Dragon Ball Super came along and placed itself within those ten years following the fight with Majin Buu, the series' original ending was a neatly tied up, heartfelt send-off to Goku and friends, calling back to Dragon Ball's earliest days.

Unfortunately, at the time DBZ ended, plans for Super were still far off in the future, and so the finale written by Akira Toriyama felt like a final goodbye to the series. Placing the events of Dragon Ball Super during the time skip allowed for more creativity when developing a new series, seeing as the main cast was still young, with minimal design changes from Dragon Ball Z.

However, now that the events of Dragon Ball Super have spanned the majority of the ten years, the series is creeping ever closer to the time period of Dragon Ball Z's ending. And with Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero taking place around a year before the World Martial Arts Tournament, it's likely that Dragon Ball. The best solution to that problem, though it may make longtime fans angry, is to just ignore that ending altogether.

Too Much Has Changed For DBZ's Ending To Make Sense

Inconsistencies in Dragon Ball's Timeline Invalidate Z's Ending

For continuity's sake, excuses can be made for how the main characters appear in Dragon Ball Z's ending. In particular, humans like Bulma, Chi Chi, and Krillin all appear to have aged significantly by the series' final mini-arc. It wouldn't be the first time characters have suddenly and noticeably aged, as seen when Goku arrived as a fully-grown adult for the 23rd World Tournament at the end of Dragon Ball. What cannot be excused away, however, are the inconsistencies in the timeline caused by Dragon Ball Super.

The most egregious of which, Bulma's claim to have not seen Goku in five years, is outright impossible to explain. The events of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, though not officially confirmed, are speculated to have taken place three or so years prior to DBZ's ending. In that film, Bulma is present and in Goku's company for the entirety of the runtime. Further confirmation comes with Pan, who is said to be four years old during the World Martial Arts Tournament and was very much alive during the events of Broly, when Goku and Bulma interacted.

Another major discrepancy comes in the fact that Gohan has resumed training in Super, and is currently just as strong if not stronger than Goku and Vegeta. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero takes place roughly a year before DBZ's ending, which included a notably out-of-shape Gohan. It doesn't make very much sense at all for the character who had only just recently ascended to such heights to so quickly lose his form.

The Uub Plotline Is No Longer Realistic

Goku No Longer Has Much of a Reason to Train With Uub

The most significant aspect of Dragon Ball Z's ending is Goku's decision to leave and train with Uub, the main protagonist believing that the reincarnated Buu might one day sur even him. While this conclusion works for the series, seeing as Kid Buu was the most recent threat to Earth, it falls apart once Super is brought into the mix. Currently, Buu is several leagues below Goku and Vegeta, as well as the enemies they've fought. It makes little sense at this point for Goku to so desperately want to train with someone on that level.

Even if Uub's potential far sures that of Kid Buu's strength, it's improbable that a human could ever reach the heights of Vegeta, Gohan, Beerus, or Whis. And if that's the case, there's not much reason for Goku to abandon training with them for Uub. Even Piccolo, with his new Orange form that rivals the Saiyans' strength, is sitting on the sidelines during Dragon Ball Z's ending, rather than fighting in the tournament.

All the drastic changes to the main characters during Dragon Ball Super make Z's timeskip ending difficult to place coherently in the timeline of events. And at this point, the best option for the sake of moving forward with the series is to forget it even happened. Especially now, with Dragon Ball Daima on the horizon, it's uncertain just how muddied this timeline will become.