Is Yo! Son Goku and his friend return! Canon?

[Aim]

Legitimately asking. I always thought it was, but I recently came across some threads from years ago and now I’m confused

[PurestEvil]

Toriyama was credited for writing the first draft/concept of the plot. Make of that what you will.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Truth be told neither Toriyama, nor Shueshia or TOEI has ever, to our knowledge been concerned with the concept of canon. The closest we will ever get is statements like how Battle of Gods was part of the "official history", no such comment was made in relation to Yo! Son Goku and his Friends Return, although, like much of the new material we've received in the last 13 years Toriyama has had some level of involvement.

As the creators themselves don't discuss canonicity and are only concerned with what sells it is up to the fans to decide whetever Toriyama's contributions are relevant or not in this regard. I'd say Tarble being mentioned in the Battle of Gods movie, but not the Super anime emphasizes this sense of ambiguity.

[MasenkoHA]

Doesn’t Bulma off hand mention Tarble in Super/Battle of the Gods?

[Alruneia]

It doesn't seem to be very clear-cut right now, to be honest. There are a couple of off-hand mentions of Tarble scattered throughout modern Dragon Ball, though (mostly out-of-universe but what MasenkoHA mentions is also true for specifically the BoG movie), so I think Yo Son Goku is being taken into account to some degree. Personally I consider it to be canon and the first "modern Dragon Ball story" for now, but nothing's set in stone.

[Koitsukai]

Doesn’t Bulma off hand mention Tarble in Super/Battle of the Gods?

Yeah, she asks Vegeta to get him for the ritual when they were one saiyan short, and he says he has no idea where he is at.

[Luso Saiyan]

Doesn’t Bulma off hand mention Tarble in Super/Battle of the Gods?

Yes. Tarble is indirectly mentioned in Battle of Gods and Broly.

[Grimlock]

There is no canon in Dragon Ball. What will determine if the OVA is canonical to you is if you consider the movies continuity or the anime or manga ones.

I'd say Tarble being mentioned in the Battle of Gods movie, but not the Super anime emphasizes this sense of ambiguity.

It may not be an ambiguity when you have two movies (and a promotional material) mentioning Tarble.

[SSJgogeto]

I think he might be canon.

Vegeta's brother is mentioned in some movies, but in those movies we never heard a name and we don't know his appearance. I think there's a slight possibility of Toriyama changing his name and/or design in the future.

[Robo4900]

It's deliberately a totally inconsequential story that fits into established canon but will never be referenced because it's so insignificant.

That is to say, who cares?
It's canon if you want it to be, just like any other Dragon Ball story.

[TheGreatness25]

There has to be a canon. All that canon means, is the continuity of the series. There are anchor points that the story uses to build upon--that's canon. Mind you, canon could change. In canon, the Potara fusion was permanent, but then, this canon was retconed, i.e. changed.

I believe that Table (I prefer to use this as his name to keep with his Saiyan roots lol) was written by Toriyama and as of Battle of Gods, he--and the Yo Son Goku special--was canon. But then, he was deliberately scrapped from Super, so then the special was no longer canon. But, apparently, Table was mentioned in the Broli movie (I don't recall), so then the special is part of the canon. Because if the series acknowledges Table's existance, that means that one one place where Table is introduced (the special) counts in the continuity.

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

There has to be a canon. All that canon means, is the continuity of the series. There are anchor points that the story uses to build upon--that's canon. Mind you, canon could change. In canon, the Potara fusion was permanent, but then, this canon was retconed, i.e. changed.

I believe that Table (I prefer to use this as his name to keep with his Saiyan roots lol) was written by Toriyama and as of Battle of Gods, he--and the Yo Son Goku special--was canon. But then, he was deliberately scrapped from Super, so then the special was no longer canon. But, apparently, Table was mentioned in the Broli movie (I don't recall), so then the special is part of the canon. Because if the series acknowledges Table's existance, that means that one one place where Table is introduced (the special) counts in the continuity.

Canon and continuity are not the same thing.

[PurestEvil]

There has to be a canon. All that canon means, is the continuity of the series.

A canon is not a continuity, it is a set of work that are recognized to comprise a main body of a franchise. Continuity is objective whereas canon is subjective.

[SupremeKai25]

I'd say it's not canon since it doesn't fit into anything. It doesn't fit into the Original storyline (DB-DBZ/KAI) and it doesn't fit into the Revival storyline either (BOG-ROF-DBS).

[MasenkoHA]

I'd say it's not canon since it doesn't fit into anything. It doesn't fit into the Original storyline (DB-DBZ/KAI) and it doesn't fit into the Revival storyline either (BOG-ROF-DBS).

How does it not fit?

canon is subjective.

Canon really isn’t subjective though.

[PurestEvil]

canon is subjective.

Canon really isn’t subjective though.

What do you think is canon: the DBS anime or the DBS manga? Hint: it's a trick question.

[MasenkoHA]

canon is subjective.

Canon really isn’t subjective though.

What do you think is canon: the DBS anime or the DBS manga? Hint: it's a trick question.

Both, the answer is both. Again not subjective.

[TheGreatness25]

There has to be a canon. All that canon means, is the continuity of the series. There are anchor points that the story uses to build upon--that's canon. Mind you, canon could change. In canon, the Potara fusion was permanent, but then, this canon was retconed, i.e. changed.

I believe that Table (I prefer to use this as his name to keep with his Saiyan roots lol) was written by Toriyama and as of Battle of Gods, he--and the Yo Son Goku special--was canon. But then, he was deliberately scrapped from Super, so then the special was no longer canon. But, apparently, Table was mentioned in the Broli movie (I don't recall), so then the special is part of the canon. Because if the series acknowledges Table's existance, that means that one one place where Table is introduced (the special) counts in the continuity.

Canon and continuity are not the same thing.

Not "continuity," but canon is the foundation that influences the story going forward. But there has to be that foundation. There has to be canon. It's not like a Buggs Bunny cartoon where every episode is its own story. There is clearly something constantly being built upon to form the future of the story. That's canon.

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

Not "continuity," but canon is the foundation that influences the story going forward. But there has to be that foundation. There has to be canon. It's not like a Buggs Bunny cartoon where every episode is its own story. There is clearly something constantly being built upon to form the future of the story. That's canon.

Except that in Dragon Ball, there's nothing to say what is official canon or not. Some people will say anything with Toriyama involved with the writing, but it's still fan conjecture. He's never come out and declared his works as canon; he probably isn't even familiar with the term.

Works constantly being built upon doesn't necessarily constitute a clear canon, unless you're defining canon as a collection of closely-to-loosely-related works that don't have to perfectly line up narratively. In which case...anything can fit, and it's up to you to decide what you want to go with.

[PurestEvil]

Canon really isn’t subjective though.

What do you think is canon: the DBS anime or the DBS manga? Hint: it's a trick question.

Both, the answer is both. Again not subjective.

If it is definitively "both", then how come a large portion of the fanbase argues which one is more canonical than the other?
Sure, there are things that the fanbase agrees at large what is canonical, but for specific instances like these, it's a matter of opinion.