Dragon Ball: Broly Is a Canon Character, But It's A Little Complicated (2024)

Ever since he burst on to screens in Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly has become a major figure in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise as a whole. After featuring in two more Dragon Ball Z movies, a new version of Broly was given a feature film introduction in the Dragon Ball Super continuity, through the release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly in 2018.

In a short span of time after this revamp of the character, Broly has become a mainstay in the Dragon Ball Super manga, as the newest Saiyan rival to Goku and Vegeta. While his involvement has been relatively limited so far, there have been many questions regarding his status in the franchise's canon, since his introductory arc was skipped in the manga, yet he appears in the following segments of the story. On this note, what is Broly's place in the Dragon Ball canon?

The Peculiar Case Of Dragon Ball Z's Broly

Unlike his Dragon Ball Super counterpart, the version of Broly from Dragon Ball Z is not a part of the series' main canon, which primarily consists of the original Dragon Ball manga by Akira Toriyama and its anime adaptation. His appearances in the film and anime franchise were thus limited to the movie trilogy, where he serves as the main antagonist in each entry.

Neither Broly nor his Legendary Super Saiyan form were mentioned or heard of in any subsequent installment within the Dragon Ball franchise, cementing his place as a non-canon movie-only character, even though many fans of the series may have wished otherwise. A large reason for this stems from the continuity issues concerning where each of these movies could be placed within Dragon Ball's main timeline.

For a long time, Broly remained in this odd limbo state, where he was not a canon character, but his impact within the Dragon Ball Z movie franchise had made him hugely appealing to its fan base. His many appearances in video games and other related media also helped cement his influence as one of Dragon Ball's most popular antagonists, garnering a cult following over time. Eventually, Toei Animation and Akira Toriyama took note of this, and devised a remake of the first film to introduce him as Universe 7's Legendary Super Saiyan within the Dragon Ball Super canon.

Enter The Dragon Ball Super: Broly Movie

In a way, Dragon Ball Super: Broly was a superb redo of the original Broly film, adding more depth to Broly's character, as well as the circ*mstances behind the Saiyan genocide. The film also offered an impressive visual spectacle with Broly's berserk rampage in his Wrathful form and Legendary Super Saiyan state at its heart, pushing the scale of the franchise's battles to a point where they could tear through the fabric of reality itself.

By the end of the film, this new version of Broly had distinguished himself from the original, through a more moderate characterization as a troubled anti-hero haunted by a dark past, rather than the maniacal, bloodthirsty sad*st from the Dragon Ball Z movies. However, this Broly is equally intimidating, if not more so, given that he could hold his own against Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta in his Legendary Super Saiyan form. Ultimately, the film's finale sets him up to be a new rival for the main Saiyan duo, with Goku's invitation to spar together.

What Is The Confusion About Broly's Canonical Status?

What is interesting to note here is that Broly's introduction was skipped over almost entirely in the Dragon Ball Super manga, much like the Golden Frieza Saga from Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'. While both the Golden Frieza Saga and the Broly Saga are confirmed to have taken place in the canon timeline of the Dragon Ball Super manga, they have only been mentioned or alluded to in passing.

On the surface, this casts some doubt over whether the events of the Broly Saga occurred in the exact same fashion within the manga's continuity, since quite a few things from the Dragon Ball Super anime series and movies were switched up for the manga retelling. Broly was first mentioned in the manga during the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, after which he made his proper debut in the Super Hero Saga, which was the final story arc overseen by Akira Toriyama prior to his unfortunate demise.

Broly was featured quite prominently in the latter arc, especially after the battle against Cell Max and the Red Ribbon Army, where he sparred with Gohan, demonstrating a newfound sense of control over his Super Saiyan form. Currently, the Dragon Ball Super manga has been on hiatus following Akira Toriyama's passing, but there is little doubt that Broly will have a prominent part to play in the story as it moves forward.

Concluding The Debate About Broly

Most of the confusion about Broly stems from the simple fact that both versions of him are distinct characters, displaying different personas. Additionally, the place of the Dragon Ball Z movies within the franchise's continuity has never been confirmed, and for the most part, they have always been regarded as separate from the canon timeline, which primarily follows the events of the Dragon Ball manga.

With the commencement of the Dragon BallSuper manga, the continuity was rewritten to include some anime movies, such as Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F,' which are now part of the main timeline of the franchise. Hence, it is only natural for such uncertainties to arise with regard to the status of the Dragon Ball Z movies within the franchise's canonical continuity.

In the end, the Dragon Ball Superversion of Broly is now a canon character, unlike his Dragon Ball Z counterpart, which is evident in how Goku and Vegeta showed no recollection of Dragon Ball Z's Broly, and treated him as a new person. Effectively, this, along with his later appearances in the manga, as well as the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero film, all but confirm that this version of Broly exists as a canon character in the franchise's main timeline, and he will most definitely be a major ally to the Saiyans of Universe 7 when the Dragon Ball Super manga returns.

Dragon Ball Super is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

Dragon Ball Super

Action

Adventure

Release Date

July 5, 2015

Studio

Toei Animation

Creator

Akira Toriyama

Number of Episodes

131

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Funimation