Jade Defends: DragonBall GT

[JadePharaoh]

So, yesterday the first episode of the new DragonBall series, DragonBall Super, debuted in Japan. A fansub appeared on the internet shortly thereafter, which I have seen, and so far I like it. We also have the new DBZ Movie, Revival of 'F' coming soon in North America, and I myself intend to start a LP of DragonBall Xenoverse soon.

DragonBall Super seems to pick up mostly where Z left off, shortly after the defeat of Majin Buu. Since we are seeing an official followup to DBZ, I figure now's a good time to talk about the now-noncanon followup, DragonBall GT. GT was made with little to no input from series creator Akira Toriyama and is mostly reviled by DBZ fans. As a result it was officially declared noncanon by Toriyama himself, with Super ignoring it completely.

The series starts about 15 years after the defeat of Majin Buu, and right off the bat we're reintroduced to Emperor Pilaf, who wasn't seen at all during the events of Z. Pilaf has invaded Kami's Lookout in search of the Black Star DragonBalls. This different set of DragonBalls was apparently made by Kami a very long time ago; before he and Piccolo split apart. Pilaf finds the Black Star DragonBalls and summons the dragon (looks just like Shenron except with a red palette-swap), but before he can wish for world domination as he was collecting the DragonBalls for in the original series, Goku shows up once again to stop him. Furious at Goku for meddling in his plans just as he had done so many years ago, Pilaf accidentally wishes for the dragon to turn Goku back into a child. His obligation fulfilled, the dragon disappears, but the Black Star balls, rather than scattering across the world, scatter across the entire galaxy! And that's just the beginning; as it turns out, if the Black Star balls are not reunited when they reactivate in one year, they will destroy Earth instead! (Yeah, that part's pretty contrived, I will admit. What the hell was Kami thinking when he made those? Were they his trial run? Though I would guess that was why he kept them hidden and never told anyone about them beforehand except for Popo.) So Goku, now a kid again, sets off in one of Capsule Corps' spaceships to look for the DragonBalls. He's joined by Trunks as well as Pan (Gohan and Videl's daughter and Goku's granddaughter, who stowed away on the ship). Later they also befriend a robot named Giru that also joins them on their quest.

Pilaf showing up to instigate the plot, turning Goku back into a kid, and going on a quest for DragonBalls makes it clear that they were trying to bring back the feel of the original DragonBall series. Rather than the epic battles and power levels Z was known (and mocked by some) for, we saw a return to a more adventure-oriented series. Of the main cast at the beginning, Trunks and Pan are treated with as much importance as Goku (in the beginning anyway; more on that later...). And I really liked this. Part of why I liked the original series better than Z was because while Goku was still the central character, there were lots of other characters that were equally important to the narrative. As DBZ went on, Serial Escalation rose exponentially and the stakes grew ever higher, secondary characters like Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien became less and less important. Even characters like Piccolo and Gohan grew less important by the end of Z. DBZ seemed like it was trying to be a passing-of-the-torch from Goku to Gohan for awhile, even going so far as to kill Goku off, twice! But either Goku's extreme popularity and/or pressure from publishers would not allow Goku to stay out of the limelight for very long. If anything, DBZ was more about Vegeta's road to redemption, starting off at the beginning as an undeniable villain, teaming up with the good guys later out of convenience, has a kid with Bulma, and then spinning around in the Heel/Face Revolving Door until finally emerging as one of the good guys, swallowing his pride at long last and standing at Goku's side during the final battle with Majin Buu.

Anyway, back to GT. I guess the attempts at dialing back DBZ's Serial Escalation didn't go over so well with the viewers, as they would eventually crank it all the way up to eleven. It starts with a story arc on the planet M-2, where Goku and co. battle a machine army lead by General Rilldo, a being who has control over all things metal and is explicitly said to be even more powerful than Majin Buu. But the man behind him is one Dr. Myu, a pretty blatant expy of Dr. Gero, who has revived a parasitic creature called Bebi. Bebi kills Myu shortly after his revival, and we learn that he was originally created by the Tuffles, the dominant race of planet Vegeta long ago before it was taken over by the Saiyans. Overcome with hatred of the Saiyan race, Bebi makes his way to Earth, thanks to his ability to possess bodies. He can also leave a mind control "egg" that enables him to still control anyone he's possessed. When Goku and co. finally return after collecting the Black Star DragonBalls, they find that Bebi, now inhabiting Vegeta's body, has taken over the entire planet, with everyone his obedient puppets. He takes the Black Star balls and wishes back planet Tuffle in Earth's orbit. Goku is spirited away to the Elder Kai's world, where he undergoes training to unlock a new form, Super Saiyan 4. In this form he returns and eventually defeats Bebi.

Apparently Bebi was in control for just under a year while Goku was off training with the Kais, because it's almost time for the Black Star DragonBalls to reactivate again and there's no time now to go and look for them again. But it seems Bebi inadvertently saved everyone since they are able to evacuate to the now nearby Tuffle planet instead. Piccolo, in one of his few noteworthy scenes in the series, stays behind to be destroyed with the Earth, however, noting that if he dies, the Black Star DragonBalls will be destroyed also and can never be used again. His farewell to Gohan is a very touching and emotional scene, IMO. (Of course the DragonBalls are used then to restore Earth back to its previous state, as usual.)

The next major story arc in GT is much shorter. This one involves Dr. Myu and Dr. Gero in Hell teaming up to create a knockoff of Android 17 that is somehow not only able to open up a way out of Hell, he also causes the original #17 to turn evil and go berserk, killing Krillin in the one noteworthy scene he gets in the series. Hell 17 then absorbs him to become Super 17. His breaching a way out of Hell allows other previous villains to escape and wreak havoc as well. Sadly this turns into a painfully obvious case of Villains-Forgot-to-Level-Grind, as the heroes have little to no problem obliterating most of them. Even Freeza and Cell joining forces are chump change to Goku now (of course, that will be far from the case for Freeza in the upcoming Revival of 'F'...). As for Super 17 himself, he's more than a match for Goku, even at Super Saiyan 4. Goku eventually wins, however, thanks to #18 who enables her brother to stay Super 17's hand just long enough for Goku to destroy him. Meanwhile, Piccolo, now in the afterlife, volunteers to guard Hell to keep an incident like that from happening again.

Super 17's rampage left a lot of death and destruction, Krillin and Good 17 being one among the casualties, so the usual Deus Ex Machina Balls are gathered up to set everything as it once was. However our heroes note that the DragonBalls have cracks in them that weren't there before... They use the balls anyway, but instead of Shenron they are greeted by a cigar-chomping black dragon that that splits into seven pieces and scatters without granting a wish. It turns out these are the Shadow Dragons, created by an over-reliance on the DragonBalls. Wishes were being made far more often than they were intended to, resulting in an accumulation of dark energy that has finally spilled out, corrupting the DragonBalls, and creating the Shadow Dragons. Goku and Pan set out to stop them, defeating most of them until they're met by the final Shadow Dragon, Syn. Syn's in a league all his own, with even Super Saiyan 4 Goku barely able to faze him at all. Then it goes from bad to worse when he absorbs the other DragonBalls and becomes Omega, gaining the powers of all of the other Shadow Dragons in the process. A ray of hope arrives in the form of Vegeta, who has unlocked Super Saiyan 4 as well thanks of an invention of Bulma's. He and Goku fuse to become Gogeta and seem to have turned the fight completely around, until the fusion wears off prematurely (likely due to being overloaded by the Super Saiyan 4 form). Omega is back in control again and after a vicious curb-stomping to both Goku and Vegeta, he seemingly kills Goku.

What happens next steers Goku right into Mary Sue territory (if he wasn't there already). Goku, seemingly dead, rises up again charging a massive Spirit Bomb. Unfazed anymore by any of Omega's attacks, he fires it, completely destroying Omega. Afterward, Goku disappears, along with the DragonBalls. It is said that they are not to return for 100 years, to teach the Earth to not be so dependent on them. Goku visits his friends briefly one last time, then rides with Shenron into the sunset, to parts unknown...

It certainly gives the series as a whole more of a Grand Finale feel than Z's ending did, if a little rushed.

The series would get a single OAV, which ironically would be better received than the main series. Subtitled 'A Hero's Legacy', it takes place 100 years later and focuses on Pan's grandson, Goku Jr.

So like a said, a lot of people really didn't like GT. Overall, I quite enjoyed it, even though I can agree with a few key complaints. I think the big one comes down to the treatment of the characters and how most of them got demoted to extra even worse than they did in DBZ. Y'know what? I'm just gonna list a bunch of characters and show just how much they contributed to GT.

Goku: Obviously the star. By the time the Bebi story arc hits full swing, GT can pretty much be called 'The Goku Show'.

Pan: She gets the most screen time out of everyone not named Goku. She accompanies Goku and Trunks as they hunt for the Black Star DragonBalls and again goes with Goku when he battles the Shadow Dragons, even though she gets mostly written out of the whole thing about halfway through when Nouva, Eis, and Syn appear. Probably her biggest moment was kicking Dr. Gero's hinder, giving a good idea of just how strong she is compared to the rest of the cast. It's just a shame we never saw her turn Super Saiyan; would have been a nice change of pace to see a female Super Saiyan.

Trunks: I think he's the same age now as the Trunks that came back from the bad alternate future in Z. I don't think he's regarded as being near as badass, though. Of course, he's also grown up in a more peaceful world than the one his alternate self came from; helping to manage Capsule Corp rather than battle evil androids. Nonetheless, he joins Goku in the interstellar search for the DragonBalls, but once they return to Earth afterward, he is brainwashed by Bebi and is ineffectual throughout the remainder of the series.

Vegeta: Spends most the Bebi story arc possessed, and he gets to kill Nappa again when the villains escape from Hell. He does get to go Super Saiyan 4 to help Goku in his battle with Omega, but unfortunately he is still completely outclassed and has to fuse with Goku to stand a remote chance.

Bulma: While she's never had much of a combat role in the series, she has still been an important character since the very beginning. She's not quite as important here, though she does build a machine while brainwashed by Bebi-possessed Vegeta that would enable him to turn into the Oozaru beast and later modifies it to allow Vegeta to turn Super Saiyan 4. (If you want to get real technical, though; Bulma is indirectly responsible for the Shadow Dragon incident, since she created the radar that enabled the DragonBalls to be found more easily than they were intended to.)

Piccolo: He was mostly absent during the Bebi arc, but most notably appears at the end in time to nobly sacrifice himself to prevent the Black Star DragonBalls from being used again. He then shows up in Hell during the Super 17 arc, volunteering to remain there in order to keep the bad guys there in check. Rather fitting considering he was "Demon King" Piccolo back in DragonBall.

Gohan: Considering DBZ was seemingly meant to pass the torch from Goku to Gohan, he really got shafted here. It's implied already that he has spent more time studying after Majin Buu's defeat than training like his father. He spends the Bebi story arc either possessed or brainwashed after Bebi jumped from him to Vegeta. He did help battle the escaped villians during the Super 17 arc, but otherwise was also ineffectual.

Goten: We get to find out he's a bit of a ladies man now that hes a bit older, but aside from the amusing 'slice-of-life' bits to break things up, he does very little aside from, once again, being possessed/brainwashed by Bebi.

Videl: Sadly, she got the same 'Chickification' treatment that Chi-Chi got between the original DragonBall and DBZ; started off as a badass Action Girl, then settles down and becomes more maternal when she has a kid. As such, she does very little as well in this series.

Master Roshi: He's become less and less important as the series progressed. At the start of DragonBall he was the strongest human on Earth, and defeated Goku during the first Tournament arc. By Z he has pretty much been demoted to full-time comic relief and has contributed less and less to the overall narrative. I'm trying to recall if he does anything at all in GT; I think he only appears during the ending.

Krillin: We see barely a glimpse of him during the Bebi story arc, appearing again only to be killed by a brainwashed-and-crazy Android 17. He gets better, of course, and is seen during the ending, when Goku comes to have one last spar with him...

#18: She does get some good scenes in the Super 17 arc. She's actually instrumental in Super 17's defeat, as she is able to draw out Good 17 and enables him to hold back Evil 17 long enough for Goku to destroy him.

Uub: The reformed reincarnation of the evil half of Majin Buu that Goku took under his wing to train as a new apprentice. Despite this, he too does very little. He and Good Buu reunite, very reminiscent to Kami and Piccolo back in Z, and he employs a pretty interesting tactic during the battle against Bebi; he "accidentally" turns himself into candy and is eaten by Bebi, but he actually did this deliberately in order to attack him from inside. After that, however, he doesn't do much of anything.

Yamcha: He only appears briefly during the end, and rather depressingly, has gone back to living alone in the desert with Puar. The poor guy has hardly caught a break throughout the entire series; let's hope DB Super is kinder to him...

Tien: Likewise. Even most of the Saiyans were ineffectual against the villains of this series; I guess it makes sense that the humans would stand even less of a chance. He too I believe only appears during the ending.

Mr. Satan: Of course this guy's pure comic relief, and he got a few such scenes here. He did get one particularly epic moment, though, during the battle against Bebi. At one point, when he thought his granddaughter Pan had been killed, he walked right up to Bebi, pissed off as hell, stood in his way and screamed that he was going to kill him. Of course Satan wouldn't have lasted two seconds against him, but he showed no fear and we can see that despite being a lovable coward, he still cared deeply about his family.

Okay. That wasn't the entire cast, but it was most of the characters of note. Long story short (too late), I felt GT squandered a lot of potential in how most of the cast was used. The series did start out strong, like I said, shifting back to the tone of the original DragonBall with a less serious tone. While I'm sure it will change in future episodes, the first episode of DB Super was mostly the same way, and I like that. It's kinda nice to see the characters interact in semi-normal lives or just going on adventures instead of just battling the supervillain-du-jour all the time. Unfortunately it seems like people were unhappy because it wasn't Z, so the entire tone was abruptly changed to make it more like Z.; it got much darker in tone, the Serial Escalation became more and more ridiculous with its overpowered supervillians, and anyone not named Goku might as well not even exist. I liked the Super 17 arc, and I felt that one lasted just long enough that it didn't overstay its welcome (as most DBZ arcs have that nasty reputation for just going on and on and on and on...), and I liked the idea of the Shadow Dragon arc also, though I felt it could have been implemented better. Why do just Goku and Pan set out to fight them? Why not include some of the previously-mentioned secondary characters split up to battle them? Also while the battles with most of the Shadow Dragons were kept short and sweet, I felt the battle with Syn/Omega was drawn out way longer than it needed to be, even for the "final boss" of the series.

All in all, however, I enjoyed GT well enough. Even if it isn't considered part of the official canon, I would at least consider it an alternate timeline, just like Z's "bad future" with Trunks and the Androids. Likewise, I'd consider the non-canon movies to be alternate timelines. Many of the video games explore "what if...?" scenarios as well, and I understand Xenoverse is built on that whole concept.

[Scarlet]

Anything after the Cell saga does not exist. You have quite the imagination, what is a buu anyway?
And isn't Majin a tile game?