Why do people argue about 'canon'?

[WittyUsername]

Just why? I always see heated arguments amongst fans regarding what is and what isn't 'canon' in the series. Does anyone else find this to be kind of annoying? I mean, if you want to get technical here, then none of Dragon Ball is 'canon' to begin with, because Dragon Ball is a fictional franchise. I just don't get why some people get so worked up about stuff like this, does it really matter in the grand scheme things?

[samuraix123]

I have no idea either! I hate how everyone argues over filler as well. I love filler! Why wouldn't I love more adventures and such in a series that I love so much!? I know someone out there is thinking ''Well by that logic you must love GT?'' to use against me. and I say that I don't hate GT. I'm just not a huge fan of it.

[VegettoEX]

Well, nothing really matters "in the grand scheme". Nothing at all. Whether Bardock is dead or alive in the past or a porcupine doesn't really matter in the least.

People like having conversations about what they're passionate about, and sometimes that comes to a head with... well, arguments. I think what makes these particular conversations seem more heated than others is the lack of any formal definition about canoncity/continuity with the Dragon Ball franchise, which leads some factions of fans to make up their own definitions, which then in turn makes them upset when other fans don't agree with them.

People like to be right, and those without a proper perspective on lots of things can make some really poor conversation choices.

[Mystic Buu]

Because they want to win in an arguement.For example:Vegito vs Gogeta.Vegito's fans will say that Vegito wins because Gogeta is non-canon.That is only reason that can come up to my mind now.

[hleV]

Because... it's pretty important? You need to have a canon established to a certain extent in order to figure in-universe things out, as DB media tends to contradict each other. (How many fingers does Piccolo have?)

[crisis]

Well, for me, I don't consider any of the movies "canon," because chronologically, they don't fit within the DBZ saga. They're "what-if" scenarios and nothing more (of course, the latest movies like Gods and Tarble are exceptions). If there was a grace period of like a year between the Z Warriors training up until the Cell Games, then I can see the first Broly movie easily taking place within that year. But, it just wasn't meant to be.

However, when it comes to GT, still to this day, I have never seen an official source declare that it's NOT canon. It's always coming from fans that dislike/hate it. Show me one source that has Toriyama or Funimation saying "GT is non-canon, please ignore it." Just one.

Then there's the claim that "Toriyama had nothing to do with GT," which is false and really should be common knowledge by now. Some also say that it never had a manga counterpart, so it shouldn't be considered. Well, to each their own. And yeah, GT has some plotholes here & there, but what long-running series DOESN'T have plotholes? There's still no official source that clearly says "GT ISN'T CANON," and until the day they release a movie (Battle of Gods 2 or beyond) that retcons the events of GT, it's there to stay.

That's how I see it.

[SSJ YUSUKE]

I don't get it, I mean its not like any official source has come out and said this is or isn't canon.
I think some fans just take the series way to seriously I mean it's a series meant for 12 year old boys, I don't think it supposed to be overly analysed.
I also don't get why people hate filler,I love every bit of filler that does not prolong fights, so yes I like Bulma vs Giant crab, fake namek, Marron, sayaiman, the 10 days between the cell games, Garlic Jr, Mori playing golf, Gohan dinosaur friend, everything.

[hleV]

However, when it comes to GT, still to this day, I have never seen an official source declare that it's NOT canon. It's always coming from fans that dislike/hate it. Show me one source that has Toriyama or Funimation saying "GT is non-canon, please ignore it." Just one.

Dragon Ball Online ignores it, and Toriyama had much more involvement with it than with GT.

I also don't get why people hate filler

Likely because they're unreliable and often contradict the real thing.

[B]

Toriyama's involvement in GT is exactly what it was in the all of the films: character designs.

I'd say it's pretty simple to conclude that the main body of work is the 519-plus-one-special-extra-chapter comic book Akira Toriyama drew. Everything else is quite literally a spin-off of that.

[Marco Polo]

crisis's post is a perfect example of what VegettoEX said about certain fans making up their own definition of what's canon and what isn't.

The bottom line is that there is no official definition.

[Hellspawn28]

People like a straight continuity. I don't think the whole "There's no canon then everything exist in one canon" rule even works. Not everything can exist in one timeline which is why I don't like most fan fictions which has every villain that exist in Hell together when the other DBZ movies can't fit into the timeline.

There's still no official source that clearly says "GT ISN'T CANON,"

AT said that he views GT as a side story which means he does not view it as a official part of the story.

[FortuneSSJ]

It's funny to say Broly isn't canonical when people hype him so much.

[Hellspawn28]

I also think saying "Toriyama never said what's canon or what's not canon" is stupid. If we go by that logic then I, Frankenstein must be canon to the Frankenstein novel because Mary Shelley never said what's canon or what's not canon.

[Marco Polo]

I also think saying "Toriyama never said what's canon or what's not canon" is stupid. If we go by that logic then I, Frankenstein must be canon to the Frankenstein novel because Mary Shelley never said what's canon or what's not canon.

That's a completely nonsensical analogy and you know it.

[Hellspawn28]

The manga should be view as the main canon because it's the source material and it came out first. The anime is an adaption while I view GT is a spin off and the pre-BOG movies as AU films. Not to mention a lot of anime/manga franchises don't have a official canon rule neither, but they tend to go by the main source material.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

For the same reason people talk about power levels, character personalities, aspect ratios, DVDs, dubs, etc. Ιt's fun.

[RocktheDragon]

At the end of the way it's just something for people (fans of DB) to partake in and involve themselves in. I've had some canon discussions with friends and it can be fun to talk about from time to time. The inaccuracies of filler fill a lot of my interest with the issue of canon and I'm sure it's like that for most people that take up the issue of canonicity.

[Duo]

It's due to the fact some materials that weren't produced by the original author have included some very irritating idea's and concepts that some fans don't want to be associated with their preferred version of the story. GT is poor storytelling, so a lot of fans just don't want it to be associated with them. It's icky.

I like to think the "manga" enthusiast was born out of desperation to get folks to stop thinking all the movies/fillers happened in the main timeline somehow. It's just too bad that the debate is still going on, because most fans I encounter now actually have a sense of what filler is and why it shouldn't be taken quite as seriously as what's in the manga.

[Hellspawn28]

If it's not shown in the main source material then it never happen. That's why filler episodes or scenes in anime adaptions are never canon. I never see Naruto fans saying the filler characters and stories are canon to the manga.

I also think saying "Toriyama never said what's canon or what's not canon" is stupid. If we go by that logic then I, Frankenstein must be canon to the Frankenstein novel because Mary Shelley never said what's canon or what's not canon.

That's a completely nonsensical analogy and you know it.

How so? Just because the creator or creators never say what's canon or not, does mean something can't be canon. 20th Century Fox never said a official canon to the Alien/Predator franchise, but stuff like the comics or video games can't be canon. For example, the comics can't be canon to the film since Space Jockeys in the comics and Prometheus are view as two different beings. If you want to use Japanese franchises, Toei never made a official canon to Kamen Rider and Super Sentai but it would impossible for every show to be canon together in a single timeline. Same with Godzilla where Toho does not have a official canon to the movies, but you can't say the Showa and Heisei movies are canon with each other due to timeline issues.

[Wobbuffet]

You could ask why people debate works of fiction as well. If's fun. If anything, the lack of an official Dragon Ball canon is a fun thing. It's very entertaining to hear people backing up their theories.
There's no need to get mad about that.