The word “reboot” has become ubiquitous across media, and anime is no different. Various franchises from years ago have been remade and changed from their original iterations, with the results being wildly different. This has many times improved on the source material, and such a treatment would be perfect for Dragon Ball GT.
A now non-canon sequel to Dragon Ball Z, the anime-only GT was largely disliked upon release. Even though it’s now been replaced with the in-continuity Dragon Ball Super, there’s still a chance to redeem the original follow-up. Using better animation and improved pacing to fix its narrative failings, a reboot of Dragon Ball GT could be a grand tour indeed.
The First Sequel to Dragon Ball Z Disappointed Many Fans
Dragon Ball GT had several faults, especially given its anime pedigree. Some of this can likely be laid at the fact that franchise creator 706z87″ title=”akira”>Akira Toriyama wasn’t really involved all that much, whereas he wrote the manga for the show’s two predecessors. Part of the issue was that the battle focus of Dragon Ball Z was dropped in favor of returning to the comedic adventure scope of the original Dragon Ball.
Without Toriyama’s direction, however, this tone ultimately faltered and bored many viewers. Whenever there were fights, things just weren’t as exciting as they had been in the previous series. Much of this derived from the fact that there were less physical bouts, with things being mostly wrapped up via energy-based attacks. Such a direction was ironic given that GT was supposed to be closer to Dragon Ball, where more street-level fisticuffs were a lot more common.
Likewise, the animation and color palette was a lot less interesting, only furthering how inferior things were this time around. Now truly non-canon, Dragon Ball GT has a legacy as a failure that couldn’t keep up with what had come before, though its story doesn’t have to end that way. Numerous anime have been remade and rebooted, with some of these new takes on old stories being closer to corresponding manga source material. Examples include the 2021 remake of Shaman King, with even comedic and romantic anime such as Urusei Yatsura and Fruits Basket getting a second chance. Given how much more popular the Dragon Ball franchise is, doing the same for GT might prove to be a slam dunk.
A Rebooted Dragon Ball GT Can Change the Anime Entirely
Most of Dragon Ball GT’s biggest issues are easy to fix in a wholesale reboot. For one, modernized animation and an improved color scheme would likely be part and parcel with the production, looking better than the original by nature of being made with newer technology. Likewise, the direction and scope could be altered, along with the story itself, to address other problems.
Instead of trying and failing to imitate Dragon Ball, a more action-based tone could be used throughout, albeit with the brutal physical fights that fans wanted. Given the original show’s reception, changing around a lot of the “Black Star Dragon Ball” Saga and introducing new, more epic villains would likely be welcomed by fans with open arms. It would also help to bring in Toriyama to at least plot the series, giving it a bit more of an air of authenticity.
The potential for a reboot of GT exists mainly because the franchise is still so hugely popular, and there’s already an established multiverse within the series. Thus, a possible “Shin Dragon Ball GT” could coexist with the true sequel Dragon Ball Super, all the while giving one of the franchise’s more unsuccessful moments another chance to shine. After all, there are several characters from the first version whom fans like, namely the many forms of Baby and Omega Shenron. These could arguably be adapted in some way via Dragon Ball Super, but it’d be better to redeem GT as a whole and give it a new iteration closer to Toriyama’s vision. It might not entirely erase the original version, but it would prove that not every element of the series was bad.