Dragon Ball wishes are just a scam and Granolah's wish proves it

As evident from the series' title, the Dragon Ball franchise is highly dependent on one key element: dragon balls. However, if one goes through the plot, one can notice how wish-granting orbs aren't as foolproof as the characters think they are. This is especially evident because of the wish made by Granolah in the Granolah the Survivor Saga.

Granolah was the sole survivor of the Cerealian race. He sought revenge against the Saiyans and wished to kill the tyrant Frieza. For this, he wished the eternal dragon to make him the strongest fighter in the universe. Soon after, Granolah fought Goku and Vegeta, followed by Gas. Unfortunately, he did not get a definitive win in any of those fights. This proves that the dragon balls' wishes were essentially a scam.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Dragon Ball Super manga.

Why are the Dragon Balls' wishes just a scam?

Shenron as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Dragon Balls' wishes are a scam because they can be overwritten. As fans would know, collecting the wish-granting orbs is a humongous task, especially without the dragon radar. Hence, if someone were to make a wish to the Eternal Dragon, there should be no way for someone to overwrite another person's wish.

However, that's not how the dragon balls work, as the dragon can only grant a wish accounting for that state of time. This essentially means that if someone wanted to, they could cancel out another person's wish with their own.

Granolah, as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

This is very evident in the Granolah the Survivor Saga. The arc saw Granolah wanting to avenge the Cerealians and annihilate the Saiyan race. To accomplish this mission, Granolah wished to make him the strongest fighter in the universe.

Rightfully so, the wish was granted. Granolah became stronger than Goku and Vegeta. Unfortunately, Granolah's status as the strongest fighter did not last long.

Gas, as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

This is because both Goku and Vegeta either attained zenkai boosts or a new power-up during their fight. Given that the wish was granted before the fight, any power level changes made during the fight could have elevated Goku and Vegeta to a power level surpassing Granolah.

While Goku and Vegeta were seemingly closing in on Granolah in terms of strength, Monaito interrupted their fight. During this, Gas and the Heeters arrived to fight Granolah. They had wished for Gas to become the strongest fighter in the universe.

Oil and Macki, as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Even though the dragon had previously granted the wish, the dragon also granted the new wish. As the series explains, the new wish essentially overwrote the previous wish, making Gas the strongest fighter in the universe. While the logic behind the plot development does make sense, it does not sound fair.

With that, we can say that the wishes granted by the orbs were essentially a scam because one could only hope to enjoy the benefits of the granted wish until someone else overwrites them. While this is a rare event, the mere possibility of it happening sounds like a scam.

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