Gave GT A Chance, Hated It

[Ultimate_DB_Fan]

So earlier this year, me and my brother decided that we'd give GT a chance. We tried, and ended up finding it absolutely terrible.

Those early episodes with Goku, Pan, and Trunks "fighting" those aliens who prefered to defeat our heroes by dancing was out-right blasphemy. The one with Trunks posing as a bride-to-be? Awful... Every couple episodes, Goku and co. were comin' across new enemies after new enemies, which resulted in things feeling rushed.

We ended up skipping straight over to Goku's fight with Rildo, and just when we felt there was hope, it simply wasn't enough. The Super 17 arc was simply rushed too quickly, all the while seeming far-fetched to begin with.

Pan was excruciatingly annoying, and we prayed to God that the plot would stop trying to shoe-horn her into everything, but our prayers fell on deaf ears.

I emphasized to my bro that Toei's insistence on adding new villains and having the characters find the Black Star Dragon Balls was their way in trying to recapture the original series' magic. However, we both felt and agreed that Toei failed.

So, to the folks here who like GT, why do you exactly? Do you simply over-look its flaws, or do you not have any qualms with GT at all? Are there no flaws to you?

To be clear, this is not an attempt at making fun of GT's fans, but to simply understand why you don't hate it. If you like it, more power to you.

[GotenDaisuki]

I liked GT because of its music, for the most part. Akihito Tokunaga's score was amazing and it kept me watching, and the opening/ending themes were also great.
I also liked the comedic tone the earlier episodes had. It felt like a break after watching 291 action-packed episodes. Some of the more action-y stuff was really boring, I agree, but it was tolerable by my standards.
The Super 17 arc was too short and confused me, in addition to it's boring factor. I also didn't like that sometimes I would not pay attention for a few seconds, then I would be completely lost (the first time viewing it).
GT has flaws. But I can tolerate them.

EDIT: After digging around my older posts, I found this post explaining my sincere thoughts of the series.

I wasn't expecting much of GT. I got bored very often when watching through it, and sometimes I couldn't sit through it. So I did a little at a time and finally, I finished. I enjoyed everything up to maybe the middle of the Baby/Goku fight. I loved the idea to travel the universe to search for the Ultimate Dragon Balls, and, up until when Trunks was dressed like a bride, I enjoyed the execution of this idea. After Imegga, GT got boring to some extent and the humor got kind of cheesy for my taste.

Things got interesting again when Dr. Myuu and Baby were introduced. I liked their design and their personalities. I enjoyed all that until after Super Saiya-jin 4 was introduced. After that, the final battle was dragged on and on, and it felt like it wouldn't end. All and all, I guess GT was boring ever since SSJ4.

But then came Super 17. Now, that's where I lost it. It was so boring that a lot of the time, I couldn't pay attention. Because of that, sometimes I didn't know what the hell was going in a scene because I wasn't paying attention to the previous scene. I despised Super 17's design, and how they made him in the first place just boggles my mind. So, Dr. Myuu teams up with Dr. Gero (who magically gets his head back) and they get the original 17 and an improved version of 17 and merge them together? I know Toriyama added in 17 at the end of the manga (accompanying the infamous "I thought I recognized that voice" line), but how exactly was he able to get out of Cell before his explosion? Maybe Toriyama forgot and Toei took advantage of his mistake? That seems like a logical answer, to me, at least. I can't comment on the actual content of the arc itself, since I wasn't paying attention most of the time, but, from what I remember, Kuririn died again (to my humorous dismay), Goku went to Hell and fought Freeza and Cell (and, questionably, Cell is in his Perfect Form), and then he fought Super 17, and with the help of 18, defeated him with a Ryuu-ken. I don't know what to say about this one. It was very boring, in my opinion. Worst arc in the series. Moving on.

Next comes the Evil Dragons. I don't have a lot to say about this. Even though it wasn't as boring as the Super 17 arc, I found myself paying even less attention this time around. Half of the time, I had no idea what was going on, and I have no clue even to this day about most of the arc itself. So, the gang finally find the Dragon Balls again, and Shen-Long alerts them that they have overused the Dragon Balls. Therefore, the seven Evil Dragons representing the seven Dragon Balls appear, and Goku had to beat them. Now, I agree with everyone who has said this in the past: The idea of the overuse of the Dragon Balls was an excellent idea, but Toei's execution of the plot surrounding the idea was just terrible, and there are so many different ways they could have done it. I can't say anything about the battles with the Dragons before Yi Xing Long, since I usually didn't pay attention to any of the preceding battles with the Dragons. But, I fondly remember the latter part of the battle between SSJ4 Vegeta and Goku and Yi Shin Long. I believe those were some of the best episodes in the entire series, and certainly the most interesting episodes in the arc itself. And, reading the discussion on this thread about what happened to Goku later on cleared some confusion up.

So, all in all, I didn't like GT. I wasn't expecting much of it anyway. But, I'm sure if I try again and pay more attention this time, I may have a different, possibly better opinion on the series.

[dragonpiece]

I have to admit also that the Japanese ost did help out the series a lot.

[TheBlackPaladin]

GT is easily my least favorite of the animes, but it did have three great things going for it (in my opinion):

1) Akihito Tokunaga's music. To this day, I'm enraged that it was never released on CD. I keep looking out for special anniversaries for GT--the 10th, the 15th, and now the 20th--in the hopes that the soundtrack will be released as a special item. I LOVE Tokunaga's music.
2) The TV special, "Path To Power" (as it's called in North America). Actually, the vast majority of this wasn't that good, but the ending always gets a tear out of me, and I don't cry that often. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it, but I think it has a great ending.
3) Speaking of endings...the ending to GT. The last episode of GT is one of my favorite episodes in all of the animes. Probably in my Top 5 episodes, honestly. On a purely emotional level, it was so much more satisfying as en ending to the grand tale that is "Dragon Ball." I loathe DBZ's ending. It's way too abrupt. With GT, there's a slower, more graceful denouement throughout the entirety of episode 64. Finally, the final montage ties it all together very nicely.

I will grant you that GT is not that good overall, though.

[Herms]

I have to admit also that the Japanese ost did help out the series a lot.

The music and openings/endings were the only parts of GT that were consistently done well. I can't even comprehend sitting through it without the original score; it was the only thing that kept me going at a few points. Overall I think GT isn't nearly as terrible as its reputation, but it's easily the weakest part of the anime besides the OVA. Like many others I feel that it actually has some good ideas, but they were executed poorly.

2) The TV special, "Path To Power" (as it's called in North America).

"Path to Power" is the NA name for the DB 10th anniversary movie; it's a pretty direct translation of the Japanese title, Saikyou he no Michi. The GT TV special's dub title is "A Hero's Legacy".

(Rats, GotenDaisuki beat me to it).

[GotenDaisuki]

2) The TV special, "Path To Power" (as it's called in North America).

The GT TV Special is called "A Hero's Legacy" in North America. You're thinking of the tenth anniversary movie.

[TheBlackPaladin]

2) The TV special, "Path To Power" (as it's called in North America).

The GT TV Special is called "A Hero's Legacy" in North America. You're thinking of the tenth anniversary movie.

Oh, right. Thanks!

[TheGreatness25]

I only liked GT, I think, because it's the "continuation" of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. It's just the characters I knew and loved. If it wasn't for that, I honestly don't think I'd ever watch it. If it was an anime with totally original characters and just wasn't Dragon Ball, would it get so much hate? I mean I probably wouldn't watch an anime like that, because I'm not an anime buff, but I'm sure someone would think highly of it. I find it more entertaining than a lot of animes that are popular (like Inuyasha...hated it).

But yeah, only reason I "like" it is because it's the next stage of the heroes' lives, and I'm interested in what they did after. I was disappointed with Z's ending, which was basically Goku ditching his loved ones to train some kid who he's met a few hours ago, who is a reincarnation of a villain that he killed ten years prior. I mean it seems so...blah. So I think this was a nice way to cap off the series. Was it GREAT? No. It was quite boring, but I didn't watch it for the "action" or anything, I just watched it to see what the characters were up to in the future. I feel it gave a nice closure to the show (the total ending, not the whole thing that came before it).

Gohan ended up as expected, and just like the end of Z made him out to be. So I think he made perfect sense. Goten was definitely the way the end of Z foreshadowed he would be, not being into fighting so much and more focused on girls. It was nice to see the Son family end up so normal. It's the nice feeling I got during the Great Saiyaman arc, where you see that they're okay. Brings closure to them.

It was nice to see Vegeta settled in, and let's face it, he is totally the way that Z predicted he would be. With the leather jacket and being so comfortable on Earth now. I mean that's what Vegeta became...normal, instead of the raging, obsessed, uncaring person he was before. Trunks took over for Capsule Corp., which was expected. So the Brief family was doing okay too, and I like that. Brings closure to them.

Kuririn, 18, Marron...well they were pretty much rounded off in Z, just nice to see them appear in GT.

Yamucha, like in Z, also is portrayed as a normal guy who gave up fighting. That's fine.

I mean that's about it. I watched it for the characters. And I like that it was more urban than the previous series. The fights took place in cities instead of open fields. I like that. The IDEA of a Super 17, or a Baby, or evil Shen Longs is awesome. Sure, it was rushed. Sure, it could have been better. But whatever. It's just something to watch with familiar characters. Glad they got rid of Vegeta's mustache, though. That thing sucked. I liked his hair, though. I'm like one of few people that likes his hair in GT, but I do, what can I say? lol It fits. He settled into Earth, it only makes sense that he got Earth-type hair (when I was younger, I never noticed that Saiyans were the only ones with outrageous hairdos, humans' hair is drawn spiky sometimes, but it's not going in all directions like Goku's, or sticking straight up, being longer than the length of their head like Vegeta).

Plotholes? Yeah, I guess. But I think that it's easy to explain them somehow. Oh, and I love Super Saiyan 4.

[Nex Carnifex]

I cannot accept it as what happens after Z, since it's just so forced. If I could I'd like it for the fact it was the continuation of the character's lives like the above poster, but I can't, and neither should you. I demand GT Kai, a remake that takes out all the stupid stuff and makes the battles more destructive so that it actually works and I can accept it as canon. It just didn't make sense.

[AgitoZ]

I cannot accept it as what happens after Z, since it's just so forced. If I could I'd like it for the fact it was the continuation of the character's lives like the above poster, but I can't, and neither should you. I demand GT Kai, a remake that takes out all the stupid stuff and makes the battles more destructive so that it actually works and I can accept it as canon. It just didn't make sense.

Cause you know, DB has a widely accepted canon. It's not like GT had other more blatant problems.

[Herms]

I demand GT Kai, a remake that takes out all the stupid stuff and makes the battles more destructive so that it actually works and I can accept it as canon.

GT Kai: Goku and Oob's fight in the first episode destroys all existence. The end.

[Nex Carnifex]

I demand GT Kai, a remake that takes out all the stupid stuff and makes the battles more destructive so that it actually works and I can accept it as canon.

GT Kai: Goku and Oob's fight in the first episode destroys all existence. The end.

lol, yeah pretty much, there really is nothing left in the universe that can pose a threat to Goku or Gohan by the end of the series since they just defeated the biggest threat to the universe it had ever come across that it needed to seal away. Awakening a new ancient evil (which would be inconsistent to Buu), discovering a stronger random alien (which would be inconsistent to Frieza), or coming across another super genius that discovered the formula for planet busting kung fu robots (which would be even harder to accept than before) would be completely redundant and implausible. That's why I say the new threat should come from outside the Dragon Ball universe, maybe this said enemy gathered so much power that he destroyed his universe and was able to escape from it and enter a new one for a new challenge. This is when he meets the already universal threat level Z fighters.

[AgitoZ]

That's why I say the new threat should come from outside the Dragon Ball universe, maybe this said enemy gathered so much power that he destroyed his universe and was able to escape from it and enter a new one for a new challenge. This is when he meets the already universal threat level Z fighters.

So then why are you asking for GT Kai? You don't want GT Kai, you want a new series.

[Nex Carnifex]

That's why I say the new threat should come from outside the Dragon Ball universe, maybe this said enemy gathered so much power that he destroyed his universe and was able to escape from it and enter a new one for a new challenge. This is when he meets the already universal threat level Z fighters.

So then why are you asking for GT Kai? You don't want GT Kai, you want a new series.

Well, GT Kai would be nice and they could at least make it justifiable by removing certain scenes, statements, and characters, but a new series would be a lot cooler and better though it will never happen.

[Zephyr]

I thought GT was decent, for something Toei did on their own. Not to be one of those guys, but I do believe that a fair degree of its flaws can be attributed to the lack of source material provided by Toriyama to go off of. It was made by the same company who created the filler and movies for the series, and it shows. It has the same kind of oddities, flaws, and inconsistencies with the source material's canon.

When I say this I don't mean to imply that Toriyama's a god, or a masterful storyteller, or anything of the sort, I just mean that Toei didn't have the sense of direction that it had prior, and that resulted in them creating a baseless epilogue.

Its due to this factor though that I also give the series a break. They didn't have source material to base the anime off of, so of course it won't be of the same caliber as the previous anime.

[DanielGClapp]

I liked the whole bit in space, but everything after that was way too boring. SSJ4? Stupid. I would have enjoyed the series way more if Goku had become an adult when he got back on Earth, Pan had gone SSJ and if Vegeta had gone SSJ3. Also, I didn't like the ending. Yes it's more satisfactory than Z, but not by much. I think it would have been way better if he had just settled down with his family. I mean, starting at Z, Raditz comes. After that, Goku spends barely any time with his family. He was dead half the time, after all.

[GotenDaisuki]

And another thing, wasn't the main goal of GT to wish Goku back to an adult? And that never happens if you don't count the TV Special or the last scene of GT. Just random event after random event that develops plothole after plothole.

[DanielGClapp]

And another thing, wasn't the main goal of GT to wish Goku back to an adult?

Yes it was, which is one of the reasons I didn't like GT.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

And another thing, wasn't the main goal of GT to wish Goku back to an adult?

Yes it was, which is one of the reasons I didn't like GT.

How was that one of the main goals? It was established in the first episode that it would be better for him to grow up naturally rather than wish him big again. The main goal was to not let the Earth blow up because an old blue midget monster-human made a stupid wish on god's uber balls...

[DanielGClapp]

How was that one of the main goals? It was established in the first episode that it would be better for him to grow up naturally rather than wish him big again.

Really I thought the whole reason they went into space was to find the dragon balls before something bad happens (I forget what) and wish Goku back into an adult. Mind you, I watched this a long time ago with the English dub.