Ranked #2589

Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy

Dragonball GT: A Hero’s Legacy (also known as Goku Gaiden) is a 44 minute special set 100 years after the events of DBGT and focusing on Goku’s great-great-grandson who shares both name and appearance with his ancestor – the main difference being that unlike his namesake, the new Goku is not particularly strong or brave, and lives a relatively normal life.

Storyline – 5/10

The storyline is not unlike the original “Dragonball”, and like most of the previous stories, involves a journey to find a Dragonball. Instead of being an adventure without any particular motive like the start of the original series, this generation’s Goku believes he could use the Dragonball to cure his grandmother’s illness, making the journey more purposeful and serious. A fair amount of comedy is mixed in, and it feels like a very retro anime. While not particularly interesting or well thought out, the plot is very much an average adventure/journey/quest where a young boy learns about the world and grows as he faces problems, just on a smaller scale than most equivalent storylines. I was not particularly impressed by any of the plot elements, but it didn’t exactly make things worse.

Art – 7/10

The quality of artwork in this special is a step above that of its predecessors, and while understandably far from modern standards, the characters are drawn to a better standard than before and the designs of the characters are more or less the same as ever. The animation is mostly smooth and in the same style as you might expect. The ending sequence is a series of mostly still images of the original cast of Dragonball/Z/GT and is nostalgic, but utterly irrelevant to this special.

Sound– 6/10
(Referring to the Japanese version)
From the moment I saw this anime I was pretty sure I knew what the voice acting of the main character would be like, and as I expected, it is just the same as the original Goku as a kid and while some people do not like this voice, I personally have no problems with it – and it is once again a nostalgic factor of this anime.
The lack of an opening disappointed me, but the ending song was good and appropriate. As with just about everything in the Dragonball franchise it is an upbeat and positive song which closes the story well - nevertheless other than a pathetic impression of a Bear that just sounds silly, I have few complaints about the sound, but few areas of great praise similarly.

Characters – 7/10

The characters are decent, the 100+ year old Grandma Pan is believable, and the way Goku develops throughout his ordeals is good. Puck’s sudden change of heart is random and unexplained, the villains are simplistic and linear, but the reappearance of a certain person towards the end, while cheesy, is pretty cool.

Enjoyment – 5/10

Despite adding nothing of value to the series as a whole, this is a nostalgic, memorable, enjoyable and mildly entertaining side story.

Overall - 5/10


read more