The True Origins of Dragon Ball GT, Explained

Dragon Ball GT is one of the most controversial Dragon Ball series. This spin-off has been the target of massive hate by a portion of the fandom, but there are also those who love it. Most GT fans were pleased when Dragon Ball Daima reintroduced many ideas from the show.

One of the reasons why GT is such a divisive series is that creator Akira Toriyama was not closely involved, even though he may have given a few ideas. So for many, GT is just a “milking” spin-off created by Toei that deviates from the original author’s perspective. But is that all there is to DBGT?

Why Was Dragon Ball GT Created?

A few days ago, a Japanese podcast titled Kosokoso dropped an interview with Dragon Ball editors Kazuhiko Torishima, Yu Kondo and Fuyuto Takeda. Among the many questions they answered, they clarified a few things about the creation of Dragon Ball GT.

Enomis, also known as @Venixys, translated the key points of the interview. It seems that the birth of DBGT was closely related to the fact that, during the final arc, Takeda gave mixed messages about the conclusion of the series, as it wasn’t yet clear when exactly it would end. However, once it became clear that Dragon Ball was coming to an end, Shueisha and the companies involved in the anime were concerned; they didn’t want the series to end, probably because it was a profitable hit.

Thus, it was this pressure that led to the creation of Dragon Ball GT — those who claim that the series was created just to explore the franchise commercially for more time are not entirely wrong. Of course, it wouldn’t have been created if Toriyama hadn’t agreed to it, but he was apparently under a lot of pressure.

What Does “GT” In The Title Mean?

There have been a few rumors about the meaning of “GT” — some fans, especially in the Japanese fandom, would jokingly say it means “Gomen ne, Toriyama-sensei” (something like “Sorry, Toriyama”). However, the interviewees confirmed that GT stands for “Grand Turismo” (or “Grand Tour”), and it was Toriyama who came up with the name:

Dragon Ball GT As A Starting Point for Daima

Even though GT may not have been Toriyama’s original idea, that doesn’t mean he didn’t contribute to it. After all, he is credited as the author, and he oversaw the production, or at least part of it.

In fact, Toriyama seemed to like GT, since he usually praised the staff of the series. Although he never explicitly said whether GT is canon or not, he once stated that the anime is a “great side-story” to the original series — fans debate the meaning of this. Some claim that “great side-story” means it is not canon, while others defend that Toriyama was confirming that GT is a sequel to the manga.

Either way, Akio Iyuko confirmed in an interview that Dragon Ball GT was a starting point for Dragon Ball Daima, which is probably the reason why the series reintroduced many elements from GT, such as the whole vibe of a new space adventure where the characters turn into children, and the SSJ4 form. So, while there may be things that Toriyama disliked in Dragon Ball GT, it seems clear that he also viewed many other things in a positive light.

Could A DB Daima Sequel Be Coming?

Dragon Ball Daima ended in February, and no sequel has been confirmed yet. However, Akio Iyuko hinted in another interview that there might be plans to continue the series. The post-credits scene even suggests how new enemies could eventually appear.

Dragon Ball GT

Release Date

1997 – 1996

Network

Fuji TV

Showrunner

Akira Toriyama

Directors

Minoru Okazaki, Mitsuo Hashimoto, Yoshihiro Ueda, Takahiro Imamura, Hidehiko Kadota, Osamu Kasai, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Writers

Akira Toriyama

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  Masako Nozawa

  Oob (voice)

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  Yûko Minaguchi

  Uncredited