Dragon Ball GT is not THAT Bad

Article at a glance:
GT is divisive, flawed, and non-canon, but if I covered Super, it’s only fair GT gets its due too. It’s a major part of Dragon Ball history.
Where Super leans into spectacle and power scaling, GT pulls back toward adventure, consequences, and classic Dragon Ball spirit.
Brilliant concepts, messy execution, GT has some of the smartest ideas in the franchise, even if it doesn’t always land them.

So my Dragon Ball retrospectives have finally brought me around to this, Dragon Ball GT. I really considered whether I should review GT or not as a part of the series since I am not doing the original DB. But you know what? I did Super, it is only fair that I do GT too, which is another rather divisive entry in the series for many people. In many ways, GT GETS the spirit of Dragon Ball more than Super does. While Super goes all in on spectacle and power scaling, GT pulls all that back to give us some good old-fashioned DB adventures.

Now, yes, despite having good ideas, GT is massively flawed in its execution. So welcome back to the final Dragon Ball retrospective, and we are, of course, taking a look at Dragon Ball GT! Let’s get started.

What GT did Well

The whole concept of every single wish placed upon the Dragon Balls having consequences is frankly genius. Omega Shenron is a price to pay for every wish made during the OG series and DBZ. Pulling back from all the intense action and focusing on a more old-school adventure was a nice tribute to the original DB series, and it worked. Another thing I like the since we have kid Goku again, the fights are more creative than just being a test of escalating power levels. Also, Baby is another great antagonist.

But then there is Super Saiyan 4. You cannot tell me that Super Saiyan 4 Goku and, then by extension, Gogeta are not like the coldest people ever in DB. SSJ4 Goku has ZERO chill. He straight-up punches a hole through Eis for trying to double-cross him. The iconic shot of Goku with his fingers pointed at Eis’s forehead has become a classic meme. And then he was beating the brakes off of Omega Shenron while being practically BLIND. Yeah, do not mess with SSJ4 Goku, it will NOT end well.

Where GT Falters

Uub and Pan are massive missed opportunities. Both of them are introduced like key characters, but GT turns into a Goku solo show pretty quickly. The Z fighters are somehow even more sidelined than DBZ and Super. At least Super somewhat gave others a chance in the ToP. Even Vegeta is done pretty dirty in GT outside of the Baby arc, in my opinion.

GT had the right concepts, but it flunked thoroughly in execution. Yes, seeing so many different planets and going on a grand adventure was nice, but most of the planets ended up being forgettable and even bland. This also applies to the Shenrons. They’re really cool in concept, but they’re quite lacking personality-wise. And then the Super 17 arc is just a tragedy; it had so much potential.

That is all for now

But yeah, that wraps up the Dragon Ball retrospective series, GT was surely an interesting rewatch. The SSJ4 stuff is really fun, and the ideas are there, but the executionis kind of lackluster. But yeah, let me know what you guys think in the comments. I will take my leave here. See ya!

Also, check out my thoughts on the Heaven’t Feel movies right here!