Dragon Ball Super's Canon Timeline Is More Complex Than We Knew

Dragon Ballis notorious for having a complicated timeline, and it's only getting more and more complicated. The series was straightforward at first. It started with the original Dragon Ball series, followed directly by Dragon Ball Z. They were two halves of the original Dragon Ball manga, and the timeline was as straightforward as it would ever be. The movies associated with the series were never considered canon, and neither were the video games, but the two main entries were about as canon as it gets.

Then Dragon Ball Z ended, and it couldn't have gotten more confusing. There is a ten-year gap between Dragon Ball Z's Buu Arc and its final episode, creating a huge mess. Dragon Ball DAIMA is supposed to be a direct continuation of the Buu Saga, but Dragon Ball Super is also supposed to be a sequel to Dragon Ball Z. DAIMA created a bunch of plot holes for Dragon Ball Super, and a key-animator for DAIMA has recently done an interview where he only made things worse.

Dragon Ball Has A Notoriously Messy Timeline

Nothing Is Too Straightforward For The Z Fighters

Dragon Ball's timeline is one of the most confusing in anime. For one of the best anime series of all time, Dragon Ball is less than straightforward with its chronology. None of the Dragon Ball Z movies are canon, but both of the Dragon Ball Super movies are supposed to be. None of the Dragon Ball video games are canon, but some of the most popular forms are brought to the main series.

There are even multiple timelines within Dragon Ball, like Future Trunks' timeline. Future Trunks himself underwent a character design change that makes him look like a different, much worse character to boot. It's hard to tell what is actually canon in Dragon Ball and what isn't, and a large part of that comes from the Peaceful World Saga in Dragon Ball Z.

After Kid Buu is finally defeated, 10 years pass in Dragon Ball Z. Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters return to the World's Martial Arts Tournament, where Goku meets Uub, the reincarnation of Majin Buu. He's brimming with potential, so Goku leaves with him to train.

What happens during this 10-year gap is beyond confusing. Dragon Ball DAIMA is supposed to happen, so is Dragon Ball Super, and that's not even mentioning Dragon Ball GT.

Dragon Ball DAIMA Made Things Even More Complicated

If DAIMA Is Canon, Why Didn't Goku Use Super Saiyan 4 In Battle Of The Gods?

Dragon Ball DAIMA was one of the most refreshing additions to the Dragon Ball franchise ever. It was an amazing series that only lasted 20 episodes, showing that even Dragon Ball knows how to tell a great story in a single season's worth of anime.

While Dragon Ball DAIMA was undeniably great on its own, it made the timeline incredibly confusing. People who worked on the show called DAIMA a direct sequel to the Majin Buu Saga, and it makes sense. The series opens with Gomah and Degesu, the two main antagonists of the series, watching the Buu Saga unfold in front of them.

Bardock's original design vs the retconned one.

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Nothing from Dragon Ball Super is mentioned in DAIMA, which is a great sign if Dragon Ball DAIMA is supposed to be before Dragon Ball Super. There are a few moments in DAIMA that question the series' canon status, with the biggest being the inclusion of Super Saiyan 4 Goku.

When Beerus came to Earth in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods, he asked for Goku to use his strongest form. Goku turned into a Super Saiyan 3, which doesn't make sense if he had achieved Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball DAIMA.

Dragon Ball Super May Be An Alternate Timeline

Key Animator Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru Has An Interesting Idea

Key-animator Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru recently gave an interview where he talked about a lot of things related to Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball DAIMA, and Dragon Ball Super. He's a pretty prominent figure in the world of Dragon Ball as he's worked on a lot of projects in the series. Unfortunately, his thoughts about the series canon may have created more questions than answers.

The interviewer, @SofianLeGEEK on Twitter, did a great job of asking Nakatsuru interesting questions related to the Dragon Ball timeline. He asked Nakatsuru directly if Dragon Ball Super is supposed to be an alternate sequel to the original manga, considering all the plot holes that DAIMA created for Super.

Nakatsuru worked on Dragon Ball DAIMA much more than he did on Super, and stated that Dragon Ball Super could be an alternate timeline in the Dragon Ball universe. He then said he wasn't entirely sure what the full story was, but that would be his best guess.

It's nice that Nakatsuru gave an interview, and Sofian Le GEEK did a great job of asking quality questions that would shine light on the series, but it doesn't help much. The Dragon Ball timeline was made even more confusing by Dragon Ball DAIMA, and one of the only ways that Dragon Ball Super makes sense now is if DAIMA and Super exist in seperate timelines.

Canon Or Not, Almost Everything In The Dragon Ball Universe Is Fun

From Films To One-Offs To Video Games, Everything Dragon Ball Is Exciting

There is so much Dragon Ball that exists outside the main canon that there might be more out of the canon than there is inside of it. There are dozens of Dragon Ball video games, a myriad of non-canon Dragon Ball films, and even Dragon Ball mobile games that include brand-new forms, fusions, and more.

Super Saiyan 4 Goku from Dragon Ball Daima in front of Super Saiyan 4 Goku from Dragon Ball GT.

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It doesn't really matter what is canon and what isn't — everything related to Dragon Ball is exciting. It would be helpful to understand what fits into the main timeline, or if there are alternate timelines (besides Future Trunks'), but maybe the answer will never be revealed.

The creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama, unfortunately passed away in March 2024. His death rocked the world of anime, and because he passed, he will never be able to straighten out the Dragon Ball canon.

Without the creator's ideas on the direction in which he wants the canon to go, there may never be a clear answer. Toriyama was able to name a successor before he passed, so maybe Toyotarou has the answers that everyone is looking for. Even if there isn't one, Dragon Ball still looks to continue on through Dragon Ball Super, and the series hasn't looked this good in years.