The Dragon Ball franchise has produced some of the most recognizable and iconic Anime. Considering that the series has spanned more than thirty years, it's understandable that some installments in the franchise are more criticized than others, and perhaps justifiably so.
Fans across the board express a love-hate relationship with Dragon Ball GT in particular. In many ways, GT deviates from the franchise's previously successful formulas, resulting in a lackluster reception from audiences. Despite its flaws, however, the series is frequently credited for some memorable introductions into the Dragon Ball universe. Regardless of your stance on the series, some aspects universally annoyed even dedicated fans. Some of these points may contain spoilers for Dragon Ball GT.
10 Too Many Mustaches
It may seem like a bit of an odd complaint, but Dragon Ball GT fans can't discuss the series without inevitably mentioning the silly mustaches. The Anime first aired in the late 90s, so the inclusion of mustaches as a fashion statement seems even more bizarre.
The most notably awkward mustache is Vegeta's. He's usually portrayed as a powerful and fearsome Saiyan who can strike fear into any opponent, yet having a mustache somehow undermines his credibility. Fortunately, he is balanced out by Krillin, who also strangely has a mustache.
9 Implausible Power Levels
The Dragon Ball franchise is known for trying to one-up itself in creating powerful characters. Many segments in the series are packed full of characters powering up, often for an episode's entire duration. However, fans of GT frequently criticize the series for taking the power levels too far.
Fans are quick to point out the implausibility of Android 17's newfound power. It's revealed that Android 17, who was moderately powerful at best in Dragon Ball Z, fused with his clone to become unbelievably powerful. He's even more powerful than Goku in his Super Saiyan 4 form.
8 The Series Isn't Considered Canon
Perhaps one of the most significant discussions about GT is that it technically isn't part of the Dragon Ball canon. The legendary Akira Toriyama, who created the original Manga, was notably absent from GT, and fans quickly noticed. Toriyama himself indicated that the series is more of a side story than a successor to Dragon Ball Z.
As a result, some questionable choices were made, like the Super Sayain 4 form's appearance. The series also lacks the cohesion of Toriyama's work, creating noticeable plotholes as the story progresses.
7 Forgettable Enemies
Despite all the powerful characters introduced in Dragon Ball GT, the primary villains are entirely forgettable, especially compared to some of the other series. A few examples immediately come to mind, most notably Rage Shenron.
While battling Goku and Pan, Rage Shenron has the upper hand. However, as the embodiment of electricity, it's revealed that the seemingly powerful Rage has one critical weakness...water. It begins to rain during the battle, immobilizing the dragon, allowing Goku and Pan to escape.
6 Black Star Dragon Balls
As the series is widely considered non-canon, at least with regards to the Manga source material, the creators took some questionable creative liberties when introducing story elements in GT. An especially bizarre addition is in the Black Star Dragon Balls.
Though they share the same wish-granting abilities of the "standard" Dragon Balls, the Black Star variety will destroy the planet if they aren't brought together within a year. What ultimately amounts to wish-granting time bombs, the Black Star Dragon Balls feel like a completely unnecessary addition to already farcical plot points.
5 Piccolo's Anticlimactic Death
Piccolo getting killed in the Dragon Ball universe isn't new by any means. However, GT takes it to the next level, giving the fan-favorite an anticlimactic permadeath. In GT, audiences learn that Kami also created the Black Star Dragon Balls, and Piccolo, who is fused with Kami, is connected to the Dragon Balls.
Rather than going out in a blaze of glory during an epic battle sequence, Piccolo merely allows himself to die and tells the group not to resurrect him with the Dragon Balls. He explains that the Black Star Dragon Balls will no longer exist if he dies, thus preventing future planetary explosions.
4 Boring Battles
Considering the premise of the entire Dragon Ball franchise revolves around fighting, the lackluster battles in GT are an especially sore point for fans of the series. GT introduces seven fearsome"Shadow Dragons" created from all the negative Dragon Ball energy accumulated over time.
Throughout the series, they are built up as the primary antagonists. However, their subsequent battles are disappointing and uninspired. Dragon Ball Z offered memorable battle scenes on an epic scale; most of the Shadow Dragons in GT are quickly killed off or bested by rain like Rage Shenron.
3 Cringy Westernized Intro
Dragon Ball GT's intro sequence was an unfortunate victim of Western localization, resulting in a cringy theme song, which made countless fans thankful for the "Skip Intro" feature on streaming services.
The uncomfortable heavy metal rap hybrid feels entirely out of place with an animated backdrop and lacks any rhythm or cohesion. Inexplicably, the Japanese version is a standard, run-of-the-mill intro, but the American release tried to be as extreme and 90s as possible, resulting in an unpleasant mess.
2 Goku is Transformed into a Kid
Dragon Ball GT's aspect that is almost universally despised among fans is that the creators decided to have Goku turn back into a kid. To weaken the Saiyan, Emperor Pilaf uses the Black Star Dragon Balls to transform Goku into a kid.
However, fans were upset by this because Goku had become incredibly powerful by the end of Dragon Ball Z. Audiences wanted to see how he progressed in the following events. Rather than building on his character from the previous installments, Goku became a "powerless," forgettable child.
1 Returning Characters are Undeveloped
Unfortunately, Goku's character isn't the only one who gets the short end of the stick. To have the story focus more around Goku, the writers neglected to develop many fan favorites from the previous series.
Vegeta's absence is especially noticeable in the series, as he is established as a Saiyan with powers almost equal to Goku. Similarly, Gohan's formidable daughter, Pan, becomes a powerful fighter, even training with Goku in Dragon Ball Z. However, she comes off as an irritating in GT uninspired sidekick.
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