The Dragon Ball franchise remains incredibly popular, but Dragon Ball GT is still viewed as a somewhat controversial chapter in the series’ history. The release of Dragon Ball Super has largely made Dragon Ball GT irrelevant, but there’s a definite charm and unique energy to the imperfect sequel series.
One of the major perks in Dragon Ball GT is that the series allows the characters to get a little older, which in the case of Goku’s granddaughter, Pan, makes a significant difference. Pan is one of Dragon Ball GT’s central characters and she grows in various ways by the anime's last episode.
10 She's Been To Space
Dragon Ball is a series that’s set on Earth, but over time the characters have needed to explore the galaxy. Dragon Ball GT allows Pan’s horizons to be greatly expanded when she leaves on a mission with Goku and Trunks to help retrieve the Black Star Dragon Balls.
This doesn’t just allow Pan to leave Earth, she visits many planets and gets to become quite worldly when it comes to new alien species along with the threats that populate the universe. This can be a difficult transition for some, but Pan relishes the opportunity to travel.
9 She Fights Alongside Her Grandpa
A running problem with Dragon Ball is that eventually things usually devolve into “The Goku Show” where he’s always the one to save the day. Dragon Ball GT works hard to develop a balance between Goku, Pan, and Trunks, who are particularly helpful to Goku since he’s trapped in a child-aged body.
Pan respects her grandfather at the start of GT, but the anime allows them to fight together as equals. Pan and Goku take on many of the Shadow Dragons together and they develop a real relationship that wasn’t present beforehand. They even develop joint techniques together.
8 She Masters New Techniques
The majority of characters in Dragon Ball have a natural affinity for combat, but those that have a combined heritage of human and Saiyan blood typically get stronger at a very early age. Dragon Ball Super shows that Pan masters the ability of flight when she’s still just a baby.
She enters Dragon Ball GT with rudimentary battle knowledge, but she slowly learns a strong repertoire of attacks. Pan adopts the Kamehameha and Masenko as tributes to her family, but the Full Power Energy Wave is another extremely efficient maneuver that she debuts during her fight against Baby.
7 She Watches Friends And Family Die
Characters in Dragon Ball have a tendency to grow up much faster due to how death is a constant occurrence. Pan is still just a child, but she accepts a great deal of responsibility when she steps up to the call of action in Dragon Ball GT.
Survival is one thing, but Pan also has to watch those that are closest to her and family meet untimely ends from the acts of villains. It's devastating that Pan witnesses Krillin's death, learns of Piccolo's move to Hell, and briefly thinks that Goku has also passed away. It hardens her.
6 She's Been Absorbed By A Shadow Dragon
Dragon Ball GT has its flaws, but the villains are inventive and incorporate some creative ideas into the anime. The Shadow Dragons are the final opponents Goku and company face, and they’re quite a varied group of enemies. Pan is instrumental in the defeat of these Shadow Dragons alongside Goku, but she suffers a traumatic event in the battle with Naturon Shenron. Naturon absorbs Pan into his body, which means that Goku can’t defeat it without also eliminating Pan. It’s a grim ordeal, but Pan and Goku are able to outsmart Naturon and be all the stronger for it.
5 She's Taken Lives
Pan is only 10 years old at the start of Dragon Ball GT, but the anime puts her in danger immediately and has her fighting for her life.
She's not only instrumental in the destruction of Luud and many Machine Mutant guards, she also sends Red Ribbon Army's top ranking officials back to Hell after they escape. By Dragon Ball GT’s end, Pan has definitely proven that she has the fighting instinct to do what's necessary if the battle calls for it.
4 She Learns How To Dance
Pan is one of the very few female Saiyans in the franchise when Dragon Ball GT first premieres and she’s an interesting mix of sensibilities. Pan embraces a tomboy aesthetic and prefers fighting over other activities that might be considered more conventionally feminine.
Pan isn’t the most graceful or skilled with rhythm at the start of Dragon Ball GT, but under duress she masters the Para Para Boogie from the Para Para Brothers. It’s one of the more comedic detours that Dragon Ball GT takes, but these dance moves stick with Pan and she seems slightly more graceful afterwards.
3 She Has Grandchildren
Dragon Ball GT is the shortest of the Dragon Ball anime, but it ends up covering the most ground in a strange way due to some radical leaps forward in time. Pan isn’t even a teenager when Dragon Ball GT begins, but this sweet epilogue shows that Pan goes on to be 100 years old and have her own family. An elderly Pan proudly watches one of her descendants, Goku Jr., participate in the Tenkaichi Budokai as everything gets to come full circle.
2 She Gets To Use The Dragon Balls
Despite how Dragon Ball is in the title of the series, the scope of the franchise has evolved so much that sometimes the wish-granting orbs are treated like an afterthought. Dragon Ball GT brings the Dragon Balls back into the picture in a major way with a destructive new set of orbs. Pan gets to be involved in all of this and she learns a lot about the Dragon Balls. They go from a legend that she’s heard a lot about to something she’s participated in.
1 She's Been Turned Into A Doll
Dragon Ball GT eventually becomes an action-oriented series like Dragon Ball Z, but its earlier episodes engage in some particularly silly episodic storytelling. One of the crazier adventures that Pan gets herself caught up in involves getting turned into a doll and kept captive by the deranged Dolltaki.
Pan is thankfully able to get out of this bizarre torture and take out both Dolltaki & Luud, who are responsible. Pan is one of the few Dragon Ball characters who doesn't die, but getting turned into a doll seems to make her more serious when it comes to battle.