Canon

***Dragon Ball* canon** (正史, *seishi*; Literally meaning "official history") was first officially defined during the Tokyo Skytree + Viz North America Tour in an exhibit called the **History of Dragon Ball**. It was later reaffirmed in December 2018 in *Weekly Shōnen Jump*.

As of the start of this tour on November 1, 2018, the official canon of *Dragon Ball* includes Akira Toriyama's original *Dragon Ball* manga (which composes both *Dragon Ball* and *Dragon Ball Z* in the West) and the *Dragon Ball Super* manga, which has its story written by Toriyama and artwork drawn by Toyotarō.

Additionally, despite not being adapted by the *Dragon Ball Super* manga as *Dragon Ball Z: God and God* was, Toriyama has confirmed that the events of *Dragon Ball Z: Revival of "F"* are a canonical continuation of his manga, as well. He also considers the *Jaco the Galactic Patrolman* manga and its extra chapter, *Dragon Ball Minus*, to be connected to his series. Most recently, Toriyama added Broly and Gogeta into the *Dragon Ball* canon with *Dragon Ball Super: Broly*.

## Canon Story Arcs

During the **History of Dragon Ball** exhibit at the Tokyo Skytree + Viz North America Tour, official names were given for each of the canon story arcs in both the *Dragon Ball* and *Dragon Ball Super* manga.

### *Dragon Ball*

1. **Hunt for the Dragon Balls Arc**
2. **Kame-Sennin Training Arc**
3. **21st Tenka-Ichi Budōkai Arc**
4. **Red Ribbon Army Arc**
5. **Uranai Baba Arc**
6. **22nd Tenka-Ichi Budōkai Arc**
7. **Piccolo Daimaō Arc**
8. **23rd Tenka-Ichi Budōkai Arc**
9. **Saiyan Arc**
10. **Freeza Arc**
11. **Androids Arc**
12. **Cell Arc**
13. **High School Arc**
14. **25th Tenka-Ichi Budōkai Arc**
15. **Majin Boo Arc**

### *Dragon Ball Super*

1. **Hakaishin Beerus Arc**
2. **Hakaishin Champa Arc**
3. **"Future" Trunks Arc**
4. **Universe Survival Arc**
5. **Unnamed Fifth Arc (November 2018)**

## Akira Toriyama and *Dragon Ball* Canon

Akira Toriyama is the original creator and author of the *Dragon Ball* manga. Over the years, Toriyama has made numerous claims about the canon status of various medias set within his franchise. It is clear from these comments—and from others, in which he derides both the Japanese and English anime adaptations for their portrayal of Son Gokū—that he defines the canon of *Dragon Ball* as being in relation to his original manga.

On the *Dragon Ball* and *Dragon Ball Z* movies, Toriyama stated:

On *Dragon Ball Z: God and God* and *Dragon Ball Z: Revival of "F"*, Toriyama stated that:

However, in November 2018, Toei Animation and Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. confirmed during the Tokyo Skytree + Viz North America Tour that the *Dragon Ball Super* manga, for which Toriyama was responsible for only the story and character designs, was canon to Toriyama's manga.

## Canon and the Extended Universe

The *Dragon Ball* franchise consists of a vast variety of media including various anime, films, video games, and even other manga series. This can make it difficult to discern the canonicity of certain content. However, as of the Tokyo Skytree + Viz North America Tour's **History of Dragon Ball** exhibit, it is confirmed that only the *Dragon Ball* and *Dragon Ball Super* manga, with the addition of *Revival of "F"*, *Jaco the Galactic Patrolman*, and *Dragon Ball Minus*, are considered canon to Toriyama's franchise.

### Anime and Canon

The *Dragon Ball* anime, *Dragon Ball Z*, *Dragon Ball Z Kai*, and *Dragon Ball Super* anime all adapt content from their respective manga series. As a result, the adapt and depict canon content. However, they also depict original content that falls outside the preview of canon (i.e., the Garlic Junior Arc).

Anime series like *Dragon Ball GT* have been treated as sequels to the *Dragon Ball* franchise, but are not, in fact, official sequels to Akira Toriyama's manga. Other anime series, like the *Dragon Ball Heroes* anime are purely promotional material for its corresponding video game franchise and are not meant to be interpreted as official continuations of Toriyama's manga.

### Films and Canon

With the exceptions of *God and God* and *Revival of "F,"* which Akira Toriyama declared to be official continuations of his manga, movies are considered to be different stories set in other dimensions. As a result, *Dragon Ball* and *Dragon Ball Z* animated films are not considered canonical.

### Games and Canon

While games frequently adapt canon content, they are not in anyway meant to be considered canonical. This includes *Dragon Ball Online*, which, unlike most video games, was heavily worked upon by Akira Toriyama, but was never officially released outside of Korea.

## Canon and *Dragon Ball GT*

The canon status of *Dragon Ball GT* has been an issue of contentious debate among the *Dragon Ball* fan community. As both *Dragon Ball* and *Dragon Ball Super* proceed the story of *Dragon Ball GT* by many years, there are no direct contradictions with the story of *GT*.

Akira Toriyama had the following to say about the anime-only adaptation:

Furthermore, *GT* is the *Dragon Ball* media with the least amount of involvement from Toriyama. Toriyama himself only came up with the title for the series, designed the main cast and their vehicles, and he drew a few pictures for the series.

As a result of these facts in conjunction with its exclusion from the Tokyo Skytree + Viz North America Tour's **History of Dragon Ball** exhibit, *Dragon Ball GT* is not considered canon to the *Dragon Ball* manga.

## Reference Books and Canon

Reference books, like the *Daizenshū* series, often expand upon content that is not touched upon or fully explained in the anime, films, or the manga. However, like the aforementioned *Daizenshū* series of databooks, most *Dragon Ball* reference books are anime reference books and have little to no involvement from Akira Toriyama himself. Therefore, they are supplemental to the anime, but are not considered to be canonical.

However, there are exceptions. An example of this is the *Dragon Ball Volume "F"* which was written by Toriyama himself and is supplemental material to *Dragon Ball Z: Revival of "F"*, itself one of the few canonical films in the franchise.

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1  @Herms98 (Todd Frankenship) on Twitter "The word for "canon" here is 正史/seishi, by the way."
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tokyo Skytree + Viz North America Tour 2018-2019
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *V-Jump* (2014)
4. ↑ *V-Jump* December Issue Special Project: “Tera-P”
5. ↑  @Herms98 (Todd Frankenship) on Twitter "This is the same wall display Viz translated, right? In which case it seems the Japanese phrasing for "canon sequel" is 正統続編, if that hadn't been established already. You could also translate it as "proper sequel" or "legitimate sequel". I think translating it as "canon sequel" is reasonable, if only because that's how those concepts are typically phrased in English these days. That is, it's not like Shueisha and/or Toei suddenly started using the word "canon". Rather, they said "this is a legit sequel" (in slightly fancy marketing copy language) and that got translated into English using the word "canon" because that's how English fandom talks. While GT is typically called a 続編, to my knowledge it's never been referred to as a 正統続編 the way Super is here."
6. ↑ *Dragon Ball GT* DVD Box: *Dragon Box GT* “Dragon Book” (15 June 2005)
7. ↑ *Daizenshū 7* Interview
8. ↑ *Dragon Ball GT* DVD Box: *Dragon Box GT* “Dragon Book” (15 June 2005)
9. ↑ Toriyama’s Contributions to the Anime