Dragon Ball: Everything GT Got Right

The Dragon Ball franchise has been around for decades as a staple of the anime industry since the 1980s. Throughout all of these years, the heroes have gone on many journeys and have grown into some of the most iconic characters in fiction, prompting millions of fans from across the world to fall in love with them and the series as a whole. However, not all parts of the franchise are remembered fondly.

Dragon Ball GT was a non-canon continuation of the franchise set after the Buu Saga. This series was greatly chastised by fans and critics alike, mostly due to the boring story arcs, nonsensical plot points, and far too many creative liberties that went against what the established world of the series portrayed. However, it isn’t all bad since GT has many aspects that fans love to this day, sometimes even more than things from Z and Super.

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Baby Was The Series’ Most Underrated Villain

A Remnant of the Saiyan’s Past

The Baby Saga was one of the very first story arcs in GT and was also considered by many to be its best. There were many great moments in this arc, but the villain was someone who fans loved to see due to his nature, abilities, and backstory. For the first time since Frieza, Dragon Ball delved into a villain that pertained to the Saiyan’s past as brutal warriors and conquerors.

The Tuffle race were the original inhabitants of Planet Plant but were eradicated by the Saiyans under the rule of King Vegeta, giving Baby a tragic backstory linked directly to the Saiyans of Earth and making him more than just a typical one-dimensional villain. His story was great, his techniques and transformations were awesome, and his preferred method of challenging Goku was done through the body of Vegeta, giving it yet another tragic twist of the two rivals having to fight again. Even now, Baby remains a highlight of GT.

Super Saiyan 4 Is The Best Saiyan Form

A Whole New Kind Of Super Saiyan Transformation

Perhaps the greatest of all of GT’s contributions, the Super Saiyan 4 form remains arguably the best-designed transformation in the entire franchise. Although all Super Saiyan forms before this are certainly beloved and iconic in their own right, they didn’t really offer too much in terms of design nor did they have as much of a connection to the origins of the Saiyans as Super Saiyan 4 did.

Birthed in his battle against Baby, Goku’s rage awakens like never before, calling back to the Great Ape transformation synonymous with the Saiyans. This led to a brand-new form which had the raw power of a Great Ape but with more clarity of mind and was condensed into a regular size. Super Saiyan 4 became the staple transformation of Dragon Ball GT that Goku used against the main villains of the series, making it the most iconic part of the series and one that many fans still consider to be the best-designed form in the franchise.

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A Natural Progression Of Vegeta’s Arc

How He Would’ve Ended Up After The Buu Saga

Vegeta is a character who has always been defined by his pride and the rivalry he shares with Goku. Many consider him to be their favorite character in the franchise due to his relatable story and amazing character development. Even though fans have fallen even more in love with him in Dragon Ball Super, it can’t be argued that, after the events of the Buu Saga, Vegeta’s story arc in GT is a very natural progression of his development.

Despite being defined by his love of fighting and wanting to be better than Goku, Vegeta realized in the Buu Saga that Goku had overtaken him and accepted that he was the best. With this mindset, GT does a great job at showing him as a family man who realizes there’s more to life than just training and fighting. While many were against this and wanted to see him have a more central role as a warrior, GT completed his arc as someone who finally accepted Earth as his home and put his family first.

The Shadow Dragons Were A Great Idea

A Brilliant Concept

One thing that can be said about the entirety of the GT series is that it had great ideas and concepts, but these were often executed poorly or, at the very least, worse than they could have been. One of the greatest examples of this was the final arc of the franchise, called the Shadow Dragon Saga. While not bad, it had amazing potential that would have easily made this arc one of the greatest in the series had it been covered properly.

The Dragon Balls have always been the central point of the franchise and acted as a crutch for the heroes, which has led to death not being taken seriously since everyone can just be wished back. The Shadow Dragon Saga finally added consequences to the wanton use of the Dragon Balls, spawning 7 dragons who were incredibly powerful foes for Goku and friends to face, bringing the entire Dragon Ball series back full circle quite nicely.

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GT’s Ending Was Just Perfect

The Best Way To Close Off Goku’s Journey

Goku has always been the main character of the Dragon Ball franchise. During the airing of GT back in the 1990s, fans had been seeing the Saiyan regularly for over 10 years and had effectively grown up with him, leading to a connection with the hero as if he was an actual friend they made during their childhood. Not only did fans grow up with him, they also watched him grow up themselves.

The ending of GT was perfect and served as the greatest way to say goodbye to him. At the end of everything, Goku visited all of his childhood best friends, all the places he used to fight and train, and eventually became one with the Dragon Balls themselves, which not only immortalized Goku as the hero of the Earth within the series, but also as a friend that fans of the series loved for over a decade and were finally saying goodbye to.

Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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Dragon Ball GT

Release Date

March 26, 1997

Seasons

1

Story By

akira toriyama

Writers

Akira Toriyama

Network

Fuji TV

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