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Dragon Ball GTis one of the most controversialDragon Ballseries. This spin-off has been the target of massive hate by a portion of the fandom, but there are also those who love it. Most GT fans were pleased whenDragon Ball Daimareintroduced many ideas from the show.
One of the reasons whyGTis such a divisive series is that creator Akira Toriyama was not closely involved, even though he may have given a few ideas. So for many,GTis just a “milking” spin-off created by Toei that deviates from the original author’s perspective. But is that all there is toDBGT?
Why Was Dragon Ball GT Created?
A few days ago, a Japanese podcast titledKosokoso dropped an interviewwithDragon Balleditors Kazuhiko Torishima, Yu Kondo and Fuyuto Takeda. Among the many questions they answered, theyclarified a few things about the creation ofDragon Ball GT.
Enomis, also known as@Venixys,translated the key points of the interview. It seems that the birth ofDBGTwas closely related to the fact that, during the final arc, Takeda gave mixed messages about the conclusion of the series, as it wasn’t yet clear when exactly it would end. However, once it became clear thatDragon Ballwas coming to an end, Shueisha and the companies involved in the anime were concerned;they didn’t want the series to end, probably because it was a profitable hit.
Thus, it was this pressure that led to the creation ofDragon Ball GT— those who claim that the series was created just to explore the franchise commercially for more time are not entirely wrong. Of course, it wouldn’t have been created if Toriyama hadn’t agreed to it, but he was apparently under a lot of pressure.
What Does “GT” In The Title Mean?
There have been a few rumors about the meaning of “GT” — some fans, especially in the Japanese fandom, would jokingly say it means “Gomen ne, Toriyama-sensei” (something like “Sorry, Toriyama”). However, the interviewees confirmed that GT stands for “Grand Turismo”(or “Grand Tour”), andit was Toriyama who came up with the name:
Toriyama himself basically said, “we’ll make a story about space travel in Grand Turismo style, and let’s call it GT”.
Dragon Ball GT As A Starting Point for Daima
Even though GT may not have been Toriyama’s original idea, thatdoesn’t mean he didn’t contribute to it. After all, he is credited as the author, and he oversaw the production, or at least part of it.
In fact,Toriyama seemed to likeGT, since he usually praised the staff of the series. Although he never explicitly said whetherGTis canon or not, he once stated that the anime is a “great side-story” to the original series — fans debate the meaning of this. Some claim that “great side-story” means it is not canon, while others defend that Toriyama was confirming thatGTis a sequel to the manga.
Either way, Akio Iyuko confirmed in an interview thatDragon Ball GTwas a starting point forDragon Ball Daima, which is probably the reason why the series reintroduced many elements fromGT, such as the whole vibe of a new space adventure where the characters turn into children,and the SSJ4 form. So, while there may be things that Toriyama disliked inDragon Ball GT, it seems clear that he also viewed many other things in a positive light.
Could A DB Daima Sequel Be Coming?
Dragon Ball Daimaended in February, and no sequel has been confirmed yet. However, Akio Iyuko hinted in another interview that there might be plans to continue the series. Thepost-credits scene even suggestshow new enemies could eventually appear.
Dragon Ball GTisavailable to stream on Crunchyroll, subbed and dubbed in English.
