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The Dragon Ball franchise has received many incarnations, from the original Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z to the now decanonized Dragon Ball GT. Even after GT, the Dragon Ball franchise came back with Dragon Ball Super.
Fans have often wondered what these suffixes stand for in each series. For casual fans or those not particularly obsessed with the series, these letters and phrases can be confusing.
This article will aim to explain why each series has its specific suffix.
Dragon Ball Z was intended to be the last Dragon Ball series
When the original Dragon Ball manga ended, Akira Toriyama created Dragon Ball Z as the final wrapup to Goku’s story. The original Dragon Ball saw Goku grow up and get stronger as a child, and now Dragon Ball Z would do the same thing for Goku as an adult.
As a result, Akira Toriyama intended for Dragon Ball Z to be the last Dragon Ball series ever for both manga or anime. Therefore, when naming the series, he decided to add a suffix to indicate to fans that the series would be ending.
Consequently, the Z in Dragon Ball Z stands for Zenkai. This word references two different concepts relating to the series; the first is that it was intended to be the last Dragon Ball series, as Zenkai means “last time” in Japanese. It also references the Saiyan Zenkai power which allows their warriors to come back exponentially stronger from near-death.
Likewise, the GT and Super in Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super both mean something. The GT in Dragon Ball GT stands for Grand Tour, as this is a reference to Goku’s journey across the galaxy in this series. The Super in Dragon Ball Super references the Super Dragon Balls introduced in this series during the Tournament of Power arc.
In summation
Since the series was meant to be the final Dragon Ball incarnation, the Z in Dragon Ball Z stands for Zenkai. This means “last time” when translated from Japanese to English.
Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super also have significance to their suffixes, both referencing plot points in their respective series. Both also came after Dragon Ball Z, making Toriyama’s name somewhat irrelevant in hindsight.
Be sure to keep up with all things Dragon Ball as news for the upcoming movie and currently releasing manga comes out.
