Dragon Ball Canon has never been simple. Between the manga, anime, movies, and video games, the franchise’s multiverse is confusing, especially when elements from each of them mix with each other. With the TV anime being the most popular iteration of the series, fans aren’t always aware that some parts of it didn’t happen in the manga.
Many unique moments at the Dragon Ball The anime episodes are as famous as the manga scenes. While there are many episodes that are known to be filler episodes, other filler episodes are so seamlessly integrated into the original story that casual fans can’t tell what they are. Dragon Ball Super went so far as to tell completely different stories in his anime and manga.
10 Goku travels to Demon Land before the Demon Realm is introduced
Early Dragon Ball fillers couldn’t predict future events
The next one Dragon Ball DAIMA will feature Goku and Supreme Kai going on an adventure in the Demon Realm. This mystical dimension was first introduced in the Buu Saga, with its king, Dabura, servant of Babidi. Years before, in the first Dragon Ball animated, Goku went to the Land of Demons.
In episode 81, “Goku Goes to Demon Land”, Goku comes into conflict with a group of demons after kidnapping Princess Misa. Goku takes a break from training for the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, travels to Demon Land, and defeats the leader of the villains, Shula. It’s a fun and weird episode, and it’s hard to tell whether or not Akira Toriyama drew inspiration from it when writing the Buu Saga.
9 Goku meets Tien Shinhan before the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament
Tien becomes a more obvious villain in the anime
In the Dragon Ball In the manga, Tien Shinhan is introduced as the main antagonist of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament arc. Although he is a brutal fighter who trains to become an assassin, he is hardly a villain, and is instead a rival to Goku and the other members of the Turtle School. The original Dragon Ball Anime introduces Tien in advanceand deviates from the manga by making it much more harmful.
In episode 82, “The Rampage of InoShikaCho”, Tien and Chiaotzu make their first appearance in the anime. Goku encounters the two men during his travels around the world and discovers that they are scamming villages by pretending to protect them from a monster. In the ensuing fight, Tien gains the upper hand on Goku and knocks a tree down on him before leaving. This episode not only establishes Tien as a true villain, but also introduces him as a threat to Goku before they meet in the upcoming tournament.
8 Dead Z-Warriors Defeat the Ginyu Force
Tien, Yamcha and Chaitozu show the results of their training
Despite training extensively with King Kai, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiatozu never got the chance to show how much they’ve grown in the manga. Dragon Ball Z The anime fixes this by having Jeice, Burter, Recoome, and Guldo of the Ginyu Force arrive on King Kai’s planet, after their deaths at the hands of Vegeta. The Ginyus come looking for a fight, and while the humans are initially scared after seeing how powerful they were on Namek, they prove to be up to the challenge.
While Goku fights Frieza on Namek, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu fight and defeat the dead members of the Ginyu Force.. Tien takes on Jeice and Burter, Yamcha crushes Recoome, and Chiatozu has a hilarious battle with Guldo. It’s not the prettiest fight, but it’s a nice moment of recognition for the fighters sidelined in the series.
7 Yamcha crashes into the gravity chamber
Yamcha is not as stupid in the manga as he is in the anime
The Cell Saga has never been kind to Yamcha, but the anime version punishes the series’ resident punching bag even more than the manga. Throughout the manga arc, Yamcha is revealed to have cheated on Bulma, he is dumped by Bulma in favor of Vegeta, and he is eliminated in one hit by Dr. Gero. Dragon Ball Z humiliates him even as he trains to fight androids.
“Z Warriors Prepare” is one of the best filler episodes of Dragon Ball Zbut it also contains Yamcha’s most embarrassing moment in the series. Feeling insecure around Vegeta, Yamcha attempts to undergo gravity training on the same level as the Saiyan.The result is that Yamcha is about to commit suicide and barely survives.
6 Piccolo, Krillin, Tien and Yamcha help defeat Cell
Only Vegeta helps Gohan against Cell in the manga
At the end of Gohan’s Super Saiyan 2 fight against Cell Super Perfect in the manga, Vegeta hits Cell with a ki blast to give Gohan the opening he needs to win. It’s a brilliant moment that perfectly concludes Vegeta’s arc, and a clever strategy that makes Cell’s defeat all the more satisfying. Dragon Ballthis whole scene plays out differently.
In Dragon Ball Z, before Vegeta interrupts the beam fight between Gohan and Cell, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin fire their own ki blasts at the android.. While this takes away from what makes the scene work in the manga, it’s fantastic in its own right. The Cell Saga is the last time in the original series that these four characters are relevant, and this moment sends them off on a high note, as each of them fights against impossible odds and reflects the impact Goku had on them.
5 The existence of Dragon Ball Z
There is no Dragon Ball Z manga
When most people think of Dragon Ballthey think about Dragon Ball Z. Many even refer to the franchise as a whole as Dragon Ball Z. This leads fans to assume that just as there is a separation between the original anime and DBZ, there are also two separate manga, with the latter’s manga containing all the parts they are most familiar with.
In truth, there is not Dragon Ball Z manga. Both anime are directly adapted from the Dragon Ball manga, with the series starting with the Pilaf Saga and ending with the Buu Saga. The decision to end the original anime with the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament arc and start DBZ with the Saiyan Saga was largely arbitrary.
4 Goku fights Pikkon in the Other World tournament
The Otherworld Tournament arc is a filler arc
It’s not hard to see why many people don’t understand that the Other World Tournament Arc is not canon. The Other World is a major part of the Buu Saga, which comes right after in the anime, and the Buu Saga introduces even more Kai than the Other World Tournament Arc. However, Even though fans love Pikkon a lot, he doesn’t exist in the Dragon Ball manga.
The Other World Tournament arc takes place after the Cell Saga and sees Goku competing in a tournament in the afterlife. In addition to the other world’s strongest fighter, Pikkon, this arc also introduces the West, East, and South Kais. This adds further confusion to the arc’s canonicity, as these characters also appear in films like Bojack Unchained And The rebirth of fusionas well as in Dragon Ball GT.
3 The majority of the Great Saiyaman arc
The anime shows what could have been
In the manga, the Great Saiyaman arc only lasts a few chapters. They establish the new status quo of the series after a seven-year time jump and are filled with gags surrounding Gohan’s new life as a high school student and masked superhero. It doesn’t take long for the Buu saga plot to kick in and Goku to return to the forefront, and the arc feels more like a brief diversion than the start of something new.
In Dragon Ball ZThe Great Saiyaman arc is greatly expanded. Running for ten episodes, the anime shows how well the series could have worked with Gohan as the new protagonist. A superhero comedy starring Gohan, Videl, and their classmates might not be what people are looking for. Dragon Ball because, but that doesn’t stop this block of episodes from being a highlight of the animated version of the Buu saga.
2 Majin Buu joins the Dragon Team
The manga jumps to the end of the series after Kid Buu’s defeat.
After Goku defeated Kid Buu in the Dragon Ball In the manga, the story jumps forward ten years for the final chapters. The chapters set during the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament are delightful and introduce Uub and Pan to the franchise. However, with this time jump, Majin Buu’s story is left unresolved.
Episode 287 of Dragon Ball Z“Celebrations with Majin Buu” is a fitting conclusion to the Buu Saga storyline. This funny and heartfelt episode follows Goku’s victory over Kid Buu. The Dragon Team is unsure of what to do about Majin Buu, fearing that he could still be a potential threat. With Goku and Mr. Satan vouching for him, they eventually use the Dragon Balls to make humanity forget about Buu so he can live a peaceful life with his friends. In retrospect, with how Majin Buu is an important member of the Dragon Team in most future installments of the franchiseIt’s strange that these events weren’t shown in the manga.
1 Goku battles Caulifla and Kefla in the Tournament of Power
Gohan fights Kefla in the Dragon Ball Super manga
After Goku’s first fight with Jiren and Goku, Frieza, and Android 17’s final fight against Jiren, Goku’s fight against Caulifla and Kale is the highlight of the Tournament of Power. The three fighters have great chemistry, the choreography is exceptional, and things only get better when Caulifla and Kale fuse to form Kefla. Oddly enough, one of the best fights of the entire Tournament of Power. Dragon Ball Super It doesn’t happen in the manga.
Instead of having an epic clash with Ultra Instinct Goku, Kefla fights Gohan. The fight in the Dragon Ball Super The manga isn’t as impressive as its anime counterpart, and while Goku wins his fight, Gohan and Kefla eliminate each other from the tournament via double KO. This also means that Gohan’s fight towards the end of the Universal Survival Arc against Dyspo doesn’t take place in the manga.
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Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the story of a young warrior named Son Goku, a peculiar young boy with a tail who sets out on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, they grant any wish you want.
