I'm confused by the timeline of Movie 12/Fusion Reborn

[EXBadguy]

I've been trying to figure it out for a while whenever I watch the movie once in a while, so can anyone tell me where does it actually take place? Is it during the middle of the Buu saga?

[Super Vegetto]

They follow anime line...

Movie 12 is between episode 258 Super Moves of Gotenks and 259 Trapped in Forever

So yeah, middle of Buu saga...

[Lord Beerus]

Trying to find a timeline where Fusion Reborn fits in can be a real headache. Fusion Reborn to me, takes place in an alternate timeline where after Vegeta fails to defeat Majin Boo and Goku returns to Heaven after teaching Goten and Trunks the Fusion Dance, Gotenks is successful in killing Majin Boo, and also, for some reason, Vegeta wasn't brought back to life with the Dragon Balls. That is the only scenario where Fusion Reborn can possibly take place.

[NitroEX]

I think Fusion Reborn would only make sense if Vegeta's explosion did manage to kill Buu (Since he's not around in the real world).

It's the only way I can think of to explain why Vegeta is already dead in that film.

Goku returns to Heaven after teaching Goten and Trunks the Fusion Dance, Gotenks is successful in killing Majin Boo

That works too!

[Sinestro]

I gave up trying to figure out any sort of timeline for this movie.

[fadeddreams5]

Trying to find a timeline where Fusion Reborn fits in can be a real headache. Fusion Reborn to me, takes place in an alternate timeline where after Vegeta fails to defeat Majin Boo and Goku returns to Heaven after teaching Goten and Trunks the Fusion Dance, Gotenks is successful in killing Majin Boo, and also, for some reason, Vegeta wasn't brought back to life with the Dragon Balls. That is the only scenario where Fusion Reborn can possibly take place.

Why Gotenks and not Ultimate Gohan?

[Dayspring]

Movie 12 doesn't fit. It somehow shares continuity with the first 11 films while taking place in a world in which Gotenks or Gohan killed Super Boo.

[Lord Beerus]

Trying to find a timeline where Fusion Reborn fits in can be a real headache. Fusion Reborn to me, takes place in an alternate timeline where after Vegeta fails to defeat Majin Boo and Goku returns to Heaven after teaching Goten and Trunks the Fusion Dance, Gotenks is successful in killing Majin Boo, and also, for some reason, Vegeta wasn't brought back to life with the Dragon Balls. That is the only scenario where Fusion Reborn can possibly take place.

Why Gotenks and not Ultimate Gohan?

Ultimate who?

[Hellspawn28]

Toriyama states that DBZ Movies 1-13 take place in their own dimension. I think Movie 12 is set in a Universe where Gohan kills Buu which is why Fat Buu is nowhere to be seen with Mr. Satan in the movie. People still debate if Gohan was mystic or not in Movie 12 but I think he was. After what Beerus said about Goku unable to beat Freeza in his base form, I think Gohan was mystic in Fusion Reborn. I doubt he would have killed Freeza as base Gohan.

[Super Vegetto]

Toriyama states that DBZ Movies 1-13 take place in their own dimension. I think Movie 12 is set in a Universe where Gohan kills Buu which is why Fat Buu is nowhere to be seen with Mr. Satan in the movie. People still debate if Gohan was mystic or not in Movie 12 but I think he was. After what Beerus said about Goku unable to beat Freeza in his base form, I think Gohan was mystic in Fusion Reborn. I doubt he would have killed Freeza as base Gohan.

I would go the other way,,,SSJ Gotenks killed Boo since it was all about Gotenks at that point...

I dont think that Gohan was Mystic. Most logical explanation is that Frieza is at his suppressed power, not 100%...

[Barunks]

I just thought of it as assuming Goku killed Buu himself in his first encounter with him rather than waiting on the boys to do it.

[Tectorman]

Trying to find a timeline where Fusion Reborn fits in can be a real headache. Fusion Reborn to me, takes place in an alternate timeline where after Vegeta fails to defeat Majin Boo and Goku returns to Heaven after teaching Goten and Trunks the Fusion Dance, Gotenks is successful in killing Majin Boo, and also, for some reason, Vegeta wasn't brought back to life with the Dragon Balls. That is the only scenario where Fusion Reborn can possibly take place.

Oh, have a little faith. There are plenty of other scenarios to put Fusion Reborn into the timeline.

For example, mine:

Spoiler:

It is after the Z Fighters have defeated Buu. After even the party they all have celebrating their victory (the one Goku was late for because he saw a deer). In the Afterlife, King Yemma has been inundated with mountains of paperwork from all the planets Buu destroyed before he was lured to the Afterlife (in the anime, he went on a Kai Teleport killing spree before he followed Goku and Vegeta to the World of the Kais.)

(In a filler episode during the Saiyan arc, Kami explains to the Z Fighters about Planet Vegeta and notes that it was destroyed because that world's Kami saw the evil of the Saiyans and summoned a meteor swarm. Obviously, he was wrong or mistaken, but the idea that other planets have their own Kamis remains plausible. Which means that Buu's killing spree would have pissed off lots of people in the Celestial Order, not just for the evilness but also for the paperwork.)

Goku & Vegeta are summoned to the Afterlife where King Yemma explains that because of the uproar of their actions and their inability to defeat Buu before he blinked several populated worlds out of existence*, they must be punished. Goku, thanks to his life of good deeds is allowed to retain his body, but Vegeta is required to go to HFIL.

*The fact that they only had Porunga restore the Earth before they wished for everyone not evil to come back to life just makes matters worse. Think about it: multiple planets destroyed and multiple planetary populations wiped out. But with only Earth restored, most of the not evil people come back to life only to immediately die again due to vacuum exposure. Which, arguably, is way more evil than what Buu did.

Their loved ones are informed that they're dead again and in the Afterlife, and time moves on. At least enough time for the Earth Dragonballs to recharge (so eight months after the wish to wipe Fat Buu from humanity's collective memory.

In the meantime, Porunga is working overtime. The Namekian year is, what, one-third of an Earth year. Assuming Porunga's recharge time remained the same or close to it, he can grant approximately nine wishes per year, all of which can be used to restore planets and revive multiple people. Depending on how the wishes are phrased, they can get those other planets squared away quickly.

Then the movie actually happens. Totally as is, no alterations needed.

Immediately after the movie, in gratitude to Goku and Vegeta, King Yemma restores them to life and tells the Kamis of all the other worlds to get over it.

[Duo]

I've been trying to figure it out for a while whenever I watch the movie once in a while, so can anyone tell me where does it actually take place? Is it during the middle of the Buu saga?

The movies aren't written to fit the main timeline. The fact two of them fit easily (9 and 13) is basically a lucky coincidence.

M12 requires either Gotenks or Gohan to have defeated Majin Buu. This creates an ending to Z where Vegeta and Goku are dead in the end. I actually really enjoy M12 as an alternate continuity that has Gohan defeating Majin Buu, and all of that together would have been a wonderful ending to the series.

[Dayspring]

I just thought of it as assuming Goku killed Buu himself in his first encounter with him rather than waiting on the boys to do it.

This makes it so that Trunks and Goten don't learn fusion, though, but the film features Gotenks.

[Hellspawn28]

I dont think that Gohan was Mystic. Most logical explanation is that Freeza is at his suppressed power, not 100%...

If Buu saga Gohan was weaker then his Cell saga counter part then I doubt Buu saga Base Gohan can kill Freeza in final form or his 100% form. His hair in the movie looked like his mystic form from what I can remember.

[Super Vegetto]

I dont think that Gohan was Mystic. Most logical explanation is that Freeza is at his suppressed power, not 100%...

If Buu saga Gohan was weaker then his Cell saga counter part then I doubt Buu saga Base Gohan can kill Freeza in final form or his 100% form. His hair in the movie looked like his mystic form from what I can remember.

Goku put up equal fight against Frieza in his base back on Namek, so i dont see a problem..

Gohans hair is a myth,,we cant base everything on it...

[rereboy]

Goku put up equal fight against Freeza in his base back on Namek, so i dont see a problem..

Gohans hair is a myth,,we cant base everything on it...

Goku needed Kaioken x20 to match Freeza's 50% power and Freeza still overcame it.

[Super Vegetto]

Goku put up equal fight against Freeza in his base back on Namek, so i dont see a problem..

Gohans hair is a myth,,we cant base everything on it...

Goku needed Kaioken x20 to match Freeza's 50% power and Freeza still overcame it.

Before Frieza used 50% they had equal fight.

[90sDBZ]

I tend to go with the Gohan killing Super Buu theory when it comes to Movie 12. Vegeta killing Fat Buu makes no sense, as Gotenks wouldn't exist if that were the case. As for the rest:

Movie 1: Goku not letting go of Raditz' tail
Movies 2-4: Frieza not being on Namek and everyone getting wished back easily
Movies 5-7: Goku beating Frieza faster, actually killing him, and then getting sent back to earth with everyone else and not mastering being able to turn Super Saiyan at will. The only problem with this is that it contradicts him using Instant Transmission in Movie 6. I guess maybe movie 5 fits into something very similar to the main timeline, except Goku doesn't master turning Super Saiyan on Yardrat for whatever reason. Then by movie 6 Kami merged with Piccolo as an extra measure before the Android invasion and then killed them before Vegeta could even reveal he could turn Super Saiyan. They also got Dende to be the Guardian of earth either during or after the Android invasion in order to revive the casualties.
Movie 8: Goku kills Cell
Movie 9: Actually fits in fine with the main timeline
Movies 10-11: Being sequels to movie 8 it wouldn't make sense for Goku to have died at the Cell Games. So instead lets say he and Vegeta were killed by Buu, who was then killed by an enraged Gohan (who trained during the 7 years due to Goku being alive and encouraging him)
Movie 13: Fits in fine

[mister yummy]

Oh, have a little faith. There are plenty of other scenarios to put Fusion Reborn into the timeline.

For example, mine:

Spoiler:

It is after the Z Fighters have defeated Buu. After even the party they all have celebrating their victory (the one Goku was late for because he saw a deer). In the Afterlife, King Yemma has been inundated with mountains of paperwork from all the planets Buu destroyed before he was lured to the Afterlife (in the anime, he went on a Kai Teleport killing spree before he followed Goku and Vegeta to the World of the Kais.)

(In a filler episode during the Saiyan arc, Kami explains to the Z Fighters about Planet Vegeta and notes that it was destroyed because that world's Kami saw the evil of the Saiyans and summoned a meteor swarm. Obviously, he was wrong or mistaken, but the idea that other planets have their own Kamis remains plausible. Which means that Buu's killing spree would have pissed off lots of people in the Celestial Order, not just for the evilness but also for the paperwork.)

Goku & Vegeta are summoned to the Afterlife where King Yemma explains that because of the uproar of their actions and their inability to defeat Buu before he blinked several populated worlds out of existence*, they must be punished. Goku, thanks to his life of good deeds is allowed to retain his body, but Vegeta is required to go to HFIL.

*The fact that they only had Porunga restore the Earth before they wished for everyone not evil to come back to life just makes matters worse. Think about it: multiple planets destroyed and multiple planetary populations wiped out. But with only Earth restored, most of the not evil people come back to life only to immediately die again due to vacuum exposure. Which, arguably, is way more evil than what Buu did.

Their loved ones are informed that they're dead again and in the Afterlife, and time moves on. At least enough time for the Earth Dragonballs to recharge (so eight months after the wish to wipe Fat Buu from humanity's collective memory.

In the meantime, Porunga is working overtime. The Namekian year is, what, one-third of an Earth year. Assuming Porunga's recharge time remained the same or close to it, he can grant approximately nine wishes per year, all of which can be used to restore planets and revive multiple people. Depending on how the wishes are phrased, they can get those other planets squared away quickly.

Then the movie actually happens. Totally as is, no alterations needed.

Immediately after the movie, in gratitude to Goku and Vegeta, King Yemma restores them to life and tells the Kamis of all the other worlds to get over it.

I've got a simpler one. Goku and Vegita die on purpose to take part in the Annoyichi Budokai seen at the beginning of the movie. King yenma eas having a bad day, and sent Vegita to hell, so Vegita didn't get to participate. After the movie, both are wished back, and never mention it again.