For many years, Dragonball's canon has been a giant mystery across the different medias the license is adapted but today in this blog, I will explain the entire canon of Dragon Ball, tackle the most popular medias and see how do they fit within the continuity of Dragon Ball. This blog mainly analysis what I will call the "main timeline" which is the timeline where the most important event happen but we will see that this timeline possess multiples versions of itself, multiple continuities within itself.
Main Continuity[]
Dragon Ball[]
The first continuity is the main continuity which you can also call the manga continuity with its primary source being the perfect edition of Dragon Ball which possesses a slightly different ending than the original Tankobon manga.
Jaco the Galactic Patrollman & Dragon Ball Minus[]
Prior to the manga is the Jaco The Galactic Patrolman with Dragon Ball Minus that tales the events of Goku's departure which are animated within the Broly movie. Dragon Ball Minus is a rewrite of Bardock's backstory made by Toriyama so this one already retcons the original story that it is inspired from the TV special Bardock: The Father of Goku. Jaco The Galactic Patrolman is outright stated to be connected to the series.
Dragon Ball Z[]
Now we got the anime Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z which possess different events and additional content that is often called "filler" among the fans. The thing is, the anime isn't "filler", it is in fact canon but not to the same continuity that the manga follows, let me explain: What makes the anime canon is Toriyama stating that the license Dragon Ball is the anime and the manga making the anime part of the world of Dragon Ball but what separate it from the manga is Toriyama stating that they are separate and that the additional content of the anime is specific to the anime.
This already establish that within the main timeline, there is two separate continuities, the manga continuity and the anime continuity (which is often called the "Toeiverse" by the fandom).
Dragon Ball Z Movies[]
All the Dragon Ball Z movies take place within the anime's continuity as stated by Takao Koyama, the screenwriter of these movies. The Garlic Jr. arc of the Dragon Ball Z anime is the direct continuation of the Dead Zone movie and other characters exclusive to the anime reappears within the anime such as Icarus. One movie is part of the anime's continuity and as all movies are part of the same timeline, all the Dragon Ball Z movies take place within the anime's continuity aside from the different Broly movies as they were rewritten by Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
Dragon Ball Z: KAKAROT[]
The video game Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is directly tied to the manga as it tales backstories that were not shown in the original series made by Toriyama and it should also be tied to the anime aswell as it is is part of the main storyline. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero even shows Kakarot as part of its story. It's also important that I point out that as Kakarot tales backstories that weren't shown in the original manga, everything happening within the game is part of the manga's continuity and by proxy the anime's continuity as it follows the manga's event when it doesn't branch out of it.
23rd World Tournament & Goku's Next Journey[]
Dragon Ball Z KAKAROT has DLC that expands its world and story, the fifth and sixth DLC are declared as part of the story but not the two first one as they are part of a complete different and original setting as characters like Future Trunks appear here.
Dragon Ball Daima[]
After the Z portion of the story, Dragon Ball Daima happens after the Majin Buu arc and it would be shared to both anime and manga continuities since the statement about Daima's placement within the chronology was a general statement to the Majin Buu arc.
Dragon Ball Super[]
Dragon Ball Super possess two different versions that is the anime made by TOEI Animation and the manga made by Toyotaro. These two versions branch out of each other because of its differences and Toriyama stating that Toyotaro's manga is depicts events differently so just like the Dragon Ball Z anime and the Dragon Ball manga, the story Dragon Ball Super branch out of each other into their two respective continuity with Toyotaro following the manga continuity and the anime following the anime continuity as character unique to the anime continuity make their appearance in the anime such as Gregory. The anime is even stated to be the continuation of the Dragon Ball Z anime and the manga to follow the Dragon Ball manga and is the "canon sequel".
Dragon Ball Xenoverse[]
Dragon Ball Xenoverse is directly stated to be part of Dragon Ball's universe, not any continuity, just part of its world and exist somewhere within the vast world of Dragon Ball. However, we know that the main conflict of the game takes place within the main timeline as the pitch of the game is to restore Dragon Ball's history but more precisely the one of the manga continuity as Towa, one of the main antagonist of the game, appears in Kakarot in the same place right after Xenoverse 1's ending where she takes Mira's cells that were destroyed in Xenoverse 1. She hasn't left the timeline she found Mira in Xenoverse 1 so it is same to assume that the place where we meet her in Kakarot is actually the same timeline that we restore in Xenoverse 1 and by proxy the same timeline we save in Xenoverse 2.
Dragon Ball Heroes[]
Dragon Ball Heroes is stated to take place within the same setting as Xenoverse which is called the "Time Patroller universe" and that their universe is shared. As Xenoverse is canon, Dragon Ball Heroes is canon as well. We also know that it is part of the anime continuity as they explicitly says that the universe of the Dragon Ball Super anime is fused with the "Xeno timeline" ie the timeline where the Time Patrol exist.
Dragon Ball GT[]
Dragon Ball GT is canon to both the manga continuity and the anime continuity. The evidence for GT's existence within the anime continuity are really strong as TOEI made a chronology table with the Dragon Ball Super anime and Dragon Ball GT coexisting in the same timeline as well as the Chozenshû, an updated version of the Daizenshû, putting Dragon Ball GT in the same timeline as the main timeline which holds events of the manga and original events from the anime. It is also part of the manga continuity as Toriyama considers Dragon Ball GT to be part of Dragon Ball's future and that if he were to make new (canon) stories for Dragon Ball, they would happen in the past/a blank period because he doesn't want to dig into a strange future; what's interesting about this statement is that these new stories are part of the manga as they were just "not just shown within the manga" further proving that his chronological placement take place within the manga continuity and that GT is also part of this continuity. Moreover, if GT wasn't part of the manga continuity, Toriyama wouldn't have stated that he wouldn't continue "strangely into the future" as in making the future confusing/contradictory as it would conflict with GT; if GT was separate from the manga continuity, Toriyama wouldn't have problem about writing into the future.
Conclusion[]
The Main-Timeline/Main-Continuity possess two different yet close continuities that both exist in the world of Dragon Ball.
| Main Continuity | |
|---|---|
| Manga Continuity | Anime Continuity |
| Jaco the Galactic Patrollman | |
| Dragon Ball (Manga - Perfect Edition) | |
| Dragon Ball (Anime) | |
| Dragon Ball Z | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Movies | |
| Dragon Ball Xenoverse 1/2 | |
| Dragon Ball Z: KAKAROT | |
| Dragon Ball DAIMA | |
| Dragon Ball Super (Manga) | |
| Dragon Ball Super (Anime) | |
| Super Dragon Ball Heroes | |
| Dragon Ball Super: Broly | |
| Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes | |
| Dragon Ball Z: KAKAROT - Goku's Next Journey | |
| Dragon Ball GT | |