Dragon Ball GT
From Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball GT is the sequel to Dragon Ball Z, whose material is produced only by Toei Doga. The Dragon Ball GT series is the shortest of the Dragon Ball series, being only 64 episodes; as opposed to it's predecessor Dragon Ball Z which consisted of 292 episodes. Originally intending to span 40 episodes (ending after the Baby Saga), the series continued for another 24 episodes, possibly to coincide with the release of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout.
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[edit] The Debate over Canon
This series was never written by Akira Toriyama or even originally produced as manga like its predecessors Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, so numerous fans consider it non-canon. The series does, however, fit into anime-established canon, but is not a part of the manga canon. Toriyama's participation, while present, was minimal; acting as a consultant, supervising production, and designing several characters and landscapes.
One of the main reasons GT is considered non-canon is because of its plot holes. For instance, Emperor Pilaf, who appeared in Episode 1, should have been killed when Buu blew up the earth near the end of Dragonball Z, and the wish that revived all the people of earth excluded all the evil ones. For another, GT suggests that you can't die if you're already dead (or else Frieza and Cell would have been erased by Goku), when Goku makes it clear that you can when Kid Buu is attacking Grand Kai's planet (and later when Vegeta fights Buu). Also, in relevance to the "death" plot holes, GT acts as if the residents of Hell who keep their bodies don't get halos. In Dragonball Z, Frieza, Cell, King Cold, Recoome, Burter, Jeice, Guldo, Appule, Dr. Gero, and Babidi are all shown in Hell with Halos, while in GT, Frieza and Cell are shown without halos, yet still clearly dead, and when King Yemma sends Piccolo to Hell during the Super 17 Saga, Piccolo's halo disappears. Another plot hole regards the appearance of movie villain Cooler during the Super 17 Saga, when his movie could not have possibly taken place in the DBZ timeline (due to Gohan's tail growing back and other plot holes, specifically regarding Goku's difficulty in transforming into a Super Saiyan during the battle, and yet it was easy when he talked with Trunks upon his return to Earth).
In regards to his opinion of the series, in an interview with J-AXOnline, Toriyama stated that, though he wished he had more impact on the direction, and would have done things differently, he enjoyed the show, felt it captured the "Dragonball soul", and was pleased with the conclusion.
[edit] Plot
The series again continues the adventures of Son Goku who is turned back into a child in the beginning of the series by the Black-Star Dragon Balls and is forced to travel across the galaxy to retrieve them. It is the only series that is not based directly on the original story by Akira Toriyama.[1]
[edit] Series history
Dragon Ball GT began on Fuji TV at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 7, 1996, exactly one week after the final episode of Dragon Ball Z. It ran for 64 episodes, the last of which aired on November 4, 1997. It has also been aired across Japan by the anime television network, Animax, where it is currently being regularly broadcast. Unlike the Dragon Ball (anime) and Dragon Ball Z, series creator Akira Toriyama had only minor involvement in the show's early stages, setting forth the initial premise of the series, as well as creating designs for most of the villains and main characters , including newcomer Giru. Early episodes are much more comedic in tone, reminiscent of early Dragon Ball. The later episodes, however, are action-packed and feature the same sort of dramatic tone that existed in Dragon Ball Z. However, the series was ended after less than two years on the air, a move many believe to be the result of declining popularity.[2] There are no subsequent Dragon Ball anime or manga (rumors of new series, such as Dragon Ball AF, also rumored as "Dragon Ball Another Future", have existed since the end of Dragon Ball GT in 1997 and are untrue).
There are two companion books to the series, called the Dragon Ball GT Perfect Files, released in May 1997 and December 1997 by Shueisha's Jump Comics Selection imprint. They include series information, illustration galleries, behind-the-scenes information, and more. They were out of print for many years, but were re-released in April 2006 and this edition is still in print.
On June 15, 2005, Toei Animation (in conjunction with distributor Pony Canyon) released the entire series (including the Gokū Jr. TV special) in an extremely limited-edition DVD boxed set (called "Dragon Box GT"), along with a Dragon Radar remote control and an exclusive booklet. While the set features remastered audio and video, there are no subtitles, English or otherwise. It's also unavailable to general public due to its scarce numbers and its huge cost.[3]
FUNimation Entertainment will release the Black Star and Baby Sagas in a DVD remastered box set titled, Season One. It is scheduled for release on December 9, 2008. It will have episodes 1-32 on five DVDs.
Dragon Ball GT: Season 2 and a remastered A Hero's Legacy are scheduled for release February 10, 2009. This season will include the Super 17 and Shadow Dragon Sagas. (Episodes 33-64.)
[edit] English adaptations
[edit] US (FUNimation) version
The English adaptation of Dragon Ball GT ran on Cartoon Network between 2003 and 2005, but the version by FUNimation had a major alteration: the first 16 episodes of the series, the "Black Star Dragon Ball Saga", were cut and replaced by a single US-only episode which summarized the episodes; this became the new series premiere. This edit was implemented by the producers of the English dub to prevent viewers from possibly being put-off by these differently-toned early episodes. The missing episodes have since been released as the "Lost Episodes".[2]
[edit] International (Blue Water) version
Outside of the United States, (excluding Australia and New Zealand) a different English dub of the series was aired, featuring the voice actor of Canadian voice acting group Blue Water Studios. While the voices are different from both the American and international English dubs of Dragon Ball Z, the original background music by Akihito Tokunaga was kept, the episodes were aired in their proper order, and the scripts were kept much closer to the original Japanese version. However, the international version kept the original Japanese theme song but used English subtitles. An English version of the GT theme song was sung while this dub aired on Toonami in the UK, however these were different lyrics to the original song and not a direct translation.
[edit] TV special
[edit] Japanese title
Gokū Sidestory! The Proof of his Courage is the Si Xing Qiu [Four-Star Ball]
- (悟空外伝! 勇気の証しは四星球 Gokū Gaiden! Yūki no Akashi wa Sūshinchū)
[edit] FUNimation title
[edit] Theme songs
- Opening
- "Dan Dan Kokoro Hikarete 'ku" (DAN DAN 心魅かれてく? Bit by Bit, You're Charming my Heart)
- Lyrics: Izumi Sakai, Music: Tetsurō Oda, Arrangement: Takeshi Hayama, Performance: Field of View
- Version 1: episodes 1-26
- Version 2: episodes 27-64
- Lyrics: Izumi Sakai, Music: Tetsurō Oda, Arrangement: Takeshi Hayama, Performance: Field of View
- "Dan Dan Kokoro Hikarete 'ku" (DAN DAN 心魅かれてく? Bit by Bit, You're Charming my Heart)
- Ending
- "Hitori ja nai" (ひとりじゃない? I'm Not Alone)
- Lyrics: Shûichi Ikemori, Music: Tetsurō Oda, Arrangement: Hiroto Furui, Performance: Deen
- Used for the Black Star Dragonball Saga and beginning of the Bebi saga (1-26)
- "Don't you see!"
- Lyrics: Izumi Sakai, Music: Seiichirō Kuribayashi, Arrangement: Takeshi Hayama, Performance: Zard
- Used later in the Bebi Saga and the Beginning of the Super 17 saga (27-41)
- "Blue Velvet"
- Lyrics: Aeri, Music: Hatake, Arrangement: Hatake, Performance: Shizuka Kudō
- Used for the Super 17 saga and beginning of the Shadow Dragon Saga (42-50)
- "Sabitsuita Mashingan de Ima o Uchinukō" (錆びついたマシンガンで今を撃ち抜こう? Let’s Blast through this Moment with a Rusted Machinegun)
- Lyrics: Miho Komatsu, Music: Miho Komatsu, Arrangement: Daisuke Ikeda, Performance: Wands
- Used for the Shadow Dragon Saga to the end of series (51-64)
- "Dan Dan Kokoro Hikarete 'ku" (DAN DAN 心魅かれてく? Bit by Bit, You're Charming my Heart)
- Lyrics: Izumi Sakai, Music: Tetsurō Oda, Arrangement: Takeshi Hayama, Performance: Field of View
- Used for the final episode 64
- Used during the montage of Goku's life, prior to the ending theme
- "Hitori ja nai" (ひとりじゃない? I'm Not Alone)
[edit] Cast list
| Character name | Seiyū | Voice acting (FUNimation) | Voice acting (Blue Water) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goku | Masako Nozawa | Stephanie Nadolny (child) Sean Schemmel (adult and SS4) | Zoe Slusar Jeremiah Yurk |
| Goten | Masako Nozawa | Robert McCollum | Scott Hendrickson |
| Trunks | Takeshi Kusao | Eric Vale | Matthew Erickson |
| Giru | Shinobu Satouchi | Sonny Strait | Matthew Erickson |
| Uub | Atsushi Kisaichi | Sean Teague | Scott Roberts |
| Pan | Yūko Minaguchi | Elise Baughman | Caitlynne Medrek |
| Vegeta | Ryō Horikawa | Christopher Sabat | Roger Rhodes |
| Bulma | Hiromi Tsuru | Tiffany Vollmer | Kristin Nowosad |
| Bulla | Hiromi Tsuru | Pariksi Fakhri | Leda Davies |
| Goten | Masako Nozawa | Robert McCollum | Scott Hendrickson |
| Gohan | Masako Nozawa | Kyle Hebert | Jonathan Love |
| Videl | Yūko Minaguchi | Lucy Small | Jennifer Holder |
| Chi-Chi | Naoko Watanabe | Cynthia Cranz | Pascale Hutton |
| Krillin | Mayumi Tanaka | Sonny Strait | Dan Gascon |
| Android 18 | Miki Itō | Meredith McCoy | Jennifer Bain |
| Marron | Tomiko Suzuki | Meredith McCoy | ??? |
| Dende | Hiro Yuki | Justin Cook | Scott Roberts |
| Mr. Popo | Toku Nishio | Christopher Sabat | Dave Pettitt |
| Piccolo | Toshio Furukawa | Christopher Sabat | Ethan Cole |
| Emperor Pilaf | Shigeru Chiba | Chuck Huber | Dean Galloway |
| Shu | Tesshō Genda | Chris Cason | Jonathan Love |
| Mai | Eiko Yamada | Julie Franklin | Debbie Munro |
| Hercule | Daisuke Gōri | Chris Rager | Dave Pettitt |
| Majin Buu | Kōzō Shioya | Josh Martin | Corby Proctor |
| Master Roshi | Hiroshi Masuoka | Mike McFarland | Dean Galloway |
| Kibito Kai | Shinichirō Ōta | Kent Williams | Roger Rhodes |
| Elder Kai | Reizō Nomoto | Kent Williams | Dean Galloway |
| Sugoro | Bin Shimada | Brice Armstrong | Jonathan Love |
| Shusugoro | Mayumi Tanaka | John Burgmeier | ??? |
| Dr. Gero | Kōji Yada | Kent Williams | ??? |
| Dr. Myu | Kazuyuki Sogabe | Duncan Brannan | Dave Pettitt |
| General Rilldo | Kiyoyuki Yanada | Andrew Chandler | ??? |
| Baby | Yūsuke Numata | Mike McFarland | Adam Hunter |
| Android 17 | Shigeru Nakahara | Chuck Huber | ??? |
| Frieza | Ryūsei Nakao | Linda Young | Maureen Jones |
| Cell | Norio Wakamoto | Dameon Clarke | ??? |
| King Kai | Jōji Yanami | Sean Schemmel | Dean Galloway |
| Syn Shenron | Hidekatsu Shibata | Christopher Sabat | ??? |
| Shenron | Kenji Utsumi | Christopher Sabat | Dave Pettitt |
| Narrator | Joji Yanami | Andrew Chandler | Steve Olson |
