Krissdafish

I know, I know. By the majority of the dragon ball fanbase this is hated. Though to its credit, its really not all that bad. For me it seems like most of the haters are all fanboys who just went along with the hate wave. I mean it was disappointing, and thats why I think it got a much more hate than it deserved. But in this review I will try to justify the goods things in Dragon ball GT and at the same time show that im aware of the negative things.

To begin with why not point out the good ones first. I mean after the end of Dragon Ball Z, many people(including me) hadn't had enough of Goku and friends. At the time Dragon Ball was the only manga/anime in my life. So naturally i wanted more, and of course Toei Animation made the sequel. The thing is that Akira Toriyama didn't want to create a new series and was tired of Dragon Ball thus he played a minor role in Dragon Ball GT's production. The series was not based on the official manga, but in return they showed us some promising things. After Dragon Ball Z I had completly forgotten that the series started out with a more comedy-based approach. Goku as a kid with unbeliable strenght, yet at the same time had so little knowledge about the modern society was funny and charming to read.

Thats why i think it was decided that Goku was to be returned to being a kid again, by accident of course. So the series could go back to its roots. The thing here is that Goku still has his adult mind, but even as an adult he is very diffrent from other adults. But not did they just make him a kid again, they even brought back some of the older villains, which i thought was a promising attempt. Not just did they bring back some of the older villains, but also the arch-nemesis of the Saiyans, namely the Tuffles. The Tuffles already existed in the Dragon Ball universe, though they had yet to make an apperance. So seeing the Tuffles having a major role in the series really made me excited.

The character are mostly ok. The ones we know from before like Goku, Pan(barely, but she have made an apperance) and Trunks, they are recognisable. We know them from before and few things have changed. Its mainly those characters that the plot focuses on, for the most time the older character makes very few apperances. The show introduces some of the older villains with a creative twist, which I liked. Though when it comes to the new villains, i must say "what were they thinking?". The character design is goofy and well you might have a hard time taking them serious, because they look so weird. The only new villain i liked is the tuffle, which is introduced towards the end of the show(without trying to spoil anything). Also i just love the sitations that occur when Giru and Pan is in the same scene, they really made me giggle.

The plot somewhat holds through. They really made a drastic change to the rules for the dragon balls. Though then again that change actually led to an ending I was satisfied with. The plot is generally about that the dragon balls have been filled up with so much negative energy because of all the selfish wishes that have been made, so they took form of seven dragons and that they were sent into all the directions of the universe, so Goku, Pan and Trunks have to go on a inter-galactic travel in search of them to revert Goku back to his normal state. What I really like about this plot is that they reveal, the dragon balls true intentions. This ending truly gives an end to Dragon Ball while it also teaches a valuable lesson to those who just could not get enough of Dragon Ball and wished for a sequel after Dragon Ball Z. If it wasnt for the ending the plot led to, it would have been ridiculous. They also bring in a creative twist when it comes to the evolution of the saiyan stages.

Another thing that I actually love about the series is the opening theme for the japanese version. I love it. There is actually a part of the very last episodes which has this theme playing, while the narrator tells you that the adventure of Son-Goku and his friends are finally over and at the same time it show various flashbacks chronologically from the moment Bulma and Goku met for the first time and showing many of the greatest moments from all the diffrent parts in the series, up untill the end of GT. Which i swear to god is the most emotional anime moment in my life. I can just remeber that ive felt tears running down my face while i watched it.

From that I actually recommend this to all Dragon Ball fans. It might not be canon, but its still a part of the franchise. And if you feel that you've been cheated from a more conclusive ending to Dragon Ball, I really recommend that you should check it out. However to enjoy this for what it is, you do have to have a few things in mind before you begin. One: This is not the work of Akira Toriyama, and he only played a minor role in the production. Two: don't have expectations. And three: Many anime series, which is based of a manga, do seperate from the main story, but that doesnt make the anime bad. Enjoy it for what it is and not what it should have been based of. It does alot of things which shows that it can stand by itself.

-Krissdafish