Dragon Ball Z Was Originally Pitched With a Very Different Title

Dragon Ball Daima recently came to an end, leaving many fans of the shonen series left to wonder when Goku and his fellow Z-Fighters will make a return to the screen. Despite Dragon Ball’s future remaining a mystery at the moment, this fact isn’t stopping Akira Toriyama’s brainchild from finding new ways to grab attention. In a new interview on the heels of the anniversary of Toriyama’s passing, producers of the original anime revealed that the biggest series in the franchise, Dragon Ball Z, wasn’t always titled as such. The sequel series originally had a name that was far different than what many might have originally expected.

Participating in the recent interview were Dragon Ball Z producers Kozo Morishita and Kenji Shimizu. While the title has easily become one of the most recognizable in the anime world as we speak, the producers confirmed that they had been struggling with what to call the Dragon Ball sequel. As the producers confirm, the original title was going to be Dragon Ball: Gohan’s Great Advenutre, “Actually we fretted a great deal about that title,” Shimizu confirmed, “Originally, we called it Gohan’s Great Adventure for the longest time.” This might have been the title moving forward had Akira Toriyama himself not interjected and made a correction as to who the star of the series truly was.

[RELATED: Dragon Ball Reveals Akira Toriyama’s Changes to Super Saiyan 4 Goku]

Akira Toriyama’s Change To The Anime

Shimizu stated that the Dragon Ball creator informed the producers that Gohan wasn’t the star of “Z” but Goku would once again take the lead as he did in the original series. “Toriyama-sensei said things like, ‘No, the protagonist is really Goku.’ Then we asked, ‘Is that so? Then what should we do about the title?’ and he replied, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool with just a Z?’ ‘Ah, that’s ok,’ and with that, it was decided.”

As a reminder, the original Dragon Ball manga was never called Dragon Ball Z, as Son Goku’s life from his introduction to “The End of Z” arc. When Toriyama returned to the franchise by introducing the god of destruction Beerus and his handler Whis, the series ran with the title of Dragon Ball Super. While Super has yet to confirm when its anime will return, it will be interesting to see if it receives a new title to document the Moro and Granolah The Survivor Arcs.

Dragon Ball Super’s Manga Comeback

Earlier this year, Dragon Ball Super made its comeback following the tragic passing of Akira Toriyama by focusing on a past story of Goten and Trunks jumping into the superhero game. Originally written by Toriyama before he passed, artist Toyotaro once again breathed life into the script that took us to the past for the sons of Goku and Vegeta. Unfortunately, no word has been shared regarding when we can expect the manga to release new chapters but it’s a good sign that the Z-Fighters story is far from finished.

Want to stay in the loop when it comes to the Z-Fighters? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Dragon Ball Z and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

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