Dragon Ball 15 Simple Facts Everyone Gets Wrong

There are many facts about Dragon Ball that even the most diehard fans get wrong, so allow us to clear things up!

Dragon Ball is kind of confusing. Scratch that, it's straight up convoluted, hard to follow and hardly ever makes sense. But, that's part of what people love about the series, that you have to be an obsessive super fan to make sense of the multiple plot lines and crazy lore elements. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being a casual fan as well. However, for those who either forgot about Dragon Ball after middle school, or for those who only watched a few episodes, there are definitely a few things that can easily be forgotten when it comes to the story, characters, world, lore and rules of the franchise.

This is to say that there are a lot of things that people get wrong when it comes to Dragon Ball. Whether it be because they haven't watched it in a while or they have yet to watch Dragon Ball Super, or, the convoluted nature of the franchise itself caused them to get confused about certain plot points or backstories. It's easy to see how someone could get things wrong about this long, all-over-the-place franchise. Like we said at the beginning, the wild world of the Dragon Ball franchise is confusing and hard to follow, so we don't blame people for often getting these 15 things wrong about the franchise.

14 SUPER SAIYAN IS A POWER MULTIPLIER

From the second Vegeta appeared on screen, we became aware of the concept of a Super Saiyan -- a Saiyan whose strength went far beyond normal levels. Throughout the Namek saga, the Super Saiyan form was teased further, and Vegeta thought he had achieved it since his power had increased from a near-death experience. However, it wasn't until Goku faced Frieza that the form actually debuted in all its glowing-hair glory. Even those who don't know that much about Dragon Ball know about the Super Saiyan form; it's as iconic as it is memorable and is rather entrenched in pop culture as a whole.

And yet, there is one thing that most people get wrong when talking about the form. Many think that it is a power up, and who can blame them -- without full context, the basic idea is that Goku's hair turns gold and he gets stronger, but this would be incorrect. Pardon our "um, actually" nerdiness, but the Super Saiyan form is not actually an increase in power, it is a power multiplier. Both Super Saiyan and the subsequent forms act as multipliers to the Saiyan's base power level, meaning that if a Saiyan makes their base form stronger, their Super Saiyan from makes them stronger in turn.

13 VEGETA IS A KING

If we had to name Vegeta's catchphrase (aside from "It's over 9000," which we will get to next), it would probably be some variation of "I am the prince of all Saiyans." Vegeta has quite the ego on him, and he especially loves to brag about two things: his power level and his status, specifically the fact that he is a member of the Saiyan royal family. He makes it a note to remind everyone that he is the prince of Saiyans during nearly every single one of his long-winded speeches, and we love him for it.

But, here's the thing, he's not actually a prince.

Not that he isn't a member of the royal family, it's just that both Vegeta and a number of Dragon Ball Z fans seem to forget one major fact in regards to Vegeta's position amongst the Saiyan race: his father's death. Yes, while Vegeta loves to say that he is the prince of all Saiyans, and thus many fans still regard him as such, he is actually the king of all Saiyans. Since his father was killed by Frieza, Vegeta is now the king of the Saiyans, making Trunks the actual prince. Then again, Princes usually have to be officially made king, but who's to say Saiyan government follows the same rules as Earth monarchies. Of course, with the destruction of planet Vegeta and the rest of the Saiyan race, the only thing that Vegeta has reign over is a cluster of space dust.

12 IT'S OVER... 8,000?

It was said just once, but it made such a lasting impression. With one single line, a meme was born that took the world by storm. We are of course speaking of Vegeta's famous line from the Saiyan saga, uttered when using his scouter to analyze Goku's power level, which was over 8,000. Wait, what?! The line is "Over 9,000"! Yes, while this is the number said in most dubs of Dragon Ball Z, it is actually incorrect when compared to the original Japanese version, making the iconic line and the classic meme it created based on a lie. Well, not a lie, more of an issue of translation of sorts. Let us explain.

See, when dubbing an anime, the English dubbing team has to arrange and change the translated script to fit the mouth flaps of the original Japanese dialogue. So sometimes, even though it is the literal translation of what was said in the Japanese script, a word in English might not fit to the mouth movements of the animation. So, some changes and edits have to be made along the way to make the english dialogue flow. When the original Ocean dub was being recorded, the line "Over 9,000" was said to fit the animation a bit better than "Over 8,000." Of course, this change in the translation ended up being more well-known than the actual translation.

11 KRILLIN'S DEATH COUNT

While fans love the argue that Krillin is the strongest human character in the Dragon Ball franchise (and they're right), there is no denying the fact that he has also died more times than any other character. Death is not really permanent in the world of Dragon Ball, since the Dragon Balls can wish back those who have fallen, a plot device that has been used plenty of times to bring Goku's best friend, Krillin back. To be exact, Krillin has died four times in the course of the Dragon Ball franchise.

However, the details of his deaths are what Dragon Ball fans sometimes get wrong.

This one is pretty obscure so we don't blame them, since it has to do with what is and isn't considered canon in the franchise. From what we know, Dragon Ball GT is no longer considered canon, and since one of Krillin's four deaths took place in this negatively-received series, then his death count is actually down to three. However, we can bring that count back up to a familiar four if we included deaths from alternate timelines, then the time in which the androids killed the Z-fighters leaves Krillin with four total deaths.

10 THE MOVIES AREN'T CANONICAL (NEITHER ARE THE SPECIALS)

Any casual fan knows that the Dragon Ball franchise is huge and spans across various media, including a long list of films and a few TV specials. A lot of these movies are great and had interesting characters, however, there is one thing that not every fan realizes about them, the fact that they are non-canon. The films might take place in the same world as Dragon Ball, but not the same timeline, as the events of these films often contradict various canon events in the main anime timeline and/or would not be able to take place in the small windows between episodes that they are said to exist in.

Long story short, most of the Dragon Ball movies aren't canon, which is why characters in them almost never show up in the main canon of the franchise. We'll never see Cooler or Broly in a canon setting since they are from one of these alternate movie timelines. Furthermore, the TV specials, things like The History of Trunks or Bardock - The Father of Goku are also not considered canon, contrary to what some might believe. Though Bardock makes an appearance in the DBZ manga and anime, his history in the TV special is more of a what-if, and the same could be said of The History of Trunks, which, while interesting, is not considered canon, the events being rewritten in a special chapter of the Dragon Ball manga.

GOKU ISN'T DUMB

When it comes to Goku's character, there are two things that fans are quick to point out: he is a bad dad and he is really dumb. While we can't exactly argue in favor of Goku's parenting skills, we can argue against the idea that Goku is stupid. Here's the thing: he's not dumb, he's just a bit naive. See, Goku was raised in the countryside in a little hut by his Grandpa Gohan, hardly seeing the outside world until he was 12. Because of this, Goku has very little social grace and can be rude or inconsiderate at times when it comes to interacting with others, but that's not enough to consider him an idiot.

Look, he's not passing any quizzes or anything, but Goku is far from stupid.

And sure, you could go farther and say that because he never received any formal schooling, Goku couldn't pass a basic math test, but there is more than one kind of intelligence. What Goku lacks in book smarts, he more than makes up for in his genius-level mastery of martial arts and his innate Saiyan ability to learn and copy moves with little to no training. Furthermore, Goku has a very strong connection to nature and has no difficulty connecting with others, which signifies emotional intelligence and maturity. This is made even more impressive when you look at his ability to forgive others and give them a second chance.

9 CAN SAIYANS BREATHE IN SPACE?

The short answer is no, Saiyans cannot breathe in space. The long answer, and thus the explanation for how we came to this conclusion, is a lot more complicated. To start, let's look at all the times that Saiyans have been seen in space without any sort of spacesuit, three come to mind. The first was early in the Saiyan saga when Nappa and Vegeta were seen outside their space pods. The second is in Bardock - The Father of Goku TV special when Bardock faced Frieza in space. The final example came more recently in Battle of Gods/Dragon Ball Super when Goku fought Beerus outside Earth's atmosphere.

But, each of these can be refuted, thus confirming that Saiyans cannot survive in space, a notion that Frieza suggested when he mentioned his own ability to do so. The first instance in Dragon Ball Z can be refuted simply by the fact that it was part of a filler episode. The same could be said of The Father of Bardock, which is not considered canon. Even if it is canon, it could be argued that Bardock was still in Planet Vegeta's atmosphere. As for Battle of Gods/Super, Goku was a Super Saiyan God during parts of his fight in space with Beerus, and even when he turned back to normal, he still had some godly power flowing through him. But, another explanation for this could be that the two were still in the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere.

8 CAN GOKU ACTUALLY DRIVE?

We've mentioned filler quite a bit already in this list, but we haven't exactly explained it. See, when both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z were being adapted into manga, there were only so many chapters that could be adapted, meaning whenever the anime caught up with the manga, they essentially had to stall until there was enough source material to adapt. So, the makers of the anime created original stories that became known as filler episodes. Because these stories do not appear in the original manga, they are often considered non-canon and as such were cut from the Kai version of the series.

So, what are some of the fillers that do not technically exist in the canon of Dragon Ball?

There are things like the Garlic Jr. Saga or Goku's extended adventures on Snake Way, but one in particular resonates with fans, the episode where Goku and Piccolo learned to drive. This episode is a lot of fun and is fondly remembered by some fans of the series, heck, even Goku's English voice actor, Sean Schemmel, is a big fan of it. However, as great as it was to see such a powerful warrior struggle to get his driver's license, it wasn't canon, and therefore, didn't technically happen.

7 ULTIMATE GOHAN'S POWER

Ever since Goku first turned Super Saiyan in the Frieza saga, Super Saiyan has been considered to be the pinnacle of power, the strongest form that, until a subsequent version of it was achieved, could not be surpassed. This notion was followed leading up to the Buu saga, where we saw Goku go Super Saiyan 3, proving that, once again, Super Saiyan forms were amongst the strongest in the franchise. Because of how hard this concept is drilled into the narrative of Dragon Ball, most fans don't recognize certain characters and forms to be stronger than Super Saiyan. We are of course talking about Ultimate Gohan.

To be fair, the power that Gohan has in his Ultimate form is never fully explained and is kind of hard to grasp without proper context. See, Gohan had his power/potential unlocked by the Old Kai, a process that allowed him to access all the power, strength and energy that he would have at his peak level, which would be the height of his Super Saiyan 2 power. However, this form doesn't have the stamina and power drain that the Super Saiyan forms have, meaning it is stronger on multiple levels. Yet, because it's not much to look at, Ultimate Gohan is often thought to be weaker than a Super Saiyan, despite him being stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks.

6 GOKU IS A KILLER

Dragon Ball Z aired in America long before Dragon Ball had a full English-language run. Because of this, some fans of Dragon Ball Z didn't and still don't know about Goku's earlier adventures as a young boy searching for the dragon balls. A lot of American fans only know the Goku of Dragon Ball Z, someone who didn't kill that many of his own villains, often sparing them so they can get a second chance and hopefully become a hero. He might have taken out a few villains in the Buu saga, including Buu himself, but other than this, Goku was not really seen as a killer, never "finishing the job" as Vegeta might put it.

However, assuming that Goku is not a killer would be incorrect, since, when you look at the original Dragon Ball, young Goku has quite the body count.

He killed countless soldiers in the Red Ribbon Army, he killed their superior officers, he killed King Piccolo and his sons, he even killed his own grandpa! Though, that one was by accident when he turned into a Great Ape. As a kid, Goku seemed to be rather lax when it came to taking lives, but as he moved into adulthood, that seemed to change. While this may be a good thing, it also resulted in some characters getting more chances to hurt others, as in the case when he stopped fighting Cell just to let Gohan have a go.

5 THE DRAGON BALL RULES

The dragon balls are powerful magical items, capable of granting any wish to those who gather all seven of them and summon the eternal dragon Shenron. Well... sort of. Just as the legends surrounding the dragon balls aren't super specific, so too are some people's understandings of how the dragon balls work. This is to say that some people are not aware that Shenron is not all-powerful, he cannot grant any wish and has quite a few rules to his great magical power. Part of the reason for these rules and limitations is due to the fact that a dragon's power is tied to its creator, in this case, Kami.

So, what are the limits of Shenron's power? For one thing, he cannot grant the same wish twice. Meaning if one person previously wished for, say, their garage to be cleaned out and organized, they couldn't wish for it again if it got dirty once more. Silly examples aside, this isn't the only limitation Shenron has, as he cannot kill someone whose power exceeds his creator's power, which is why he wasn't able to destroy King Piccolo. Strangely enough, wishing for immortality is seems to be a feasible option, as it doesn't exceed his power or break any rules.

4 THE RESURRECTION RULE

In that last entry, we mentioned that Shenron cannot grant the same wish twice. This is actually a rule that is often misinterpreted by some Dragon Ball fans, specifically with how it applies to character deaths and resurrections. This is to say that it was often believed that Shenron couldn't bring a person back to life twice. If they died, he could resurrect them, but if they died a second time, he could not. This is true in a sense, but it's not actually because he has a resurrection limit, it is just because of the aforementioned repeating wishes rule.

This is to say that if one person dies for a second time, they cannot be wished back to life again.

But, you might ask, how did the people of earth and characters like Krillin get wished back multiple times? Well, the Namekian dragon balls helped a bit in that regard, but the real reason is that there is a loophole in the repeated wish rule when it comes to resurrections. As long as the wish is presented differently — i.e. wishing for one person back to life vs. a group of people — then the rule is not broken and people can be brought back to life multiple times.

3 WHY GOKU STAYED DEAD

Goku died two times in Dragon Ball Z. The first time, it was at the beginning of the Saiyan saga after Piccolo killed him to weaken Raditz. Goku spent his time in Otherworld getting stronger so that when he was eventually wished back to life, he could take on the Saiyans. Goku's second death came in the Cell saga, when he sacrificed himself once again to prevent Cell from destroying the Earth. But this time, he didn't get resurrected. Some believed the reason for this was a rule that you couldn't wish someone back twice. But, as we just illustrated, there is no rule specifically preventing this. There was also the Namekian dragon balls, which had no repeat wish rules.

It wasn't because of wish limitations that Goku stayed dead after the Cell saga, as many fans think. No, this line of thought would be incorrect, as Goku stayed dead for two different reasons. The first had to do with the fact that Akira Toriyama was attempting to phase out Goku as the main character in favor of his son. This led to the second, in-story reason that Goku stayed dead, he believed his power to be a magnet for trouble. Not wanting to put his friends and family in danger, Goku decided to keep his loved ones safe.

2 THE FIRST SUPER SAIYAN?

When Goku first went Super Saiyan, it was easily one of the greatest moments in the history of anime. His hair turned gold and his power levels skyrocketed, the newfound strength allowing him to take on Frieza in the longest battle of the series. This was exactly what Frieza feared when he decided to destroy Planet Vegeta, a Saiyan who could surpass his own power and knock him off his galactic throne. In fact, this fear developed for two reasons: the fact that Saiyans got stronger with every battle, and the legend of a Super Saiyan.

This leads us to a common misconception about Dragon Ball -- that Goku was the first Super Saiyan in existence. This is not true.

Goku was just the first Saiyan to achieve the form in over 100 years. It had been so long since a Super Saiyan existed that many believed it to be nothing more than a legend, but it has been confirmed that there was a Super Saiyan before Goku. In fact, there were at least six. How do we know this? Because of the Super Saiyan God form, which was used in Saiyan history and required the power of five Super Saiyans to be transferred into a sixth. So, Goku was not the first Super Saiyan in existence, just the first in a long, long time.

1 VEGITO'S FUSION

This one is for all those who have yet to watch Dragon Ball Super, specifically the Goku Black saga. But, before we get to Super, we first have to look at the last saga of Dragon Ball Z. In the Buu saga, we were introduced to two types of fusion -- the fusion dance and potara fusion. The latter was a much more powerful version that required the use of special earrings only given to the gods. When two warriors put on these earrings, they would fuse into a fighter with power greater than the sum of their parts. However, this one comes at a cost, those who fuse are stuck that way forever... or are they?

The fusion that resulted from the use of potara, Vegito, made two appearances in the franchise, first in the Buu saga and second in the Goku Black Saga. His second appearance presented a retcon that both rewrote the rule of being stuck together forever and explained why Vegeta and Goku split up after being absorbed by Buu. In Super, the kai explained that using potara fusion would last forever if it was two kai using the technique, but for mortals, it would only last an hour. Heck, even when it comes to supreme kai using potara, a simple dragon ball wish can reverse the process.

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