Dragon Ball GT

*See also: List of Dragon Ball GT episodes*

**Dragon Ball GT** (ドラゴンボール ＧＴ, *Doragon Bōru Ji Ti*, *Literally meaning:* Dragon Ball Grand Touring) is the anime-only sequel to the *Dragon Ball Z* series. The series takes place five years (ten in the FUNimation dub) after the end of the *Dragon Ball* series and follows the adventures of Gokū, his granddaughter Pan, and Trunks. It consists of 64 animated episodes and one movie. GT was produced by Toei Animation and aired on Japan's Fuji TV from February 7, 1996 until November 19, 1997. FUNimation would later produce an English dub of GT which aired on Cartoon Network from November 7, 2003 until April 16, 2005. The anime can be streamed on Hulu.

## Story

### Ultimate Dragon Balls Arc

*Main article: Ultimate Dragon Balls Arc*
Five years have passed since Gokū departed from his family and friends to train alongside his new disciple, Oob. During the battle between his disciple, Oob showcases the ability to go toe-to-toe with his master Son Gokū. After completing his final test, Oob now 15, returns to his village. Meanwhile, the now elderly Pilaf Gang venture to the Castle of God and enter the temple. After finding the "Ultimate" Dragon Balls Pilaf summons Ultimate Shenron. Gokū finds the Pilaf Gang and in a small skirmish, the Shenron of the Ultimate Dragon Balls misunderstands Pilaf's request and changes Gokū into a child. Goku, is told the fate that the Earth would explode if the ultimate dragon ball aren't collected within one year and returned to its original place. This then proceeds him to go on an adventure in space to collect dragon balls, with Pan and Trunks.

### Super Baby Arc

*Main article: Super Baby Arc*
After Gokū gathered each of the Dragon Balls at last, there was an invasion on Earth, which encountered a new threat while he was on his adventures in space. Baby a warrior produced from the matter of the former king of the Tsfruians exacts his revenge on the Saiyan race, who were responsible for the extinction of his people that predates the start of the series. Baby exacts his revenge by attacking the Saiyans. The first attacks began after invading a normal Earthling eventually finding the host of Son Goten. After finding a stronger host to invade, Baby takes over Son Gohan an then Vegeta's body through Parasitism. After brainwashing other Earthlings and Gokū's colleagues, Gokū was ambushed by the new forces of Baby. Gokū unable to defeat Baby who absorbed Saiya Power was able to overpower Gokū even in Super Saiyan 3. After the defeat of Gokū, Baby takes the Ultimate Dragon Balls and revives his former world with the immense power of the Ultimate Shenron. Oob assimilates with Mr. Boo and opposes Baby, while Gokū faces the dangers of Sugoroku Space. After escaping the bizarre realm, he arrives on the Kaiōshin Realm and begins the process of regenerating his tail. Gokū rejoins the battle field and loses control and turns into the Gold Great Monkey, after regaining his reason he transforms into Super Saiyan 4. Baby then unable to defeat him, also becomes a Gold Great Monkey and begins his last bout against Son Gokū. Gokū is defeated and then is also given Saiya Power by Gohan who also regained his sanity. Gokū regains the upperhand on Baby and then attempts to flee in his original body and is killed with the Ten-Fold Kamehameha. Peace has returned for a while, even a few hours until the earth explosion. Goku becomes Super Saiyan 4 and instantaneously moves all creatures on the earth to the twin planet. Piccolo gives the *ki* enough to move to Goku again for a moment, and the ultimate dragon ball is a stone just like fate with the earth.

## Reception

Despite the widespread success of the original *Dragon Ball* franchise, Dragon Ball GT's reception has been mixed to negative. IGN delivered a particularly scathing review, wherein they criticized the "goofy" designs of Trunks and Vegeta and called the series as a whole a "downright repellent". Overall, IGN gave the series a 4/10. Anime News Network also reviewed the series, commenting that the fight scenes were "a very childish exercise" and that it suffered from repeating the same formulas as the two proceeding anime. Their review also acknowledged the growing dislike for the series among contemporary fans. Notably, Christopher Sabat, of the Funimation voice cast, has been on record stating that GT is "not even canon anymore",  showing a disregard for GT even among the established cast.

## Trivia

* *GT* is the *Dragon Ball* media with the least amount of involvement from Akira Toriyama, the original creator of the franchise, but he has shown more public praise for *GT* than any other series, even his original manga. Toriyama himself also came up with the title for the series, designed the main cast and their vehicles, and he drew a few pictures for the series.
* GT stands for "Grand Tour", referring to Gokū, Pan, and Trunks' travels through the universe during the series.

## References

1. ↑ Kanzenshū Episode Guide
2. ↑ Dragon Ball GT: The Lost Episodes DVD Box Set Review IGN
3. ↑ Dragon Ball GT DVD: 8 Salvation [Uncut] Anime News Network
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbLq\_NfLN9A
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dragon Ball GT DVD Box: Dragon Box GT "Dragon Book" (15 June 2005) — A Message from Akira Toriyama-*sensei*