Do the first 13 Z films fit into the anime canon?

[Kuririn Fan]

No, they don't. They are said to be set in alternate universe.

[Hellspawn28]

Toriyama views the older films set in their own dimension. So this how I view it:

DBZ Movie 1 - Set in a world where Radditz never came to Earth. This can explain why they know Gohan and why Goku was surprise by Piccolo's weight clothes.
DBZ Movie 2 - Set in a world where Freeza didn't go to Namek and Goku kills Vegeta.
DBZ Movie 3 - Set in a world where Goku was never late coming back to Earth and Goku kills Vegeta.
DBZ Movie 4 - Set in a world where Piccolo kills Freeza. It can explain why there is no Vegeta since Piccolo probably killed him afterwards.
DBZ Movie 5 & 6 - Set in a world where Future Trunks never went back in time and Kami was able to discover #19 and Dr. Gero before anyone else. Piccolo fused with Kami before #19 and Dr. Gero show up and destroyed them quick. It can explain why Dende is the new Kami.
DBZ Movie 7 - Set in a world where Goku didn't get the heart virus and they where able to find the blueprints of #16-19 and use it to create a remote control, allowing them to deactivate them. Cell never shows up in this world/timeline.
DBZ Movies 8, 10 and 11 - Set in a world where is no Cell Games. This is why everyone is not in a panic and that Goku was able to go on a interview with Chi Chi. After they fight Broli in Movie 8, they try to fight Cell head on and Goku gets himself kill. Gohan kills Cell before he can try self destructed himself. Several years later, Goku never returns back to Earth which can explain why he is in Other World in DBZ Movie 11. Kaioshin, Gohan and Vegeta where able to stop Babidi and Dabra. Krillin didn't bother to go with Kaioshin. It can explain his appearance in DBZ Movie 11.
DBZ Movie 12 - Set in a world where somehow all 12 movies happen in the timeline. Gohan manged to kill Super Buu and they used the Dragon Balls to wish back everyone.

DBZ Movie 9 and DBZ Movie 13 seem to fit very well with the main universe/timeline of the series. The only big error in DBZ Movie 9 is the lack of Goten as a baby and Trunks hair is somewhat longer. The only error that Movie 13 has is the lack of Mr. Satan and Fat Buu. It's possible that Buu was sleeping which is why he didn't help against Hirudegarn.

[Sandubadear]

DBZ Movie 2 - Set in a world where Freeza didn't go to Namek and Goku kills Vegeta.
DBZ Movie 3 - Set in a world where Goku was never late coming back to Earth and Goku kills Vegeta.
DBZ Movie 4 - Set in a world where Piccolo kills Freeza. It can explain why there is no Vegeta since Piccolo probably killed him afterwards.

I always thought those movies take place in the same continuity, where Goku arrives early and Piccolo kills Vegeta when he is battle-worn.

Btw, in Lord Slug, when he reads Bulma's mind, there's a brief flashback of The Tree of Might.

[LSSJGODSSJ4Gogeta]

No, they don't. They are said to be set in alternate universe.

By who? Toriyama? That means separate from the manga not the anime.

[Hellspawn28]

In Movie 4, the other Z fighters are not around. I assume that they choose to stay on King Kai's planet longer or they didn't bother to join. In Movie 4, Piccolo seems to be fused with Nail while he is not in DBZ Movie 3. So I'm not sure if Movie 3 and 4 can take place in the same world/timeline.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Dragon Ball XenoVerse shows that Bardock's TV Special & Movie 10 take place in different dimensions from the main dimension, where DB/Z (+fillers maybe), (maybe) M1, (probably) M5, (maybe) JSAT, BoG, (probably) FnF, (probably) Jaco, and XV take place, and GT is shown to be an alternative timeline created by Trunks' time-travels. It also has other temporary dimensions that are created by distortions in history caused by Towa, Mira, and Demigra, where what-ifs take place. So, not just the movies, but everything else, like Dragon Ball Heroes, Dragon Ball SD, video-game what-ifs, the Summer Vacation Special, the Traffic Safety Specials, etc can fit in different dimensions, alternative timelines, or temporary dimensions, if you take DBXV as anime canon.

As for the guidebooks, a few movies (and Neko Majin) are said to take place in different dimensions, but DB/Z (+fillers), M1, M5, Bardock's TV Special, EoB, JSAT, BoG, and GT take place in the same continuity according to the official timeline in Chozenshuu #4, but keep in mind that this timeline was made before XenoVerse, Jaco, FnF, and Super.

The latest timeline from an official website has DB/Z (+fillers), EoB, Jaco, BoG, and FnF, with M1 & JSAT probably taking place there as well, even though they aren't mentioned.

For what it's worth, Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission seems to take place in a world where DB/Z/GT/Super, along with the 13 Movies, JSAT, PtEtSS, EoB, the TV Specials, Jaco, and Neko Majin have all happened.


So, if we take all these into account, the anime canon seems to be DB/Z(+fillers), Jaco, EoB (anime), M1, M5, JSAT (anime), Super (anime; it replaces BoG & FnF), and XV, maybe M9 & M13 as well since they fit, with everything else taking place in alternative timelines, different dimensions, or temporary dimensions.

[LSSJGODSSJ4Gogeta]

Dragon Ball XenoVerse shows that Bardock's TV Special & Movie 10 take place in different dimensions from the main dimension, where DB/Z (+fillers maybe), (maybe) M1, (probably) M5, (maybe) JSAT, BoG, (probably) FnF, (probably) Jaco, and XV take place, and GT is shown to be an alternative timeline created by Trunks' time-travels. It also has other temporary dimensions that are created by distortions in history caused by Towa, Mira, and Demigra, where what-ifs take place. So, not just the movies, but everything else, like Dragon Ball Heroes, Dragon Ball SD, video-game what-ifs, the Summer Vacation Special, the Traffic Safety Specials, etc can fit in different dimensions, alternative timelines, or temporary dimensions, if you take DBXV as anime canon.

As for the guidebooks, a few movies (and Neko Majin) are said to take place in different dimensions, but DB/Z (+fillers), M1, M5, Bardock's TV Special, EoB, JSAT, BoG, and GT take place in the same continuity according to the official timeline in Chozenshuu #4, but keep in mind that this timeline was made before XenoVerse, Jaco, FnF, and Super.

The latest timeline from an official website has DB/Z (+fillers), EoB, Jaco, BoG, and FnF, with M1 & JSAT probably taking place there as well, even though they aren't mentioned.

For what it's worth, Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission seems to take place in a world where DB/Z/GT/Super, along with the 13 Movies, JSAT, PtEtSS, EoB, the TV Specials, Jaco, and Neko Majin have all happened.


So, if we take all these into account, the anime canon seems to be DB/Z(+fillers), Jaco, EoB (anime), M1, M5, JSAT (anime), Super (anime; it replaces BoG & FnF), and XV, maybe M9 & M13 as well since they fit, with everything else taking place in alternative timelines, different dimensions, or temporary dimensions.

Ummm Xenoverse is a game. It's not by Toei or Toriyama. It's non canon to the manga and the anime.

[Luke Groundwalker]

This is how I see the movies fitting into Dragonball anime canon.

Dragonball Movies 1-4 - All of them alternate timelines and retellings.
Dragonball Z: These all take place in a singular timeline together, but only some actually connect to the anime.
Movie 1 - Takes place before Saiyan arc (Canon)
Movie 2 - Takes place in an alternate Raditz encounter where Goku doesn't die.
Movie 3 - Takes place in an alternate Vegeta encounter where Goku appears before everyone dies and saves the day.
Movie 4 - Same as above. Goku and crew go to Namek sometime after this.
Movie 5 - Takes place after Freeza arc. (Canon)
Movie 6 - Takes place in an Android arc where the Androids Cell was defeated super early (notice how Cell wasn't in Fusion Reborn?). Dende became Kami earlier
Movie 7 - Same as above.
Movie 8 - Same as above.
Movie 9 - Takes place after the defeat of Cell (Canon)
Movie 10 - Takes place in an alternate Boo arc, before the arrival of Boo.
Movie 11 - Same as above.
Movie 12 - Takes place in an alternate Boo arc where Boo was defeated early on. Cameos from all the villains from the previous movies contains all the films into one timeline.
Movie 13 - Doesn't fit into the above timeline, but takes place after the defeat of Boo (Canon)

That's the alternate timeline, the anime timeline looks something like this:

1. Bardock Special
2. Episode of Bardock
3. Dr. Slump
4. Dragonball (All arcs)
5. Movie 1 - Dead Zone
6. Dragonball Z (Saiyan arc)
7. Dragonball Z (Freeza arc)
8. Movie 4 - Cooler's Revenge
9. Dragonball Z (Android arc)
10. Movie 9 - Bojack Unbound
11. Dragonball Z (Boo arc)
12. Movie 13 - Wrath of the Dragon
13. Yo! Son Goku and Friends
??. Dragonball Super (Maybe?)
14. Dragonball GT (All arcs + Special)

[LSSJGODSSJ4Gogeta]

This is how I see the movies fitting into Dragonball anime canon.

Dragonball Movies 1-4 - All of them alternate timelines and retellings.
Dragonball Z: These all take place in a singular timeline together, but only some actually connect to the anime.
Movie 1 - Takes place before Saiyan arc (Canon)
Movie 2 - Takes place in an alternate Raditz encounter where Goku doesn't die.
Movie 3 - Takes place in an alternate Vegeta encounter where Goku appears before everyone dies and saves the day.
Movie 4 - Same as above. Goku and crew go to Namek sometime after this.
Movie 5 - Takes place after Freeza arc. (Canon)
Movie 6 - Takes place in an Android arc where the Androids Cell was defeated super early (notice how Cell wasn't in Fusion Reborn?). Dende became Kami earlier
Movie 7 - Same as above.
Movie 8 - Same as above.
Movie 9 - Takes place after the defeat of Cell (Canon)
Movie 10 - Takes place in an alternate Boo arc, before the arrival of Boo.
Movie 11 - Same as above.
Movie 12 - Takes place in an alternate Boo arc where Boo was defeated early on. Cameos from all the villains from the previous movies contains all the films into one timeline.
Movie 13 - Doesn't fit into the above timeline, but takes place after the defeat of Boo (Canon)

That's the alternate timeline, the anime timeline looks something like this:

1. Bardock Special
2. Episode of Bardock
3. Dr. Slump
4. Dragonball (All arcs)
5. Movie 1 - Dead Zone
6. Dragonball Z (Saiyan arc)
7. Dragonball Z (Freeza arc)
8. Movie 4 - Cooler's Revenge
9. Dragonball Z (Android arc)
10. Movie 9 - Bojack Unbound
11. Dragonball Z (Boo arc)
12. Movie 13 - Wrath of the Dragon
13. Yo! Son Goku and Friends
??. Dragonball Super (Maybe?)
14. Dragonball GT (All arcs + Special)

I agree but I wouldn't put the GT special in. It's too contradictory. And you son Goku and episode of bardock just don't seam like anything more then what if specials like plan to eradicate the saiyans. Super is a no. It's for the manga's continuity. And dr. Slump sure can fit, but it's kinda vague.

[Luke Groundwalker]

I agree but I wouldn't put the GT special in. It's too contradictory. And you son Goku and episode of bardock just don't seam like anything more then what if specials like plan to eradicate the saiyans. Super is a no. It's for the manga's continuity. And dr. Slump sure can fit, but it's kinda vague.

As long as Super has Gregory it isn't in the manga continuity. The only thing we directly know that's been stated as continuations of the manga is the two movies as of recent.

Super seems to be more of a continuation of Dragonball Kai more than anything (same timeslot afterall).

[LSSJGODSSJ4Gogeta]

I agree but I wouldn't put the GT special in. It's too contradictory. And you son Goku and episode of bardock just don't seam like anything more then what if specials like plan to eradicate the saiyans. Super is a no. It's for the manga's continuity. And dr. Slump sure can fit, but it's kinda vague.

As long as Super has Gregory it isn't in the manga continuity. The only thing we directly know that's been stated as continuations of the manga is the two movies as of recent.

Super seems to be more of a continuation of Dragonball Kai more than anything (same timeslot afterall).

Kai fits, but don't forget battle of gods connected itself to yo son goku and it had Gregory.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Ummm Xenoverse is a game. It's not by Toei or Toriyama. It's non canon to the manga and the anime.

Being a video-game doesn't mean anything, there are franchises like Star Wars where video-games are canon. It's also based on DBO, which was written by Toriyama.

But you can ignore it if you want of course, since we don't have an official canon. What I'm saying is that if you want to take it into account, it has this & that.

[Hellspawn28]

Xenoverse has a original story to it unlike the other DBZ games. Not to mention it's story made more sense then the Shin Budokai games did in my opinion.

[LSSJGODSSJ4Gogeta]

Ummm Xenoverse is a game. It's not by Toei or Toriyama. It's non canon to the manga and the anime.

Being a video-game doesn't mean anything, there are franchises like Star Wars where video-games are canon. It's also based on DBO, which was written by Toriyama.

But you can ignore it if you want of course, since we don't have an official canon. What I'm saying is that if you want to take it into account, it has this & that.

Yeah that's fair, I see it as there's a anime canon and a manga canon and the games are all what ifs like some of the films are. Like fusion reborn.

I think it's Ball-Z-GT and dead zone and cooler's revenge and the original 2 dbz specials.

[Hellspawn28]

Movie 6 - Takes place in an Android arc where the Androids Cell was defeated super early (notice how Cell wasn't in Fusion Reborn?).

Goku is dead in Fusion Reborn, so the Cell games and Goku death must have happen in the Fusion Reborn timeline. Cell was most likely not in Fusion Reborn since they probably didn't have the time to get Norio Wakamoto to do some voice work. I would imagine Cell did escape off screen and was sent back to Hell when they used the Dragon Balls to send everyone back there.

[apex_pretador]

My ideas on movies:

1-2 I'll skip them.

3 - Tree of might / turles:

Goku arrives before any death vs saiyans, and kills them both.

4 - Slug

Same as last one, but everyone continues training, and is slightly stronger. So, when turles is killed, sometime later, slug comes. No namek or frieza encounter here.

5- Cooler

Everyone comes from namek, but goku never spent long time on yadrat, and came back as soon as he learnt IT. No mecha frieza.

6 - Meta cooler

Not sure, but likely after previous movie.

7 - #13

Takes place before kami fusion.

8 - Broly

Takes place in HTC (when goku and gohan are training). If it gets a logical explanation in DBS, it can fit in canon.

9 - Bojack

After cell games.


10 - Broly return

Between 7 year time skip

12 - Janemba

Buu is killed in his fat buu (or super buu) form.

13 - Wrath of dragon

Takes place after Buu saga. Goku has become stronger than everyone, and vegeta has also improved a lot.

Only movie 13, 9 and 10 fit in canon. 8 can fit in canon if it gets a good explanation.