A significant number of inconsistencies can be traced back to the anime filler that was used in the Dragon Ball Z series.
While Super Saiyan Goku and Frieza reach the final stages of their battle on Namek in episode 104, Vegeta is on Earth with the rest of the cast. He remembers working with Nappa and Raditz when he was younger. A enraged Nappa informs Vegeta that it was Frieza who destroyed their home planet, but Vegeta admits that he was well aware of this fact all along.
Gohan doesn’t know what Cell looks like, which is a problem. In episode 156, which came out a few episodes ago, this was made very clear. Goku told Gohan to imagine that Cell hurts his friends and family to get angry enough to become a Super Saiyan, but Gohan told him that he has never even seen Cell. Goku tells him to put Cell in place of Frieza instead.
8/8
Dr. Flappe
Android 8, the first of the Red Ribbon Army’s numbered androids to appear, made his debut in the 39th episode of the very first Dragon Ball series. He is a compassionate giant who only resorts to violence when there is no other option. He is somewhat similar to Android 16. In episode 42, he and Goku go on a mission to remove the self-destruct mechanism from his body so that he can live a peaceful life. In the end, they seek the advice of Dr. Flappe, who was the one who initially created him.
It’s understandable why the creators of the anime wouldn’t have anticipated Akira Toriyama to return to the Red Ribbon androids hundreds of chapters later and claim that Dr. Gero, a character readers had never encountered before, was responsible for their creation. Some supplemental material makes an attempt to explain this by claiming that Flappe and Gero co-created Android 8, but that Flappe has not appeared in any subsequent Dragon
7/8
Piccolo Destroys Goku’s Space Pod
Aboard episode 46, once Goku has been healed by a newly harvested Senzu Bean, he makes preparations to travel to Namek in a spaceship constructed by Dr. Brief. Goku will pilot the ship. He explains that because Nappa and Raditz’s space pods were destroyed, they salvaged the space pod that he himself was brought to Earth in when he was a baby.
This was done because they were unable to find Nappa and Raditz’s space pods. In episode 18, Piccolo was responsible for its total destruction, which is a shame.
Gohan could transform back into a Great Ape after his tail grew and a full moon appeared while he was training with Piccolo before the Saiyans arrived. Goku’s long-dormant space pod projected the new moon.
Piccolo had previously destroyed the moon in an effort to stop Gohan from undergoing his first transformation. Gohan regains his regular state after Piccolo detonates the bomb. To be fair, Dr. Brief does say in the anime that the pod was in a terrible state when they discovered it, but severely damaged is still much better than completely destroyed!
6/8
Gohan’s Cell Nightmare
The Saiyans’ time spent within the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was the subject of a significant amount of additional content that was added to the anime. In episode 167, there is a scene where Gohan’s mother Chi-Chi and Piccolo walk in on him while he is in the middle of his training. Cell suddenly materializes in his newly perfected form and executes him and his companions in front of him. Gohan jerks awake, screaming, to find that the previous events were simply a nightmare.
The issue is that Gohan has no idea what Cell looks like. This was made abundantly clear in Episode 156, which aired a few episodes earlier: Goku instructs Gohan to imagine Cell harming his loved ones in order to become enraged and transform into a Super Saiyan, but Gohan claims he has never even seen Cell. Goku tells Gohan that if he wants to become a Super Saiyan, he should imagine his loved ones being harmed by Cell. In response, Goku advises him to make Cell the villain instead of Frieza.
5/8
Vegeta Knew Frieza Destroyed The Saiyan’s Planet
While Vegeta and the rest of the cast are on Earth in episode 104, Super Saiyan Goku and Frieza are in the midst of the final phase of their battle on Namek. He suddenly finds himself transported back to the period when he was still employed by Nappa and Raditz. Vegeta is told by a steaming Nappa that Frieza was the one who destroyed their home planet, but Vegeta admits that he was aware of this truth the entire time. Nappa is furious.
This contradicts Vegeta’s actions during the Namek arc, when Dodoria told him and the audience about Frieza’s crimes. Vegeta seems amazed at first, as if he’s just learning all of this. Raditz was there when Nappa told him the truth, but he tells Goku the cover story about an asteroid.
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4/8
Chi-Chi Already Knows How To Drive
This is a little discrepancy, but it includes Goku and Piccolo learning to drive in episode 125. It’s a fan favorite, bringing humorous relief between Trunks’ bleak future warning and the androids.
What’s odd about this episode is that, despite the fact that Chi-Chi is the one who insists the two learn to drive in order to help with errands, she already looks to know how to drive. She is occasionally seen driving a hovercar, as as when she comes as Kame House in episode 8 to find out what happened to Goku and Gohan. But, if they hadn’t noticed that minor detail, they would never have seen Piccolo’s “POSTBOY” shirt.
3/8
King Kai’s Saiyan History Lesson
In episode 20, Goku arrives in King Kai’s planet and begins training. King Kai believes Planet Vegeta’s protector destroyed the planet, although it was Frieza’s doing. The Saiyans acquiring Scouter technology from the Tuffles is subsequently disproved in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, where it is a Frieza Force innovation.
When King Kai describes the Saiyans’ capacity to transform into Great Apes under a full moon, this is commonly missed. Goku won’t hear about this until Vegeta becomes one in episode 32, despite Raditz’s sketchy reference. King Kai doesn’t connect the connections when Goku says he was the “monster” who killed Grandpa Gohan.
2/8
The Nature Of Hell
Source: Eni
Dragon Ball’s mythology has never been treated seriously, as seen by the constant additions and deletions of kingdoms and deities in accordance with the plot’s requirements. Hell is discussed in the manga, but it is never shown on the pages. As a result, the anime decided to have Goku inadvertently enter Hell in episode 13 to close this gap. Instead of coming across as a place of punishment, it appears more like a location one would visit while on vacation because it features amusement parks and carnivals. In later episodes, villains like Frieza and Cell may still be seen residing in this reality.
Piccolo doesn’t explain what happens to the souls of evil people until much later, in episode 237. He tells Majin Vegeta that evil souls are separated from their bodies, purified, and reincarnated with no memory of their previous life. This will ultimately be what happens to Kid Buu when the arc comes to a close. In the episode Resurrection F, Frieza is shown in a version of Hell where his body is still intact, indicating that the precise nature of Hell in the Dragon Ball universe is not set in stone. This is not to say that later stories have been consistent with this.
1/8
The Entire Garlic Jr. Arc
The story of Garlic Jr. takes place between episodes 108 and 117 of Dragon Ball Z. This is after Frieza has been defeated on Namek but before Goku returns to Earth. The Garlic Jr. arc is one of the more known stretches of filler in Dragon Ball Z. Garlic Jr., a former foe of Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin, attacked Kami’s Lookout, caught him, and turned everyone into ravenous vampires. As a result of this, Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin are in a fight for their lives.
Anyone who is familiar with the canonicity of the theatrical movies will understand why this story arc does not work. Anyone familiar with the first Dragon Ball Z film, Dead Zone, will understand why Garlic Jr. doesn’t work. Krillin hadn’t seen Gohan yet, and Goku hadn’t seen Piccolo since the 23rd World Tournament. Garlic Jr.’s story can’t happen in Dead Zone’s timeline.
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