I started this awhile ago, and never got around to finishing it until now (well, I still haven’t technically finished it). The Daizenshuu 7 timeline is pretty well known among fans, but just how reliable is this thing? Just what is it basing these dates on? That’s what I decided to find out, by comparing what it says to what’s said in the manga (or anime, as it were). I ended up finding a few mistakes, or entries that could have been phrased better, but overall the thing is pretty reliable, though there often doesn’t seem to be much logic behind what it does and doesn’t accept from the anime; it's primarily based on the manga. So once I’ve finished with this, I’m going to try and correct the errors is this timeline, to create a rebuilt timeline, better than it was before, stronger, faster. Something like that, anyway. So I’m going to go page by page and evaluate each entry. [A] will mark things taken from the anime, and [?] marks things that I can’t figure out.
The Pre-era: A Universe in Chaos
This comes from the words of the oni who guides Goku to the Serpent Road. He says that Enma Daio is the only person to have reached Kaio’s planet in 100 million years. This means that Kaio’s planet must have been around for at least 100 million years, inasmuch as you wouldn’t say “Joe Pete is the only person to have scaled the Eiffel Tower in 100 million years”. This entry is often totally garbled in versions of the timeline you see online, so that it says that 100 million years ago is when the first Kaioshin is confirmed to exist or some such thing.Over 100 million years ago: Kaio’s planet is confirmed to have existed.
The date of Elder Kaioshin’s imprisonment is unspecified in the series, although it was clearly far before the current East Kaoishin’s time. It’s possible that this date of 75 million years ago was settled on because Elder Kaioshin says he is from 15 generations ago, and East Kaioshin is at least 5 million years old. That is, if East Kaioshin has been around for 5 million years, than a single Kaioshin generation must be at least that long, and so if you multiply 5 million by 15, you get 75 million. So that's their approximation for when Elder Kaioshin was sealed away.About 75 million years ago: The Elder Kaioshin (the Kaioshin of 15 generations ago) is sealed into the Z Sword by someone.
According to Kaioshin and Kibito, Boo’s ball came to Earth when Earthlings were first learning to walk on two legs. It’s currently thought that in the real world, humans branched off from chimpanzees 5-7 million years ago, which may be where this date comes from. This of course assumes that the development of life on Earth in DB world occurred on the same timescale as in the real world.About 5 million years ago: The wizard Bibidi creates Majin Boo. Several years later, hundreds of planets have been destroyed by Boo. Out of the 5 Kaioshins, 4 are killed by Boo. The wizard Bibidi carries the ball which Boo is sealed in to Earth. The East Kaioshin defeats Bibidi. Boo’s ball is left as it is on Earth.
[A]Tens of thousands of years ago: Annin (Taijou Roukun) begins managing the Furnace of Eight Divinations, placed at the Mountain of Five Elements, which serves as the boundary between this world and the afterlife.
This is the first of several entries in the timeline that are taken from anime-only stuff like filler and the movies. In the filler arc at the end of the original DB series, Annin tells Goku that she has been managing the Furnace of Eight Divinations for tens of thousands of years. This prompts Goku to say that she’s an old lady, which makes her furiously angry, and she then attacks Goku.
[A]4,237 Before Age: The Demon Clansmen who are the ancestors of Garlic Jr. and his men immigrate from Planet Makyo to Earth.
In the Garlic Jr. filler arc, Planet Makyo is said to pass by Earth once every 5,000 years, and so this date is exactly 5,000 years before Age 763, when the Garlic Junior arc is set. This is the first of a few dates set in “Before Age”, the DB calendar equivalent of a BC date (zen in Japanese, which is simply “Before”, but I changed it to “Before Age” to make it easier to understand).
[A]739 Before Age: Jadoushin became the Serpent Princess and set up along the Serpent Road.
This is exactly 1,500 years before Age 761, when Goku meets the Serpent Princess. In that filler episode, the Serpent Princess eventually reveals that her true identity is Jadoushin, a spirit who has haunted the Serpent Road for 1,500 years. The name "Jadoushin" means “God of the Serpent Road”: ja=serpent, dou=road[/i], shin=god. The Serpent Road itself is usually called hebi no michi in Japanese, jadou being an alternate reading for these kanji.
This is 1,001 years before Goku becomes a Super Saiyan on Planet Namek, in Age 762. This entry comes from the fact that the legend of the Super Saiyan says that one will appear every 1,000 years.Around 239 Before Age: The appearance of the Super Saiyan, considered a legend among the Saiyans. He made the universe tremble with destruction and slaughter.
The Birth of God and the Prosperity of the Saiyans
[?]Around Age 250: Uranai Baba begins divining.
This is exactly 500 years before when Goku first meets Uranai Baba, in Age 750. But other than that, I’m not sure where this date comes from. I’m pretty sure nothing is said in the manga about Uranai Baba divining for 500 years. I hear there's some filler scene where she says that, but I've still not confirmed this. Note that this puts Uranai Baba as being at least 180 years older than her younger brother, Kame-sennin. I suppose this could be because their parents were/are immortal.
[A]Age 261: Enma Daio goes to Kaio’s planet along the Serpent Road. At this time he meets the Serpent Princess, who lived midway along the road, and she falls in love with him.
This is 500 years before Goku meets the Serpent Princess, in Age 761. In that episode, the Serpent Princess says that Goku is the first man to have stopped by since Enma was there, 500 years ago.
This is 501 years before Bulma and co. set off for Planet Namek. In the series, the date of the weather anomaly is never specified, other than several mentions that it was "long ago". Piccolo Daimao's initial rampage was about 300 years ago (more on this later), so by extension the child of Katatz must have come to Earth even sooner. Daizenshuu 4 refers to the disaster as "300-400 years ago", but apparently the daizenshuu staff later settled on 500 years ago as its exact date.Age 261: A weather anomaly occurs on Planet Namek, and the child of Katatz escapes. He crash lands on Earth.
Kame-sennin’s birth year was reconfirmed in the Super Exciting Guide-Character Volume’s character data, which was supervised by Toriyama. If you’re surprised Kame-sennin is so old, remember that Karin tells Goku that Kame-sennin climbed Karin Tower “about 300 years back”. This birth year makes Kame-sennin 319 when he first appears.Age 430: Kame-sennin is born
[?]Age 431: The child of Katatz begins being pupil of the Earth’s God.
I’m not too sure of the significance of this one. It is 170 years after the child of Katatz lands on Earth, and 30 years before he becomes the new God.
[A]Age 448: In the middle of his training under Mutaito, Kame-sennin (age 18) falls in love with Fan-Fan.
This comes from the filler arc showing Goku’s training under Mister Popo. In one episode, he goes back and meets an 18 year old Kame-sennin, who’s in love with a girl named Fan-Fan. This date comes from simply adding 18 years to Kame-sennin’s birth year.
This date makes Tao Pai Pai 291 when he first appears, despite him still looking middle-aged. This does however make sense when you consider that he’s the younger brother of Tsuru-sennin, who’s around the same age as Kame-sennin. The Bouken Special was the first source to use 291 as Tao Pai Pai's age.Age 459: Tao Pai Pai is born
[A]Age 461: Garlic of the Demon Clan rises up against God, but is defeated.
This comes from DBZ movie 1, where Garlic is said to have rebelled 300 years ago. This date is exactly 300 years before Age 761, when DBZ movie 1 is set.
In the series, all that’s revealed about the date of Daimao’s rampage is that it was centuries ago, and that Kame-sennin and Tsuru-sennin were young at the time. Since Kame-sennin is a little over 300, it makes sense for it to be around this time, 292 years before Daimao’s release. It seems that the exact date here was taken from the date of Garlic’s uprising, and assuming that Garlic’s defeat, the child of Katatz becoming the Earth's new God, Daimao’s birth, and Daimao’s imprisonment all happened in the same year. Man, what a sucky year that must have been for the people on Earth.Age 461: The child of Katatz becomes the Earth’s God. At the same time, Piccolo Daimao is born from the evil heart the child of Katatz detached from himself. Mutaito seals Piccolo Daimao in an electric rice cooker with the Mafuuba, and dies.
This comes from during Goku’s fight with Yakon. Babidi is amazed at Goku having a power of 3,000 kiri, and Dabra says that there was nobody on Earth this powerful back when he had the planet investigated, 300 years ago. Accordingly, this date is exactly 300 before the Boo arc. Something often overlooked or glossed over, including in the Viz translation and fan translations of the timeline, is that Dabra speaks of the Earth having been "investigated", implying that he himself wasn't the one who did it. According, the timeline speaks of an underling of Dabra doing the investigation.Age 474: Dabra has an underling investigate the Earth.
[A]Circa Age 550: The primitive Saiyans drift to Planet Plant on mysterious spaceships.
This is the first of several entries based on the back-story for the Saiyans developed in the anime filler, the OVA, and later GT, where the Saiyans are depicted as invaders of Planet Plant who wipe out the native Tsufuru race and rename the world as “Planet Vegeta”. All of these dates were reused for the timeline in GT Perfect Files volume 1. The basic idea for this back-story was thought up by Toriyama, who drew a memo to the anime staff depicting the Tsufuru, their technology (including the scouter, which Toriyama writes that the Saiyans took from them), and the caveman-like primitive Saiyans. In this memo he also explains about the Tsufuru being smaller than the Saiyans due to the planet’s high gravity, and about how the Saiyans wiped out the Tsufuru. The memo also refers to Planet Vegeta as “Planet Plant” (which is crossed out in red pen, with “Planet Vegeta” written over it). The only part of the back-story absent from the memo is the idea of the Saiyans being alien invaders to Planet Plant/Vegeta (this element of the story is also missing from the DBZ filler episode, but present in the OVA and GT).
If the Saiyans were caveman-like at this point, where did they get spaceships? Presumably they stole them. In his Super Exciting Guide-Character Volume interview, Toriyama says that the Saiyans were a savage race who from time immemorial attacked planets, stealing their goods. It’s worth pointing out that since Japanese has no real plural form, it’s ambiguous whether this entry says the Saiyans arrived on a mysterious ship or several mysterious ships. In the OVA we see the Saiyans meeting the Tsufuru near a single giant spaceship, while in GT the Saiyans are shown arriving in many ships, which look just like the standard “Attack Balls” we see them using in the series. This entry puts the Saiyans as arriving on Plant 200 years before the series starts, but 789 years after the appearance of the legendary Super Saiyan. So going by this, the Saiyans’ raiding lifestyle and fearsome reputation go back to long before they set up base on Planet Plant/Vegeta.
[?]Age 553: Kame-sennin begins his collection of dirty magazines around this time.
Not sure about this one, but I'm pretty sure it’s not based on anything from the manga. This is exactly 200 years before the 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai and the revival of Piccolo Daimao, so I’m wondering if there’s some filler scene from around that point in the anime where Kame-sennin says he’s been collecting dirty magazines for 200 years.
This comes from when Bulma and Goku first meet Kame-sennin. When Bulma notices that Kame-sennin has the 3-Star Ball, he says that he picked it up off the ocean floor “about 100 years back”. This quote also shows that the last person who used the dragonballs, the guy who became a king, used them over 100 years ago.Circa Age 650: Kame-sennin picks up the 3-star ball from the bottom of the sea.
This comes from calculating backwards from the date of the 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai (Age 750) and the fact that until the 21st TB, the tournament was held once every 5 years. 20x5=100, so the first TB was 100 years before the 21st.Age 650
May 7th: The first Tenkaichi Budoukai opens
The date of every Tenkaichi Budoukai being May 7th comes from the Piccolo Daimao arc, where Piccolo Daimao gives his televised speech declaring May 9th to be a holiday celebrating his ascending to the world throne. This speech is two days after the 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai, so that tournament would have therefore been on May 7th. I guess it’s a bit of a stretch to assume that because the tournament was held on that particular date that one year, then it therefore was and is always held on that date. However, Daizenshuu 4 does say the Tenkaichi Budoukai is held on May 7th each year, and anyway, almost all the exact dates in the timeline are ultimately based on the Tenkaichi Budoukai being on May 7th. Without that cornerstone date, we’re just left with a bunch of raw data from the series about events happening a certain number of days or months after or before each other, with nothing concrete to hook it all to in order to create an easily understandable timeline. So I think it’s a justifiable assumption, if only for convenience's sake.
I’m thinking this is completely new information, not based on anything from the manga or anime. This makes Gohan 79 when he finds baby Goku. This goes against the Bouken Special's age for Gohan, which puts him at 102 around when he fights Goku in the year 750.Age 658: Grandpa Son Gohan is born.
When Popo and Bulma are investigating God’s spaceship, Popo says that 100 years ago, God told him the story of his life. Thus, this is 100 years before Age 762, when Bulma and Popo check out the spaceship.Age 662: The Earth’s God talks about his personal history to Mister Popo.
This is based on the Bouken Special, which places Toninjinka's age as 51. The Bouken Special has many character profiles that state peoples' ages. It’s not explicitly said Toriyama came up with this information, but I think it's a safe bet. Perhaps Toriyama thought up background information like this for characters as he was drawing the series and just never had a way or reason to use it in the series itself (“I can turn people into carrots with my touch! And, as it happens, I was born in 698! Ho-ha!”).Age 698: Toninjinka is born
Another entry based on the Bouken Special. It says Pilaf is 38; if we assume they're talking about during the Piccolo Daimao story arc (which was the current storyline when the book came out) then this fits. This makes Pilaf 34 when he first appears.Age 715: Pilaf the Great is born
[A]Circa Age 720~730: On Planet Plant, the Saiyans unite and start a revolt. They rush into all-out war with the Tsufuru. The Saiyan overwhelm the Tsufuru. The Tsufuru scientist Dr. Raichi dies. The Saiyan extermination weapon, Hatred Amplification Device Hatchi-Hyakku is launched into space. The Tsufuru are wiped out. The Saiyans take complete control of Planet Plant, and change its name to Planet Vegeta. At the same time, they absorb Tsufuru technology, such as the scouter. The Saiyans begin setting out into space. The Saiyans hit upon the idea of having other aliens sponsor their wars.
This is more anime back-story for the Saiyans. Most of this is taken either from the TV filler (which first depicts the Saiyan/Tsufuru war) and the OVA (which features Dr. Raichi and Hatchi-Hyakku as villains). I believe the exact dates provided for all these events is new information. The GT Perfect Files timeline reuses this entry, except it refers to the creation of Baby, rather than Dr. Raichi and Hatchi-Hyakku.
Another Bouken Special age. This makes Blue 28 when he appears in the story.Age 722: General Blue of the Red Ribbon Army is born.
This comes from when Tao Pai Pai tells Commander Red that since he’s celebrating his 20th year as an assassin, he’s halving all his prices. The RR Army arc is in Age 750, and so this is 20 years before. The term used here for setting up an independent business, datsu-sara, literally means to escape from one’s life as a salaryman (by starting an independent business). Toriyama mentions in the Bouken Special Q&A that Tao Pai Pai was a salaryman/office worker before becoming an assassin.Age 730: Tao Pai Pai sets up an independent business as an assassin.
[A]Circa Age 731: The Saiyans team up with Freeza and begin a universal land shark business. King Vegeta takes a queen.
While this doesn’t directly refer to any of the Tsufuru/Saiyan stuff, since it is set one year after the end of the Saiyan/Tsufuru war, I’m guessing it’s still based on all that anime back-story. This means that the Saiyans were only teamed up with Freeza for 6 years before he destroyed Planet Vegeta (short fuse, that guy). Why is all this stuff set so close in time to the series? One reason is that in the OVA and GT, it’s Vegeta’s father, King Vegeta, who leads the Saiyans against the Tsufuru, so that puts a limit on how far back this stuff can be. Some people say this contradicts the DBZ episode with Kaio’s flashback on Saiyan history, where he says these things happened “long ago” (mukashi). However, “long ago” is a relative term. In the Cell arc, when Goku proposes to train in the Room of Spirit and Time, God-fused Piccolo says that Goku didn’t last a month when he trained in there “long ago” (mukashi), and that would have only been 14 years ago.
Pretty sure the bit about King Vegeta marrying his queen is just based on Vegeta being born next year. The thought process would be that any self-respecting king would want to produce an heir as soon as possible, so the year before Vegeta’s birth must be when King Vegeta married.
Warriors Uttering their First Cry
Vegeta’s official birth year, which has been reconfirmed in the SEG-Character Volume. This makes Vegeta 30 when he battles Goku. I believe the Bardock special is the earliest thing to depict Vegeta as several years older than Goku, showing him as already a young kid when Goku is born.Age 732: Vegeta is born
More official birth years. This makes Bulma 16 when she first appears, which is how old she says she is in the series. Yamcha and Tenshinhan's ages are taken from the Bouken Special.Age 733: Bulma, Yamcha, and Tenshinhan are born
[A?]Age 733
May 8th: The current king takes the throne.
Taken from the fact that in the anime, the King is shown celebrating his 20th year on the throne the day Daimao attacks, on May 8th, 753. The idea that the King has been reigning for 20 years might be another thing Toriyama came up with for the anime, since Daizensuu 7’s bio for the King doesn’t list it in the anime part of the bio.
[A?]Circa Age 735: The Saiyans’ animosity towards Freeza begins to strengthen. On Planet Vegeta, there are repeated instances of civil unrest among the Saiyans.
More Saiyan back-story. I think the idea of there being civil unrest among the Saiyans may come from the filler episode where Tenshinhan and co. are mentally sent into the past, and see a ruined city on Planet Vegeta (?), where there appears to have been some sort of war.
Kuririn’s official birth year. This makes him 13 when he first appears. At the 21st TB he's shocked to learn that Goku is only 12, since he had believed Goku to be older than him.Age 736: Kuririn is born
Goku’s official birth year, making him 12 at the start of the series (he mistakenly thinks he’s 14, before learning how to actually count).Age 737: Kakarot (Son Goku) is born.
[A]Age 737: Planet Vegeta gains control of Planet Kanassa and Planet Meat. King Vegeta starts a revolt against Freeza, but it ends in failure.
This comes from the Bardock special and a TV filler scene showing King Vegeta’s revolt against Freeza. Although it’s worth noting that even in the manga, Freeza talks about fighting with “the king” (who’s never named in the manga) when he attacked Planet Vegeta.
This is all from the manga/anime, of course. Goku being born the year Planet Vegeta is destroyed isn’t specified in the manga; instead, it's the Bardock special that first introduces the idea. While this date means that Planet Vegeta was destroyed 25 years ago during the battle with Freeza, in the manga Freeza says that he destroyed Planet Vegeta 30 years ago. Freeza has to be wrong, since Goku being 12 at the start of the series is established in the manga, meaning Goku is only 25 at that point, and it’s nonsensical for Goku to have been born 5 years after Planet Vegeta was destroyed.Age 737: Freeza commences a war against the Saiyans. Goku’s father Bardock dies in battle. Planet Vegeta is annihilated by Freeza. Kakarot escapes from Planet Vegeta, and arrives on Earth.
Age 737: Gyuumao’s daughter Chi Chi is born.
Chi Chi’s official birth year.
[A]Age 737: Chi Chi’s mother dies from an illness.
Chi Chi’s mother dying from an illness in mentioned in the filler arc at the end of DB. Some of the online translations of this timeline mistakenly say that Goku’s mother dies of an illness, which wouldn’t make much sense, what with Planet Vegeta being destroyed earlier.
[?]Age 737, June~August: Kakarot is found by the old man Son Gohan, who names him “Son Goku”.
I’m not sure why it says Gohan found Goku in June-August. However, at the 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai, which is in 750, Goku says that he is 12 years old. Since Goku was born in 737, he should turn 13 in 750. So assuming Goku isn’t miscounting again, if he says he’s 12, it would mean that his actual birthday is later in the year than May 7th, when the TB is. So if Goku was born on Planet Vegeta sometime after May 7th, 737, it’d make sense for him to arrive on Earth sometime in June or later, depending on how long the trip took. So that may be why they say Gohan found him sometime in June through August. Or maybe it’s just that the scene with Grandpa Gohan at the end of the Barduck TV special looks like it’s set during summer.
I don’t think there’s anything in the series to specify that Goku was a year old when he hit his head, but it was said to be when he was still a baby.Age 738: The baby Goku takes a strong blow to the head. His ferocious personality that is characteristic of the Saiyans at once changes to a cheerful one.
This is all taken from Oolong’s explanation of the history of Mt. Fry-Pan. Oolong says in the series that the mountain caught fire 10 years ago. In Viz’s translation, they change a narration to say that Gyuumao and Chi Chi have been forced out of their castle “for months now”, which I guess is still technically true (years consisting of months and all). Note that this means that Chi Chi was only 2 at the time, so she probably would have never had any memories of actually living in the castle.Age 739: Gyuumao goes on a picnic, taking the baby Chi Chi with him. While out, a fire spirit falls on the Mountain of Refreshing Scenery, where Gyuumao’s castle is, and the mountain becomes covered in flames. Afterwards, the name of the Mountain of Refreshing Scenery is changed to Mt. Fry-pan.
This makes Oolong 9 when he first appears, and 13 during the 22nd TB/Daimao arcs. This is another age taken from the Bouken Special. Though his perverseness makes it easy to forget that he’s so young, Oolong does refer to himself as a piglet early on, and says that the 16-year old Bulma is older than he is.Age 740: Oolong is born.
This means Kuririn entered Oorin Temple when he was 4. When he first appears (in 749), he says that he spent 8 years training at Oorin Temple. That would mean he left the temple in 748, leaving a year’s gap between then and his first appearance. I guess it took him a year to reach Kame-sennin’s island.Age 740]Kuririn enters Oorin Temple as a pupil.
I believe this is new information. It means Yamcha and Puar had known each other for 2 years when they first appear, and met when Yamcha was 14 and Puar was 7 (Puar’s bio says he was born in 740, the same year as Oolong). I think though that this might be based on the fact that Puar graduated from the shape-shifting kindergarten, and presumably he met Yamcha after that. I suppose 7 would be a reasonable age to graduate kindergarten.Age 747: Yamcha and Puar meet
When Umigame meets Bulma and Goku (next year, in 749), he says that he has been lost for a year. The immortal phoenix dying this year is probably because Umigame knew that it had died (while Kame-sennin had forgotten), so that must have happened before Umigame got lost, but still fairly recently.Age 748: The immortal phoenix which Kame-sennin kept as a pet dies of food poisoning. Umigame becomes lost while out gathering mushrooms in the mountain.
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