Not All Anime Filler Is Bad, and Dragon Ball Has Been Proving as Much For Ages

Warning: Contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super chapter #104 & Dragon Ball Daima episode #18.Anime filler has had a bad reputation for decades, and Dragon Ball’s filler content is no exception. Even if some of its filler stories aren’t the worst, at the end of the day, they’re still largely inferior to the canon stories, and forcing people to sit through them to get back to the main story will almost always be a chore.

The majority of Dragon Ball’s filler content is best left ignored, but that isn’t the case for everything. While most of Dragon Ball’s filler content is middling at best, some filler was used to introduce very interesting concepts and characters, and it’s to the point that some of Dragon Ball’s filler content was so good, that it would eventually make its way into canon after the franchise was revived with Dragon Ball Super. There aren’t too many examples of this, but the ones that made the cut are proof positive that not all anime filler is bad.

10 Olibu, King Kai’s Second-Best Student

First Appearance In Dragon Ball Z Episode 196; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Super Chapter 104

Olibu is a character introduced in the Other World saga, a filler arc that bridged the gap between the Android saga and the Majin Buu saga. Olibu was once a legendary hero of Earth who inspired many of its myths, and after dying, he trained with King Kai to the point of becoming his strongest student after Goku and joined Goku in the Other World Tournament against the fighters of the other Kais.

The Other World saga is one of Dragon Ball’s stronger filler arcs, and Olibu is the latest part of it to become canon. Dragon Ball Super chapter #104 has just been released, and surprisingly, the Dragon Ball Super manga officially made Olibu canon by featuring him among a gallery of Earth’s heroes. Whether the actual Olibu will appear in the afterlife is unknown, but it’s nice that such a fun character is now officially canon, regardless.

9 Vomi, The Human Counterpart Of Android 21

First Appearance In Dragon Ball FighterZ; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

Dragon Ball FighterZ’s story mode revolved around Android 21, a new Android created from the cells of the strongest fighters in the universe from both before and after the Android saga. Android 21’s existence was surprising on its own, but even more shocking was the reveal that Android 21 was Dr. Gero’s wife, although it was never made clear if she was a recreation of her or if she was the actual person remade into an Android.

Following her popularity in Dragon Ball FighterZ, Android 21 cameoed in numerous other Dragon Ball games, both as an Android and as a human, and finally, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero canonized the existence of Dr. Gero’s wife, the Red Ribbon scientist Vomi. Android 21, herself, still isn’t canon, but it’s still great that some aspect of her character made it into Dragon Ball’s official canon.

8 The Tuffles, The Original Inhabitants Of Planet Vegeta

First Appearance In Dragon Ball Z Episode 20; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Super Episode 96

Early Dragon Ball Z expanded on the lore of the Saiyans by explaining that they formed Planet Vegeta after killing its original inhabitants, the Tuffles, a conflict that would later form the basis of the main conflict for the Baby saga in Dragon Ball GT. While it’s true that the Saiyans left their original homeworld before going to what would become Planet Vegeta, the Tuffles have never been an official part of that, and the anime and manga have contradicted their existence on numerous occasions.

For decades, it was easy to ignore the Tuffles, but surprisingly, Dragon Ball Super’s Universe Survival saga canonized the Tuffles with the addition of Zarbuto, a Tuffle warrior who fought for Universe 2. It’s unknown if anything of the original history surrounding the Tuffles is now canon, but at the very least, it’s nice to see that the Tuffles, themselves, exist in Dragon Ball’s canon.

7 Captain Ginyu Was Sent To Earth After The Namek Saga

First Appearance In Dragon Ball Z Episode 107; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Super Episode 19

While the Dragon Ball manga never showed what happened to Ginyu after he accidentally swapped bodies with a frog, in the anime, Ginyu was included in the people who were sent to Earth with the Namekian Dragon Balls. From there, Ginyu would have occasional cameos up until the end of the anime, although everyone was unaware that he was anything more than a frog.

While Ginyu ending up on Earth was originally made up for the anime, Dragon Ball Super canonized Ginyu being on Earth in the Resurrection “F” saga when he tricked Tagoma into swapping bodies with him, although he was quickly killed by Vegeta. That would also mean Ginyu was considered a good enough person to be revived following Kid Buu's destruction of the Earth, but in the end, he still decided to work for Frieza and paid the price for it.

6 Bardock, The Father Of Goku

First Appearance In Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father Of Goku; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Chapter 307

Bardock is Goku’s biological first introduced in the TV special Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku. The special chronicled Bardock’s adventures during the last days of the Saiyan race as he desperately tried to stop Frieza from wiping them all out, all of which, of course, was ultimately for naught.

Bardock is the first example of something from Dragon Ball filler becoming canon, as Bardock had a cameo in the manga a few months after the TV special first aired. It wouldn’t be until Dragon Ball Super that anything would be done with him, however, and during that time, Dragon Ball Super, both the anime and the manga,reworked Bardock’s character to be a more noble and heroic person compared to how he was originally depicted, essentially making him an entirely separate character from Bardock’s original depiction.

5 Goku Combining Super Saiyan With Kaioken

First Appearance In Dragon Ball Z Episode 199; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Super Episode 39

In Dragon Ball Z’s Other World saga, Goku competed in the Other World Tournament and eventually made it to the final match against Pikkon, West Kai’s strongest disciple who had more than proven himself a match for Goku. During the fight, Goku used a technique called Super Kaioken which, as the name implied, had him using Super Saiyan and Kaioken simultaneously, although even that wasn’t enough to defeat Pikkon.

While Super Kaioken was just a one-off technique in Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super canonized the idea of Goku combining Super Saiyan with Kaioken with Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken, his strongest transformation before unlocking Ultra Instinct. Unlike Super Kaioken, which gave Goku a wholly unique appearance, Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken just overlays the Kaioken aura over the Super Saiyan Blue aura, but the core concept is still the same, and that’s plenty worth noting.

4 Gogeta, Goku & Vegeta’s Other Fusion

First Appearance In Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Super: Broly

In Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, the main villain, Janemba, eventually transformed from a giant manchild into a more humanoid and sadistic form, and with that transformation, he became too powerful for Goku and Vegeta to defeat. Fusion became the only feasible option for dealing with Janemba, and in the absence of Potara earrings, they performed the Fusion Dance and became Gogeta, their alternate Fusion form which was more than powerful enough to defeat Janemba.

For decades, it was accepted that Vegito would be Goku and Vegeta’s only canon fusion, but to the shock of many, Dragon Ball Super: Broly finally made Gogeta canon when Goku and Vegeta fused into Gogeta to fight Broly after he unlocked Super Saiyan. The ensuing fight between Gogeta and Broly is often cited as one of the best fights in Dragon Ball, and there was no better way to welcome Gogeta into canon.

3 Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta

First Appearance In Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Daima Episode 12

Despite Vegeta’s longstanding rivalry with Goku, for most of Dragon Ball’s history, he never once obtained Super Saiyan 3. Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta appeared in various games like Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2 and Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, but as far as the anime and manga were concerned, Super Saiyan 3 was something that would always elude Vegeta for unknown reasons.

Vegeta never gaining Super Saiyan 3 in canon was always a major sticking point with fans, but over 30 years since the form was first introduced, Dragon Ball Daima finally made Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta canon by having him use it against Tamagami Number Two, with Bulma revealing that Vegeta unlocked it sometime after the Majin Buu saga. Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta was something fans had been waiting decades to see, and fortunately, Daima more than delivered on it.

2 Super Saiyan 4 Goku

First Appearance In Dragon Ball GT Episode 35; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Daima Episode 18

As divisive as Dragon Ball GT was, the one part of it most people agree was great was Super Saiyan 4. Between its incredible design and how nearly every fight scene with it was among the best in all of GT, many people watched GT just to see Super Saiyan 4, and it’s still heralded as one of the best Super Saiyan forms in all of Dragon Ball.

Super Saiyan 4 is easily the most iconic part of Dragon Ball GT, and decades later, Dragon Ball Daima finally canonized Super Saiyan 4 by having Goku unlock it during the fight with Gomah, although unlike in GT, Super Saiyan 4 doesn’t turn Goku back into an adult. Dragon Ball Daima was the last project Akira Toriyama worked on before his tragic passing, and the fact that he decided to make Super Saiyan 4 canon makes it all the more special.

1 Broly, The Legendary Super Saiyan

First Appearance In Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan; Made Canon In Dragon Ball Super: Broly

The biggest character introduced in the Dragon Ball Z movies was Broly, a powerful Saiyan with a signature variation of Super Saiyan called Legendary Super Saiyan. Broly’s popularity led to him starring in three different movies and appearing in countless spinoff material, although that ironically made him a divisive figure due to people feeling he was being used too much and having his hatred of Goku exaggerated to the point of making him one-dimensional.

To the surprise of many, Broly officially became canon in the appropriately titled Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and sure enough, Dragon Ball Super: Broly completely reworked Broly’s character to not only be more powerful, but far more well-rounded and better written than the original version. Broly is even set to be a recurring character in Dragon Ball Super, and that makes him the biggest example of Dragon Ball filler content that was made canon, by far.

Dragon Ball

14

9.1/10

Created by

Akira Toriyama

First Film

Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies

Latest Film

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

First TV Show

Dragon Ball

First Episode Air Date

April 26, 1989

Cast

Sean Schemmel, Laura Bailey, Brian Drummond, Christopher Sabat, Scott McNeil

Video Game(s)

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball: The Breakers, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

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