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Dragon Ball GT (with "GT" standing for "Grand Tour") is the anime-only continuation of the Dragon Ball series, originally broadcast from 1996 to 1997 in a single 64-episode season. Set five years after (10 years after, in the Funimation dub) the epilogue of Dragon Ball Z, Goku has finally finished training Uub and is ready to return home until an unexpected reunion with Emperor Pilaf and his minions who have managed to obtain the Black Star Dragon Balls, even more powerful than the originals. However, since failure has always been the only option for Pilaf's attempts to Take Over the World, he messes up the wish accidentally turning Goku into a child.

It is soon revealed that unlike their regular variants, the Black Star Dragon Balls scatter throughout the entire galaxy, and that if they aren't found within a year, the Earth will explode. And so, Goku heads out into space with Trunks and his granddaughter, Pan. Starts off with the trademark humor of the early parts of Dragon Ball, before rapidly returning to the more action oriented style of the previous series.

The series itself was less successful than the previous Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z and is polarizing among traditional fans. Unlike its predecessors, it didn't spawn any theatrical movies, but does have a largely-unrelated TV Special (known as Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy in the Funimation dub), that was generally better received than the series itself. The special tells the story of Goku's descendant, Goku Jr. The series' art direction was also carried over to the 25th-anniversary film Dragon Ball: The Path to Power, which loosely re-adapted the first third of the original manga. There were also two video games released under the GT label: Final Bout for the PlayStation in 1997 (notable for being the first game to be released in America with the Dragon Ball brand intact), and Transformation for the Game Boy Advance in 2005.

The character sheet covering both this series and its predecessors can be found here.

Dragon Ball Super, the first Dragon Ball show covering new material since GT, doesn't acknowledge GT and contradicts it at several points. Though Super is not set after Z (it takes place after the Buu arc but before Z's Distant Finale), these contradictions are enough to bring GT's canonicity into question. However, according to an official timeline published by Shueisha, GT is considered canon to the franchise.

No relation to the Gran Turismo series or to The Grand Tour.

Now has a Recap page.


This show provides examples of:

  • Affably Evil: The Shadow Dragons are created from the negative energy that built up in the Dragon Balls every time a selfless wish was made, and the more selfless the wish was, the more evil the Shadow Dragon spawned by the wish is. note  Nuova Shenron was created by King Piccolo's wish for his youth to be restored, the most selfish wish made, so he's hardly a villain at all.
  • Afraid of Needles: Goku's fear of needles comes up for the first time since the Namek saga.
  • Age-Inappropriate Dress: Bra is about the same age as Pan. Her outfit really doesn't seem like it, though.
  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Why would you ever involve the Android that already turned on you once in your plan?
  • Aliens Speaking English: As with previous Dragon Ball series, everyone in the galaxy speaks whatever common language the series is being viewed in.
  • All Your Powers Combined:
    • Super Android 17. He can absorb energy like 19 and Gero, but has his own energy source that fuels him, like 17 and 18, and has gatling guns in his arms, similar to 16.
  • Alternate Continuity: Strongly implied to have become this after the release of two canon movies written by Toriyama himself, Battle of Gods and Resurrection ‘F’, and the Dragon Ball Super anime. While these are all interquels set before the end of Dragon Ball Z, they introduce quite a lot of content that forces GT into this trope; such as having Pilaf's gang be the ones wished into kids instead of Goku, Super Saiyan Gods, the Gods of Destruction, revealing that Goku is nowhere near the strongest being in the universe and that the likes of Vegeta and even Frieza are capable of catching up with him, showing Kibitoshin de-fused back into Shin and Kibito, having Android 17 meet Goku, have a family, be a park ranger, and become a good guy, among other things that don't line up. The Rubber-Band History storyline of the video game Dragon Ball Xenoverse outright acknowledges this, with Time Patrol Trunks acknowledging the events of GT as an Alternate Timeline in its DLC story chapters. Thus, this series has effectively been thrown into Canon Discontinuity as a result.
  • The Artifact: Pan's bandanna is supposed to be a Continuity Nod to the Great Saiyaman, as it wears the same orange color. This doesn't work since in the anime version of the Majin Buu saga (and most adaptations) make the bandanna white, losing the reference.
  • Always Second Best: Vegeta gets a whole episode ("The Heart of the Prince") lamenting this, before Bulma comes up with a plan to deal with it.
  • Amusement Park of Doom: The first half of the battle with Syn/Omega Shenron takes place in a ruined park.
  • Apocalypse How: Class 0 is standard for a minor villain to do, Baby wants to pull off an X-3 or X-4, and the Shadow Dragons are aiming for an X-5.
  • Arson Murder And Jay Walking: When Chi-Chi breaks down crying:
    Chi-Chi: Wahhh I can't take it anymore! He turns into a child, he runs off on crazy adventures, and now he's got a ball on his head!
  • Artistic Age: An in-universe version is done with Goku's biological age. Goku's biological age is never stated, but Pan thinks he's gone to being 3 or 4. Others think he's about 10. Pan's age is officially 10, but due to this trope, nobody's completely sure, due to other sources giving different ages (but she's supposed to be 10). It is important to note that Goku is identical to how he looked age-wise in Dragon Ball (despite being a lot more muscular), so it is likely he is the same age as he was when he fought Pilaf (12 years old).
  • Ascended Fridge Horror: The Shadow Dragon Arc explores the Power at a Price aspect of the Dragon Balls that was never originally explored but merely hinted in the series. After all, such powerful wishes and magic must come with a catch. Every time a wish was made with the Balls, negative energy was released along with the positive energy and the Dragon Balls would absorb the negative energy and disperse it harmlessly over many years due to the Balls being difficult to find and gather. Repeatedly using the Dragon Balls builds up negative energy which is dependent in size on the grandiosity of the wish one makes. Goku and his friends have repeatedly found and used the Dragon Balls throughout the series to fix the world and during their adventures that the negative energy accumulated becomes astronomical, corrupts the Dragon Balls, and gives birth to Shadow Dragons which nearly destroy the world entirely. As the Shadow Dragons point out, they wouldn't even exist if the heroes hadn't kept abusing their wishes in the first place.
  • Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Goku is implied to have done this when he merges with the Dragon Balls.
  • Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: 18 holding a deceased Krillin while telling him that she loves him.
  • Back for the Dead:
    • Piccolo makes a brief appearance when Baby arrives on Earth, disappears after being blasted, and suddenly returns afterward only to die when Earth explodes to stop the Black Star Dragon Balls from ever being used again.
    • Krillin has this too, being killed by the Brainwashed and Crazy #17 after seeing only brief glimpses of him and #18 throughout the Baby saga. This being the franchise that it is, though, he gets better.
    • Nappa didn't have a chance against Vegeta after returning from Hell.
  • Back for the Finale: Almost every surviving character Goku, Pan, and Trunks encountered in space shows up and has a speaking part (or at least a grunt) in episode 63 where they help Goku take out the Big Bad. Goku Jr. and Puck from the TV special show up in the epilogue for episode 64. A video montage featuring all the characters from the past Dragon Ball series shows while Goku is walking through the tournament halls in the last minutes of GT in episode 64.
  • Back from the Dead: Many villains from all 3 series during the Super 17 arc.
  • Backup from Otherworld: Piccolo talks to Dende and works with him to rip open Hell so Goku can escape.
  • Badass Adorable: Pan. She may be a bit emotional, and can't really take pain at first, but no matter where you are in the show, she can kick ass. She just doesn't really get a chance to do it too often because the villains all need to be on Goku's level. Her lightning fast domination of Android 20 is a good example, however.
  • Badass Boast: Goku gets one after his energy is restored to full near the end of his fight with Baby:
    Goku: All you can see is the light shining through the cracks around the edges of the door, Baby. And you just don't think that little bit of light can overcome your dark plans. But what you can't see is what's behind the door. That's what I am.
  • Badass Bookworm: Gohan, even more than before. He has brainy specs now.
  • Badass Family: While most of them are now retired from fighting, Goku's family still applies. Chi-Chi was a contestant in one of the World Tournaments, Videl may be the strongest pure human woman on Earth, Gohan could be the strongest anything on Earth if he applied himself, Goten could likely be just as strong as Gohan, Goku is the strongest non-fused character in the universe and is stronger than every single god in the universe, and even Pan has to be stronger than Android 20.
  • Badass in Distress: Happens to most of the badasses sooner or later.
  • Bag of Spilling: Played with. After being turned back into a kid, Goku is unable to use his Instant Transmission technique and Trunks theorizes that since Goku is a kid again, his body lacks the needed control to pull off the technique. However, Goku is able to use any other techniques with little difficulty.
  • Balance Between Good and Evil: The premise of the Shadow Dragons saga. The good wishes our heroes made with the Dragon Balls over the course of the saga were displaced by an equal amount of negative energy, which was stored in the Balls. Thanks to the Dragon Radar being able to track the Balls so easily, new wishes were made far sooner than they were meant to. So rather than allowing the negative energy time to dissipate, it instead accumulated over time, eventually leading to the creation of the Shadow Dragons.
  • Bash Brothers: Goku and Vegeta become this when they work together to fight Omega Shenron.
  • Batman Gambit: On M2, Giru pretended to be The Mole for General Rilldo, allowing the others to be able to infiltrate Dr. Myuu's operations more easilly.
  • Bazaar of the Bizarre: The bazaar on Imecka sells everything from ammo (including huge bullets) to alien food and jewelry to living birds used as hats with red and white tail feathers and snakes for wearing around your neck.
  • Berserk Button: Saiyans are one for Baby, especially ones that interfere in his plans. Baby completely loses any restraint when fighting Goku, going so far to being willing to let his followers die as long it allows him to finish Goku.
  • Between My Legs: This shot is used with Super Saiyan 4 Goku, showing us Omega Shenron.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: People in this universe are nice because they can afford to be. Do not get on their bad side.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Goku and Pan try to do this for Trunks after Giru saved them from being turned into steel, but he walks out and reveals that he didn't need it.
  • Bilingual Bonus: The names of the evil Dragons are all based on the Dragon Ball they sprang from, which is written in Chinese in the original Japanese version. They're in the form of "_ Xīng Lóng" ("[#]-Star Dragon"), rather than "Shén Lóng" ("God Dragon").
  • Bittersweet Ending: Goku defeats the Dragons, then he has to leave with Shenlong to teach people to stop using the Dragon Balls for everything. The bittersweet part of this ending is that said mission will last for 100 years, and Goku will never see his family and friends again because, by the time he returns, they'll be dead by then. Except for Pan, her grandson, the Androids, and Dende.
  • Blood Knight: Goku and Vegeta. Pan takes it even farther than her grandfather at times.
  • Body Snatcher: Baby. He's got some, if not most traits of a Puppeteer Parasite.
  • Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Possibly Vegeta. It's up to the viewer whether he attacked the teenage punks because they made fun of him or whether he didn't like them hitting on his daughter... or both.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy:
    • Baby does this to everyone on Earth. Complete with Mind-Control Eyes.
    • Android 17 is brainwashed in this way as an essential part of the Super 17 arc. At one point he attempts to do this to 18 as well (and nearly succeeds), and ultimate victory comes from our heroes reaching through his brainwashing for the briefest of seconds.
  • Bratty Teenage Daughter: Bra/Bulla, even though she's actually only about 10. She bitches at her father, Vegeta, until he shaves his mustache, and he almost kills a group of guys who hit on her, destroying their car and running them off the road, into the ocean. Plus, as a half Saiyan, she's easily strong enough to do her own bag carrying, and can fly, but won't.
  • Break the Cutie: Pan, after her parents try to kill her while possessed by Baby.
  • Breather Episode: "Curtain Call". This episode is between the Baby and Super 17 arcs, and focuses on Mr Satan, who is still grieving Buu's death in the Baby arc, announcing his retirement after the next World Martial Arts Tournament. He changes his mind at the end of the episode.
  • Brick Joke:
    • The warning about abusing the Dragon Balls.
    • The Parapara Brothers once again use their Involuntary Dance powers to provide Goku with power for the universal Spirit Bomb.
  • Butt-Monkey: Trunks and Krillin. Vegeta has his moments too.
  • The Cameo: During the villains return from Hell moment in the Super 17 saga, Cooler can be seen among them, being the only Non-Serial Movie villain to do so.
  • Can't Catch Up: Vegeta is pretty annoyed when he discovers Goku has left him in the dust again, with Super Saiyan 4. "The Heart of the Prince" really shows a look into his mind. Everyone else is pointless. Trunks is useful at first, but by the time Goku gets SSJ4, he's been left behind again. Pan is the only other character to stay important.
  • Cassandra Did It: One Monster of the Week actually manipulates this, using his power to predict earthquakes to make it seem like he causes them.
  • The Cavalry: Giru, for the encased Goku and Pan.
  • Cerebus Syndrome: At first, the series follows the light-hearted tone established by the original Dragon Ball. Starting with Planet M-2, however, it shifts into a grittier tone with threatening villains and very high stakes.
  • Chekhov's Army: Almost everyone Goku met in the first arc reappear to help him with the Spirit Bomb.
  • Chekhov's Boomerang: The Ultra Sacred Water from the Garlic Jr. Saga in Z appears again and is used to cure humanity of Baby's control.
  • Clip Show: Episode 55, "The Heart of the Prince", which flashes back to the times Vegeta fought Goku and was one-upped by him one way or another.
  • Combined Energy Attack: Played with by Baby Vegeta, gathering his followers' hatred of Goku in a massive energy attack appropriately named Revenge Death Ball. Played straight by Goku, killing Omega Shenron with a Spirit Bomb formed with energy from everyone in the universe.
  • Continuity Nod: Pan makes Trunks dress in drag so that he can defeat a monster demanding brides from a local village in order to obtain a Dragon Ball. Trunks' mother made Pan's grandfather do the exact same thing during their first Dragon Ball hunt.
    • The first character to get roughed up by Android 17 is Trunks, fittingly enough, since Future Trunks spent much of his life the same way...
  • Cool Chair: Baby creates an improvised "throne room" atop a series of floating rock pillars over the spot where he believes he has defeated Goku. It is here that the possessed Dende presents Baby with the Black Star Dragon Balls in an ornate goblet. He also somehow constructed an actual throne and coat of arms as well. This throne is never seen or mentioned again after this scene.
  • Cool Starship: It has multiple rooms, a flatscreen TV, a game system and other things. Plus, it can break the laws of physics without being designed to do so.
  • Covers Always Lie: The season sets. SS4 Goku is on the first one, containing the first 34 episodes. He shows up in Episode 35.
  • Crapsack World: Just about every planet ever. The only ones to not be this had low-level civilizations. Even the galaxy, and the universe, could be seen as this, with Hell opening up, a dimension that screws people over and kills them, and plenty more.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: A lot of the Z Fighters, especially Goku.
  • Cult Colony: Planet Luud (pronounced lewd).
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Most of the fights against the weaker Shadow Dragons.
    • SSJ3 Goku gets this treatment by Baby Vegeta, and then proceeds to give it back when he becomes SSJ4.
    • Omega Shenron is the most powerful villain in all three entire series and he still gets this by SSJ4 Gogeta. Yeah he's that good.
  • Cute Bruiser: Pan, and possibly Goku again, depending on your definition of cute.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Super Saiyan 4 Goku. Longer, even blacker hair, a deadly serious voice and vicious personality, covered in dark red fur, dark red eyeliner, and downright frightening to be against. However, it's still a friendly Goku.
  • A Day in the Limelight: "The Heart of the Prince", a full episode devoted to Vegeta.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: While there were hints of this in Z, by the end of the Super 17 saga Android 18 is completely defrosted.
  • Deliberate Injury Gambit: Majuub's plan to help beat Baby. He got himself turned into chocolate and eaten. It doesn't make sense when you considered that Baby chewed him up, but that could be explained as Majuub having Buu's extraordinary regeneration powers.
  • Demoted to Extra:
    • Wasn't Uub supposed to be Goku's successor or something?
    • Trunks also qualifies for this. Do not let the picture above fool you, he is only one of the main characters in the first arc.
    • Characters such as Oolong, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, etc. only got literally 5 second long cameos where they didn't even say anything.
    • Vegeta doesn't get any focus until late in the show's run.
  • Diabolus ex Machina: The Shadow Dragons. The Dragon Balls accumulating negative energy from wishes and creating evil dragons is never so muched as hinted at any point in the Dragon Ball series and exists solely to give Goku one more enemy to fight.
  • Deus ex machina: On the verge of defeat against Baby, Goku looks up at the Earth on the New Planet Vegeta and begins transforming into the needed Golden Oozaru, essentially being "saved" by the Earth despite no previous mentioning of this ability to transform just by looking at planets even being possible for Saiyans.
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: When Goten, Trunks and Gohan (and Majuub) give Omega Shenron trouble to let Goku and Vegeta fuse.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Killing Omega Shenron. Oh, hey, you just killed a guy whose very existence could wipe out reality. No biggie.
  • Disc-One Final Boss:
    • Pilaf shows up, but ceases to be important after the first episode. His wish causes the Dragon Balls to be flung all over the universe, where the "apparent" real Big Bad Dr. Myu and his minions start collecting them. However, he's eventually killed by Baby, who takes on the role (until he is in-turn killed by Goku). While in Hell, Myu joins forces with Dr. Gero and creates Super Android 17 seeming to reclaim his status as main villain... but then 17 kills both him and Gero. 17 kills a lot of people before being taken down. This forces Goku and company to use the Dragon Balls to try and undo the damage. Unfortunately, the overused balls summon the One-Star Dragon ("Syn Shenron") and the Shadow Dragons. In other words, with the exception of One-Star, every one of these villains was a Disc-One Final Boss.
    • General Rilldo was definitely one of these as well, and a disappointing one at that. At first, he's introduced as more powerful than Majin Buu (the strongest villain in DBZ), has multiple forms and actually defeats and imprisons all three of the heroes at first. But then he gets possessed by Baby and killed by our heroes two episodes later.
  • Disguised in Drag: Trunks does this in order to fool Zoonama.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: A guy driving next to Bra and Vegeta asks Bra out. What does Vegeta do in response? Destroy their steering wheel.
  • Distant Finale: The final scene of the series takes place 100 years after Omega Shenron's defeat. An elderly Pan is watching her grandson at a tournament when she sees Goku, now an adult again, among the spectators. She tries to go to where he's sitting, but he leaves before she can get there. As he leaves the stadium, Goku reminisces on his adventures before hopping on his Flying Nimbus and flying away.
  • Doting Grandparent: Goku and Mr. Satan are very protective and doting of Pan, even if she doesn't always reciprocate.
  • The Dog Bites Back: What Super 17 does to Dr. Myuu.
  • Dressing as the Enemy: Pan, on Planet M-2, using a broken robot.
  • Dub-Induced Plot Hole: Quite a few in Funimation's dub, but the most egregious example is Goku wondering whether he would have to go back to school after being turned into a child. Only he was raised in the mountains, lived in complete solitude and never even met another person besides his grandfather until he was 12, and he never went to school (Muten Roshi's training, which included some studying, doesn't count). Also, Krillin says that Android 17 hates Dr. Gero because he gave 17 human emotions, rather than because Gero kidnapped him and his sister off the streets and forcibly turned them into androids as was stated in Dragon Ball Z.
  • Dub Name Change: This happened to the Shadow Dragons; in Japan they were simply referred to by their Chinese number (as in, "Six-Star Dragon") like the Dragon Balls themselves, while the American dub gave them descriptive names which start with the letter of "SHENRON" respective to each Dragon's star number. The Canadian Blue Water dub kept the original names.
    • The Blue Water dub respects the original naming scheme, though it uses similar logic to saying Shenron instead of Shén Lóng, by romanising the Japanese approximations of the Chinese words, and for unknown reasons, they swapped Shinron out for Shenron. So, the one-star dragon is Ii Shenron, the four-star dragon is Su Shenron, and so on.
    • Since Funimation decided to give the one-star dragon a name change (and a voice actor change) when he absorbs the other Dragon Balls and achieves his ultimate form (the Japanese and Blue Water versions made no changes at all, though after this power-up, they tended to put "Super" in front of his name), this means that the one-star dragon has four different official names; Yi Xing Long, Ii Shenron, Syn Shenron, and Omega Shenron.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: The first saga of the series attempted to recapture of the tone of the original series, focusing more on the comedy and adventures of collecting the dragon balls. It wasn't until the second arc, the Baby Saga, that the series returned to the tone of Z.
  • Earth-Shattering Kaboom: The side-effects of the Black Star Dragon Balls. You use them, and you get one year to retrieve them. Otherwise, your planet goes boom. The first time they get used, they are retrieved. The second time, everyone is too busy stopping Baby after he uses them. The Earth explodes, but not before everyone who isn't Piccolo is saved. Then they wish Earth back.
  • Eat Me: Uub allowing Baby to eat him, which allowed him to launch a surprise attack from inside Baby's stomach.
  • Enemy Mine: The fight with Luud ultimately boils down to this.
  • Escaped from Hell: All the villains who have ever died break out of hell, kicking the asses of everyone who was supposed to stop this kind of thing. Then they realize that they forgot to level grind, and get their asses sent straight home.
  • Establishing Character Moment:
    • Pan gets one that lasts from her first appearing to them going to space. First, her breaking up the bank robbery, and then her being treated like (and complaining about being treated like) a kid (she's 10, so it does make sense). Then, her stowing away and basically stealing the ship when Goku and Trunks discover her. Trunks gets one in the form of him abandoning Capsule Corp and flying off, changing in the clouds.
    • Baby is assumed to be all but dead during his debut... until Dr. Myuu utters the word "Saiyan", at which point, he immediately comes alive and starts rampaging.
  • Evil Costume Switch: Baby, in Vegeta's body. He alters it more and more over time.
  • Evil Is Deathly Cold: Played straight with the Three-Star and Four-Star Dragons. Three-Star has powers over ice, and Four-Star has powers over fire. Three-Star is bad, Four-Star is good. They're twin brothers, by the way.
  • Evil Knockoff: Dr. Gero and Dr. Myu create a new Android 17 in Hell and somehow use him to open a portal to Earth.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Played with. Baby is high-pitched, but some of the Shadow Dragons are extremely deep.
  • Evolving Credits: About halfway through the series, the opening credits, which originally ended with Goku, Pan, and Trunks beating up some mechanical giant, now ended with the three of them fighting Baby, even after the Baby arc ended.
  • Expository Theme Tune:
    • The Blue Water Dub version of "Dan Dan", but not the Funimation version.
    • The rap that Funimation used in the initial DVD release.
  • Facepalm: Vegeta's reaction after seeing Goku lose against a harmless boy in episode 41.
  • Fan Disservice: A close-up of Pan's butt and a fawn trying to breastfeed from her, as well as her shirt.
  • Fanservice: Android 18 rips her shirt revealing part of her bra while giving a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Super 17 at the climax of his arc.
  • Feed It with Fire: Goku tries to take down Super 17 with a variety of ki based attacks, only to discover that he can increase his strength level by absorbing them.
  • Fiction 500: Bulma, Trunks and Vegeta. Need a spaceship to save the Earth? Ok. Need an even bigger spaceship? Ok. Need a mobile Blutz Wave Generator within a day? Gotcha.
  • Finale Credits: The final episode ends with its theme, Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku, playing as Goku walks through the Tenkaichi Budokai grounds while flashes of the series big battles play, and every major voice actor is credited along the way. The reason for this is simple: with GT's conclusion, Dragon Ball's story was finally at an end after nearly twelve years on air in the same timeslot each week.
  • Fire/Ice Duo: The brothers Nova Shenron (fire) and Eis Shenron (ice). Despite both being against Goku, they have completely opposite personalities and fighting styles. Nova is the Token Good Teammate of the evil Shenrons and fights fairly, while Eis is an arrogant, twisted villain has no problem using dirty tricks.
  • Flanderization: Goku's Big Eater trait is exaggerated in this series. Almost every episode has him eating, complaining about being hungry or just mentioning food.
  • Fountain of Youth: Pilaf has just summoned Ultimate Shenron when Goku shows up and effortlessly defeats his minions. A frustrated Pilaf screams that he wishes Goku was a kid again (so he'd be weak enough for Pilaf to handle again) and Shenron obliges.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: At one point, Chichi slaps Baby-possessed Goten so hard that he goes careening past a shelf and knocks over two pictures. One of them is a generic picture of Bulma, Vegeta, and their kids, but the other is of tiny, DBZ-aged Bra being held by Vegeta and pulling his face into a really annoyed smile.
    • New Tuffle can be seen as Earth's new moon when the Spirit Ball is cleaning Earth's Atmosphere during the fight against Syn Shenron.
  • Fusion Dance: Kibito Kai (or Kibitoshin) is still fused as a result of the Supreme Kai and Kibito using the Potara Earrings in the Buu Saga.
    • In the Shadow Dragon Arc, it's Vegeta, this time, who suggests him and Goku fuse against Omega Shenron. Unlike the Buu Saga and Fusion Reborn, where Goku has to plead with Vegeta to do so, he's more than willing to do so.
  • Generational Saga: Finishing the one started in the last two works.
  • The Glasses Come Off: Gohan and his utterly pointless glasses. He takes those off and you're about to learn why you don't mess with him.
  • A Glass of Chianti: Dr. Gero and Dr. Myuu celebrate the successful first part of their plan with a toast.
  • Goo It Up: Rage Shenron's main gimmick is manipulating electric slime. He uses it to absorb electricity and grow more powerful, encase his enemies, and make a gigantic slime version of himself that he hides in for defense.
  • Gotta Kill Them All: Destroy the 7 Evil Dragons to purify the Dragon Balls.
  • Grand Finale: Well it was meant to be one for the franchise anyway. It does bring more closure to the original TV run than the Z series did if nothing else.
  • Ground Punch: Naturon Shenron can punch the ground to cause energy beams to shoot out from it. He seems to have control over the general area it'll pop out from but not a specific location.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: And how! Bra, Trunks, Gohan and Goten. Pan is a 3/4ths human, and Goku Jr. is either 1/16 or maybe more Saiyan that that (you know, on the off chance the Pan/Trunks shippers are right).
  • Happy Flashback: Used to get Goku under control when he was giant, golden ape.
  • Happily Married: Vegeta and Bulma, Gohan and Videl, #18 and Krillin.
  • Hard Truth Aesop: The Shadow Dragons Saga contains one: Even the most unselfish acts of good can have negative consequences.
  • Harmless Freezing: Via the Three-Star Dragon.
  • Heel–Face Turn: The Four-Star Dragon ultimately ends up joining the heroes before being absorbed by Syn Shenron.
  • Hell Has New Management: Piccolo died, but is later seen in Hell, bringing order to the endless chaos and protecting Hell's leaders, becoming more of an authority figure than they ever were.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Piccolo (twice, once after he's dead), Buu, 18 tries, possibly Earth Android 17, and others. The Four-Star Dragon dies to save Goku.
  • Hell on Earth: The Legions of Hell return in the Super 17 arc. Also, Cell and Frieza have their own trap for Goku turned against them in Hell.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: The Tuffles. They were a peaceful people (according to Baby and King Kai), who were almost completely wiped out by the Saiyans (who may or may not have been previously enslaved). So they created Baby, who plans on turning the entire galaxy into Tuffles. Nice, you went from genocidees to genociders.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Dr. Gero (again) and Dr. Myu, at the hands of Super 17. In the same arc, Frieza and Cell use a new Combination Attack to throw Goku into a deeper portion of Hell and try to freeze him there (the ice there is infused with spirits, so it doesn't melt normally). However, since Goku is still alive, he's able to thaw out and turn the snow-blower machine on Frieza and Cell, who are stuck for good.
  • Hollywood Healing: During the fight against Omega Shenron, the dragon extends the spikes on his back to impale Vegeta in multiple places and throw him far away. When Vegeta gets up, he looks exactly like he did before he got stabbed with no signs of any gaping wounds.
  • Homeworld Evacuation: When Earth is set to explode by the effect of the Black Star Dragon Balls, everyone is evacuated to the nearby planet Plant, which had just been placed on Earth's orbit.
  • How Do I Shot Web?: Hey Goku, you got your tail back. Too bad nobody told you you need to use Earth to turn into a Giant Golden Ape, then get yourself under control to become a Super Saiyan 4.
  • Hurt Foot Hop: In the World Martial Arts Tournament, one of Goku's opponents kicks him when he's distracted. However, the power gap between them is so great, the poor dude may have well kicked an iron safe - he's soon seen crying and clutching his foot in agony afterwards, and Goku wins by default.
  • Immortality Field: General Rilldo turned the surface of Planet M-2 and himself into a form of metal that he can solidify and liquefy, enabling him to fuse and diffuse with the environment at will. This also means that his consciousness can inhabit and form a body from any metal on the planet, effectively giving him unlimited repairs. Subverted because somehow, he was killed by only a combined Kamehameha from Goku, Pan, and Trunks, even though there's still metal all over the planet that he could have used. However, it might have something to do with being possessed by Baby and he just didn't bother to let the General revive.
  • Ineffectual Death Threats: Pan threatens to kill Giru all the time, to the point where it doesn't make any sense that he's even scared anymore.
  • Internal Deconstruction: The Shadow Dragons are born because the heroes frequently used the Dragon Balls to undo all the damage caused by the various Arc Villains throughout the years, making the heroes responsible for all the damage the Dragons caused. This shows for the first time that there are indeed consequences for using the Dragon Balls too much. When the Dragon Balls are restored, the original Shenron decides to take them away and flat out says it's because the heroes have been relying on them too much. Shenron only agrees to bring everyone that died back to life one last time in exchange for Goku joining him and the Dragon Balls to Ascend To A Higher Plane Of Existance. Trunks later remarks that they're being "tested" and that they have to rely on themselves now, speculating that the Dragon Balls will return once they've learned this lesson.
  • In the End, You Are on Your Own: Each Big Bad was mainly taken out by Goku, with both him and them too powerful for anyone else. The best thing they could do was lend him their power and stand there.
  • Involuntary Shapeshifting: The Oozaru transformation makes a comeback after being absent for most of DBZ. Goku transforms by accident from looking at the Earth, while Baby Vegeta is transformed by Bulma's device.
  • It's Personal: Here's an FYI - don't mess with humanity. Otherwise, you'll anger Goku. An angry Goku is a very, very dangerous Goku.
  • Just a Kid: Both Goku and Pan get this, though only one of them is truly a kid. The other one is pushing 60, and finds it pretty annoying.
  • Kicked Out of Heaven: Piccolo sacrifices himself to ensure the Black Star Dragon Balls can never be used again. Shortly after, in order to help Goku (who was lured into Hell after the barriers between the living world and the afterlife were broken), he goes on a rampage so he'll be kicked out of paradise and cast down into Hell forever to help Goku out and keep the baddies in Hell under control.
  • Kid-Appeal Character: Pan is obviously written with this trope in mind. Even if she'd get destroyed in the main fight, she still tends to try, and if she's not doing that, there's a good chance she's doing something else on her own, which tends to help out (pursuing Giru, finding and saving the kid who was possessed by Baby, and calming Goku down while he was a Golden Great Ape are all good examples).
  • Killed Off for Real: Piccolo stays behind on the exploding Earth so that the Black Star Dragon Balls cannot be used again. He cannot be revived without the Black Star Dragon Balls coming back, so he stays dead.
  • Knight of Cerebus: General Rilldo. Up until he showed up, nobody other than Luud's high priest died, and the overall tone was still more silly than serious.
  • The Last Dance: Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, and Gohan all making one last attempt to kill Syn/Omega.
  • LEGO Genetics: Baby's creation. Mixing the DNA of a synthetic organism with your leader? Sure, why not?
  • Lettered Sequel: Probably continuing the anime title change from Z to GT, at least what the letters stand for is clear in this series.
  • Lighter and Softer: In contrast to the more serious and action-oriented Dragon Ball Z, the first half of GT imitates the campier tone of the original Dragon Ball. Things get more serious in the Baby Saga, at which point the series starts to feel more like DBZ.
  • Like an Old Married Couple: Goku and Vegeta act like this after things begin to go downhill against Omega Shenron. Much to the latter's enjoyment.
  • Little Stowaway: Pan. The reason they don't take her home is because she takes the device that would let them go home and easily keeps it away from the out of practice, not to mention larger, Trunks. Goku refuses to interfere with it, and she finally drops it down her shirt (which, when you think about it, shouldn't work), causing Trunks to give up.
  • Living Prop: Bra does about three things in GT. Get Vegeta to shave that awful facial hair, make Vegeta take her shopping, and give some power to Baby. About the only reason they included her seems to be to give her something to do, since Toriyama introduced her in the next-to-last chapter of the manga.
  • Magic Pants : Super Saiyan 4, the form with its own instant tailor. Works both back and forth. Vegeta even gets gloves and a leather belt to match.
  • Make Room for the New Plot: The last few Black Star Dragon Balls are found alot faster and easier so that the heroes will return to Earth, discovering Baby has taken it over.
  • Male Gaze: Pan has had at least one awkward close-up of her butt. The fact that she might be as young as ten didn't stop the crew.
  • The Man Behind the Man: Dr. Myuu to Doltaki and Mutchie, beginning the transition to the Baby Saga.
  • The Man in Front of the Man: Baby was first introduced as the treasured creation of Dr. Myuu. Then it turns out that it's the other way around; Myuu and his creations were just a front to gather the newly-scattered Black Star Dragon Balls and revive the destroyed Planet Vegeta for Baby, revealed to be the king of the Tuffles — the extinct rival race of the Saiyan main characters — to reign supreme.
  • Mecha-Mooks: Dr. Myu's forces. Though, it turns out, at least some of them had souls (Like Rilldo).
  • Miracle-Gro Monster: The Five-Star Dragon ("Rage Shenron").
  • Mr. Fanservice: Trunks is an in-universe example with all the women (and Otokosuki) of Capsule Corp. lusting after him as he walks the halls of the company.
  • The Mole: After arriving on Planet M2, it's revealed that Giru was working for the bad guys all along. Except it turns out he wasn't and that he was working for the good guys, by deceiving Rilldo and the Machine Mutants. So he was actually The Mole.
  • Monster of the Week: In an interesting display of symmetry, the show used this format in the Black Star Saga (the first arc) and the Shadow Dragon Saga (the final arc).
  • Mood Whiplash: Often caused by trying to accommodate both early Dragon Ball's comedic tone and the more serious action of Z. The worst offender is by far the Shadow Dragon Saga.
  • Mr. Exposition:
    • Trunks when he explains The Plan he used on Planet M2.
    • Baby when he tells his personal history to Vegeta.
  • My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad: Chi-Chi and Bulma fight over which Super Saiyan 4 is hotter when Vegeta first transforms.
  • Named by the Dub: Vegeta Jr.'s unnamed mother received the name of "Bulma Leigh" in the English dub, although it was only ever given in the credits.
  • Never My Fault: Bulma manages to blame Goku for starting the cycle of searching for the Dragon Balls, when he didn't even know what they did until he met her.
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands: Vegeta regrows his tail when he gets bombarded with Blutz Waves.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The constant overuse of the Dragon Balls over the course of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z is what causes the creation of the Shadow Dragons.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
    • Baby does this, having used the Black Star Dragon Balls to bring back Planet Plant. Because of this, and the year long (well, just about) reign afterwards, by the time he's dead, Earth has two weeks left. Luckily, there's still a planet just sitting there, as well as a giant spacecraft and Super Saiyan 4 Goku, who can use Instant Transmission. So, had Baby used that wish for something like immortality or even just Planet Plant in its old place, Earth would have been screwed.
    • Brainwashed Android 17 had Android 18 in his control for Dr. Myuu. Krillin tried (and almost succeeded) talking him out of it, but Hell Fighter 17 was the conduit of the brainwash and thus had direct influence in 17's head. But when Hell 17 used that influence to take back control, he failed to contain Android 17's anger, resulting in him killing Krillin, which broke his hold on 18 and sent her into a murderous rage of her own.
    • Speaking of said murderous rage, following the fusions of both 17s into Super 17, Android 18 stepped in during Super 17's battle with Goku just as he was about to kill Goku with his Finishing Move. While he tried to deal with 18 scolding him for not being his own man anymore and being controlled by evil doctors, Dr. Myuu, who's been shown communicating with Super 17 telepathically via some sort of blueprint messaging at one point…started verbally telling him off and calling him a coward for letting her manipulate and control him. The doc got himself killed and the Machine Mutant threat would end with Super 17.
  • Noah's Story Arc: In the first season, Bulma just happens to have one of these tucked away beneath the Capsule Corporation in order to evacuate everyone to the new planet created by Baby with the Black Star Dragon Balls.
  • No Endor Holocaust: Earth is so lucky this universe ignores physics. For one thing, it would be bombarded with the remnants of... itself, from the last two times it exploded. For another thing, if a planet were as close as the restored Planet Plant in real life, the gravity of the two would first pull them to the point where they'd be slightly elongated. Second, their gravity would pull them towards each other. The two would then collide, doing massive damage to both. A very popular theory these days is that Earth used to be a Superearth, a giant Earthlike planet almost completely covered in oceans. Then it hit an Earth-sized planet. The chunks left over from the two gave us the moon, and the Earth became what it is today (after millions of years of pulling itself together).
  • No Guy Wants an Amazon: Pan's date in the first episode. He's not exactly a fan of her kicking the asses of a group of bank robbers and saving (what she thinks is a) small child.
  • No-Harm Requirement: During the Shadow Dragon arc, Pan ends up getting assimilated by Naturon Shenron. This puts Goku in a bind as he can't kill Naturon and retrieve the dragon ball without killing Pan in the process; the fact Naturon is then able to use Pan's power's against him only exacerbates the issue. Eventually Goku decides to pull a Batman Gambit and pretends to run out of power and look defeated. Naturon gloats greatly over beating Goku and decides, before finishing him off, to give him the chance to see Pan one more time. But this gives Goku the chance to yank Pan out and blow the monster away.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Super Android 17 and Syn/Omega Shenron love this way of fighting.
  • Non-Indicative Name: A retroactive example, and only in the Japanese dub. Both Luud and Omega Shenron (Super Yi Xing Long) are referred to as "Hakaishin" (God of Destruction). This is not the actual job of a GoD, as introduced in Battle of Gods many years later. In Luud's case he was actually worshiped as a god by his followers, and might have served as an inspiration for the GoD of Universe 3, Mosco. In Omega Shenron's case, he was just being boastful.
  • No One Could Survive That!: Majuub gets turned into chocolate and chewed up, yet lives. Later on he receives a blast of energy straight to the face at point blank with little consequences.
  • No One Should Survive That!: At one point, Pan, Goku and Trunks get so close to a sun that, by all scientific information available, their ship should have melted and they should have instantly been burnt to a crisp.
  • No Saving Throw: Earth Android 17 vs. here Fighter 17, when Earth 17 attacks Krillin and 18.
  • Not-So-Harmless Villain: A few of the Shadow Dragons appear rather goofy at first, but reveal themselves to be major threats. Special mention goes to Naturon Shenron, who actually absorbs Pan and comes the closest of all to actually defeating Goku.
  • The Nth Doctor:
    • In the Funimation dub, Goku is played by Stephanie Nadolny in his kid form, Sean Schemmel in his Super Saiyan 4 transformation, and Shane Ray in his Golden Ape transformation.
      • The One-Star Dragon, known as Li Shen Long in Japan, was given this treatment in America. By himself, with only the one-star ball, he was christened Syn Shenron and played by Bob Carter. Upon absorbing the other six balls into himself, he is then known as Omega Shenron and is voiced by Christopher Sabat. ADR director Christopher Bevins' logic in this choice was that since he became an amalgamation of all seven dragon balls, Omega would have the original Shenron's voice which was played in Funimation's English dub by Sabat.
      • There is also Ryū Shen Long, or Oceanus Shenron, whose Otohime and true dragon forms are given separate performers in most languages. There is Masako Katsuki and Ryūzaburō Ōtomo in Japanese, plus Laura Bailey and Steve Sanders in Funimation's English dub, and Suki Úna Rae and Zane Simpson in the Canadian Blue Water dub.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: The Seven-Star Dragon ("Naturon Shenron").
  • Oddly Common Rarity: In Dragon Ball Z, the need for a spaceship was something really, really bad. Not even Capsule Corp could pull that off. Now, Capsule Corp can build spacecrafts within the week, complete with extras like a flatscreen TV. And that's when it takes off before it's even ready. Possibly justified as 10 years have passed since the end of the Buu Saga.
  • Older Than They Look:
    • Goku. It's apparently a Saiyan trait. Even before turning into a kid, he's supposedly in his 50snote  and yet barely looks any older than in the Cell saga of Z.note  Immediately after being reverted to child size, he makes a reference to Compulsory School Age in the Funimation dub.
    • Vegeta, for the same reason (as he's the only other full-blooded Saiyan left). He's 5 years older than Goku, meaning he's mid to late 50s by now.
    • Despite looking like a little kid, Pan might actually be somewhere in her early teens. It depends on how long you think the Time Skip between Z and GT is (according to the original Japanese, it's 5 years after the end of DBZ, which was 10 years after the Buu Saga).
    • Bulma looks 40, when she's more around mid 50s.
  • The Omnipotent: The Dragon of the Black-Star Dragon Balls. He lacks the limits of the other Dragons, even.
  • One True Sequence: The first time Goku and the others meet the Para Para Brothers. Of all the Dragon Balls for them to find, they find the only one that the heroes just found at the same time.
  • Only I Can Kill Him: Someone other than Goku is trying to kill the Big Bad, but Goku believes he is the only able to defeat them.
  • Our Hero Is Dead: Following Goku's initial loss to Baby Vegeta.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: Anyone who isn't SS4 Goku or Vegeta is helpless as your average innocent bystander by the end. Pan gets hit by this to the point of seeming like The Load. Her power level has to be higher than Android 20, as she was able to beat Android 20 easily, and was shown to be physically stronger than him. The only reason she seems weak is because Rilldo was stronger than Buu and the first Big Bad was in Vegeta's body, and had several power-ups, making him stronger than Rilldo. All the big bads after that were even stronger than them, making her seem a lot weaker than she would be against most everything in the galaxy.
  • Papa Wolf: In one of his more awesome moments, when Mr. Satan/Hercule thinks Great Ape Baby has killed everybody, including his granddaughter Pan, he COMPLETELY loses it, screaming at Baby that he WILL kill him despite him being no more than a speck to Baby until he sees they're fine.
    • Goku doesn't take the reveal about Baby enslaving Gohan and Goten very well.
  • Permafusion: Not counting the Black Star Dragon Ball Saga, each saga has at least one example of this:
    • Baby Saga: Uub, who's the reincarnation of Kid/Pure Buu, tries and fails to fight back against Baby Vegeta and ends up being saved by Majin Buu, who sacrifices himself so that his remaining pieces can merge with Uub to give him a power boost to fight Baby Vegeta. The end result is Majuub, a reinvigorated Uub with Majin Buu's clothing and all of his abilities, and he remains in this form for the remainder of the story.
    • Super 17 Saga: The titular antagonist is the fusion between a brainwashed Android 17 and Hell Fighter 17, a Machine Mutant copy of him created in hell by the join effort of Dr. Gero and Dr. Myuu. Unlike fellow android fusion Cell, there's no indication separating the 17s is possible, forcing Android 18 and Goku to work together to destroy the fused android once and for all.
    • Shadow Dragon Saga: The climax has Syn Shenron, the final Shadow Dragon, absorbing the Dragon Ball of the other Shadow Dragons, allowing him to become Omega Shenron, a much stronger Syn with all the powers of his fellow siblings. Then, at the end of the arc, after making one last wish and flying away with Shenron, the Dragon Balls themselves merge with Goku as they fly off into the sunset.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: Think of it like this: The weakest Z-Fighter, Pan, is stronger than Dr Gero.
  • Pity the Kidnapper: An early episode saw Goku, transformed into a child by the Black Star Dragon Balls, get kidnapped by a gang of thugs. (Well, technically he goes along with them willingly, not realizing that they are kidnappers.) He forces them to spend all of their money on food for him, undermines their attempts to negotiate a ransom from his friends, and in the end simply flies away when it's time to go home.
  • Planet of Hats: According to Baby, the Tuffles were a planet of peace-loving, kindhearted people.
  • Please Put Some Clothes On: Goku has no objections to being naked. Pan does.
  • Porn Stache: Vegeta. Then Bra informs him it's awful, and he shaves it.
  • Post-Script Season: The show is a Post-Script Season for Dragon Ball Z, coming from Toei's desire to keep the flame alive after Toriyama's manga had ended without much involvement from him; other than stuff like the character designs and the logo.
  • Power Glows: The Four-Star Dragon, in his red form.
  • Power Limiter: Goku's power drops along with his size. Not to the same level he was at when he was actually a kid, but he he loses Instant Transmission.
  • Power Makes Your Hair Grow: Both Goku and Vegeta sport longer hair when in Super Saiyan 4.
  • The Power of Friendship: Tends to be what allows Goku to win, though his friends mainly sit on the sidelines before and after.
  • Privately Owned Society: Imecka. Everything on the planet is the personal property of Don Kee, and its residents are all poor because something as simple as sleeping in a bed costs money.
  • Punny Name: Don Kee (it makes more sense in Japanese, where he's "Don Kia", a pun on akindo, meaning "merchant").
  • Put on a Bus to Hell: Piccolo, quite literally. After he's already dead. But on the other hand he went there himself on purpose, actually prefers being there and uses his newfound position to guard here as seen at the end.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: General Rilldo, the most powerful Machine Mutant.
  • Recycled Premise:
    • The Tuffle Arc is recycled almost entirely from Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. Baby is a rather obvious expy of Hatchiyack being a Tuffle creation who seeks to avenge his race by any means necessary. Him taking over the Earth via mind-control is also lifted straight from the Garlic Jr Saga.
    • The Super 17 arc with the Hell rebelling is taking from the Fusion Reborn movie.
  • Red Alert: Giru has a tendency for this. "Danger! Danger! Pan! Danger!"
  • Redundant Rescue: When Goku and Pan try to "save" Trunks from being stuck as a metal... thing.
  • Retired Badass: Gohan, Videl, Goten, Trunks, Piccolo and quite a few other characters.
  • Revenge: Baby's primary motive is to get revenge on the Saiyans for wiping out his race.
  • Revisiting the Roots: GT was originally made to bring back the more whimsical feeling of the original Dragon Ball. This was slowly abandoned as the series went on and the tone of the show became more serious.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: 18's first move after 17 kills Krillin is to beat the shit out of him.
  • Scenery Gorn: Most of the battles with the Dragons have place in the middle of some ruins of modern cities.
  • Separated from the Adults: The many, many times Pan's separated from everyone else.
  • Serial Escalation: All of the villains are much stronger than Frieza. Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta stands out the most; he has been named as the single most powerful character in the Dragon Ball universe.
  • Series Continuity Error:
    • Baby revives Planet Vegeta with the Black Star Dragon balls, and in turn, moves the inhabitants of Earth in order to have slaves to rule. The problem comes from the Saiyan saga establishing Planet Vegeta has a different atmosphere than Earth, thus, it makes no sense Earthlings can even stand in there.
    • In the second arc, Trunks is able to detect No. 17's Ki, and is even able to compare it with that of No. 18... despite the fact that a major plot point in the background of the two androids when they were first encountered back in Dragon Ball Z was that they didn't radiate Ki at all!
    • After Trunks got home in "A Worldwide Problem", Baby Vegeta said: "It's been a long time, eh son? ... The last time was on the planet M-2." However, Baby last saw (and possessed) Trunks on the planet Pital, not M-2.
    • When 17 attempts to control 18, Krillin states that 17 hates Dr. Gero. He states that the reason why is because he gave 17 human emotions. However, it was stated earlier, during Dragon Ball Z, that 17 hated Gero because the doctor kidnapped him and his sister off the streets and forcibly turned them into androids.
    • In the Tenkaichi Budokai, Uub, as Papayaman, wears a helmet during the tournament but head wear is prohibited while competing.
    • During the Super 17 Saga, deceased villains in Hell and on Earth are shown without halos, despite being crowned with them in filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z, but they have ones while waiting in front of the Check-In Station.
    • Cell and Frieza can't be killed in Hell due to their bodies being immortal. That's rather interesting considering that late in the Majin Buu arc, it was stated by Goku that a dead person who retains their body can be destroyed under the right circumstances, as he warned the then-deceased Vegeta before the latter went to stall for time against Buu.
    • Goku states the Dragon Balls can be used to revive Krillin, however, the Dragon Balls have previously revived him in Dragon Ball which makes it impossible to use them to revive him again. Later, Krillin is revived when the Dragon Balls are used to bring everyone back, even though they should be incapable of bringing Krillin back again.
  • Shoo Out the Clowns: Giru has a tendency to become incapacitated whenever the Big Bad rears their ugly head.
  • Shoot the Hostage: In an attempt to stop Super 17's rampage, Pan and Giru manage to block Dr. Gero and threaten him with death. Sadly, because Dr. Myuu secretly modified Hell Fighter 17 in order to make him respond to his and his only orders, Super 17 doesn't recognize Gero as his boss anymore. Which leads to Gero's death at the hand of one of his creations.
  • Shout-Out:
    • When the heroes get encased in metal, they look pretty familiar.
    • The Planet Gelbo features a native species of pointy eared humanoids. Its original name, Kerubo is an anagram of "Borukeno", which is a Japanese spelling of the word Vulcan/Vulcano.
  • Significant Anagram: The American names for the Shadow Dragons start with the letters S-H-E-N-R-O-N. Specifically note that the letters are in Dragon Ball order too (for example The 1 star dragon being "Syn Shenron" and the 7 star dragon being "Naturon Shenron").
  • Sins of Our Fathers: Baby is out for revenge against the Saiyans, of whom Goku and Vegeta are the only full blooded survivors, for the destruction of the Tuffle race. And he willingly states this word by word when he's telling Vegeta his backstory.
  • Sissy Villain: Lord Don Key of Imecka, and Master Doltaki the "Oracle" of Lord Luud.
  • Solar-Powered Magnifying Glass: Nova Shenron summons a giant lens and use it to fire an extremely hot sunbeam.
  • Sole Survivor: Baby, to the Tuffles.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: Zig-Zagged with the opening theme, "Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku" - On one hand, it's about nostalgia and remembering the past as your days wind down, which is very fitting given that this series represented the original run of the Dragon Ball franchise coming to a close. On the other hand, the lyrics are clearly romantic, which is not remotely fitting - the love between Goku and Pan is strictly familial.
  • Space Brasília: The ruins of the city seen on M-2 are clearly this, just with a long period of abandonment after the apocalypse.
  • Spit Take: Vegeta's reaction after Bulma tells him she can make him a SSJ4.
  • Stealth-Based Mission: The Don Kee story arc features an episode like this.
  • Story-Breaker Power: You thought Super Vegito was ridiculous? Allow us to introduce Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta. Who's might far surpasses every other known character in the series at this point to sheer mind-numbing degrees. Whereas Goku and Vegeta together as Super Saiyan 4 can't even begin to slow Omega down, Gogeta treats him like absolute child's play far worse than Vegito did to Super Buu. And only the heroes' lack of knowing their high power level drains fusion time faster is what saves the shadow dragon from instant annihilation.
  • Super Mode: While Z only went to level 3 of the transformation, GT in particular is notable for introducing Super Saiyan 4, which is so powerful that a Saiyan must become a rampaging Golden Great Ape before attaining this form, and unlike all others, this form involves a Saiyan keeping their hair dark but having a copious amount of it as well as growing red fur all over their body and regrowing their Saiyan tail if it's missing.
  • Super Special Move: After attaining his Super Saiyan 4 transformation, Goku utilizes a new version of his classic Kamehameha attack, known as the "x10 Kamehameha".
  • Superpowered Evil Side: SS4 Goku, and Golden Great Ape Goku. GGA is just plain destructive, but SS4, at least the first time it's used, is like the first time Goku went Super Saiyan, only even more serious.
  • Super-Strong Child: Pan, Goku again (though only biologically).
  • Take Over the World: Baby's primary goal is to create a tuffle empire spanning the entire universe.
  • Team Dad: Trunks to Pan, Goku and Giru in the first saga.
  • The Bus Came Back: Emperor Pilaf and his gang, after being absent for the entirety of Dragon Ball Z, finally re-appear in the first episode of GT. Then they disappear again for the rest of the series except for one very minor cameo in the Baby Saga.
  • Theme Tune Rap: Infamously for the broadcast version of the Funimation dub (the rap is not featured in the DVD set).
  • This Way to Certain Death: Under the Black Star Dragon Balls is a whole bunch of skeletons. One must wonder, were those people there for the Dragon Balls, or did Mr. Popo just need to get rid of some bodies?
  • Timeshifted Actor:
    • In both English dubs, Goku's actor changes as he shifts between his child and adult/SSJ4 bodies.
    • In the Funimation dub, Pan's actress changes during the flashbacks from when she was a toddler. Oddly, this is averted with old lady Pan, who has the same VA as 10-year-old Pan.
    • The Latin American dub uses two actors for Goku's child and adult versions as well.
  • Time to Unlock More True Potential: The Kais think Goku's in for this after his first defeat by Baby Vegeta. Played with in a sense, as all Goku needs to unlock his potential is to have his tail grow, in a particularly painful manner involving a pair of pliers.
  • Transformation Is a Free Action: Subverted in the end during the final battle with Omega. SS4 Gogeta completely had him outmatched in every way, but when the fusion wore off sooner than they expected (likely the SS4 form was straining the fusion), Omega would not and did not allow them to fuse again, interrupting them whenever they tried.
  • Trash Talk: Goku to Pilaf in the Blue Water dub, after the latter says he would have easily defeated Goku back in the old days when Pilaf was the bigger of the two.
    Adult Goku: Even as a child, I don't ever recall being shorter than you.
  • Underestimating Badassery: The bank robbers(?) in the first episode. They had no clue that Pan was more badass than all of them combined.
  • Understatement: In an episode when Chi-Chi freaks out when Goku doesn't know about the Dragon Ball on his head. Gohan's response:
    Gohan: She finally cracked.
  • Unholy Nuke: The Revenge Death ball, powered by the hate of Baby's followers. Also Omega Shenron's negative energy ball, made from all the bad karma left over from all the sins on Earth.
  • Unreliable Narrator: When Baby gives us the history of the interaction of his people, it's clear that he's slightly biased.
  • Vague Age: Almost everyone since it's never entirely established how many years have passed between Z and GT (the GT Perfect File companion books give it as 5 years, but certain dates appear to be reckoned assuming a decade since the end of Z). For example, fan sites have placed Pan anywhere from 10 to 14.
  • Verbal Tic: Giru Giru Giru.
  • Verbal Tic Name: Giru. He initially introduces himself as T2006, which prompt them to rename him after his verbal tic simply because it's easier.
  • Vibration Manipulation: Goku and his friends attempts to stop an alien who can apparently create earthquakes with his catfish like whiskers. It turns out that the alien can't cause earthquakes but can predict them.
  • Victoria's Secret Compartment: Pan does this with the spaceship's keys, though it seems unlikely that she would be able to pull this off.
  • Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Painfully apparent when the old villains escape from Hell. Vegeta defeats Nappa without even trying, and Goku beats Frieza and Cell effortlessly in spite of the trap they set for him.
  • Villain Team-Up: Frieza and Cell in Hell (along with Dr. Gero and Dr. Myu in Hell, and other people in Hell).
  • Villain World: A pretty mild example, Baby's taking over Earth only amounts to posters with his image placed everywhere.
  • Virtuous Bees: Though they do mistake Pan for their queen (and kidnap her as a result), the giant bees are harmless, pleasant and benevolent, and the baby bees are outright adorable.
  • Wax On, Wax Off: Old Kai has Goku unlock his hidden power by making him operate a giant coffee grinder. Somewhat subverted as the actual goal was simply to regrow Goku's tail, and the training is quickly abandoned for the faster yet more painful solution of simply forcing the tail out with a pair of pliers.
  • Weaksauce Weakness: The Five-Star Dragon gets his ass kicked by rain.
  • Weather Saves the Day: Rage Shenron drains the remaining amount of electricity in the city, making his electric slime grow to a massive size, making him very difficult for Pan and Goku to escape from. Unfortunately for Rage Shenron, it begins to rain, inducing an explosive short circuit throughout his entire slime body. The Shadow Dragon tries in vain to scatter his electric slime again; this, however, proves impossible due to the slime's enormous surface area, which prevents Rage from taking shelter. Following the explosion of his slime body, Rage returns to his original size.
  • Wham Episode: "The Greatest Surprise" and "The Shadow Dragons" reveal that the Dragon Balls have been accumulating negative energy every time they're used, and the Z fighters' attempt to resurrect the people killed by Super 17 cause it to be released in the form of the Shadow Dragons.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: What ever became of the killer robots in possession of an industrial complex encompassing the entirety of Planet M-2?
  • What If?: With official supplementary movies and material, as well as Dragon Ball Super ignoring the events of GT, GT retroactively became a what-if story.
  • What Measure Is a Mook?: Giru is treated like a full character, having started out as a good guy. However, he's still a Machine Mutant. The rest of the Machine Mutants are killed without any moral problems, despite the fact that the are clearly sentient.
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?: The Machine Mutants are treated like your standard mooks. That is to say, slaughtered. Fridge Horror sets in when you remember that they're all sentient, and at least some, like Rilldo, have souls. This is also evoked when Giru first joins the team. Pan starts threatening Giru after he assimilated their Dragon Radar, when Trunks stops her. She tries to say he's Just a Machine, but Trunks explains that because the little robot is clearly experiencing fear, it must be sentient, and should be treated as such.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Baby Vegeta worries he'll become this in exchange for the power to match SSJ4 Goku, and it is subverted when he reveals he still can talk and reason... but not for long, as he slowly but surely begins to lose his grip on sanity, as a result of both his unnaturally enhanced power and his maniacal obsession to kill Goku at the expense of everything else, even his own planet.
  • You Can Keep Her!: In the first episode, a group of criminals tie up Goku, and call Caspule Corp, hoping to ransom him. Vegeta answers, listens to their demands, then nonchalantly states "You can keep him."
  • You Can't Kill What's Already Dead: While trapped in Hell in the Super 17 Saga, Goku finds himself facing off against Frieza and Cell. While he's more than a match for them without even going Super Saiyan, he learns this trope is in effect when Cell quickly recovers from being vaporized by a Kamehameha, and when Frieza pulls himself back together after being dismembered by his own energy disc.
    Cell: Do you think you won the match, Goku? You fool! Here in Hell, our bodies are immortal!
    Frieza: You will never be able to beat me because I'm already dead!

 
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“Awkward Close-Ups”

A reminder that Pan is ten by the beginning of GT.

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