‘Dragon Ball Super’ Finally Answers A Major King Kai Question

Keeping up with the history of Dragon Ball can be a full time job. Not only has the franchise collected decade’s worth of content, but Akira Toriyama has stuffed it with lots of characters. Still, it is hard to overlook King Kai, and Dragon Ball Super finally took the time to answer a big question about the deity.

You know, like why he is still dead after all these years.

For those who didn’t quite realize, King Kai is very much dead in Dragon Ball Super. Yes, the character makes several appearances, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s rocking a halo. King Kai was killed way back in Dragon Ball Z during the ‘Cell’ saga when Goku transported a self-destructing Cell to King Kai’s planet. The blast took out the Saiyan, King Kai, and all of the god’s pets. Naturally, Goku’s pal wasn’t happy about the ordeal, and Dragon Ball Super’s dub let fans in on why King Kai has yet to be revived.

This weekend, Toonami aired the anime’s 68th episode, and the dub explained why King Kai is still dead. It isn’t because of some Dragon Ball restriction or Shenron grudge; No, Goku just hasn’t gotten around to wishing for the revival. Back in the ‘Universe 6’ saga, Goku made a comment about reviving King Kai, but the wish never went through. So, episode 68 sees Goku promise to see the resurrection through and goes hunting for Earth’s Dragon Balls once again. Eventually, the relics are all found, and Goku goes to wish for the revival and is stopped by Android 18.

With Shenron summoned, it seems everyone wants a wish granted, and the android is eager to help her husband out. She asks why King Kai needs to be revived since he can do everything he did before, leaving the deity to say him being alive feels different. Eventually, Goku gets the go-ahead to make his wish, but Shenron ends up disappearing before the request can be made. His sudden time limit leaves King Kai as dead as ever and Goku appropriately apologetic.

Do you think Dragon Ball will ever bring King Kai back to life? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on Funimation, VRV, and Crunchyroll.

If you want to catch up with the English dub, the first 52 episodes of Dragon Ball Super are now available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and available to purchase on Amazon Video as well. The 52 episodes span the full range of what has aired in the North America and covers the “Battle of Gods” arc, “Revival of F” arc, the “Universe 6” arc, and bringing the series right up to the current TV airings of the “Future Trunks” arc.