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Dragon Ball GT

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(Redirected from GT)
For other uses, see Dragon Ball (disambiguation).
Original logo of GT.
FUNimation's GT Opening and logo.

Dragon Ball GT (meaning Grand Tour) 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, consisting of only 64 episodes; as opposed to it's predecessor Dragon Ball Z which consisted of 291 episodes, and Dragon Ball which consisted of 153. Originally intending to span 40 episodes (ending after the Baby Saga), the series continued for another 24 episodes.

Contents

[edit] Canon Debate and Inconsistencies/Mistakes

This series was not written by Akira Toriyama nor was it originally produced as manga, like its predecessors Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, leading some fans to consider it non-canon.

Some of the main reasons some consider GT to be non-canon are 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 Dragon Ball Z, and the wish that revived all the people of Earth excluded all the evil ones. However it is argued by some that Emperor Pilaf, portrayed as an unsuccessful, comical character, is not evil enough to be left dead. Alternately, it's possible Pilaf and his cronies flee Earth during the Buu crisis.

Additionally, GT suggests that a person can't be destroyed if he is already dead (or else Frieza and Cell would have been erased by Goku), when Goku makes it clear that a person can be completely destroyed when Kid Buu is attacking Grand Kai's planet (and later when Vegeta fights Buu). Toriyama has made this mistake before however, in the second season of Dragon Ball Z, during a filler segment when Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu are fighting Piccolo on King Kai's planet and Piccolo smashed Chiaotzu into the ground, King Kai said that he could not die again.

In relevance to the "death" plot holes, GT acts as if the residents of Hell who keep their bodies don't get halos. In Dragon Ball 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 to help out Goku, 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 Dragon Ball Z 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 and accessible at will when he talked with Trunks, upon his return to Earth). This is possibly used as a cameo that doesn't really exist, as people are shown throughout the Dragonball Z series wearing shirts that say "The Super Saiyan" as a joke to the audience. There is a clear plot hole regarding the absence of Gohan's latent potential unleashed. This is shown when Gohan turns Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2 and he is much weaker than before. It was believed that Gohan could no longer transform as he became "Mystic Gohan" after Old Kai unleashed his hidden powers.

Toriyama's drawing of the Super Saiyan 4 Transformation.
Despite the numerous inconsistencies present within Dragon Ball GT, Toriyama seems to have positive feelings towards his works' continuation, as he drew his version of Super Saiyan 4 Goku, exclusively for the GT Dragon Box.

[edit] Plot

The cast as they appear in Dragon Ball GT.

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. The first half of the series focuses on Goku, Pan, and Trunks, while the second half brings back most of the prominent characters from Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. It is the only series that is not based directly on the original story by Akira Toriyama.[1]. The series follows the Z fighters against far more powerful foes such as Baby, Super 17 and the Shadow Dragons.

[edit] Series history

The first two anime series were directly based off the manga, which took much longer to produce than the anime did. This often resulted in "filler" episodes, one of the most obvious of which is when Frieza tries to destroy Planet Namek with a five-minute timer, yet the battle lasted well over five episodes, much less five minutes. Since Dragon Ball GT was not based off a manga, no filler episodes were required. As a result, four entire sagas (the Black Star Dragon Ball Saga, the Baby Saga, the Super 17 Saga, and the Shadow Dragon Saga) were completed in only 64 episodes.

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 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), excepting the new Dragon Ball Kai series, which is simply a condensed remake of Dragon Ball Z, rather than being an entirely new plotline.

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]

[edit] Funimation Remastered Box Sets

In 2008 Funimation began production of remastering the entire Dragon ball GT Series similar to the remastering process of Dragon Ball Z. Unlike the Dragon ball Z Remastered Sets the Dragon ball GT Remastered Season Sets are presented in a 4:3 Full Frame and come with 5 discs rather than 6. The GT Sets are not presented in High Definition. Just like the Dragon ball Z Remastered sets the GT Sets include English Dialogue with original Japanese Background Music, English Dialogue with US Broadcast and Original Japanese Mono. Both Dragon ball GT Season Box set includes a booklet including Character Profiles and an Episode guide.

Dragon ball GT Season One was released on the 9th December 2008. The Box set includes The Black Star Dragon Ball Saga and Baby Saga spanning the first 34 episodes over 5 discs.

Dragon ball GT Season Two was released on the 10th February 2009. The box set includes Super 17 Saga and Shadow Dragon Saga spanning the final 30 episodes concluding the series. As a bonus the Dragon ball GT Movie - A Hero's Legacy was included as part of the Box set.

It should be noted that the Trailers Episode count for 32 Episodes per Dragon ball GT Remastered Season Set is not correct. Dragon Ball GT Season One instead includes 34 episodes leading up to Goku's Super Saiyan 4 Transformation leaving the final 30 episodes for Season Two. It should also been noted that Season One does not include the entire Baby Saga as the Set ends at Episode 34 whereas the Baby saga concludes on Episode 40.

Image:0070440004874 150X150.jpg Image:0070440004875 150X150.jpg‎

Season Release Date Sagas
Dragon Ball GT: Season 1 December, 9th 2008 The Lost Episodes and Baby Saga
Dragon Ball GT: Season 2 February, 10th 2009 Super 17, Shadow Dragon Sagas and A Hero's Legacy Movie

[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] When first aired, Funimation recorded a new musical score and the openings and closings were replaced with something completely different from the original. For example, a rap was used for the opening and used different clips from the show to make up the visuals. However, when Funimation released the series to two remastered boxed sets in 2008, the original Japanese music was restored, and English versions of the opening and all four closings were created, which are all very close to the original versions.

[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

[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
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 Jennifer Bain
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 Jonathan Love
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 Ethan Cole
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

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Dragon Ball GT Perfect File guidebook, published in 1997 by Shueisha
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michael LaBrie. Daizex's Newbie Guide). Daizenshuu EX.
  3. ↑ Kanzentai's Guide on Dragon Boxes..
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