Dragon Ball GT



Dragon Ball GT ,meaning "Grand Tour", commonly abbreviated as DBGT, is the sequel series to Dragon Ball Z, whose material is produced only by Toei Animation. Dragon Ball GT began airing on Fuji TV in Japan at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 7, 1996, exactly one week after the final episode of Dragon Ball Z. It ran for 64 episodes, the last of which aired on November 4, 1997. The Dragon Ball GT series is the shortest of the Dragon Ball series, consisting of only 64 episodes; as opposed to its predecessor, Dragon Ball Z, which consisted of 291 episodes, and Dragon Ball, which consisted of 153. Originally intended to span 40 episodes (ending after the Baby Saga), the series continued for another 24 episodes, and is concluded by the TV special Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy  released after the Baby Saga.

The first two anime series were directly based off the Dragon Ball manga, which took much longer to produce than the anime did. This often resulted in "filler" episodes, one of the most obvious of which is when Frieza tries to destroy Planet Namek with a five-minute timer, yet the battle lasted well over five episodes, much less five minutes. Since Dragon Ball GT was not based on the manga, no filler episodes were required. As a result, four entire sagas (the Black Star Dragon Ball Saga, the Baby Saga, the Super 17 Saga, and the Shadow Dragon Saga) were completed in only 64 episodes.

The English adaptation of Dragon Ball GT ran on Cartoon Network's Toonami block from November 7, 2003 to April 9, 2005, but the version by FUNimation had a major alteration: the first 16 episodes of the series, the "Black Star Dragon Ball Saga", were cut and replaced by a single US-only episode which summarized the episodes; this became the new series premiere. This edit was implemented by the producers of the English dub to prevent viewers from possibly being put-off by these differently-toned early episodes. The missing episodes were shown as the "Lost Episodes" after the remaining episodes completed their initial run. When first aired, FUNimation Entertainment recorded a new musical score and the openings and closings were replaced with something completely different from the original. For example, a rap was used for the opening and used different clips from the show to make up the visuals.

Plot
The series again continues the adventures of Goku, who is turned back into a child in the beginning of the series by the Black Star Dragon Balls and is forced to travel across the galaxy to retrieve them. The first half of the series focuses on Goku, Pan, and Trunks, while the second half brings back most of the prominent characters from Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. It is the only series that is not based directly on the original manga series by Akira Toriyama. The series follows the Z Fighters against far more powerful foes such as Baby, Super 17 and the Shadow Dragons.



Characters
Goku - In Dragon Ball GT, at the age of 51, before the wish by Shenron turning him to a small child, Goku has finished training Uub, and they have just finished testing their abilities against one another in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Soon after, an accidental wish by Emperor Pilaf transforms Goku back into a child. This wish was made on the Black Star Dragon Balls. As a result, Goku must travel the galaxy and return them to Earth to prevent the planet from exploding from the negative energy created by the wish. While fighting the Baby controlled Vegeta Goku transforms into Super Saiyan 4 for the first time.

Pan - The granddaughter of Goku, Pan's heritage is primarily Human, being the offspring of the Saiyan-Human hybrid Gohan and the Human Videl, thus making her 1/4 Saiyan. Pan is good friends with Bulla and Trunks, the children of Vegeta and Bulma. Pan is introduced near the end of the Dragon Ball manga, and only appears in a few episodes of Dragon Ball Z. Her role is more extensive in Dragon Ball GT, which takes place several years after the end of Dragon Ball Z. She is the last member to "join" the Z Fighters, as she fights along side and supports the others against the enemies within Dragon Ball GT. She has shoulder length black hair, wears a red belly-baring T-shirt, sports an orange bandana on her head, has chains on her right side of her gray pants, and finger-less gloves much like her mother wore in Dragon Ball Z. She wears a blue-school bag as well.

Trunks - At the beginning of Dragon Ball GT, Trunks has become the President of Capsule Corporation. Although it pays quite well (so well that he can afford his own chauffeur and servants), he does not like the job and its overwhelming responsibilities, and will often slip out the window and fly away. Forced by Vegeta, Trunks goes on a journey with Goku and Pan to recover the Black Star Dragon Balls.

Giru - Originally known as T2006 or DB4649T2006RS, is a Machine Mutant that accompanies Goku, Pan, and Trunks on their quest to find the Black Star Dragon Balls. He is friends with Pan; however, he is frequently the recipient of a lot of abuse (both verbal and physical) at the hands of Pan, which makes him somewhat fearful of her. Trunks, Goku and Pan first meet Giru on Imecka while he is on the brink of death. After eating the Dragon Radar for energy, he tries to escape from them, but is ultimately caught by Goku. After that, the three Z Fighters find out that Giru has integrated the radar's functionality into his software. Giru then helps the group track down the Black Star Dragon Balls acting as the Dragon Radar. Upon arriving on Planet M-2, Giru "betrays" Trunks, Goku, and Pan, though he is actually pretending, as ordered by Trunks.