Dragon Ball GT was a short-lived Dragon Ball Z sequel inspired by Akira Toriyama's hit Manga/Anime. Produced by Toei Animation in 1996, the series ran for a total of 64 episodes and one movie. This series followed the continued adventure of Goku, once more a child due to a wish from the Black Star Dragon Balls, Trunks, and his Granddaughter Pan on their way across the galaxy to help turn Goku back into an adult.
Among fans of the series, Dragon Ball GT, GT being short for “Grand Tour”, the love/hate for the series still rages to this day, some proclaiming that Akira Toriyama's love and involvement in the series made it canon while others denied and hated it for it's derailing of the series direction. However, with the release of Dragon Ball Super in 2015, GT was officially non-canon. Despite this, here are 4 things we wish were Canon from Dragon Ball GT and 4 things we're glad aren't.
8 Return of Kid Goku (Wish Were Canon)
Emperor Pilaf, one of the original Dragon Ball baddies, accidentally wished using Black Star Dragon Balls for Goku to once again to become a kid. For fans who started their Dragon Ball journey with Dragon Ball Z, this might have seemed like jumping the shark, but for those who stuck it through since the original Dragon Ball know, this was awesome.
The return of Kid Goku brought back Goku's very playful and childish nature, not that he ever lost it, two-fold. Seeing Goku as a child once again with everything he knows and has learned feels almost like a new game plus. The return of Goku's tail was also an added bonus, bringing back some cool moments found in the original Dragon Ball. Although short-lived, the returned adventures of Kid Goku was very nostalgic and welcome addition to GT's canon.
7 Whiney Pan (Glad Aren't Canon)
Pan is the daughter of Gohan and Videl, making her one of the few Saiyan/Human children within the series. Trained from an early age on how to fight, Pan was a kick butt addition to the team and a valued member. However, this didn't stop her from not being looked upon so fondly by fans.
Many haters of GT cite one of their great displeasures with the series stems from how whiney Pan is and it's not hard to see why. Pan, while an incredibly strong and gifted fighter, had a knack for complaining and nagging Goku and Trunks about everything non-stop. To many fans of the series, she was their least favorite part, acting more like Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels than an actual Z-Fighter. We can only hope that canon Pan won't inherit these traits from her former self.
6 Pan's Fighting Prowess (Wish Were Canon)
While not looked upon fondly too often by fans, Pan's ability to fight is one thing that most Dragon Ball lovers can't deny is pretty great. With her attitude and childhood growing up around it all, Pan is the one Z-Fighter least afraid to throw around her Saiyan strength, even in a normal situation.
Her growth as a fighter throughout the series, learning from Trunks and her grandfather Goku, is one of the show's highlights and she comes a long way. From fighting street thugs to terribly powerful aliens, Pan could kick some serious butt.
5 Trunks’ Outfit (Glad Aren't Canon)
Trunks’ is the badass warrior from the future who comes on to the scene of Dragon Ball Z out of nowhere and makes Frieza seem like a piece of cake. It's safe to say, he left a very good first impression with fans of the show. Very soon, he became a loved and fan favorite addition, being revealed to be the son of Vegeta and Bulma, from a future where Cell has taken over and defeated the Z Fighters, Trunks had a lot going for him. However, in GT, he seemed to get the most major downgrade...his outfit.
Now sure, a character's attire wouldn't seem so important as compared to the rest of the show but Trunks’ outfit of choice really doesn't compliment him. Dressed in an almost too boyish outfit, he doesn't put out the vibe of a great Saiyan fighter, but more so of a boy scout who's the biggest threat against you might be a slingshot. Some might say that this isn't directly the same Trunks from the future, rather baby TR grown up from our timeline, but it doesn't seem to be a fitting excuse. I'm sorry to say Trunks, but your ankles stick out like a sore thumb.
4 Super Saiyan 4 (Wish Were Canon)
It should go without saying that one of the most excitement provoking and tension building parts of the Dragon Ball series, Z and onward, are the Saiyan transformations. Often series changing additions that either help raise the stakes or level the playing field, the good ol' Super Saiyan transformation is very loved. To no surprise, the Super Saiyan transformation found within and unique to GT is still a great addition to the series that should definitely be brought back.
Super Saiyan 4 is the amazing feat of becoming as powerful as the Great Ape form, one of the more bestial and forgotten Saiyan transformations, with the mind and focus of your normal self. Essentially you could throw around a hell of a lot of power with precision and technique, making it optimal for a fight. Even granting the user a pseudo-ape-like appearance, the Super Saiyan 4 was not only a powerful new addition to the series but a nice and welcomed call back to Goku's original time as a Great Ape.
3 Vegeta's Mustache (Glad Aren't Canon)
Now before a mob of GT fans come and break down our doors, let us give a chance to explain ourselves. As funny and as ironically cool it is, Vegeta's mustache in GT just doesn't cut it. It's too goofy looking and doesn't suit Vegeta's look at all. It just sits there on his face and stares back into the audience's soul. Black and cold, it sticks there and it has no reason too.
Just imagine Vegeta's mustache inserted into any proper canon Vegeta moment after GT, such as the infamous “That's my Bulma!” scene or even Vegeta's sacrifice during the Buu Saga. Yeah, a little awkward? Doesn't feel like it belongs, does it? We didn't think so. The most credit it can be given is that maybe it inspired Omni-Man's look from Robert Kirkman's Invincible. Maybe.
2 Return Of Adventure Anime (Wish Were Canon)
When Dragon Ball first started, much to the surprise of fans who began the series on Z and forward, it wasn't a fighting anime. In fact, there really wasn't much fighting to be found, at least in the more one-on-one sense the series has become known for. Dragon Ball was originally an adventure anime, with the draw to the series being the characters and journey, not the fights. With Z, the Dragon Ball series became a fighting anime and stuck there. However, despite this, GT brought back the vibe of the original.
With it's more character, humor, and end goal-centric style of storytelling, GT had a much more Dragon Ball like feel to it than other versions of the series, especially with Kid Goku being thrown into the mix. It seems whenever you have Goku as a youngster, the series that follows will always have a much more innocent and childlike nature to it, which after years of brutal beat downs and bloody altercations, was a welcome course of direction.
1 Black Star Dragon Balls (Glad Aren't Canon)
The Black Star Dragon Balls, like all the other Dragon Balls found in the series, aren't just a namesake, but usually a main plot focus and driver. Without the Dragon Balls...you don't have Dragon Ball. It's really as simple as that. With each Dragon Ball type, there's a gimmick or rules along with it. Usually very easy to abide by or understand, the gathering and using of the Dragon Balls has never really been to hard for the Z-Fighters, making their enemies attempt to stop them a major focus of a plot. However, with the Black Star Dragon Balls, a wrench is thrown into this well-maintained machine.
With the Black Star Dragon Balls, they not only spread throughout the galaxy rather than on the planet they were used on as the other Dragon Balls, but if they are not brought back to the planet they were used on within a year, that planet will explode. So yeah, another unnecessarily huge thing the Z Fighters have to deal with. Thankfully, this was never brought into any of the other series and this remained only within the Black Star Dragon Ball saga.