Fans of any big series,Dragon Ballincluded, tend to be obsessed with the idea of canon. What’s canon and what isn’t can be a major source of debate, andDragon Ball Daimahas firmly reignited the flames of some continuity discussions, going both forward and backwards.
For most anime franchises, what’s canon and what isn’t is pretty easy. The original manga is often considered the primary canon, with the anime making up a secondary canon (particularly if it varies a lot from the manga due to the inclusion of filler). Until recently, anime films of big franchises often formed a third level of canon, superseded by both the anime and the manga. Then there’s video games, promotional shorts, and so on, which form the lowest level of “canon.” These often feature things not included in the original media, which are understood to exist for the benefits of gameplay, for example.
Fans Take the Term Very Literally
Na
To briefly define exactly what canon means, it’s essentially a way to describe the course of events that “really happened” in a fictional universe. To useDragon Ballas an example, the Frieza saga is a canonical part ofDragon Ball’s story which deals with the space tyrant Frieza, and it involvesthe destruction of the planet Namek. For allDragon Ballcontent set after this story arc, it can be assumed that the planet Namek no longer exists, because it was destroyed by Frieza. If Namek suddenly returned without explanation, that would cause what’s calleda “continuity” issue–a problem with the course of events in this fictional universe.
Continuity issues within a single series are usually pretty small, but in a larger franchise, continuity issues between different installments can be quite the problem, as is the case withDragon Ball. Even beforeDaima, fans wondered howDragon Ball GTcould possibly be “canon” toDragon Ball Super, since none of the transformations or characters seen inSuperare even mentioned as possibilities inGT. The introduction ofSuperas a story coming beforeGTcauses a lot of continuity problems, and nowDaimahas done the same thing forSuperby introducing Super Saiyan 4.
Too many continuity issues will make it so that two stories are incompatible–they can’t be canon to each other. For example,GTcan’t be canon toDaima, as both series showGoku attaining Super Saiyan 4 for the first time. Since Goku can’t logically do something for the first time twice, one has got to go, and it’s usually the newer installment superseding the older one. The question may seem clear-cut inGT’s case, but areDaima’s continuity problems withDragon Ball Superenough to declareSupernon-canonical as well?
Dragon Ball’s Canon Has Always Been Loose
Dragon Ball Has Never Focused Too Hard on Continuity
Some series take their continuity very seriously, while others simply don’t concern themselves too much with it.Dragon Ballis definitely more of the latter, focusing on telling an interesting story over keeping continuity straight.Daimais set during a fairly small window of time, just before Beerus arrives on Earth and kicks off theDragon Ball Superera. However, in being set during that timeframe, it introduces a problem: ifGoku can go Super Saiyan 4 duringDaima, why couldn’t he do it while fighting Beerus a few months later?
Of course, there are lots of explanations one can come up with to answer that question. Perhaps Neva’s magic made it possible for Goku to transform, and without Neva, he can’t do it by himself. Maybe Super Saiyan 4 was brought out by extreme struggle, but Goku hasn’t had the time to master the transformation, keeping him from relying on it in battle. Whatever the case, it’s possible to explain this continuity issue away relatively easily, so let’s consider again:is it really worth takingDaimaandSuperout of canon with each other over such an inconsistency?
Most fans would probably say no, it isn’t, and that starts to get at the question of why “canon” is important in the first place. Canon is important insofar as it allows a story to be easily understood as a series of events, joined by cause and effect. As long as the audience can understand the sequence of events in the greater story, is canon really important at all? After all, one could enjoyDaima,Super, andGT, get everything from the stories that any other fan does, and not consider any of them to be canon to one another. Being “canon” or “non-canonical” isn’t a value judgment; it just shows continuity between two series.
Does Canon Really Matter in the End?
Fans May Obsess Over Canon, But It’s Not the Be All, End All of Storytelling
I’m just as guilty as any other fan out there for obsessing over what’s canon and what isn’t, but in the end, being canon or not isn’t what makes a movie, anime, or manga enjoyable. The story that it tells is either enjoyable or it isn’t, and while that enjoyment can be enhanced by canon connections to other stories, that alone doesn’t make a story great. It’s clear the writers ofDragon Ball Daimaplaced an emphasis on creating an enjoyable story first, and continuity second, and it’s safe to say they were pretty successful at that.
While it’s likely that an answer toDaima’s continuity issues will arise eventually, the truth is that it doesn’t really matter whether there’s an explanation for them or not.Why didn’t Goku use Super Saiyan 4 against Beerus? It doesn’t matter why; he just didn’t. Any explanation will be just that, and won’t make either story any more or less enjoyable. When it comes tofiction, all that really matters is that the story is one worth listening to, which is something thatDragon Ballalready established a long time ago. If you enjoy it, does it matter if it’s canon? And if you don’t enjoy it, why care at all?
