- This article is about the first part of the Grand Tour Saga. For the whole saga, see Grand Tour Saga.
The Black-Star Dragon Ball Saga (極究ドラゴンボール編 Kyūkyoku Doragon Bōru Hen, lit. "Ultimate Dragon Balls Arc") is the first arc of Dragon Ball GT series, taking place five years (according to the original Japanese version) after the end of Dragon Ball Z. This is also the part of the series that attempted to return to the Dragon Ball franchise's roots, adopting a more comedic tone akin to that of early Dragon Ball instead of the action-oriented nature of Z.
Due to immense backlash from fans, Funimation cut the first 16 episodes of this saga and began Dragon Ball GT with episode 17, with a special recap episode at the start. However, they have now released the first 16 episodes of this saga under the title The Lost Episodes. In Japan, it aired beginning February 1996 while in the United States it aired in early 2005. This saga in the US is part of Season One. In Japan, this saga lasts until the 22nd episode.[1]
Plot[]
Five years after Goku and Uub left the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament at the end of Dragon Ball Z, they fight in the depths of the Lookout, and damage it in the process. Meanwhile, three robots sneak their way into the Lookout. The robots are being controlled by none other than Emperor Pilaf and his lackeys, Mai and Shu, who have now become much older since their last appearance in Dragon Ball. The three have come to the Lookout to find the Black-Star Dragon Balls, an alternate set of Dragon Balls that were created by the Nameless Namekian before he separated into Kami and King Piccolo. However, these balls have been hidden away due to their dangerous nature.
While the three discuss the nature of the Dragon Balls and gathering them so they can summon Shenron, Goku and Uub exit from the depths of the lookout, revealing that Uub has officially finished his training. After the two are fully healed, Uub bids Goku, Dende, and Mr. Popo farewell and leaves as he goes back to his village. Goku grabs a bite to eat and is on the verge of following Uub out of the Lookout as he is about to leave the lookout to return home and telling Dende and Mr. Popo that he hasn't been home for so many years and believes that Chi-Chi is going to be mad at him for being gone so long when he sees the mysterious light as Emperor Pilaf activates the Black-Star Dragon Balls, calling forth Ultimate Shenron for his wish. However, before Pilaf can make his wish to take over the world, Goku walks in on them in the middle of the summoning. Pilaf orders Mai and Shu to attack Goku with a pair of rocket launchers, but Goku easily halts the missiles in midair without setting them off and tells the gang that they'll never change. This causes Emperor Pilaf to get mad and he blurts out that he wishes Goku was a child again, unaware that the red dragon is listening. The red dragon overhears the accidental wish and then grants it, as Goku is magically lifted into the air and put into a gold bubble. His body and clothes begin to shrink, turning Goku back into a twelve-year-old child, much to Pilaf's horror.
King Kai hears that someone has made a wish upon the Black-Star Dragon Balls and tells Goku the only way he can return to normal is to use the Black-Star Dragon Balls and summon Ultimate Shenron, but Goku says that he actually likes being a kid again and heads back home, ignoring Mr. Popo's warnings about the Black-Star Dragon Balls being scattered across the entire universe after a wish is made. Goku runs into his granddaughter, Pan, as she is stopping a bank robbery, although she does not seem to recognize him at first. Not until a visiting Master Roshi points him out does she realize who the boy is. Later, Goku breaks the news of his de-aging to a stunned and devastated Chi-Chi, Gohan and Videl. However, things get worse when King Kai brings news that, when a wish is granted using the Black-Star Dragon Balls, the planet that the balls were used on eventually explodes within one year's time, due to the huge amount of energy needed to grant the wish. Making matters more dire is that the Black-Star Dragon Balls are spread across the entire universe rather than a single planet. The only way to save Earth from complete destruction is to find all the Black-Star Dragon Balls and bring them back before the year is out.
Soon, Bulma goes to work on a spaceship while Goku, who recruits Trunks and Goten with the help of Vegeta, prepares for their journey. On the day of the launch, Trunks and Goku enter the ship, but Goten receives a call from his girlfriend, Valese, and he stands outside to talk on his cellphone. Videl runs into the room, telling Gohan that she can't find Pan anywhere. Inside the ship, Pan is waiting for Goku and Trunks to enter. She presses the ignition button and the ship blasts off into space. Goten is left behind and goes back to dating his girlfriend as a loose component of the ship falls off and lands by Bulma's feet. After crashing on planet Imecka, Goku, Trunks, and Pan stay at a hotel. Once they realize that they are being charged a fortune for every little aspect of the room, they decide to leave. When they return to the location of their spaceship, they realize it is taken by the Imeckian Army. They are also forced to pick up a robot, who they later name Giru, after the robot swallows their Dragon Radar and fuses with it, thus becoming the group's radar for the journey. With the assistance of his bodyguard Ledgic and his thugs Sheela and Gale, the leader of Imecka, Don Kee, has made a fortune on the planet, bankrupting the rest of the population. After he tries to have Goku's ship torn apart for scraps, Goku, Pan and Trunks try to save their ship.
After coming across Imecka's forces to retrieve the ship, they are labeled as criminals and are posted in the wanted ads across the city. When they realize that the citizens of Imecka are extremely poor and are living in poverty, Goku decides to return to Don Kee's castle and step up to the greedy Lord Don Kee. And after Goku, Pan, and Trunks attack Don Kee's mansion compound and easily defeat Sheela and Gale, Don Kee is forced to unleash a few traps. These prove to be insufficient and Ledgic appears behind the three meddlers. Ledgic unveils a few attacks against Goku, including expanding chains and razor-sharp dual blades, which he magically summons. Even after posing to be a formidable foe and revealing to Goku that he is well aware of Goku's Saiyan ancestry, Ledgic is still toppled by Goku's attack. Admiring Goku's skill, Ledgic decides not to struggle against him. Don Kee then commands Ledgic to get up and defeat them, but Ledgic decides to kick him aside instead. Goku has freed the people of Imecka and they thank him. They continue their journey for the Black-Star Dragon Balls.
Goku, Trunks and Pan land on another planet named Gelbo but notice that the villages are way too quiet. They learn from the villagers that a giant monster, Zoonama, has been terrorizing their village with his incredible ability to produce earthquakes by merely shaking his gigantic whiskers in order to scare the people into giving him a bride. Goku and Pan disguise Trunks as "Trunksette" and he pretends to go away with Zoonama. Once they find out that he is not in control of the quakes and they happen spontaneously, Zoonama asks for forgiveness from the town. Just as Goku, Pan, and Trunks are about to depart and continue their journey, a mysterious being steals their Dragon Ball and escapes into outer space.
The thief is revealed to be Bon Para of the Para Brothers. Along with Don Para and Son Para, he returns the Dragon Ball to Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy of the Luud Cult. It is revealed that Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy is collecting energy to feed into Luud, a huge mechanical menace who is currently inactive. Followers of the cult watch as Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy turns one of his subordinates into a doll for failing to retrieve a Dragon Ball. It becomes apparent to the Para Para Brothers that failure is not an option. They are told that another Dragon Ball was in the possession of Goku, Trunks, and Pan. They brought one back, but foolishly missed another. They are sent back to retrieve the ball. The Para Brothers follow Goku, Pan and Trunks into the intergalactic beehive Beehay, where they assume the trio will be eliminated by Mouma. However, as the three are successful in surviving the dangers, the Para Brothers decide to step in and steal their remaining Dragon Ball, revealing a body-hypnotizing technique to them: the Para Para Boogie, which causes its victims to dance uncontrollably. After they are placed under the hypnosis, the Para Brothers try to steal the other Dragon Ball. They are almost successful in their endeavor, but they are followed by the angered Z-Fighters, who move to knock them out while they were approaching the Luud Cult.
They proceed to tie up the Para Brothers and drag them to the Luud cult. Once there, they toss them in front of Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy. The Cardinal is not in a forgiving mood and the Para Para Brothers are then turned into dolls and fed to Luud for their failure. Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy turns Pan into a doll as well, but before he can eliminate her, Dolltaki steps in and decides to add her to his doll collection. Dolltaki is a central orator for the Luud cult and he gives a speech to Luud's followers for sacrificing themselves for the greater good. As Goku and Trunks are occupied by Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy, Dolltaki begins to play around with his new Pan doll. He receives a transmission from Dr. Myuu, who tells him to feed the doll to Luud, as it holds a tremendous amount of energy, but Dolltaki protects the doll, expressing his love for it.
After Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy is defeated, it is revealed that his whip has a mind of its own as it transforms into a golden monster with extended arms named Mutchy. This demonic incarnation proceeds to battle Goku on a platform and is posing to be a threat until he is blasted from behind by Trunks. After Luud is unleashed and activated, the humongous Machine Mutant goes on a rampage, battling Goku. Its eyes light up as its arms rotate extremely quickly, resembling propellers. Goku's blasts bounce off as if they were nothing. Then, as Dolltaki is also fed to Luud along with Pan as a last resort by Dr. Myuu to conquer the fighters, Luud becomes super-powered and continues to attack Goku. Inside of Luud, the people who were turned into dolls try to contemplate a plan to take down Luud. The Para Para Brothers sing a tune which forces Dolltaki to reveal Luud's weakness. After it is revealed that Luud's weakness lies in a red cell above his heart, Goku must time his attack to fall in sync with Luud's interior. After some unsuccessful attempts, Goku is able to take down the enormous machine by targeting the correct spot.
Everyone who was inside of Luud is released and they are no longer dolls. Goku, Pan, and Trunks continue their journey. Dolltaki makes a journey of his own in order to report back to Dr. Myuu. However, he is met with General Rilldo instead, who informs him of his failure. He then proceeds to relay a message to Dolltaki that Dr. Myuu ordered his execution. Rilldo eliminates Dolltaki and proceeds to contact Dr. Myuu. Giru reveals that Planet M-2 is his homeworld and that they should make a stop there. The Z-Fighters oblige. They find the planet nearly deserted except for a few robots designed similar to Giru running around. Giru then leads the heroes into the hands of their enemy. The heroes are unaware of Giru's past and the fact that he is an operational instrument of General Rilldo's base. It is further revealed that Giru was sent to lure the heroes there in order to extract their Dragon Balls and their biological data. This is an apparent trap as General Rilldo's Sigma Force proceeds to capture Goku and Trunks. The Sigma Force includes the robot units of Commander Nezi, Ribet, Natt, and Bizu. The Sigma Force robot elites, led by Commander Nezi, take Pan away in order to use her as a guinea pig in their operations. Goku and Trunks are attacked by Bizu, one of the Sigma Force. Bizu proceeds to absorb them into his construct as they try their best to combat the robot.
In the original Japanese version of this saga the events continue up until Goku, Trunks and Pan leave M-2 after seemingly destroying Baby, while the English version treats any events following the encounter with the Sigma Force as part of the Baby Saga.
Characters[]
Major characters[] |
Supporting characters[] |
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Battles Featured[]
- Goku vs. Uub
- Goku vs. Pilaf, Mai and Shu (Pilaf Machines)
- Goku and Pan vs. Robber
- Pan vs. Martial Artists
- Goku, Trunks and Pan vs. Imeckian Soldiers
- Trunks vs. Ledgic
- Goku (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. Ledgic
- Goku and Trunks vs. Spider
- Goku, Trunks and Pan vs. Mouma
- Goku, Trunks and Pan vs. Bon Para, Don Para and Son Para
- Pan vs. Luud Cult members
- Goku vs. Leon
- Goku and Trunks vs. Cardinal Mutchy Mutchy
- Goku and Trunks vs. Mutchy
- Goku (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. Mutchy
- Goku (Base/Super Saiyan) and Trunks (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. Luud
- Goku and Pan vs. Luud
- Goku and Trunks vs. Sandipede
- Giru vs. Sandipede
- Goku and Trunks vs. Bizu
- Pan vs. Ribet
Releases[]
Funimation DVD Volumes[]
- Lost Episodes - Reaction (1-3)
- Lost Episodes - Rejection (4-6)
- Lost Episodes - Ruination (7-9)
- Lost Episodes - Conviction (10-12)
- Lost Episodes - Activation (13-16)
Funimation Remastered DVD Sets[]
- Dragon Ball GT Season One (1-34) (only episodes 1-16 are part of the Black Star Dragon Ball Saga)
Episode List[]
Japanese version (22 episodes)[]
Ep# | Title |
---|---|
1 | "A Devastating Wish" |
2 | "Pan Blasts Off" |
3 | "Terror on Imecka" |
4 | "The Most Wanted List" |
5 | "Goku vs. Ledgic" |
6 | "Like Pulling Teeth" |
7 | "Trunks, the Bride" |
8 | "Whisker Power" |
9 | "Lord Luud" |
10 | "Dance and Attack" |
11 | "Lord Luud's Curse" |
12 | "The Last Oracle of Luud" |
13 | "The Man Behind the Curtain" |
14 | "The Battle Within" |
15 | "Beginning of the End" |
16 | "Giru's Checkered Past" |
17 | "Pan's Gambit" |
18 | "Unexpected Power" |
19 | "A General Uprising" |
20 | "The Source of Rilldo's Power" |
21 | "A Secret Revealed" |
22 | "The Baby Secret" |
Initial English release (1 episode)[]
Ep# | Title |
---|---|
1 | "A Grand Problem" |
Full English release (16 episodes)[]
Ep# | Title |
---|---|
1 | "A Devastating Wish" |
2 | "Pan Blasts Off" |
3 | "Terror on Imecka" |
4 | "The Most Wanted List" |
5 | "Goku vs. Ledgic" |
6 | "Like Pulling Teeth" |
7 | "Trunks, the Bride" |
8 | "Whisker Power" |
9 | "Lord Luud" |
10 | "Dance and Attack" |
11 | "Lord Luud's Curse" |
12 | "The Last Oracle of Luud" |
13 | "The Man Behind the Curtain" |
14 | "The Battle Within" |
15 | "Beginning of the End" |
16 | "Giru's Checkered Past" |
Video Game Appearances[]
- Dragon Ball GT: Transformation
- Dragon Ball Heroes
- Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission
- Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2
- Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle
- Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X
The events of the Black Star Dragon Ball saga were covered in Dragon Ball GT: Transformation.
The saga appears in Dragon Ball Heroes as the Dr. Myu Saga, added in Galaxy Mission 1. Parts of the saga were adapted as part of the Baby Hatchiyack Saga added in God Mission 6, and the Dragon Ball GT Saga added in Big Bang Mission 3.
Trivia[]
- Goku's outfit has been changed to a new color scheme in the first episode, sporting a blue Gi with yellow pants, reddish-pink wristbands and white sock, replacing the old color scheme that Goku wore in the last three episodes of DBZ, where he had a turquoise Gi with dark green pants, orange wristbands and orange sock, although the white sash and black kung fu shoes were retained. His skin color was also changed from a light skin color to a tan skin color.
- Goku's new Gi also resembles his first Gi from the beginning of Dragon Ball.
- Beginning with this series, the original Japanese dub was changed to have the original background music composed by Akihito Tokunaga, replacing Shunsuke Kikuchi.
- The episode "Pan Blasts Off" had the highest TV rating for GT with a 19.7% rating share.
References[]
[]
Black Star Dragon Ball Saga | |
← Peaceful World Saga | Baby Saga → |
Anime | |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 Japanese version includes: 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 | |
Manga | |
This saga is TV Original and not based on the manga. |