Planets vs. Worlds

[RedRibbonSoldier#42]

I noticed something recently that I think is pretty interesting. In the manga, Toriyama uses different words for the planets of mortals and the ones for gods. Planet Vegeta, Planet Namek, and Planet Sadara are called 惑星ベジータ、ナメック星、and 惑星サダラ respectively. Kaiou's "planet" and the Kaioushin's are 界王界、and 界王神界. The mortal's get 星, or "star"(can be used for planets and it is in the real world.) while the gods get 界, or "world". Do you you think there's supposed to be some difference intended with this? My first guess would be that it suggests the mortal ones are just objects in the universe, while the god's "worlds" are entirely separate and sacred realms. But this does not seem to match up with the Dragonball universe. First off, Kaiou's "world" is just a part of the afterlife, and can hardly call itself a "world" based on size. Second, Kaiou's title is the "Lord of Worlds", using the same kanji. The planets he's in charge of are getting called the same thing as his, and not 星. I also thought, (I might be wrong), that the Kaioshin's world was a part of the main universe. It looks and acts just like a normal planet, so what's the difference?

In English, everything is usually just called "Planet". King Kai's Planet, Supreme Kai's Planet, Planet Vegeta. Is there a subtly being lost here, or does it not matter at all?

Side note: Beerus' Planet is apparently called ビルスの寺, or "Beerus' Temple". Why does he get the most religious term?

[Polyphase Avatron]

Well Beerus' 'planet' isn't even a sphere so calling it a temple makes more sense than a planet.

[Hujio]

You're confusing terms a bit here. The 界王界 (kaiō-kai), or the "Kaiō Realm", is the area within the Dragon Ball macrocosm (a.k.a. the giant sphere) that contains the individual planets of the Kaiō. The planets within this realm use the same naming convention as planets within the living world, such as North Kaiō's Planet, which is always referred to as 界王星 (kaiō-sei). Even Dai Kaiō's planet is written 大界王星 (dai-kaiō-sei). The same thing goes for the "Kaiōshin Realm" (界王神界; kaiōshin-kai). The Kaiōshin Realm is, simply put, the Realm of the Kaiōshin. It is a special realm that rotates around the outside of the macrocosm, housing numerous suns (some of which are depicted as moons in the anime) with the Kaiōshin Planet (界王神星; kaiōshin-sei) at the very center. While the Dai Kaiō and four regular Kaiō live on separate planets separated by millions of kilometers, their superiors — the five Kaiōshin — all live together on this single planet. I hope this helps clear things up a bit.

[RedRibbonSoldier#42]

You're confusing terms a bit here. The 界王界 , or the "Kaiō Realm", is the area within the Dragon Ball macrocosm (a.k.a. the giant sphere) that contains the individual planets of the Kaiō. The planets within this realm use the same naming convention as planets within the living world, such as North Kaiō's Planet, which is always referred to as 界王星 . Even Dai Kaiō's planet is written 大界王星.

Isn't the Kaiou' s planet in the same realm as Enma's palace/the afterlife? Gokuu walked between them.

[Hujio]

Yeah, kind of. The giant sphere is essentially split into two halves, the afterlife and the living world. The afterlife sits above the living world and is comprised of multiple realms; the Kaiō Realm (界王界; kaiō-kai), the Enma Realm (閻魔界; enma-kai), and Hell (地獄; jigoku). Heaven and Enma's Palace are located in the Enma Realm, which is situated somewhat in-between the Kaiō Realm and Hell, although there is no actual barrier dividing the Enma Realm and the Kaiō Realm like there is between the Enma Realm and Hell. So in order to travel from the Enma Realm to the Kaiō Realm, or to Kaiō's planet, you must use the Serpent Road. So while everything is all located in the afterlife, they are somewhat separated from one another. Think of realms as an easy way to group a bunch of similar things together.

On a side note, while not shown in the series itself, Daizenshuu 7 states that Enma's palace is the starting point for the roads leading to each of the Kaiōs' planets, although no other specifics are mentioned.