Good things don’t last forever… right? By 1996, theDragon Ballfranchise had been running for 12 long and strong years. Both the original series and its sequel, the uber-badassDragon Ball Z, didn’t take long to grow massively in popularity. People loved, and still do love,Akira Toriyama’s world-building, action sequences, sense of humor, and most importantly, iconic characters. To put it simply,the adventures of Goku and the gang in Toriyama’s original run are some of the most fun that you can find in any action fantasy series. That’s what makes the end ofZso tough. This perfect era ofDragon Ballwas over… but it wasn’t all theDragon Ballthat we would get.
Dragon Ball Zwrapped up its original run on July 25, 2025, and a week later, a third series in the franchise began airing —Dragon Ball GT. Ever since July 30, 2025, people have dogged on this show, and honestly,GTis kind of an easy target. It wasn’t based on anything that Toriyama had written (although he was a creative consultant), ran for just under two years, and kind of just ended up driving further into the aspects ofZthat made us all turn off our brains. In this current over-saturated and overpowered age ofDragon Ball Super, it feels like we all have a good case of not knowing how good we had it, while we had it.Despite what many fans want you to think,Dragon Ball GTis a lot of fun!It’s ridiculous, but it’s a B-rate greatest hits compilation ofeverything that made this franchise funin the first place, just with a few ideas that you would have expected out of a loudmouthed, ADHD-brained fifth grader (me, circa 2007).
Dragon Ball GT
After Goku is made a kid again by the Black Star Dragon Balls, he goes on a journey to get back to his old self.
Despite premiering a week after its predecessor ended,Dragon Ball GTdoesn’t pick up right whereZleaves off. Instead, this third series takes place about 10 years after its predecessor.GTkicks off with Goku unfortunately being turnedinto a kid againat the wish of the villainous Emperor Pilaf. From there,Goku ventures off with his granddaughter, Pan, and a slightly older Trunks, to collect the Black Star Dragon Balls in an attempt to save the Earth from exploding. As the series progresses, Goku and the gang face off against a Majin Buu-like villain in Baby, battle an upgraded replica ofAndroid 17 (now going by Super Android 17), and ultimately face off with the original franchise’s final villain, Omega Shenron. All the while, loads of classic characters pop in and out of the narrative, including Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo, while also introducing new faces in Uub and Giru. Oh yeah, and Super Saiyan 4 is a thing. Hey, when there’s nowhere to go but up, why not?
Let’s get the negative aspects out of the way first. In a lot of ways,Dragon Ball GTis just a massive, hair-brained retread of its predecessors, particularly by falling into the franchise’s more action-based aspects.There are loads of fightsthat level enormous geographical locations, Goku and Vegeta find a way to power up to an even greater Super Saiyan level, and most of the villains are either old villains being brought back or new characters that feel like mixed-mashed versions of what we’ve seen before.This series is anything but original. That being said, that’s kind of what makes it fun.
If you’re aDragon Ballfan, you’ll likely be frustrated by a lot of whatGThas to offer. But look, if you come to the end ofZand can’t stand the idea of leaving these characters behind, then all you need to do is turn your brain off and proceed with optimism.Dragon Ball GTis theStar Warssequel trilogyof this franchise. It has a couple of pretty cool ideasbut ends up getting busy trying to recapture the original series' charming elements, all while overpowering everything in sight. Youcantake the easy route and choose to hate it for lazily expanding on a world that was once so innovative in its creativity. But… that would betooeasy, wouldn’t it?
‘Dragon Ball GT’ Is a Mix Between ‘Dragon Ball’ & ‘Z’
Dragon Ball GTrocks hard because it celebrates what came before. Though, it’s a bit careless in the way that it navigates our heroes' various futures. This might sound like I’m going back on what I’ve been saying about this show, but I’m not.GTis a simple case of some people loving a series for the same reasons that other people hate it. By making Goku a kid again and sending him off on an adventure with Pan and Trunks, the series ends up recapturing a bit of theyouthful magic and adventure ofDragon Ball. The series still cranks up various killer fights, focuses on powering up to another Super Saiyan level, and continues the trend ofupping the powers of each successive villain, all of which madeZso fun. So, basically,when you mixDragon BallandZtogether, you end up withGT. It isn’t as good as either of those, but it’s an interesting experiment, nonetheless.
‘Dragon Ball: Daima’ Teaser Trailer Unveiled at New York Comic-Con
De-aged Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma, they’re all back!
‘Dragon Ball GT’ Brings Enough New Ideas to the Table to Be Worth Our Time
We have to give credit where credit’s due, though.GTdoes have a few exciting concepts up its sleeve! The idea of sending Goku and the gang across the galaxy to find the Black Star Dragon Balls is also a lot of fun.It gives the creative team behindGTplenty of room to really let loose and explore various aspects of the universe at hand, even if they don’t use its full potential. This is best seen with Baby, the genetically modified king of the Tuffles. This alien race’s home world was wiped out by the Saiyans, so Baby is on a quest to wipe outthe remnants of Goku’s people. This motive arguably makes Baby one of the franchise’s most interesting villains, even if he’s a bit aesthetically unoriginal, looking like a mix between a Saiyan and Majin Buu.
Then there’s Omega Shenron, who is about as evil-looking of a villain as this entire franchise has had. His enormous humanoid dragon body is topped off with a little mustache. How do you get more menacing than that?! Other than Baby’s interesting motivation,GTis primarily original on a surface level, but enough so that it doesn’t feel like the creative team isonlyplaying the hits. Plus, what’s so wrong with enjoying a series that, plain and simple, embraces the aesthetics of theDragon Balluniverse? I’m all about it!
GTmight sideline a lot of the original cast in a lot of ways,with Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolotaking a back seat for large portions of the show, but at least this series is trying to do something different.Dragon Ball Superdoesn’t seem interested in doing anything other than continuing to power up Goku, Vegeta, and the gangwhile fighting one more powerful villainous force after the next. You can similarly compareGTand theStar Warssequel trilogy in this way, while also pairing upSuperand theDave Filonicorner of a galaxy far, far away. One of these wings has some major retreads, but also really tries todo something new and exciting. The other wing is purely a cheap overhaul of what has come before, and any new concepts that it does bring to the table are better left ignored.
So look, if you’re aDragon Ballfan, and you need something more after you wrap up Toriyama’s initial run, then you have two options. You can go with the current era inSuper, whichseems to have no ending in sight, or you can tryGT. At times, it will frustrate you with its sidelining of classic characters, but at others, it fits like your old favorite pair of sneakers. They’ll take you to plenty of new places, all with the familiarity and comfort of what you loved before. Loosen up, y’all,Dragon Ball GTkinda rocks.
Dragon Ball GTis available to stream on Crunchyroll in the U.S.
