Months - Why We Should Ignore Them.

[Grimlock]

Prior to this "Dragon Ball renaissance", it was probably okay to take the majority of months that guidebooks stated with little problems or with a few tweaks where necessary. But after the movies and Dragon Ball Super? We should simply forget about it and stick only to years. I had sometimes said that months shouldn't be considered but I never actually elaborated on that. So now, I'll go in-depth as to why months are a huge problem and why we should not consider it anymore for those who are interested/care about this.

• Movie 14 and Movie 15 •

It's common knowledge that Bulma's birthday is in August. For some reason that information got spread and most (?) accept it. But if we do place Movie 14 in August and assume that Videl got pregnant in the same month, that would put the beginning of Movie 15 in May (assuming Pan was a newborn when we first see her), and thus the battle against Freeza in November.

• Shenlong's Summonings and Universe 6 saga •

From the end of Movie 15 until the beginning of Universe 6 saga, Shenlong was summoned twice. In the first time (off-screen), Shenlong brought the North City back (destroyed by Freeza during the movie events). And the other time was to locate a Super Dragon Ball.

Dende says that one wish takes four months to recharge the Dragon Balls, and so I assume that two wishes takes eight months (I didn't find anything regarding the time it takes when two wishes are made), so if we also consider Shuu's wish in Movie 15, the Dragon Balls would only be able to be used again (i.e to restore the North City) in January, AGE 780. That would put Universe 6 saga in May, AGE 780, as four months passed and the characters would summon Shenlong again to locate a Super Dragon Ball in this saga.

• Future Trunks saga and Universe Survival saga •

The one and only official year we've got so far for Future Trunks saga is "AGE 796" (which if we subtract seventeen from that, we get AGE 779). We would have to push this saga one year ahead (AGE 780 in the present, AGE 797 in the future). Besides that, nothing else is affected. This is the most disconnected saga, changing it brings no major problems.

As for Universe Survival saga, it would take place at least in May, AGE 781, because of the Super Dragon Balls. It was used in Universe 6 saga and it takes one year to recharge. Placing this saga in this year gives a new birth year to Bra but affects Pan's birth year too. The latter is one year older than the former, and she would be born in AGE 780 (we wouldn't have to assume she'd be four-turning-five in the year the 28th tournament happens in this scenario) instead.

• Dragon Ball Super Broly •

Movie 1 would also take place in AGE 781, thus worsening the whole situation. Especially if we take into consideration that "41 years ago" that is shown in the movie.

AGE 781 - 41 = AGE 740. That places the beginning of the movie six years after the actual year it is supposed to be. Now sit back, things are still going to get even worse. There's a five-year timeskip from that until Dragon Ball Minus, thus placing it in AGE 745. Here, Goku was born in AGE 742 and he would be just seven years old by the time he meets Bulma. To fix this, the movie would have to had shown "47 years ago" on-screen (AGE 781 - 47 = AGE 734).


• A way to fix it and conclusion •

Here's how I fix this whole mess:

• Movie 14 - April, AGE 778.
• Movie 15 - January, AGE 779 (beginning) / July, AGE 779 (battle against Freeza).
• Universe 6 saga - August, AGE 779 (I don't consider Shuu's wish as well as summoning Shenlong to locate a Super Dragon Ball).
• Future Trunks saga - Between September and December, AGE 779 (at least one month after the previous saga, to give characters some peace).
• Universe Survival saga - August, AGE 780 (at least exactly one year after Universe 6 saga).
• Movie 1 - September, AGE 780.
• Moro saga - September, AGE 780 (it's possible that Moro saga starts as soon as Goku comes back from Bampa. If it's not the case, then I'd place it in October).
• Granolah saga - Early/mid AGE 781 (it is said that "months" have passed since the previous saga).

Noticed something? Yeah, all of this mess started only because we placed Movie 14 in August, as per an old and outdated information regarding Bulma's birthday. So I ask, do we really need her birthday to be in that month? Some of the Shenlong usages are probably better off if we ignore them too.

We shouldn't really consider every month that is officially stated, as they are there only to complicate things unnecessarily. By ignoring them, we can move the events throughout the year and thus avoiding these nuisances.

You may wonder/have forgotten why Movie 15 takes place in two different months, it's because Piccolo says so. There's a six-month timeskip between the wish made in the beginning of the movie and the fight against Freeza.

If you only follow the manga continuity, then you're in a better situation, since some of the Shenlong summonings didn't happen there (as far as I know, anyway). So you don't need to ignore or make assumptions as the ones who follow the anime must.

I may be wrong about requiring eight months to recharge the Dragon Balls after two wishes. But it's the only logical assumption to make if there isn't any evidence about this. 4 months = one wish. 8 months = two wishes. 12 months/1 year = three wishes (this one is also mentioned in the manga).


If you like this subject, I hope you had a good reading! Feel free to give your input or anything you feel like it.

[MasenkoHA]

The first arc takes place in August and presumably over a few weeks. I don’t buy a girl as extra as Bulma wouldn’t bring up her upcoming birthday if it was in the same month.

[Grimlock]

Yeah, the retelling taking place in August is actually the least of the problems, considering there's a piece of information stating Dragon Ball Super starts just six months after Majin Buu saga. That alone screws up everything.

[Anonymous Friend]

Were Gohan and Videl still in school during the big tourney? How long did the terror of Buu take til Lil' Buu's defeat? Doesn't the Special with Freeza's men take place six months after Buu?

[PurestEvil]

Were Gohan and Videl still in school during the big tourney? How long did the terror of Buu take til Lil' Buu's defeat? Doesn't the Special with Freeza's men take place six months after Buu?

The Buu saga from the start of the Tournament til Kid Buu’s disintegration took place within the span of 2 days.

[WittyUsername]

Were Gohan and Videl still in school during the big tourney? How long did the terror of Buu take til Lil' Buu's defeat? Doesn't the Special with Freeza's men take place six months after Buu?

If you’re talking about the Jump special, that’s supposed to take place two years after Majin Boo’s defeat.

[Skar]

This is from the DB Wiki's timeline (I know not the best source but it might be from one of the recent games?)

August 778: BoG

May 779: Birth of Pan

Post-May 779: RoF, Champa, Goku Black

780: ToP, Broly, Moro, and Granolah (so far)

I think this timeline ignores when Shenron was summoned in the anime only. The new movie looks like it takes place in 784 or a year earlier in 783 which could lineup with Granolah taking place in 780 assuming him having three years left could lead to a timeskip.

[Grimlock]

If that's what's in the wiki, then this thread shows what's the problem with it. They place Movie 14 in August and therefore the initial part of Movie 15 in May, which is the beginning of the nightmare, exactly as I've shown here.

Granolah saga can't take place in AGE 780. There's a timeskip of months between it and Moro saga. And Moro saga already takes place in the end of of that year.

[Anonymous Friend]

Were Gohan and Videl still in school during the big tourney? How long did the terror of Buu take til Lil' Buu's defeat? Doesn't the Special with Freeza's men take place six months after Buu?

The Buu saga from the start of the Tournament til Kid Buu’s disintegration took place within the span of 2 days.

How much time did Hercule spend befriending Buu?

[PurestEvil]

How much time did Hercule spend befriending Buu?

A few hours.

[Skar]

If that's what's in the wiki, then this thread shows what's the problem with it. They place Movie 14 in August and therefore the initial part of Movie 15 in May, which is the beginning of the nightmare, exactly as I've shown here.

Granolah saga can't take place in AGE 780. There's a timeskip of months between it and Moro saga. And Moro saga already takes place in the end of of that year.

Would there be a problem if you don't count the times Shenron was summoned only in the anime? I think it could still work to have RoF, Champa, and Goku Black in the same year since they don't specify how much time has passed. ToP has to be at least a year after Champa for the Super Dragonballs to recharge. I guess Granolah would make sense to be in 781 since there was a two timeskip within the Moro arc and maybe a few weeks or months between the arcs if the manga did mention that.

[Grimlock]

Would there be a problem if you don't count the times Shenron was summoned only in the anime?

I already showed how the timeline would more or less looks like if you don't consider every time Shenlong was summoned in the "a way to fix it" section. No problem, quite the contrary, it will fix many issues.

I think it could still work to have RoF, Champa, and Goku Black in the same year since they don't specify how much time has passed.

That's already the case (in an official capacity), since Xenoverse 2 also doesn't consider most of Shenlong's summonings. That's where the information that Universe 6 saga and Future Trunks saga, both taking place in AGE 779, comes from.

I guess Granolah would make sense to be in 781 (...) if the manga did mention that.

What do you mean by "if"?

[Skar]

I already showed how the timeline would more or less looks like if you don't consider every time Shenlong was summoned in the "a way to fix it" section. No problem, quite the contrary, it will fix many issues.

Oh ok. I was a little confused by the opening post but I understand what you meant now. I guess it all works out then unless there were some details that they overlooked.

What do you mean by "if"?

Well I said "if" because I didn't remember . It does make more sense for Granolah to take place in 781 if that's the case.

[Grimlock]

The only thing you can't take into account is the extra filler wish when Beerus told Shenron to scram but of course that being filler it doesn't really matter.

Oh, if only that was the only thing. There's a lot more that should be ignored: Shuu's wish in Movie 15; Bulma's wish in the beginning of Universe 6 saga; Gohan's wish in one of those filler episodes... I go into details about this as well in this very thread.

Thing is, not everyone ignores those instances or can see the problems they bring, so they might have a thing to say about the timeline.

[Xeno Goku Black]

Oh, if only that was the only thing. There's a lot more that should be ignored: Shuu's wish in Movie 15; Bulma's wish in the beginning of Universe 6 saga; Gohan's wish in one of those filler episodes... I go into details about this as well in this very thread.

Well again those latter two because that didn't happen in the manga anyway you could easily just chalk that down to filler and wave it off because you can't take everything into account, it literally would never all fit together. There are genuine inconsistencies that make no sense whatsoever.

Xenoverse is the easiest to just follow. It has Battle of Gods in Age 778 like the Dragon Ball SSSS did. Then Resurrection F, Universe 6 and Goku Black in Age 779 which can work fine based on what Whis said. The Tournament of Power and Broly would have to be Age 780. The Moro and Granolah arcs can be Age 780 or 781 if need be and then Super Hero in Age 782 or 783.

It works if you pick and choose what does actually make sense.

In Broly Goku was shown to be sent to Earth in Age 737 and 5 years prior to that when Broly was sent to Vampa that was meant to be 41 years old making that movie set in Age 773 which was before Buu. Toyotaro also surely got his 40 year figure from that 41 year figure in Broly too so that all this Saiyan rampage on Cereal stuff happened one year after Frieza took over.

[Grimlock]

In Broly Goku was shown to be sent to Earth in Age 737 and 5 years prior to that when Broly was sent to Vampa that was meant to be 41 years old making that movie set in Age 773 which was before Buu. Toyotaro also surely got his 40 year figure from that 41 year figure in Broly too so that all this Saiyan rampage on Cereal stuff happened one year after Frieza took over.

Yeah, but we know everything about Movie 1 and Granolah saga is wrong.

Firstly: • Goku's birth year, the destruction of Vegeta and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman.

Goku's birth year may no longer be AGE 737 as it has always been. That is thanks to the time he spends inside an incubator (which is three years). You can, of course, assume Gine rounded up the amount of time he spent in there to "two years and X months", by doing so, you can still say that that's still his birth year, but if you are not willing to make such an assumption, then Goku's new birth year in AGE 736.

Dragon Ball Minus does not (and cannot) take place in AGE 737. The manga takes place in AGE 739. We know that because of Jaco, the Galactic Patrolman. Right in the beginning, Omori said (as a narrator) that that story took place "ten years ago", and then, by the time we reach its end, we see the beginning of Dragon Ball (which happens in AGE 749, ten years later). We learn from this story that Goku arrived on Earth ten years prior to the beginning of Dragon Ball.

You could say that Dragon Ball Minus takes place in AGE 737 and that Goku took two years to reach Earth, but by doing that, you are automatically saying that Goku was born in AGE 734 (remember the time period he spends in the incubator). Goku being born in that year changes everything, he would be fifteen by the time he meets Bulma. In other words, he would be just one year younger than she is.

(Changing the year Dragon Ball Minus takes place affects Movie 14/Beerus nap time. In this scenario, Beerus went to sleep two years after Freeza destroyed Vegeta, so he should know that. But when he wakes up, we see that he didn't know about it).

The "forty years ago" from Movie 1 would continue to not make any sense in this scenario, obviously. As it would place Freeza's alliance with the Saiyans in AGE 739 (the year Freeza should destroy the planet in the first place), and then there's the five-year timeskip to the Dragon Ball Minus part, which would be AGE 744 (completely off by all criteria and analysis you could make).

Secondly: • Granolah saga and its "forty years ago".

With Granolah saga taking place in AGE 781 and by doing math provided by the manga itself, we "learn" that the past occurs in AGE 741 (that's two years after the destruction of Vegeta). So you know (or should know) right off the bat that the "forty years ago" in the manga is outright wrong. Even if you change the year this saga takes place, to whatever year you like and that is possible, it will not make sense regardless.

The problem is that it's not "forty years ago", it should be "forty four", dating back to AGE 737 (or "forty five", dating back to AGE 736, if you assume Gine didn't round up the amount of time Goku spends on Earth). We know that because Bardock and Gine hadn't chosen a name for Goku yet, so we must conclude he was a newborn by the time the assault on Cereal happened.


Connecting the movie and Granolah saga with all the corrections made, we learn that Freeza's alliance with the Saiyans took place in AGE 734 and that the assault on Cereal is three years after that (or two, again, if you think Goku has a new birth year).

[Xeno Goku Black]

Perhaps Goku's "birth" year is still Age 737. Perhaps they count the time from which a Saiyan is able to leave the incubation chamber just counts as it's birth instead. So he would actually have been born in Age 734 just from technical side of things it's Age 737. Enough guides and the movie say as such for it to be fairly concrete.

In the end it's all just inconsistent. There's no way it works especially going by Toriyama's numbers.

If Jaco was 10 years before the Pilaf Saga then as Bulma was 16 years old in that then she should have been 6 in Jaco but they said she was 5 instead which can still possibly work but this is coming from somehow who was well off in two movies as well.

[Grimlock]

Perhaps they count the time from which a Saiyan is able to leave the incubation chamber just counts as it's birth instead. So he would actually have been born in Age 734 just from technical side of things it's Age 737.

I had thought about that. Thankfully, Toyotaro already clarified it. A Saiyan is born after leaving their mother's womb, just like a human. As we see Gine complaining that Bardock missed Goku's birth, a Saiyan then is already considered to be born by the time they are put in the incubators.

If Jaco was 10 years before the Pilaf Saga then as Bulma was 16 years old in that then she should have been 6 in Jaco but they said she was 5 instead which can still possibly work but this is coming from somehow who was well off in two movies as well.

Correct, this is another matter of having to apply a simple solution: Jaco, the Galactic Patrolman takes place before Bulma's birthday. She's five when we see her, but she will turn six later that same year.

We have to do the same for Gohan's age as well.

[Shorty GZ2]

This is primarily sound overall, I have to agree.

Secondly: • Granolah saga and its "forty years ago".

With Granolah saga taking place in AGE 781 and by doing math provided by the manga itself, we "learn" that the past occurs in AGE 741 (that's two years after the destruction of Vegeta). So you know (or should know) right off the bat that the "forty years ago" in the manga is outright wrong. Even if you change the year this saga takes place, to whatever year you like and that is possible, it will not make sense regardless.

The problem is that it's not "forty years ago", it should be "forty four", dating back to AGE 737 (or "forty five", dating back to AGE 736, if you assume Gine didn't round up the amount of time Goku spends on Earth). We know that because Bardock and Gine hadn't chosen a name for Goku yet, so we must conclude he was a newborn by the time the assault on Cereal happened.


Connecting the movie and Granolah saga with all the corrections made, we learn that Freeza's alliance with the Saiyans took place in AGE 734 and that the assault on Cereal is three years after that (or two, again, if you think Goku has a new birth year).

This is also right, we could've avoided this if Toyotaro/Viz just kept it approximated at "around 40 years" or used the right number of "45".

[Grimlock]

I doubt they will ever use a right number. I feel like their notion of placement is different, even if they're trying to follow what is generally known to the public.

I agree they should at least use "around" or something similar, though. It would definitely make my life a bit easier, that's for sure.