Z - Where does it come from?

jda95 · Post by **jda95** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 6:24 am

If I recall correctly, Trunks states when he first appears that "the Z warriors" all got slowly killed off by the androids, pulling the term out of nowhere. The term is often used for the rest of the series, and "Z" appears also in the "Z Sword". Of course we would all think that the Z comes from the TV show, but has Toriyama ever said that he got inspired by it?

Post by **Herms** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 6:36 am

Toriyama came up with "DragonBall Z" after the anime staff told him they wanted a new name for the anime. He chose "Z" because, as the last letter in the latin alphabet, it signified the end.

edit: For the record, Toriyama has given this explanation for "Z" in a few different interviews, including ones in DBZ Son Goku Densetsu and Viz's Shonen Jump.

I'm pretty sure the phrase "Z warriors" is never actually used by the characters in the series, only the narrator a few times in the anime. In the manga Trunks simply says that the "warriors" were wiped out by the androids, with no "Z".

Bussani · Post by **Bussani** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 6:41 am

Herms wrote:Toriyama came up with "DragonBall Z" after the anime staff told him they wanted a new name for the anime. He chose "Z" because, as the last letter in the latin alphabet, it signified the end.

I'm pretty sure the phrase "Z warriors" is never actually used by the characters in the series, only the narrator a few times in the anime. In the manga Trunks simply says that the "warriors" were wiped out by the androids, with no "Z".

I heard that in the manga, the narrator called them the 'Dragon Warriors' once or twice. Is that true?

Post by **Herms** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 7:31 am

Bussani wrote:I heard that in the manga, the narrator called them the 'Dragon Warriors' once or twice. Is that true?

I don't know about "Dragon Warriors", but the main characters are called the Dragon Team in the titles to chapters 23 and 430.

Aikachi · Post by **Aikachi** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:06 am

But what about all those like totally legit fanfictions calling them the 'Z-senshi'? D:

I remember reading something that speculated that Toriyama wrote 'DragonBall 2' and that was misread as 'Z', but Herms' explanation is better.

SHINOBI-03 · Post by **SHINOBI-03** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:31 am

The "Z" did appear in the manga... sorta...

Cold Skin · Post by **Cold Skin** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:55 am

Herms wrote:
Bussani wrote:I heard that in the manga, the narrator called them the 'Dragon Warriors' once or twice. Is that true?
I don't know about "Dragon Warriors", but the main characters are called the Dragon Team in the titles to chapters 23 and 430.

That's right, that's why I personally prefer to refer to them as the Dragon Team, cause it seems to be the official manga name given by the author. As chapter titles, it is never used by any character, but it is more of less the official way to call them from an external point of view I guess.

dragondyle · Post by **dragondyle** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 6:16 pm

I thought "Z" meant like a continuation or a sequel to the Dragon Ball series. The sequel series to Mobile Suit Gundam was "Z" Gundam, or Zeta Gundam. Is this true?

B · Post by B » Sun Aug 09, 2009 6:21 pm

dragondyle wrote:I thought "Z" meant like a continuation or a sequel to the Dragon Ball series. The sequel series to Mobile Suit Gundam was "Z" Gundam, or Zeta Gundam. Is this true?

The first sentence of the second post answers this question...

Bussani · Post by **Bussani** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:57 pm

dragondyle wrote:I thought "Z" meant like a continuation or a sequel to the Dragon Ball series. The sequel series to Mobile Suit Gundam was "Z" Gundam, or Zeta Gundam. Is this true?

Why would 'Z' mean sequel?

The name Zeta Gundam comes from the fact that the main mobile suit is, in fact, the Zeta Gundam.

sumpter360 · Post by **sumpter360** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:26 am

Because Z rhymes with D and B -- DBZ!!!

Metalwario64 · Post by **Metalwario64** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:37 am

Dolagon Bolu Zetto is possibly supposed to be because Z is the last letter in our alphabet, and Toliyama-sama/Toei wanted it to end soon and wanted to make the end of Dolagon Bolu a good ending.

That's what I've heard anyway.

Kendamu · Post by **Kendamu** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:39 am

Bussani wrote:
dragondyle wrote:I thought "Z" meant like a continuation or a sequel to the Dragon Ball series. The sequel series to Mobile Suit Gundam was "Z" Gundam, or Zeta Gundam. Is this true?
Why would 'Z' mean sequel?

The name Zeta Gundam comes from the fact that the main mobile suit is, in fact, the Zeta Gundam.

Same way that "R" can somehow mean "sequel" like when Mario Kart 64 was called Mario Kart R and then there's Sailor Moon R.

Commander_Red · Post by **Commander_Red** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 2:00 am

Toriyama was a Mazinger fan?

G1Ravage · Post by **G1Ravage** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 2:27 am

I suppose there's also that the kanji for "Kame" looks a bit like a Z. Trunks' "Z Warriors" could be a slang way of referring to our heroes, who at one point or another, were all wearing their Kame gi.

DragonBalllKaiHD · Post by **DragonBalllKaiHD** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 2:32 am

I always assume that "Z" is an alternate for "2", hence Dragon Ball 2, being a sequel to the original.

Post by **Herms** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 2:52 am

DragonBalllKaiHD wrote:I always assume that "Z" is an alternate for "2", hence Dragon Ball 2, being a sequel to the original.

According to Daizenshuu 10, "DragonBall 2" was one of the names the anime staff was thinking of using for Z, along with "DB: Gohan's Big Adventure", "New DB", "DB Wonder Boy", and "DB 90".

alakazam^ · Post by **alakazam^** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:00 am

Herms wrote:
DragonBalllKaiHD wrote:I always assume that "Z" is an alternate for "2", hence Dragon Ball 2, being a sequel to the original.
According to Daizenshuu 10, "DragonBall 2" was one of the names the anime staff was thinking of using for Z, along with "DB: Gohan's Big Adventure", "New DB", "DB Wonder Boy", and "DB 90".

Oh God...

Chuquita · Post by **Chuquita** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:21 am

alakazam^ wrote:
Herms wrote:
DragonBalllKaiHD wrote:I always assume that "Z" is an alternate for "2", hence Dragon Ball 2, being a sequel to the original.
According to Daizenshuu 10, "DragonBall 2" was one of the names the anime staff was thinking of using for Z, along with "DB: Gohan's Big Adventure", "New DB", "DB Wonder Boy", and "DB 90".
Oh God...

Seconded. o_O;;
DragonBall 2 : Works better as a videogame title for me, but of the whole list of alternates I like this one the most. I consider DB and Z one whole big thing, but I can see the sequel angle.
DB: Gohan's Big Adventure : This one sounds like the title to a movie; also, due to the way the series ended up, becomes a little null and void near the end, especially because Gohan never fully overtakes Goku as the main character.
New DB : Makes me think of "Fresh Precure". >_< Also, "new" would become irrelevant as time went on. It'd sound silly to call it "New Dragon Ball" today when its quite old. Even "The New Price Is Right" eventually dropped the "new" from its name.
DB Wonder Boy : I almost wanna mis-read that as "Wonder Bread". XD I'm guessing its another Gohan reference though. I don't think it stands out enough as a title.
DB 90 : Because "New DB" wouldn't have sounded dated enough, putting the year the show was made in (not to mention the fact that DB's got its own calender system so there is no 1990's) REALLY makes it sound dated. Kinda like "Double Dare 2000".

Yeah, when it comes to the possible would-have-been alternatives, I'm happy they went with Z.

obiwan23s · Post by **obiwan23s** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:55 am

dragondyle wrote:I thought "Z" meant like a continuation or a sequel to the Dragon Ball series. The sequel series to Mobile Suit Gundam was "Z" Gundam, or Zeta Gundam. Is this true?

In every single Gundam TV series that exists except Gundam SEED, the title of the series itself reflects the name of the Gundam used by the main character.