There’s a universe on the market, someplace within the multiverse of anime goals and “what ifs” the place Dragon Ball Z by no means existed. As a substitute, it’s Gohan’s Nice Journey gracing lunchboxes, lighting up toy aisles, and blasting throughout TV screens with a wholly completely different power.
In that alternate timeline, Goku steps into the background whereas his son Gohan takes the lead, and historical past, as we all know it, spirals into uncharted territory.
The Submit-Dragon Ball Dilemma: Who Takes the Lead?
Nonetheless, we didn’t get Gohan’s Nice Journey. We acquired Dragon Ball Z, a title so easy and cryptic that it virtually didn’t make sense at first. And but, that lone letter, “Z,” would come to symbolize greater than only a sequel; it will be the launch pad for one of the highly effective franchises in popular culture historical past.
Within the late ’80s, when Dragon Ball had simply begun wrapping up its story of martial arts tournaments and mystical dragon hunts, the inventive staff at Toei Animation and Fuji TV was already charting what got here subsequent. Their imaginative and prescient lay as a continuation, however not essentially with Goku on the heart. The long run, they thought, belonged to the soft-spoken, hidden powerhouse—Gohan.
Goku pic.twitter.com/S2zcBXXQw7
— 90s Dragon Ball Z (@90sDBZ) March 26, 2025
The A One-Letter Sport Changer
The creators have been so assured on this new path that scripts have been drafted below the daring new banner of Gohan’s Nice Journey. Some anime magazines even ran with it, saying the subsequent chapter within the Dragon Ball saga with headlines that teased a passing of the torch. Gohan was poised to take flight, however destiny, and maybe a cussed love for one spiky-haired Saiyan, had different plans.
Because the staff debated the title, Akira Toriyama, the sequence’ legendary creator, stepped in with a curveball. Why not simply Dragon Ball Z? No prolonged subtitle, no handover of legacy, only a single letter added to the title followers already knew. “Z” didn’t stand for something particular, probably not. Some would later clarify it away as that means “the top” or the “last chapter,” whereas others stated it was chosen just because it sounded cool.
The Letter ‘Z’: A Image With out A Definition
At first, the title raised eyebrows. What did “Z” even imply? Was the story actually ending? Would viewers perceive? The creators wrestled with the implications, nervous about unintentionally writing themselves right into a nook. However these issues light because the episodes rolled out, as villains grew stronger, and the sequence gained a lifetime of its personal.
Quick ahead to now, and Dragon Ball Z has exploded right into a cultural titan. With over 260 million manga volumes bought and the anime producing greater than $30 billion in income, it’s exhausting to think about any model of the sequence with out Goku entrance and heart, screaming into the sky, hair blazing gold. Even movies like Dragon Ball Tremendous: Broly, which raked in over $124 million, stand as testaments to the enduring energy of the model that “Z” helped outline.
32 years in the past right this moment, the Episode 179 (Goku vs. Good Cell) of Dragon Ball Z premiered! pic.twitter.com/SwHKLMUDF5
— Dragon Ball Good Photographs (@DBPerfectShots) March 31, 2025
The Legacy Of The Nearly-Title
But, that alternate model, Gohan’s Nice Journey, stays a captivating footnote in anime historical past. A near-miss that might’ve rewritten all the things, and it reminds us that behind the epic battles and iconic transformations are actual individuals sitting round tables, tossing out concepts, typically laughing, typically not sure, however at all times chasing the subsequent nice story.
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