Why I liked Dragonabll GT's story

Where it all began

His so cute man | Image courtesy of Tenor.com

Ever since the age of 6 I have been a huge Dragonball fan. I first began watching with Dragonball - didn't really like it - and then transitioned to Dragonball Z.  

And, boy oh boy, did I enjoy Dragonball Z.  

Dragonball Z ranks as one of my top three anime of all time. Everything about it I enjoyed as a kid. I enjoyed the enormity of the plots, I enjoyed the fight scenes, I enjoyed the characters, and I absolutely loved grandiosity of the entire thing. I role-played Goku as a kid, would jump on my bed and fight my bro mimicking the epic battles we saw on TV. Anyway, I felt a little nostalgia and thought I'd talk about how I kinda liked -

Dragonball GT

Still the greatest SSJ form in the history of DB | Image courtesy of Tenor.com

I've thought of how to discuss my liking for DBGT, it's kind hard considering the dislike the general DB community holds for the sequel, but I think I'll start with the one aspect that stood out to me when thinking of GT, that of course being the -  

Story

Goku is forever an amazing protagonist | Image courtesy of Tenor.com

Dragonball GT gets alot of hate, and I don't quite understand why. For one, the DBGT story was very ambitious, while yes it was a bit boring at times, it was still exceptionally ambitious given where DBZ ended. DBGT effectively attempted to 'soft-reboot' the DB series by returning the franchise to it's roots while still incorporating the bombastic nature that was established in DBZ.  

But it failed to resonate with viewers.  

The issue with DBGT was that it failed to recognize the beast DBZ had created. DB fans no longer wanted the DB of old, they didn't want the adventure story, they didn't want Dragonball. Why? Probably because there were better adventure stories out there, in particular One Piece, nobody really wanted to return to DB, just like nobody (at that time) wanted to return to DBZ.  

But, DBGT's plot sorta made sense in the grand scheme of things.

Remember, DBGT attempted to mature the DB franchise by introducing consequence to the usage of the dragonballs. In my opinion this was an amazing idea, but its execution kinda dragged. Sure, almost, every single arc was tied - in some respect - to consequences.   In my opinion, no saga epitomises this as much as the -  

Shadow Dragon Saga

Gogeta was badass | Image courtesy of Tenor.com

The Shadow Dragon Saga epitomises the theme of consequence in Dragonball GT. Every dragonball that the gang has to capture is tied to a specific wish granted by the Z fighters.  

That's amazing.  

Both because it ties GT back to DBZ, and DB, but also it turns a deus ex machina (as the dragonballs are) into menacing devices. It turns it's head on what the dragonballs are and you don't have to enjoy that but you kinda have to applaud the writers for coming up with this idea. It's kinda smart.  

Because, realistically, what other shounen anime does that? What other shounen anime turns their McGuffin, their deus ex machina, into the enemy. But, not only that, this saga has real emotion. Goku bonds - in his usual way - with Nuova Shenron. Nuova Shenron as the manifestation of the four star dragonball is tied to Goku's Grandpa, so it somewhat makes sense for him to be an honourable enemy. Isn't that beautiful, that the writers tied an enemy to DB, isn't it beautiful for the final saga to be tied to the franchises beginning?  

Conclusion

Goku waves goodbye | Image courtesy of Tenor.com

Now, I recognise that DBGT is flawed. I recognise that the placing was slow, previously strong characters were regulated to the sideline, that the plot (to some) was repetitive, and overall some people just didn't like a series where Toriyama wasn't involved. Where the creator wasn't involved.  

I'm of a different opinion.  

I don't love GT, but I like it for what it is. It's an ambitious show that tries to integrate out-of-genre concepts into a show that had started out as an epic adventure and morphed into the staple of shounen. For that I can't fault it, can you?

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