Canonicity
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[edit] Dragon Ball
In the universe of Dragon Ball, the highest level of canon is the manga Dragon Ball. Published in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan, the comic was both written and drawn by Akira Toriyama. As such, it represents the ultimate and correct vision of his world as it was presented to his readers. Fortunately, the manga itself is relatively free from direct contradictions, though there are certainly some topics open for debate.
Although Viz Communications is thought to do a good job translating the manga into English by fans, the final and authoritative source is the original Japanese comic.
[edit] Kanzenban Rerelease
In the 2002-04 re-release of the Dragon Ball manga (called the Kanzenban, or "complete edition," a la the Japanese term for Cell's perfect form, "Kanzentai."), Akira Toriyama rewrote the final four pages of the series. However, this change has no impact on the storyline. (Goku gives the Flying Nimbus to Uub at the conclusion of the series, rather than carrying the boy on his back.)
The only change significant to the story in the re-release is that the date of the Cell Games is changed to the 26th of May, from the 17th of "M." This was done to remove a noticeable contradiction in the series, specifically that if the androids arrived on May 12th and at least 10 days elapsed between then and the start of the Cell Games], a date of May 17th for the latter event would be impossible. (Alternative theories, such as the month after May in the Dragon Ball universe starting with the letter "M", now appear to hold no weight.)
[edit] Dr. Slump
Prior to writing Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama wrote a separate weekly humor manga for Shonen Jump called Dr. Slump. It featured the adventures of an inept inventor and his android daughter Arale in Penguin Village. During the Red Ribbon Army Saga, Goku and General Blue wind up in Penguin Village and are assisted by characters from the previous series. Dr. Slump itself is not meant to be taken seriously, as it contains references to the real world, as well as generally "implausible" events such as the earth being cut in half (in a comedic fashion). While the characters in Dr. Slump exist as cameos in the Dragon Ball universe, it is debatable at best whether the Dragon Ball universe is truly compatible with the world portrayed in Dr. Slump.
[edit] Neko Majin Z
Long after finishing up with Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama has written a short series of one-shot comics that parody Dragon Ball. Called "Neko Majin Z" (because it stars a magical cat-warrior named "Z"), it features several characters from or inspired by Dragon Ball. (For example: the Saiyan Onio and his wife, Frieza's son Kuriza, Z's rival Neko Majin Usagi and even appearances by Vegeta, Majin Buu and Goku.)
Because the manga is intended as a parody of Dragon Ball, most fans do not consider it a sequel and do not consider the events canonical. That has not prevented the characters of Neko Majin Z from appearing in Dragon Ball fan fiction or Kuriza from showing up in some Dragon Ball Z video games and being included in character lists by some fans.
[edit] Kochikame 30th anniversary manga
For the 30th anniversary of kochikame the longest running manga to date, a special manga was made. The manga was a crossover between various different mangas and kochikame characters. Ryo-san, having been reassigned to Planet Namek, runs across Frieza and tries to arrest him for parking his UFO illegally. Vegeta and Goku make appearances as well. While it was co-written by Akira Toriyama and had appearances by Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and took place on Namek it is not considered to be canon.
[edit] Cross Epoch
Cross Epoch is a Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda. It's a crossover between "Dragon Ball" and "One Piece". It was released on December 25th, 2006 in the Weekly Shōnen Jump.
Because it features alternate versions of Dragon Ball manga and is a crossover manga it is not considered canon.
[edit] The anime
The second highest level of canon in Dragon Ball is the two anime series based on the comic: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. This anime series significantly "fill out" the plot of the Dragon Ball comic with many extended sequences. This is due largely to the comic and the anime being produced in parallel; it was often necessary for the anime to add filler material to keep from getting ahead of the manga. These extended sequences often fill out the backstory, but frequently are contradicted by events later in the manga.
Most fans consider the events in the anime to be somewhat canon, unless they are directly contradicted by events later in the series. Again, the original Japanese version is considered the authoritative source for anime canon, as the English dubs introduce inconsistencies and misinformation that further muddle the story.
[edit] TV specials
There are two Dragon Ball Z television specials, which aired as special double-length episodes during the normal course of the series. The Dragon Ball Z television specials are noteworthy in that their content (for the most part) does not contradict the manga.
Bardock - The Father of Goku contradicts the manga only in that Goku appears happy (rather than violent and bloodthirsty) at the end, and Bardock himself later appeared in a two-panel stint in the manga.
The History of Trunks was actually based on a special chapter of the manga, though it presents an alternate version of certain events in that chapter (namely, it alters when Trunks was able to achieve Super Saiyan, for dramatic effect).
There is one Dragon Ball GT television special, which is grouped with that series in terms of canon level.
[edit] Garlic Jr. Saga
The Garlic Junior Saga is an interesting exception to most of the filler used in the anime and its level of canon is disputed. Like much of the other filler, it does not include situations described in the original manga. However, it is a direct sequel to events from the first Dragon Ball Z movie, "Dead Zone". It details a second attempt by Garlic Junior to take over the world and also features other elements which are more difficult to rationalize in the anime such as the appearance of Gohan's pet dragon from Movie #3, Icarus.
Because it does not have the level of contradictions found in other movies, some fans consider both the Garlic Jr. Saga and Dead Zone to have "happened" within the anime canon. This remains, however, a controversial topic due to an inconsistency involving Gohan.
[edit] Dragon Ball GT
Dragon Ball GT was an original sequel series to Dragon Ball Z, based on the manga by Akira Toriyama. Toriyama did contribute some material early on, such as character designs for the leads, their spaceship, and some of the aliens, but for the most part, it was the work of Toei Animation. The author himself stated on an interview in the Perfect File books that he has had no problems with the series and was satisfied with its conclusion. However, he did wish to have had more involvement with the series.
Regardless of the creator's influence, a number of plot holes make the series difficult to classify as canon.
[edit] The Daizenshuu
The final component which most fans consider to be canonical information is the several Daizenshuu which were released only in Japan. These "Perfect File" books are reference guides to the series and often contain character and attack names and other clarifications which are not present in the manga or anime themselves. There are no current plans to release these books in the US and they are out of print even in Japan.
Some fans however question how canon the actual books are. They claim the books were not actually written by Akira Toriyama, however he supervised their redaction, approved their content and he wrote himself some sections. Some inconsistencies are apparent within the book.
[edit] The movies
Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z each had a number of movies made, generally two each year (one each for the spring and summer recesses from school). While it is possible to relate the movies to a relative time period within the series itself, they often contradict, make impossible, or completely replace the normal flow of the series. Several movies have relatively few such conflicts. The movies are generally considered to be "sidestories" or "what if?" situations based on (or in a parallel universe to) the series, but not part of the series itself. It should be noted that some, if not all of the movies seem to credit Akira Toriyama, the Manga-ka responsible for the Dragon Ball franchise's conception, as having created the movies, which implies that he may have had more influence on the movies than is let on.
[edit] Dead Zone
Garlic Jr. has his own anime-only saga. However, some fans dismiss this movie as non-canon without a second thought, even though Piccolo references the Garlic Jr. Saga during the Fusion Saga. However, most of the canonical issues can be chalked up to bad memory on the Z-Fighters' parts, making this movie second only to Bojack Unbound in canonicity.
[edit] Wrath of the Dragon
- This is one of the few movies that fits in the timeline. It takes place shortly after the events of the Kid Buu saga. It is a common mistake among fans that this is meant to be Future Trunks' timeline modified, because it ends with Kid Trunks getting Tapion's sword and then the credits have clips of Future Trunks, but this is the main timeline because Trunks uses Tapion's sword a few times in Dragon Ball GT.
[edit] The OVAs
[edit] Dragon Ball Z Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans
The OVA, "Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans" is generally considered lower than the movies on the canon scale, though it is noteworthy in that its villain, Dr. Raichi, was more or less rehashed into Dr. Myuu for Dragon Ball GT.
[edit] Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
- While taking place two years after the events of the Majin Buu saga and being based on a concept by Toriyama, there are still a few aspects of this OVA which damage the credibility of the movie as being canon.
[edit] The games
At the very bottom rung of canon is the world of video games and collectible card games. These games usually are designed and built by people with little affiliation with the series itself.
[edit] Notes on translations
There are a large number of inconsistencies between the various English translation of the series with respect to character names and translations. Many fans do not agree which of the translations have the "correct" spelling and Romanization of names. Other solutions, such as using a standard Hepburn romanization, tend to make name puns and some of the fun of the series more obscure. As long as there are Dragon Ball fans, there will be arguments over the correct English names.
Although not universally agreed upon, the Viz Communications translations of the manga are a generally accepted source of "correct" names. Their translation is more direct than the anime translation and they have the advantage of working directly in a textual medium so that spelling is never in question. Of course, even that translation is imperfect and cannot be accepted as completely authoritative ("Mr. Satan," for example, is the original name of a character that was changed to "Hercule" by Viz, and his best friend Majin Buu has his name changed to "Dijin Buu" for no explained reason).
