a villain, complete with a tragic ending, but Dragon Ball Super brought #17 back into the story and completely redeemed his character. After helping save his universe and all the other universes that took part in the Tournament of Power, #17 was given a massive cruise ship he wanted to use to travel the world with his family. Unfortunately, DBGT sees Android #17 take a much darker turn that now feels like a slap in the face after his Dragon Ball Super ending.

4 Divine Characters and Transformations Are Not Part Of The Picture In DBGT

Beerus, God of Destruction, and the Angel Whis, Are Introduced In Dragon Ball Super Episode #1

One aspect of Dragon Ball Super that significantly expanded Akira Toriyama’s franchise was the introduction to Beerus, the God of Destruction, and his Angel attendant Whis. The celestial hierarchy expanded even further when it was revealed that they both serve the King of All, who rules over all twelve universes. With Goku and Vegeta interacting and training with the Gods, they earned several considerable upgrades with transformations that utilized Divine Energy to surpass their current limits. However, DBGT lacks those gods, the other universes, and the transformations Goku and Vegeta used.

Each of Dragon Ball‘s twelve universes is assigned a God of Destruction who receives an Angel attendant, who is often stronger than the Destroyer Gods they monitor. Dragon Ball Z broke its one universe into four quadrants, with DBS significantly expanding the size of Toriyama’s franchise by introducing the other universes, the fighters that reside in them, and the Omni-King Grand Zeno, who erases entire universes with a single thought. Since none of those appear in DBGT, they either exist in the background during its events or have been completely erased in Dragon Ball Super‘s final arc.

Every Dragon Ball TV Show In Order

Seven different series have told the overarching story of Goku, Vegeta, and the other iconic Dragon Ball characters, inspiring fans for years.

Since the gods are all missing from GT, Dragon Ball Super must explain what happened to the franchise’s newest additions. DBS was not even a thought when DBGT was crafted, so it makes sense that the new characters and forms don’t exist in the older series. Shueisha establishing that GT is still canon raises questions about why transformations like Ultra Ego Vegeta and Ultra Instinct Goku were not used during DBGT‘s most perilous confrontations. Still, the two pure Saiyans are not the only ones whose drastic and recent power-ups disappeared.

3 Gohan and Piccolo’s Super Hero Boosts

The Super Hero Saga Takes Place In Dragon Ball Super Chapters #91 – #103

To the disappointment of fans excited for a new manga arc after Black Frieza dramatically ended the Granolah Arc, the latest story saw an adaptation of the stellar Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie. The film treated fans to one of Goku and Vegeta’s best fights in the Dragon Ball franchise, but it also provided stunning new power-ups for both Gohan and Piccolo. However, their newly unlocked transformations were not included in any of DBGT‘s storylines, and they would have been incredibly useful.

Piccolo unlocked his significant orange transformation by wishing for Shenron to unlock his potential, which the dragon did without hesitation while providing an additional power boost. The moment was a brilliant twist of irony due to the former villain and his father’s desire to use the Dragon Balls to gain more power. However, it wasn’t as satisfying as Gohan learning to channel his latent powers further to manifest the extravagant Beast Gohan form. The two made short work of the Super Hero arc’s villains but are noticeably missing those levels of strength when DBGT begins.

The events of
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
take place around six years before
DBGT
begins.

The Orange Piccolo and Beast Gohan transformations made visually stunning impressions on fans who were hungry for the pair to become relevant to the franchise’s overarching plot once again. Both Gohan and Piccolo proved to be incredibly helpful during Dragon Ball Super‘s latest arcs but reverted to their underwhelming power levels and failed to help against Baby or the Shadow Dragons in DBGT. Judging by Beast Gohan’s battles against Ultra Instinct Goku, his power would have been more than enough to handle most of the foes that threatened Earth in the future.

2 The Pilaf Gang Have Some Serious Aging To Do

Emperor Pilaf and His Gang Debuted In Dragon Ball Episode #3

Dragon Ball GT only happened because of one plot hole.

The introduction of Gods of Destruction and Angels was a brilliant way to expand the Dragon Ball universe, but the start of DBS featured some questionable inclusions like a mysteriously de-aged Emperor Pilaf and his friends Mai and Shu. Goku first encountered the mischievous trio during his youth, but like Dragon Ball Super, GT also began with the surprising appearance of the former antagonists. However, they were much older than when Goku last saw them and even older than fans have seen in DBS.

Pilaf’s gang somehow wished to become young with the Dragon Balls before the events of DBS, but it’s an event that has yet to be revealed if it ever will. If that’s the case, it’s a testament to the troublemaker’s lack of smarts because they could have easily made a more clever wish that would have assisted in Emperor Pilaf’s desire to gain wealth, fame, and power. With the trio appearing elderly during their confrontation against Goku on Kami’s lookout at DBGT‘s start, they will need to find a way to age dramatically quickly.

1 The True Death Of Frieza

Black Frieza Made His Debut In Dragon Ball Super Chapter #87

Being arguably the Dragon Ball franchise’s most iconic villain, Frieza has found many ways to return to the spotlight in the Z Warriors adventures. Most of the time, when the galactic tyrant was brought back to life, it was to cause more trouble for Goku, but Dragon Ball Super saw the snarky villain earn another shot at life with his help saving the universe in the Tournament of Power arc. Still, during DBGT‘s Super 17 Saga, both Cell and Frieza are shown to be dead and waiting in Hell.